14and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.15″But it shall come about, if you do not obey the LORD your God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:16″Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country.17″Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.18″Cursed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock.19″Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. Deuteronomy 28:14-19

It is natural to believe that our success or failure is determined by our ability and actions. In whatever endeavor – farming, business, study – we are taught that working hard is the key to success. But actually, our efforts have little impact on whether we succeed or fail. Instead, we must understand that our success or failure is wholly based on whether God blesses or curses us in our efforts. 

Believers who understand this truth realize they must change their thoughts and actions from serving themselves to seeking God’s blessing through their actions. To be successful at farming, it is not about planting, sowing, and working diligently – though we may do these things – but, rather, success is dependent on whether our approach will position us to receive God’s blessings or not. Because all is dependent on receiving God’s blessing and not receiving His curses, that is where we must put all our focus and purpose. This is what the Bible teaches us and what we must take to heart. No matter how clever or diligent we are, our success comes down to whether God decides to bless us or not. 

First, we must learn that success or failure is not really tied to how well, clever, or diligently we work at something.

Second, our success or failure is actually dependent on if we receive God’s blessing or curse. 

Third, we must then put all our efforts to receive God’s blessing and to not receive his curse. 

If we focus on these three things, then we will be blessed and will succeed in everything.

How then do we receive God’s blessings and avoid curses? We see how in Deuteronomy 28:1: 

“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.” 

We must obey God’s Word and then act as He commands. When we do not listen to God’s Word and do not follow His directive at each moment, we will receive His curses. We cannot procrastinate. We must obey and act in that moment, or we fail. It becomes very simple: we must do what God commands us to do and not do what God asks us not to do. 

But how do we know which command to follow out of all that are included in the 66 books of the Bible in our daily lives? In each of the moments we face in our lives, God shows us by presenting us with a choice or action to take, and it is up to us to recognize and know which verse or directive we must obey at that given moment. This is what is meant by “which I command you today.” Today is each present moment we face. In each of those moments, there will be a command we must follow. When God shows us what that is, we must obey it. How then does God guide us? He guides us through the moments he gives us which we face in our daily lives.

(To be continued.) Thank you for listening, we will continue this next week in part 2.

Click for Korean sermon https://soundcloud.com/yhpaik/1985-1-4-fri-1-22