Obedience to God Brings Abundance

The next thing I want to say—and we’re still in the book of Deuteronomy, we’ll turn to chapter 28—is that obedience to God brings prosperity and abundance. Why don’t we say that while we’re looking for it. Obedience to God brings prosperity and abundance. Just look what God says in Deuteronomy 28. This chapter, as many of you know, is divided into two portions. The first, which is shorter, is the blessings that follow obedience. The second, which is much longer, is the curses which follow disobedience to God. We’ll look, for a moment, at some of the blessings, looking at them very quickly.

“It shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God . . .”

I want to point out to you that in that verse is really the basic requirement to belong to God’s people. It’s if you will listen very carefully to God’s voice. I think if you go through scripture you’ll find the basic simple requirement for being one of God’s people is that you’ll hearken to the voice of the Lord.

Turn to Jeremiah 7:22–23 for a moment. God is speaking to Israel about redemption out of Egypt. He says:

“For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices . . .”

God did not deliver Israel from Egypt on the basis of their giving him burnt offerings or sacrifices. That’s a historical fact and an interesting one.

“. . . but this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God . . .”

I think that’s the shortest way in which you can sum up God’s requirements to be one of his people.

“Obey my voice, and I will be your God.”

And in John 10:28 exactly the same principle is carried on into the New Testament. Jesus says:

“My sheep hear my voice and they follow me.”

That’s all you need, basically, to belong to Jesus Christ, to be one of his sheep. You hear his voice and you follow him. I want you to realize that because a principle that runs all through scripture, the key is hearing and obeying God’s voice.  Lots of fundamentalists interpret that as if Jesus said, “My sheep read the Bible and they follow me.” But he didn’t. He said, “My sheep hear my voice.”

Do you know it’s possible to read the Bible without hearing the Lord’s voice? It’s also possible at times to hear the Lord’s voice without reading the Bible. What is the one basic requirement? To hear the Lord’s voice. Particularly if you study the conditions for healing—and I studied them when I was sick in hospital. I discovered almost every promise of healing related to how you hear.

Let’s go back to Deuteronomy 28:

“It shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the lord thy God . . .”

The Hebrew says “if you will listen listening.” Do you know what that means? Listen with both ears. God showed me all this when I laid sick in the hospital and I was seeking healing. I said, “What does it mean to listen listening?” He said, “You’ve got a right ear and a left ear. To listen listening means to listen to me with your right ear and your left.” Then I saw how many people listen to God with the right ear and the devil with the left. What do they end up with? Confusion, because they’ve got two different things coming from two different sources and meeting inside them.

Then God says in verse 2:
“All these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee . . .”

You know, it’s beautiful to be overtaken by the blessings of the Lord, isn’t it? Some people run after them but I like to live the kind of life where the blessings run after me. I’ll point out to you later that’s really one of the keys.

Verse 3:
“Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and in the field.”

Verse 4:
“Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.”

Every trip to the supermarket will be a blessing.

Verse 8:
“The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy barns, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto . . .”

You’ll never do anything that isn’t blessed. Verse 11:
“The Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground . . . [verse 12] The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand . . .”

You just read through those carefully. There is no area of our lives that is omitted from the blessing of God.

And then just further confirmation. If you look in Deuteronomy 29—but don’t lose 28, we’re going back there. Deuteronomy 29:9. Some statements in scripture are so simple.

“Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do.”

Prosper in all that we do. Well, that leaves no room for failure, for frustration, for defeat, for anything but success.  Now, look very briefly at the opposite, the curses for disobedience. Deuteronomy 28 again, verse 29. Please note this is following on verse 15. We ought to read verse 15 because it’s so exactly the opposite.

“But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God . . .”

There’s the basic point of departure from God, it’s not listening. Again, I venture to suggest to you if you trace the history of men or tribes or nations that have got away from God, it always begins there. If you cease to listen. It’s very subtle. We can still maintain outward conformity to God’s requirements for a long while after we’ve really ceased to listen. But the problems begin when we do not any longer listen to God.

Verse 15, the latter part:
“. . . all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee.”

The list of curses is very lengthy, you might do well to read it for yourself. I think you could find, as I’ve said to people before, that you’re enduring a curse instead of enjoying a blessing. You’re in the wrong list.

Let’s look at verse 29. This is just part of the curses.
“And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper . . .”

What’s that? Curse or blessing? Curse. Not prospering is a curse. Would you say that? Not prospering is a curse.

Only one more and we’re going to stop for this morning. I haven’t got as far as I intended to but I’ve got as far as you can take. Deuteronomy 28:47–48, bearing in mind this is still under the curses.

“Because thou servest not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things . . .”

Please note that’s the will of God. What is the will of God? That we serve the Lord with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things. What’s the alternative? That’s painful.

“. . . therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee . . .”

Let me point out to you that if the Lord sends your enemies against you, you have no option, you are going to serve them. When Judah transgressed, God said to them, “You’re going to put your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon. You don’t have an option.” They said, “We won’t.” God said, “You will.” I have seen believers who’ve transgressed and rebelled against God. God has turned their enemies loose against them and they have had to serve them. There’s just no alternative. If God says you’ll do it, you’ll do it.

“. . . therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things . . .”

Look at that list for a moment. Hunger, thirst, nakedness, want of all things. Picture it. No food, no drink, no clothes, nothing. Sum that up in one word. Poverty. I would say absolute poverty. Which is it? Curse or blessing? Curse.

Let’s say that. Absolute poverty is a curse. Let’s say it again. Absolute poverty is a curse. That’s all we’re going to do this morning.