Thank you for listening to Servants for Christ. In all that we do, in all that we say, we want to give glory and honor to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank you for tuning us in as we get into the wonderful Word of God. For the next few minutes, let's take the beautiful Word of God and share it with each and every one of you as we have a sense of anticipation to take the Word of God and to listen to its truth for each and every one. I'm Darrell Bailey, Servants for Christ. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. I'm glad that as I was doing my daily Bible reading through the Bible as I do every year, this scripture out of Deuteronomy chapter 28 began to find a lodging place in my heart that I needed to preach about. And so if you would, If you have your Bibles handy, would you take your Bibles with us to the book of Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy chapter 28. Now there's 68 verses in Deuteronomy chapter 28, and I'm only gonna highlight two verses from those 68 verses, but I'll be reading all through a variety of them as I begin to preach this message this morning. I want to talk to you about the path of blessings and curses. The path of blessings and curses. Because each and every one of us will have to choose our destiny. And when we look at the word of Deuteronomy chapter 28. we see that God will bless Israel in verses one through 10. He talks about a land of plenty in verses 11 through 14, and the curses for disobeying God in verses 15 through 24, and then the captivity and the plagues in verses 25 through 37. He goes on and he talks about the land that will not produce in verses 38 through 46, that Israel will be enslaved in verses 47 through 57 and the plagues for disobeying verses 58 to 62 and that Israel will be scattered in verses 63 and 64 and lastly in verses 65 to 68 there'll be no ease or rest for Israel and so When we look at the Word of God, we're gonna talk about the path of blessings and cursings, how that we can choose our destiny. Will you read along with me in Deuteronomy chapter 28, verse seven? The Lord shall call thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face, and they shall come out against thee one way and flee before thee seven ways. Skip down to verse 40. Deuteronomy 28, verse 40. The Bible says, Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy coast, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil, for thine olive shall cast his fruit. Here It lists a part of the curses that will come upon the people if they do not obey God's commandments. And it highlights that despite having olive trees, they'll not benefit from the fruit, symbolizing unfulfilled potential and loss despite having the resources. And so with one, you see the blessing, the path of blessing, when you look at verse seven of Deuteronomy chapter 28, and then you see the path of curses. When you look at verse 40 of Deuteronomy 28, thou shall have olive trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shall not anoint thyself with oil, for thine olive shall cast his fruit. Let's pray. Father, we come before you with hearts full of gratitude and humility. Forgive us, Lord, for our daily shortcomings and sins. Cleanse us from all unrighteousness and help us to put on before armor of God each day so that we may stand firm against the schemes of the enemy. May your word guide us and may your spirit empower us to live in a manner worthy of your calling. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen. I was reading about a man named Jack who had lived a life filled with poor decisions and struggled. Jack's life was a series of setbacks and disappointments until he encountered a mentor who guided him toward making better choices. Through this relationship and with his newfound resolve, Jack began to see a transformation in his life. He went from living in despair to experiencing a sense of purpose and prosperity. And this story reflects the principles that are found in Deuteronomy chapter 28, where the choices we make lead to blessings or cursings. One of the first things that we see when we look at choosing our destiny is the promise of blessings for obedience, amen. In Deuteronomy, chapter 28, verses 1 through 14, it talks about this. These verses, God lays out a promise that if his people diligently obey his commands, they will experience numerous blessings. And when we look at this in verses 1 through 14, We see blessings in the city and the country because in verse 3 of Deuteronomy chapter 28, blessed thou shalt be in the city and blessed thou shalt be in the field. You know the blessing of God is not automatically poured out upon people. God's not a robot, not a mechanical being that acts impulsively on the spur of the moment throughout thought on purpose. The blessings of God are not the result of a reflex emotion that arouses God to bless this and that person. The blessings of God are not poured out indiscriminately at random in some chaotic manner. God demands something of a person before he or she blesses that person, before he blesses that person. God's blessings are conditional. And a person has to do something in order to receive God's blessings. And the blessings of God are the subject of this present passage. Because remember, the children of Israel, they were camped in the plains of Moab. close by the river Jordan, right across from the great city of Jericho. And they were poised to cross the river and enter into the promised land, praise his mighty name. But before they entered, Moses felt the need to preach a message to the people. He needed to make sure that the people understood exactly how they were to live in the promised land of God. Boy, I'm glad that there's a lot of folks today that needs to hear that message, amen? That they need to know how to live in the promised land. Because I'm glad Moses' messages were later compiled into the book of Deuteronomy. And in essence, Deuteronomy is the preaching of Moses during the days when the Israelites were camped beside the Jordan River, preparing to enter that promised land. And at this point, the messages of Moses are nearing a completion. Why? Moses has almost accomplished his purpose in life. The people are prepared as much so as Moses is capable of preparing them. Only one more thing remains. The people need to renew their covenant with God. They need to make a rededication, a recommitment to God before actually entering the promised land. You see, the present passage deals with the blessings and the cursings of the covenant, and the people were to be blessed if they obeyed God, but cursed if they disobeyed him. And so we see the blessings of God are to be preached and the cursings of God will be preached. And so when we look, we realize that out of all of this, if the people obeyed God, God would exalt them above all the nations on the earth, amen. They would be a great nation, a great people to whom all other nations and people would look to. And so I'm glad they would experience all the blessings of God. No blessing would be withheld from them. They would walk in the fullness, amen. And so I'm glad that when we look at this, We begin to realize that the blessings that God promised His people came into all places. It came into the city, it came into the field, and it came into the home with all that they needed as they went in and out in their daily work. He would care for them. He would prosper their efforts. He would give them victory over their enemies so that they could maintain possession of the land. He would supply rain for the fields. Water, that's the precious commodity in the east. God would send the formal rain in October and November, the winter rain from December to February, and the latter rain in April. And Israel's crops would grow abundantly. They would sell their surplus and their harvest, amen. And so, I'm glad that the Lord promised these marvelous blessings. For one thing, the nation of Israel is still in its spiritual infancy as a child, and one way to teach children is by means of rewards and punishments. And these material blessings were God's way of reminding His children that obedience brings blessings, but disobedience brings chastening. And so, I'm glad that we look and we see the blessings that are in the city and the country. But we also see the prosperity in their endeavors. Because I'm glad from choosing our destiny. He said in verse 8 of Deuteronomy chapter 28, The Lord shall command the blessings upon thee in thy storehouses and in all that thou settest thine hand unto. You see, God guarantees prosperity in our efforts and abundance in what we put our hands to as long as we remain faithful and obedient. And so, when we choose our destiny, the blessings that are in the city and the country, prosperity in our endeavors, amen, but also protection in favor. because he said in verse 10 of Deuteronomy chapter 20, and all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of thee. You know, obedience leads to divine favor and protection, making us a witness to the world of God's power and presence. Hallelujah. I'm glad John Bunyan said one time, obedience is the pathway to the blessings of God. And so, when we look at the path of blessings and cursings, we see the promise of the blessings for obedience. But secondly, we see when we choose our destiny, we see the consequences of disobedience. Because in Deuteronomy chapter 28, starting with verse 15, going all the way down to verse 68, when we begin to look at what's transpiring here, and what's happening. The blessings of God are, as I said, they're conditional. They're promise after promise that is given to the believer, but the believer has to believe God to receive the promises and he has to stay focused upon God and his promises keep his mind upon them. Only if he stays focused upon God will he obey God and receive the promises. And so obedience is an absolute essential to receive the blessings of God. Think about this. If a person is not obeying God, he or she is not staying focused upon the blessings or the promise given by God. Consequently, it's only a natural outcome that he or she will not receive the blessings of God. But if the person is obeying God, he or she is focused upon the promises of God's