The Good Life
The Good Life: Learn the power of understanding both THE BLESSING and THE CURSE that are outlined in Dueteronomy Chapter 28. In this chapter we learn what God desires for us (THE BLESSING) and what He does not (THE CURSE). Part of what Jesus did on Calvary’s cross was to connect us with The Blessing of Abraham and to protect us from the Curse of the Law. I pray these lessons will bless you greatly:
Understanding THE BLESSING:
The Good life
The Requirement is Full Obedience
Blessed in The Earth
In You Shall All of the Nations of the Earth Be Blessed
Desire the Blesser
Blessed Wherever You Go!
Blessed at Home and at Work
Give us this day our Daily Bread
The Blessing in your Daily Affairs
The Promise of Protection
Blessed With and Blessed In
His Holy People
Gaining the Attention of the World
Protection from Every Attack
The Lord Wants you to be Blessed
The Lender, not he Borrower
The Head, not he Tail
Respecting The God of the Word
Receiving The Blessing, Rejecting The Curse
Getting back to the Garden of Eden
The Cursed System of the World
A Hedge of Protection
Giant Giant-Killers
The Power to Choose!
Understanding THE CURSE:
Failure, Starvation and Barrenness!
The Curse briings Failure
Terrible Diseases and Crop Failures
Not Settling for less than God’s Best
Physical and Psychological Health
Protection for Family and Possessions
Protection for Children
Oppression and Abuse
What is Your Name Synonymous with?
Embrace The Good Life
Take Heed to the Examples set Before us
Choose The Blessing by Choosing Obedience
The Good Life (back to the top)
(Gal 3:13,14 NIV) Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
From my family to yours we wish you a Happy and Blessed 2008. My prayer for you is that 2008 will be the best year of your life. We normally start out every year with a fresh series. As I prayed about what to teach on for this New Year the Lord led me to the 28th chapter of the book of Deuteronomy. This chapter outlines both “The Blessing” associated with the covenant God (Jehovah) made with Abraham and “The Curse” associated with failing to walk in accordance with the parameters of the covenant. It is important to understand both the blessing and the curse. In studying the blessing we will see what God desired for the nation of Israel, in studying the curse we will see what He did not want them to experience. The blessing is what God wants Abraham’s descendants to have; the curse is what He wants them to be protected from. When you experience the combined benefits of receiving the blessing and being delivered from the curse I call that “The Good Life!” So our new series is aptly entitled, “The Good Life!” I have shared before that God is not out to get you and He does is not looking for ways to strike you down. God is literally looking for ways to bless you. We will see that in this series.
Now, you may be thinking, “But Rick, that was for the Israelites; the descendants of Abraham. I am not a Jew.” I understand that, but I also understand what Jesus did when He came to the earth. In our focus text Paul tells us that:
1. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law: So the curse we will learn of in Deuteronomy 28 doesn’t apply to us. That is Good News!
2. Christ died so that the Blessing of Abraham could come upon the Gentiles: If you were not born a Jew, then you are a Gentile. The blessing of Abraham did not apply to Gentiles until Jesus shed His blood. The Blood of Jesus gives us access to the Blessing of Abraham.
Most believers focus in on the Blessing of Jesus. This is not wrong in and of itself. The blessing of Jesus is what the writer of Hebrews calls a “better covenant” that is based upon “better promises” (Heb 8:6). The blessing of Jesus is a spiritual blessing and it is ours to enjoy, but we will see that the blessing of Abraham is also ours to enjoy and it is more practical. The blessing of Abraham did not give the Jews spiritual gifts, but it did bless them with the practical and secular affairs of the earth. Believe me, most Jews understand the blessing of Abraham and they enjoy it well. When we realize that this blessing is also available to us, then we will release our faith to enjoy the blessing of Abraham, as well as the blessing of Jesus. This is “The Good Life!”
So what does this mean to you today? It means that you should want everything that God wants you to have. God wants you to enjoy Him in the spiritual and secular affairs of life. He does not want you to thrive in the church, but then struggle at work. He does not want you to operate in spiritual gifts at a great level, while naturally speaking you can’t even hold down a job. No, God wants you to experience “The Good Life” and it has always been His desire for you. If we want the best for our kids, then how much more does our heavenly father want the best for His?
Confession for this day: Lord God, I want everything You want me to have. As I know better, I declare that I will want better and I will do better. As I learn about the blessing of Abraham and I declare, by faith, that I will accept it and that it will begin to manifest in my life. The blessing of Abraham and the blessing of Jesus are both for me. Jesus died so that the blessing of Abraham could come to me. I accept it and I accept the Good Life NOW! In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper!
The Requirement is Full Obedience (back to the top)
(Deut 28:1 NIV) If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.
This morning we continue our new series for the New Year entitled, “The Good Life.” As previously stated, the meat of this series will come from the 28th chapter of the book of Deuteronomy. Before we get deep into the 28th chapter, let me give you a little background.
The Lord used Moses to lead His people out from under the bondage of Egypt. However, they had been under Egypt’s control for about 400 years. So when Moses led them out he had successfully gotten the people out of Egypt, but it would take some time to get Egypt out of the people. They made mistakes along the way and a journey that should have taken a short time wound up taking 40 years. Yes, God blessed them in the wilderness, but His best for them was Canaan; the land flowing with milk and honey. In preparation for entering Canaan Moses repeatedly told the people that they would have to clearly “Obey the Lord.” It was God’s desire that they accept what He wanted them to have and that they abstained from what He did not. They were to accept what was blessed and abstain from what was cursed.
In the 27th chapter of Deuteronomy Moses said, “When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin. And these tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal to pronounce curses: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali” (verses 12&13). Even in crossing the Jordan and entering in to the land flowing with milk and honey, Moses wanted to ensure that the people understood The Blessing and The Curse. Six tribes were to speak blessings and the other six were to speak curses. The blessings were what they should have and the curses were what they should abstain from. This now sets the stage for you to better understand the 28th chapter.
Deuteronomy chapter 28 opens with our focus text where Moses said, “If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.” I want to be very clear. Over the next several weeks I will be teaching about God’s desire for us to live “The Good Life.” At no point will I insinuate that you can have this life outside of (1) having a true and intimate relationship with Him, and (2) fully obeying Him and His word. The first thing that Moses said, even before outlining The Blessing, was that they (and us) must fully obey the Lord and carefully follow His commands. Notice the words, “fully obey.” Partial obedience is disobedience. There were many people then, and there are many people today, that want to get things FROM God without having a true relationship WITH God. Moses made it clear that The Blessing was reserved for those that were willing to make the sacrifice of full obedience.
So what does this mean to you today? It means that this is a good time (the beginning of a New Year) to check your motives. Search yourself and make sure that you are following God for the right reasons. Are you after Him to get ‘stuff’ from Him or do you simply hunger after a pure relationship with Him. Believe me, if you seek after Him you will be blessed, but that should not be your motivation. Make a decision today to clearly and truly follow after God. Seek Him in full obedience. If you do, you will experience The Good Life!
Confession for this day: Lord God, I search myself this morning and I purge myself of all impure motives. My motivation is to please you. My desire is to have a pure and intimate relationship with You. As I pursue You, as I seek Your face, and as I engage in intimacy with You, I know that You will bless me greatly in 2008 and I will experience The Good Life. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper!