Blessings and Curses of God

This is a long sermon, but probably only 30 minutes to read. A lot less time than it took to write. As we consider blessings and curses, I am assuming God would prefer I spend the time writing a comprehensive sermon with commentary rather than watch tv shows, playing games, wasting time posting “stuff” from social media, etc. In other words, give Him your time and attention, showing Him YOU LOVE HIM. I am sure He feels the same about you reading this. 30 minutes for God? It’s your choice. The provision is right here.

I was wandering around the house this morning, asking the Holy Spirit, “What should we write today?” He said clearly, “Write about blessings and curses.” A subject I have never considered writing about before today. I have heard many sermons discussing the blessings of God, but I have never heard one that included the curses. Many of us want God’s blessings, but we simply ignore those things that He curses. Although I have written down many scriptures about this, we will cover only a few so I can give commentary to help you along your journey of finding love, joy, and happiness with God.

I once wrote a sermon about PEACE WITH GOD and PEACE IN GOD…two very different things, but important to be able to distinguish and fulfill both sides of that coin. This is similar in that in order to RECEIVE the BLESSINGS of God, we need to be acutely aware of the things He abhors and curses. Let’s start the journey…

In Genesis 3:17, God cursed the ground that Adam stood on, saying that from that day on, humans would toil (work really hard until exhaustion) to live. Ground that was made fertile and able to produce abundantly would now require a vast amount of work to reap a good crop. Additionally, God said it would have thorns, which make working the ground much more difficult. We can still see the truth in this curse, as most of us work really hard and deal with a lot of stress. Literally, when we try to grow something, we struggle with rain (water), weeds, pests, and blistering sun or no sun. What God meant to be a blessing turned into a curse that we can witness with our own eyes. So many curses are caused by sin.

Let’s start with the blessing vs curse scriptures:

Proverbs 3:33 “The LORD’s curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous.”

Genesis 12:3 “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (He is talking about how others treat His people)

Jeremiah 17:5-6 “Thus says the LORD, ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the LORD. For he will be like a bush in the desert and will not see when prosperity comes, but will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, a land of salt without inhabitant. Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and whose trust is in the LORD. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit.”

Deuteronomy 1-7 “When all these things come upon you—the blessings and curses I have set before you—and you call them to mind in all the nations to which the LORD your God has banished you, and when you and your children return to the LORD your God and obey His voice with all your heart and all your soul according to everything I am giving you today, then He will restore you from captivity and have compassion on you and gather you from all the nations to which the LORD your God has scattered you. Even if you have been banished to the farthest horizon, He will gather you and return you from there. And the LORD your God will bring you into the land your fathers possessed, and you will take possession of it. He will cause you to prosper and multiply more than your fathers. The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.”

“Then the LORD your God will put all these curses upon your enemies who hate you and persecute you. And you will again obey the voice of the LORD and follow all His commandments I am giving you today. So the LORD your God will make you abound in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your land. Indeed, the LORD will again delight in your goodness, as He delighted in that of your fathers, IF you obey the LORD your God by keeping His commandments and statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

I have provided three blessing/curse scriptures. There is an “if” to each one. If you choose the path outlined by God, the Lord will surely bless you. If you choose the unrighteous path, the Lord will curse you. As I always state, there is a ying/yang; a give/take; and must-do/don’t-do when it comes to connecting with the blessings of our Lord. The last scripture above (Deuteronomy 1-7) is describing His chosen people, the Israelites/Jewish people, and you KNOW God performed that promised miracle in 1948. Against all odds, Israelis returned to the promised land, and even though they are a minuscule speck geographically, they are a HUGE STAMP on our world. One of the motivations to follow and trust the Lord is that you can read His prophecy and then see it happen exactly as He described. That builds the faith we need to choose the right path. We are also His chosen people (Gentiles), and the same scripture applies to us!

Curses:

Malachi 1:14 “Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the LORD Almighty, “and my name is to be feared among the nations.” (God is saying that if you promise anything to Him and neglect to give it, you will be cursed. If you read the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Chapter 5, Book of Acts, it will give you a clear vision of how God treats those who cheat Him.

Galatians 3:10 “For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” (This is all about a “heart” issue. God is saying if you are simply doing something to fulfill a requirement of His law, but do not do so willingly and desire to serve Him and His people, then you will be cursed. God often speaks about how He judges the heart and not just the act. Let me give you a modern-day analogy. Let’s say a man goes to work and financially cares for his family as an obligation rather than sincerely loving and cherishing them, then he is just going through the motions, and his affection, the most important aspect of being a husband and father, is missing. The same is if we go to church on Sunday, help with the service, but we are just trying to work our way into heaven, God is saying your efforts will be cursed because He does not have a relationship with you, and you are just doing “chores” to fill a perceived requirement rather than having a heartfelt desire to serve.

Malachi 2:2 “If you do not listen, and if you do not resolve to honor my name,” says the LORD Almighty, “I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. [YIKES…think about that! He promises to curse the blessings He has planned for you.] Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honor me. (Another heart issue. In order to honor God and His effort to provide a path to righteousness and guide you along the way, you must SEEK to honor Him and recognize His efforts through praise, trust, and faith. If you carefully read the scripture, He says HE WILL CURSE YOUR BLESSINGS. So, all the great things He has in store for you will be lost if you fail to honor and respect Him.

Lamentations 3:64-65 “You will pay them back what they deserve, O LORD, according to the work of their hands. Put a veil of anguish over their hearts; may Your curse be upon them! (You reap what you sow! God knows…everything!)

Matthew 25:41 “Then he will say to those on his left, depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” (This is in context of Matthew 25:35-40, where He tells us to clothe, feed, comfort, and care for the least of them on earth. Failure to do so will put you in the “goat” pile and instead of being His sheep who follows His example of generosity, love and servitude, and you become a goat; sentenced to damnation. A more important part of this scripture is proving the heart issue. If you are truly IN God, then you cannot help but assist those in need. It is innate once you become His. He KNOWS your heart!)

BLESSINGS:

Jeremiah 17:7-8 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and whose trust is the LORD. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit. (If we trust and stay close to the Lord, we will be peaceful and continue to produce “fruit” even in trying times)

Proverbs 16:3 “Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed.”

Exodus 23:25 “Worship the LORD your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you…”

Psalm 34:8 “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”

Proverb 16:20 “Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD.”

Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

Psalm 119:2 “Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart.”

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (GIVE you BLESSINGS!)

In summary, God has provided a vast amount of information and revelation in regards to following His example. Being a loving God, He also provides the “recipe” for blessings (happiness and peace on earth) and curses (hell on earth and beyond…). His goodness causes Him to tell you about the path to righteousness, as well as allow you free will to ignore it and the curses associated with that decision. God doesn’t keep us in the dark. He has warned us of “sin” consequences and blessed us if we act righteously. CHOOSE WISELY! God bless, Lisa ><>

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