You Are Blessed When You Come in and When You Go out
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February 04, 2018 |
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 Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
"Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth…Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out" (Deuteronomy 28:1, 6).
When your souls prosper, everything will go well with you and you will enjoy good health on the earth and you will be greatly blessed in heaven as well (3 John 1:2). Let's now delve into how to receive blessings 'when we come in and when we go out'.
1. We have to try our best to sow much and sow with the aroma of our heart.
We cannot expect to reap something without sowing. We cannot expect good fruit after sowing bad seed. We cannot expect an abundant harvest after sowing only a few seeds either. Galatians 6:7 reads, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap." 2 Corinthians 9:6 says, "Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully."
We sow material and spiritual things such as offering, prayer, faithfulness, and confessions of lips. Even if we give a lot in offerings, the blessings will come slowly if we don't pray and work faithfully. It's because the will of God is giving material blessings to those whose souls prosper by prayer and faithfulness. This is the will of God and complete blessing.
Suppose you sow without faith and hope. God does not receive only the offering or the acts of working for God. He receives the aroma of heart contained in them. Some people sow diligently but complain and make negative professions. Doing so they discard their blessings. Thus, you have to check if you have properly sown in the sight of God.
When we sow before God, we have to sow what is perfect, so we can reap the complete blessing (Leviticus 22:20-22). We must not give any money that is earned by unrighteous means. Also, if we give out of stinginess, it cannot be considered a whole and proper offering. We should also pray and work for God voluntarily with joy.
Some people may give only two 'copper coins', but it's all they have. They may be able to pray only for a little while, but they try their best and pray fervently with all their heart. Though their God-given duty doesn't seem important, they try all their best to fulfill it. God knows the situation of each one of us. If we give all our heart with faith and hope and try our best, God does not say it is little.
Thus, I urge you to check what and how much of it you have sown before God and thereby make proper vessels for blessing.
2. We have to look forward to blessings with faith without using our fleshly thoughts.
Even worldly people believe that they will reap the fruit when they sow the seed. If we tell them to sow in the kingdom of heaven that is invisible, most of them will doubt it and they will not sow. But Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
God created the heavens, the earth, and all things in them with His Word. For Him, nothing is impossible. If we see anything through the eyes of faith, God can make things hoped for realized according to the faith. That is why God tells us to believe that we have received what we asked for with faith.
Thus, if you have the faith, you can rely on the Word of God in the Bible and sow, although nothing is seen in front of you. What is more important is that, while we are sowing, we must not use any fleshly thoughts thinking, "When can we see the fruit? Can we really see the fruit of this?" God lets us reap for sure and gives us the fruit at the most appropriate time when we sow before God.
It is not in accordance with justice if we want to reap without sowing. If we doubt using our fleshly thoughts it is not in accordance with the justice to receive blessings either. Therefore, to sow is important, but it is also important to look forward to the blessing with faith without having any fleshly thoughts.
In the second half of 2 Chronicles 20:20 says, "...put your trust in the LORD your God and you will be established. Put your trust in His prophets and succeed." To receive blessings and answers, we have to trust the LORD God and the prophet who delivers the word of God. When Israel had three and a half years of drought, the widow in Zarephath trusted Elijah the prophet and obeyed him, and thereby received blessing (1 Kings 17:13-16).
3. We have to pass the trials of blessings and feel the love of God that is contained in them.
Until the seeds sown on the ground grow and bear the fruit, they must endure and survive the threats of rain, wind, storms, and harmful insects. Even if you are given the best spiritual environment, you need to go through refinement and trials in order to become wheat-like believers. Only wheat that comes out after the 'trials' is the source of joy to the farmer, and the fruit of blessing. So, you will learn that the trials of blessing are from the love of God who lets you become the best 'wheat', that is, His true children, although at the moment the trials feel too harsh.
God did not provide only good and peaceful situations as He has guided this church. We were sometimes put in a seemingly difficult situation in a fleshly sense. When we passed the trials with faith, patience, and love, we were led to a greater blessing. The rule is applicable to everything and any situation.
To give complete blessing, God allows people to go through trials. The gold medal in Olympics is valuable because it is given to people who went through harsh training even if it felt difficult and tough at that moment. We can feel the true value of and give thanks for the material blessings and blessings given to workers of God only when we receive them after going through the processes of trials.
But actually, we will be able to give complete thanks to God when we reach heavenly kingdom. When we see all the things in the kingdom of heaven given to us, which is incomparably more than what we have given and done for God, we will feel the love of God. We will shed the tears of true joy and thanks before the love of God who refined and changed us on earth and returns to us the complete blessing in the kingdom of heaven.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, if you diligently obey God, being careful to keep all His commandments which He commands today, you will be blessed when you come in and go out. I pray in the name of the Lord that you will perfect your faith by deeds of faith (James 2:22) and receive the blessings both in spirit and body.
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