The Power of Obedience "Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and

Transcription

1 Chapter Four The Power of Obedience "Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known. And it shall come to pass, when the LORD thy God hath brought thee in unto the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt put the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal. Are they not on the other side Jordan, by the way where the sun goeth down, in the land of the Canaanites, which dwell in the champaign over against Gilgal, beside the plains of Moreh?

2 Blessing or Cursing? For ye shall pass over Jordan to go in to possess the land which the LORD your God giveth you, and ye shall possess it, and dwell therein. And ye shall observe to do all the statutes and judgments which I set before you this day". Deuteronomy 11:26-32 Blessings are connected with obedience. Blessings are connected with obedience. Likewise, when you are disobedient God will release the curse. The curse is released when you break a law or commandment of God. Obedience is the key to getting a curse broken in your life. Obedience produces blessings and releases your miracles. Disobedience produces and releases the disaster. Obedience produces blessings and releases your miracles. Disobedience produces and releases the disaster. We really don't understand the damaging effect that rebellion has. If we did, we would stop being rebels. God commands us to comply with His word and will.

3 The Power Of Obedience Obeying the Voice of the Lord "And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:" Deuteronomy 28:l God will set you on high above all the nations on earth. When He sets you above all, you are high! You don't need alcohol! If you want to get high, just walk in obedience. The enemy will try to assassinate your character. God is saying, if you want to be blessed, "Obey Me." There are no shortcuts! There is a spirit of murder and character assassination in our nation. The enemy will try to assassinate your character. That is why when you are on your job, you cannot afford to take shortcuts. They could be setting you up! When I worked in the Postal Service, they would purposely set you up. They would place money that was visible in open envelopes amongst the mail you were assigned to sort, and they kept cameras on you the whole time to see if you would steal it. They would not

4 Blessing or Cursing? apprehend you after your first offense. They would keep setting you up to make you think that you were getting away with your thievery. There are no shortcuts! Men you do business, deal in honesty. When you do business, deal in honesty. If you say you are going to do something, be man or woman enough to fulfill your commitment. If you don't, they just won't trust you the next time. Whatever seed you sow, make sure you are ready for that harvest. The principles of the kingdom of God are so simple. God only requires obedience. Obedience supersedes the blessings of God. However, there is a price that you must pay to operate in obedience. You have to be willing to lose your life - die to your natural inclinations - in order to find life through Jesus Christ. Being Under Authority If you are independent, doing your own thing, having your own agenda, not submitting to authority, then your problem is really with God. You are going to get whatever is coming to you, according to seedtime and harvest. The curse will come upon you if you are not obedient to the word of the Lord or His delegated authorities.

5 The Power Of Obedience When I served under the late Apostle Washington, there was a young lady that I was seeing. He came out of the pulpit and walked down the aisle and said, "You, come here." I followed him to the back of the church just as innocently. He said, 'You are involved with a young lady." I acted as if I had amnesia. I said, "Who?" He operated with the word of knowledge. He called her name and I said, "Yes." He said, "Break it, that is not God." Apostle Washington would give the word of the Lord to you raw - he would tell you like it was. God only requires obedience. Apostle Washington was trying to make men and women who would walk upright and understand the price that had to be paid to walk close with God. He wanted us to know that in order to walk close with God, you had to give up something. Your life could not be your own. He would strip you of your identity so that you could take on God's. You were so broken until they no longer saw you-but God. Some of you may have alcoholism in your life. The Bible lets us know in Proverbs 31, to give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish. You should not be drinking, unless you are ready to die because it will kill you. If you are ready for suicide, then start drinking.

6 Blessing or Cursing? Alcoholism is a demon spirit that tries to seep into your life and it affects your children. No man has any business drinking. There is no such thing as a social drink. Are you a sipping saint? God doesn't get glory out of you drinking strong drink. When you drink, it breaks your focus and you lose your perception. You need deliverance if you are involved in any type of substance abuse, cocaine, crack, or even cigarettes. The trees have become your god. The vine is determining your mood. The tobacco now has you under control. Instead of you subduing the earth, the earth is subduing you. Are the plants controlling you? For those of you who don't smoke or drink, is money controlling you or are you controlling it? Money is also made out of trees. Are the trees your god? A Change of Character When God starts dealing with you, He will prophesy in your life when your character is unstable. You will be in sin and He will say, "Yea, My son or daughter, I come unto thee this day and I shall use thee in a miraculous way." Cod speaks to your potential. God spoke to menlike Abraham who lied, Jacob who cheated, and Moses who killed a man. When the word

7 The Power Of Obedience is spoken to you, your character is headed one way, however, you will be a different man when the word is fulfilled in you. When God spoke the word of the Lord to Sarai, she was a matriarch. Sarai actually meant, "domineering one." She dominated her husband. Abraham just went along with what she said. God prophesied to her and when the word of the Lord was fulfilled in her life, God changed her name from Sarai, the "domineering one" to Sarah who now calls her husband "lord." It was a change. God is speaking to some of you ladies while you are Sarai; you are domineering, persistent and you have your own agenda. You have your man wrapped around your little finger. But know that the Word of the Lord is not going to be fulfilled in you as Sarai, but God wants to do a character change in you that will change your name to Sarah. When your husband comes home you are going to say, "How are you doing today, lord?" The Word of the Lord brings a change in Some of you want God's blessings, but you want them as Sarai. God is saying, "No, we have to eliminate the curse, and turn you into a Sarah." If you are going to be a daughter of Sarah, you will begin to celebrate your man, be in his corner, and be his cheerleader. No one can scream louder than you about him!

8 Blessing or Cursing? When the word of the Lord comes to your life, there is a change that takes place in your nature. There are things that God has to remove out of you. There is a process that takes place between the pit to the palace. When you are going from the pit to the palace, you are going to stop by Potipher's house, but you are going to end up in prison. Paul said "I am a prisoner of the Lord". You are going to be someone's prisoner before you get into the palace. You are going to be under some type of authority. You are going to be submissive. You are going to be under control because you have mastered the principles of government before you can govern. Obedience is better than sacrifice. People frequently desire the glamour of ministry, but they do not want the immolation of submission. Some people end up aborting their assignment because they never placed themselves under authority. That is why they cannot cast the devil out, because they do not have authority. The degree of your submissionmeasures out the degree of your authority. Are you under control or out of control? Obedience is better than sacrifice. What do you have to lose? It is only in obedience to the will of the Father

9 The Power Of Obedience that you can find true peace, joy, and fulfillment. Even Jesus Christ, who is our example, said that He only did those things that He saw the Father do. He, too, had to operate in obedience in order to please God. He was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. There is a price that you must pay to operate in obedience and that is submitting your will to the will of the Father.

10 Blessing or Cursing?