blessing. Walking throughout the day, they're honoring God by staying focused upon Him and His blessings. And so, I'm glad that when we obey God, we stay focused upon God. And we are consequently, God blesses us and pours out blessings after blessings upon us, hallelujah. And so, when we look and realize that all that god wants to do a man we see that god wants to send some blessings out to each and every one of us a man because i'm glad uh... that uh... what we read uh... earlier a man about how that uh... uh... in the promises the promise of the blessings of obedience a mandate dot here we look at the consequences of that disobedience and one of the things that we see Here, conversely, the disobedience brings about different set of consequences which are far from desirable. The thing that we see of the consequences of disobedience is curses in the city and the country. And as these come our way, we look and we begin to see uh... that uh... deuteronomy uh... chapter twenty-eight verse sixteen the bible says curse shall thou be in the city and curse shall thou be in the field every one of us when we look and we see what god is wanting to bless and what god is wanting to curse we ought to be able to say, hey, you know what? I want to be a blessing to the Lord. I want to receive all the blessings that he's got in store for me, praise God. And so, in doing this, One of the major ways that God has chosen to deal with us is speaking with us, giving us His words, and God wants to fellowship with us, and He wants to communicate with us in the same way that we communicate with one another by word of mouth. God has spoken to us by giving us a permanent form of communication, the written Word of God. And I'm glad that he's given us his word because he wants us to know how to live a full and a victorious life, how to fellowship, how to commune with him, how to worship with him. And as a sovereign creator, the supreme ruler of the universe, God has every right to expect us to follow his word, to keep his commandments and his degrees, and to live exactly as he says. To disobey God is the height of contempt. the summit of wickedness. And so. Disobedience is an abomination detestable to God. Remember, Moses is challenging the people to make a decision for God. It's time for the people to renew their covenant with God, to rededicate their lives to Him, and if they obey the covenant, His commandments, they will be richly blessed and receive all the promises of God. The blessings of God will be poured out upon them. However, if the people disobey the covenant, His commandments, they will be cursed, and the curses of God will fall upon them. The importance of these curses cannot be overestimated, for this is the final warning that Moses will ever give to the Israelites. He is soon to die, go home to be with the Lord, therefore he seizes this opportunity to give one final warning to the people, the whole future of the Israelite nation, depending upon their faithful obedience to God. Do you hear me, America? Do you hear me, Facebook? Hey, do you hear me out there, sermon audio listeners? Praise God, because we focus upon the curses of judgment that should stir the people to renew their covenant with God, to rededicate their lives, to recommit themselves, to keep the covenant, to obey the commandments of God. And so, When we look at this, the first set of curses was due to disobedience, refusing to listen to God. Moses declared a tragic fact that if a person refuses to listen and disobeys the sovereign creator of the universe, this person will suffer the curses of God. To disobey the Lord God, the only living and true God, is the highest contempt imaginable and despicable and detestable act of rebellion. Judgment is bound to fall upon the disobedient. A person who treats God with such contempt is bound to suffer the curses of God. And I'm going to tell you something. These curses, they will be a curse of being continually cursed. Disobedience will cause you to be cursed wherever you are in the city or in the country. And there will be a curse of inadequate daily food. The promise of God to provide the necessities of life will no longer be true. There'll be a curse on the production or the fruitfulness, amen. There'll be a curse on all the daily activities, amen. And so Moses, he preached the blessings earlier that he covered, but he said the curse, the frustration in every activity that you undertake will be cursed. A deadly disease, plagues that will sweep across the entire population that he's talking about. And so, When we look, just as the blessings that are promised for obedience, curses follow disobedience, affecting all the areas of the life. And so, the consequences of disobedience, the curses in the city and the country, but also failure in your endeavors. Because in Deuteronomy 28, verse 17, the Bible says, Curse shall be thy basket and thy store. our efforts and endeavors will not succeed if we're not living in the alignment with God's commandments. And so, we need to be living in those areas, praise God, each and every one of us as we go through life to be able to have that opportunity, praise