You are the head not the tail

(Deuteronomy 28:13 BBE) The Lord will make you the head and not the tail; and you will ever have the highest place, if you give ear to the orders of the Lord your God which I give you today, to keep and to do them;

First we all know that we are all sinners in need of a savior. We all know that we have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. we all know that we have failed the condition in the above promise of God. The promise is that we would be the head and not the tail…If….. if we keep and do all the commandments of God. That means honoring the Sabbath day. Have you ever worked on Saturday or Sunday? Have you ever told even the smallest little white lie? Have you ever wanted something that someone else had? Well, if we are to receive the promises of God we are not going to be able to get them on our own righteousness. It is going to have to be by the righteousness of Christ that the promise of God comes to us.

It is and has from the foundations of the world been God’s desire for you to prosper and be of good health and that your joy be full. And we Christians should be the closest of all people on earth to having God’s desire fulfilled within us.

Today, I want you to get a glimpse of the great promise and desire of God for your life. Then I want us to clearly see how His promise and desire can be fulfilled in our life. Thirdly I hope to give you some practical, relevant steps to receiving all that God has in store for you.

So first let’s take a look at some of the promises that God gives us here in this 28^th chapter of Deuteronomy:

(Deuteronomy 28:3-10 CEV) The LORD will make your businesses and your farms successful. You will have many children. You will harvest large crops, and your herds of cattle and flocks of sheep and goats will produce many young. You will have plenty of bread to eat. The LORD will make you successful in your daily work. The LORD will help you defeat your enemies and make them scatter in all directions. The LORD your God is giving you the land, and he will make sure you are successful in everything you do. Your harvests will be so large that your storehouses will be full. If you follow and obey the LORD, he will make you his own special people, just as he promised. Then everyone on earth will know that you belong to the LORD, and they will be afraid of you.

Check it out; God! GOD! The one and true holy God who is the same yesterday, today and forever has spoken this blessing for you. He will bless your business, your job, your finances, your family, your love life, your relationships, your health, your property……

Every area of your life is covered by God’s blessings.

So where is it right now that you have lack. Hear the Word of the LORD;

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want!

(Psalm 23:1 BBE) A Psalm. Of David. The Lord takes care of me as his sheep; I will not be without any good thing.

(Psalm 23:1 CEV) (A psalm by David.) You, LORD, are my shepherd. I will never be in need.

(Psalm 23:1 LITV) A Psalm of David. Jehovah is my shepherd; I shall not lack.

This is such a familiar verse for all of us yet we do not daily walk in it. Why? Why is there a gap between the reality of God’s promise and the reality of our daily life?

Listen…. This is the reality of God’s promise to you:

(Deuteronomy 28:11 & 12 LITV) And Jehovah shall prosper you in goods, and in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your ground in the land which Jehovah swore to your fathers to give it to you. Jehovah shall open to you His good treasure, the heavens to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.

We are God’s beloved. You aare blessed and highly favored of the LORD! You are a child of the king. You can win. The victory is already yours. We see all of these promises and then we look at the one little two letter word and we hang our heads in failure.

That one little two letter word that has stolen all the blessings of God for generations and generations.

That one little two letter word that turned our blessings into the curse.

That one little tow letter word….”IF!”

We read “if and give up on the blessings and go right to the curses to see what we deserve because of the reality of our daily life as a sinner who has fallen short of the glory of God!

I am not even going to honor the enemy by reading the curses found on the other side of that “IF” in this 28^th chapter of Deuteronomy, essentially because I am sure that if you have not already gone ahead and read them yourself you will, because for some reason you feel that is what you really deserve.

That is the lie! You really deserve the blessing but the enemy wants you to accept the curse.

But there you go… I can hear your thoughts “But Pastor Bob, we are all sinners… we have all sinned. We do fall short…… the curse is what we deserve…..Blah, blah, blah…”

WRONG, WRONG, WRONG! Let’s turn that word around on its self. “IF,” if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your LORD and savior then the curse has been broken and all the blessings are yours right now.

So, your little half truth has been what has been keeping you from the blessings of God. Because yes we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God but the free gift of God the Free gift, of God is Eternal abundant, joint heir, joy unspeakable,

OK, let me try to put it this way’

There was a farmer who had a child. He loved the child very much and he worked hard from before the sun rose until way after it set everyday in order to build a wonderful legacy to leave for his child.