God. And so, when we look We see also the suffering and the despair, because in verse 20 of Deuteronomy chapter 20, the Lord shall send upon thee cursings, vexation, and rebuke, and all that thou settest thy hand unto, for you do. Without God's blessings, we face suffering and challenges, leading to despair and difficulty. There's a strong warning for these verses for us, and for all believers of all generations. The warning is against disobedience, against refusing to listen to God. refusing to listen to the preacher when the preacher is preaching God's word. The warning is against disobedience and disobedience is a high crime committed against God and it is the height of contempt, the summit of wickedness and disobedience is despicable and shameful showing the utmost spite and disrespect for God's holy scripture that he warns. And so You know what? Charles Spurgeon, the old Prince of Preachers, said one time, disobedience to God is like throwing a stone into a still pond. The ripples of its effects are far-reaching and they're profound." And so, when we look at the path of blessings and cursings and choosing our destiny, We see the promise of blessings for the obedient, the consequences of disobedience. But thirdly and closing, choosing the path of blessings. Because here in Deuteronomy chapter 28, it is very clear. The choice is yours and mine. It is ours. We can choose the path of blessing. or we can choose the path of curses. And I'm glad that back at verse 1 of Deuteronomy chapter 28, even though I'm jumping around in a lot of these 68 verses, hear me crystal clear. Look back at verse 1. of Deuteronomy chapter 28. 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. In other words, by choosing to follow God's commandments, we position ourselves to receive his blessings. Each and every one of us can receive the blessings of God if we'll just let Him do that. Praise God. Amen. And I'm glad that refusing to serve, failing to serve God, are the serious offenses. One thing, God will not tolerate the neglect of our duty. we must not neglect our responsibility, our service for Him. If we fail to serve God, if we neglect our duty, we'll face the terrifying judgment of God and it will come on us full throttle. And so, when we look and realize that of all the curses due to the lack of fear and reverence for God that could happen to every one of us amen. I'm glad that this is the conclusion of the curses that the conclusion of the warning preached by Moses the graphic picture of that disobedience that should be enough to stir any person to rededicate their life The curses for disobedience stand as a severe warning to all people of all generations that Moses warned the Israelites and through them he warns us all today as we listen to this message that there are consequences for disobedience. Curses that will fall upon the head of all disobedient people and the warning of God is crystal clear. We must fear God and reverence Him. Amen? And so, in doing this, Our supreme fact must always be remembered that Jesus Christ bore the curse of the law for us in Galatians chapter three, verse 13, that he said, Christ had redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, for it is written, cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. The curse of the law is the penalty that we must bear for having broken the law and the penalty of corruption and of death. Every time we commit a sin, we add more sin to the evil that already exists. We heap sin upon sin, and the corruption of sin is one of the penalties for breaking the law, but this is not all. Death is also one of the penalties for disobedience. We die because we have disobeyed God. The first man and woman upon earth, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God. Consequently, God pronounced the judgment of death upon Adam and Eve. Death simply means separation. It does not mean annihilation, ceasing to exist. There are three types of death that are mentioned in the Bible. Listen to me. There's the spiritual death, which we experience while living on the earth. Spiritual death simply means that we are separated and alienated from God. There's the physical death, secondly, which simply means the separation of the spirit from the body, and this is what people usually refer to as death. And then, listen to me, the third eternal death. There's spiritual death, there's physical death, and there's eternal death. Eternal death is that second death. That means that we will be eternally separated from God unless we have trusted Jesus Christ as our Savior. And death is the curse of the law the penalty for having broken the law but Jesus Christ had borne the curse for us taking the penalty of the law upon himself he took the curse of the law that was due us and suffered the curse for us and he died upon the cross bearing the penalty for disobedience and this means one of the most wonderful things that if we will simply trust Jesus Christ as our personal savior will be saved from the curse of the law. God will accept us into the righteousness of Jesus Christ, His one and only Son. What Jesus Christ has done for us by bearing the curse of the law is beyond any imagination that I could ever have the capacity to explain. It is incomprehensible, but I'm glad that Paul said, For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse, for it is written, Cursed is everyone that contendeth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them, but that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident for. The just shall live by faith, and the law is not of faith, but the man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on the tree. I'm glad that Christ redeemed us from that curse on the law man And so, I'm glad that we embrace God's commandments. We choose the path of blessings. Amen. We follow God's commandments. We position ourselves to receive the blessing. But secondly, we live a life of faithfulness. Because in Deuteronomy chapter 28, verse 9, the Bible says, the Lord shall establish thee a holy people unto himself as he has sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God and walk in his ways. You see, a life of faithfulness aligns with God's will, and it ensures His continued favor and guidance. You know, there's a lot of preachers, and it's their choice if they let the Lord lead them. All they ever do is preach out of the New Testament. But this entire Bible, even the Old with the New, is a blessing. and it is a blessing that it is choosing our destiny correctly. The path of blessing are curses. A life of faithfulness aligned with God's will ensures His continued favor and guidance. And so, when we look and we see that out of the promises that we saw, amen, how God has given us a tremendous blessing, When we look at the scriptures, the promise of blessings for obedience, the consequences of obedience, but also choosing the path of blessings, that we embrace God's commandments, we live a life of faithfulness. Amen. But oh so, lastly and all, we make daily choices with an eternal impact. Because in verse 13, in Deuteronomy chapter 28, and the Lord shall make thee the head and not the tail. And thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath. If that thou hearketh unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them. Every choice we make, has eternal consequences. Choosing to follow God's ways elevates us, leads us to a life of blessing. I'm black. Billy Graham said one time, and I quote, we cannot expect God's blessings on a life that is lived contrary to his will, unquote. And so, I'm glad Deuteronomy 28 serves as a profound reminder of the power of choice. It illustrates how our obedience or disobedience to God's commandments directly impacts the blessings or cursings that we experience. And by choosing to follow God faithfully, we invite his blessings into every aspect of our lives. Will you commit yourself to living in alignment with God's word? Will you commit yourself to understanding that our choices have eternal consequences? You know what? I wonder how that we can ensure that we're living in obedience to God's commandments. I think that by regularly studying the Bible, seeking God's guidance through prayer, being accountable to fellow believers, incorporating these practices into our daily lives, it helps us to stay aligned with God's will. I wonder what steps we can take to make better choices that lead to blessings rather than curses. Well, I think in order to make better choices, we need to evaluate our decisions against Scripture. We need to seek advice from wise, godly individuals and rely on the Holy Spirit for guidance. When we reflect on the consequences of our choices, when we align them with God's Word, it can help us make decisions that lead to blessings. And so I wonder what ways that we can actively apply the principles from Deuteronomy chapter 28 to our personal and our professional lives as I close out. I think that as we apply these principles, we set goals that reflect God's values. We practice integrity in our work, and we make decisions that honor Him. In our marriage, in our commitment, on our job, in everything that we do as we raise our children, by integrating our faith into both personal and professional aspects, we align our lives with the path of blessings. May these reflections challenge. May they inspire us to walk in the ways of the Lord as we begin to embrace his blessings and live out our faith with commitment and sincerity. The path of blessing and cursing, of choosing our destiny, is about the promise of blessing for obedience, the consequences of disobedience, and choosing the path of blessings. I hope and pray that you can preach a better sermon with your life than you can with your lips. Father, thank you for the clarity of your word and the promises that you make to us. We pray for the strength and the wisdom to choose the path of blessings through our obedience. Forgive us our sins and help us to live in a manner that reflects your grace and truth. And we pray for those who do not yet know you to be drawn to your saving grace. And for those of us who do know you to continually repent and seek your guidance. All in the mighty name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. you