As the child grew they did not see much of their father, Oh, they knew that the father loved them but they really did not know the father, he seemed too busy for them or maybe he loved the farm more then he loved them or maybe he wasn't really their father after all. Maybe they were orphans. As they came of age they decided that they would set off on their own.

Out in the world they struggled and were in want. They went for years living in poverty all the while the father kept sending them notice after notice that he was there for them and that he loved them and if they ever needed anything all they had to do was to ask.

There were times that they thought about asking. In fact they even tried to call a time or two but it seemed that the telephone number was disconnected and the address to mail their letters was unknown. So they just gave up and lived their life in want and need.

All the while the Father’s heart was broke for his children because all that was his was theirs but they forgot how to come home.

Have you ever felt like an orphan? Have you ever felt like you did not fit in? Today The Father wants you to know that you have a home. You are part of His family and you are the head and not the tail.

I want to give you a formula for being who you have been called to be. I put it on the sign in the front of the Church yesterday. It is a simple formula but if followed you will discover the riches of the Kingdom of God within it.

First we need to believe.

The Bible teaches us that as a man thinketh so is he.

(Proverbs 23:7 KJV) For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.

The key to life is to believe. Our very salvation is determined upon our decision to believe.

(Mark 9:23 KJV) Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

The more you believe the truth the more the truth will set you free. And remember the truth is the truth whether you believe it or not. And the truth is God created the heaven and the earth and He had you in his heart before the foundation of the earth. He love you so much that He gave His all upon the cross so that if you would only believe in Him you would have eternal abundant life.

Now, before you think this is one of those believe and receive messages you better listen close to the second step in this formula. The first step is to believe. You need to know who you are in Christ. You need to know that you are a child of the king. You need to know that all of these blessings are yours.

Now to practically receive you have to take the second step and achieve.

The first step is to believe the second is to achieve. You have got to step out on faith and “do.” Faith is a verb. Faith is what you do. James teaches us so much about this truth.

(James 2:18-20 KJV) Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

We need to worship the LORD in Spirit and in truth. Not just with our words but with our actions. And going after your blessings you can’t just sit back and believe that they will come out of the blue. You have to get out there and plow the land and sow the seeds of faith and pull out the weeds of negativity and water your faith with the refreshing truth of God’s word.

What is it you are praying for. Is it health then take better health of yourself and know that God is continually healing you but you are the steward of this temple. Know you not that you are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

So believe and achieve. Then your third step is succeed. Count your blessings. Don’t just keep wanting and wanting and wanting more and more. Sometimes you have to stop and realize how much you have achieved. How much God has right now already blessed you with.

Listen to King David when he said Bless the LORD oh my soul.

(Psalm 103:1-6 CEV) (By David.) With all my heart I praise the LORD, and with all that I am I praise his holy name! With all my heart I praise the LORD! I will never forget how kind he has been. The LORD forgives our sins, heals us when we are sick, and protects us from death. His kindness and love are a crown on our heads. Each day that we live, he provides for our needs and gives us the strength of a young eagle. For all who are mistreated, the LORD brings justice.

Know who you are in Christ. Know that you are forgiven. Know that by His stripes you are healed and made whole. Know that He provides for your very need. Know that all things are working together for the good.

Walk out your faith. Be the man or woman of God that God has called you to be. Be 100% at work. Do all things as if unto the LORD and not unto men. Be 100% there when you are with your spouse. Giving them your full attention. Be a real friend. Do what’s right.

Lou Holtz, who was the coach of the Fighting Irish, Notre Dame, was on the radio this past week and one thing he said stuck with me. When asked of one thing that really summed up success he asked that you ask yourself this simple question:

“Will you be missed?” If you did not go home, who would miss you and why? If you were not at work would you be missed? When you do not show up at church are you missed?

One thing I have learned is that we are dispensable but none of us have to be un memorable. You change the world every day. The only question is are you changing it for the better or the worse and how much.

Believe, achieve, succeed. Walk in the blessings by being a blessing.

Today is the day of your salvation. Today is the day that you turn things around. Today the curse is broken and the blessings are yours. Today is the day that the LORD has mad. Rejoice and be glad in it. It all begins with you believing the truth. Accepting right now that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life. Accept his forgiveness and ask Him to come into your heart of hearts and to be your LORD and savior. Believe. Then Go and sin no more. Start walking out your faith. And if you fall. Confess your sin and receive a fresh cleansing. Walk like the Kings kid that you are. And start right now to count your blessings. Live a life of thanks giving and rejoice.

Believe, achieve and succeed.

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