I received a powerful Word this Sunday at church that I had to share with the DMF family.
My pastor, Arthur Jackson III at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Miami Gardens, has been preaching a series of sermons on Trusting God. The series include:
1) Trusting God in Your Storm (Luke 8:22-25),
2) Trusting God in the Midst of Your Struggle (1 Kings 17:5-16),
3) Trusting God in Your Stress (Mark 5:24-34), and
4) Trusting God with Your Substance (Malachi 3:6-12)
This past Sunday's sermon was on Trusting God with Your Substance and how the Word reveals that we are to trust Him with our substance and test Him in this that he will open up the windows of heaven and pour out blessings that you may not have room enough to receive. But when you rob him from your substance, a curse will be on you.
A curse? Wow.
God's curse means that you're functioning, but not flourishing.
This statement struck me, because it forced me to examine myself where I may be functioning, but not flourishing. When you're not flourishing, it means that you're working hard, but not seeing anything. You're putting in plenty of effort with no reward. Your check is spent before you even get it or what your check says and your expenses are should mean that you have excess, but something is always devouring your crops chipping away and leaving you with nothing. In other words, you're peddling furiously, but getting nowhere. Who wants to peddle furiously, but get no where? That's like riding a bike for an hour only to find that you've only moved an inch. Simply put, partial obedience is TOTAL DISOBEDIENCE.
But, the opposite of God's curse are blessings for being obedient.
When you're obedient and start trusting, God will break down the barriers that's been blocking you. The facts may say one thing, but the reality says otherwise. In other words, the facts may say that there's no way you can survive on unemployment, yet your bills are paid every month, food is on the table, and clothes on your back. The facts may say that your health is weak, yet the Lord is your medicine and curing you of all aches and pains.
According to Malachi, when you trust the Lord, he will:
- Pour out blessings and release dividends into your life (verse 10)
- Rebuke the devourer out of your life (verse 11)
- Remove the curse from over your life (verse 12)
As I meditated on functioning, but not flourishing and sought clarity in areas where this may be true, I was led to Deuteronomy 28 where the Word spoke Blessings for Obeying and Curses for Disobeying
Blessings for Obeying
- Obey your Lord your God so that all these blessings will come and stay with you. (verse 2)
- The Lord your God will bless you with full barns, and he will bless everything you do. He will bless the land He is giving you. (verse 8)
- The Lord will make you like the head and not like the tail; you will be above and not beneath. (verse 13)
Curses for Disobeying
- But if you do not obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands and laws, all these curse will come upon you and stay. (verse 15)
- The Lord will send you curses, confusion, and punishment in everything you do. (verse 20)
- You will have to feel around in the daylight like a blind person. You will fail in everything you do. People will hurt you and steal from you every day and no one will save you. (verse 29)
- You will plant much seed in your fields, but your harvest will be small, because locusts will eat the crop. (verse 38)
- You had plenty of everything, but you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a pure heart. (verse 47)
There are some things I've been praying for, some blessings I needed yesterday, now and tomorrow, and some areas where I've been disobedient. I cannot afford to be cursed. I cannot afford for me to fail in everything I do including my business that I've put my all into for the past 5 years. I cannot afford to plant seeds in my field, yet they wither away by morning time. I hope this Morsel encourages someone to keep from being cursed or get out of a cursed position. I pray that the Lord blesses me not so that I can storeup where moths and rusts destroy, but so that I can be a blessing to others. In the same, I pray that you're truly blessed to prosper, because when you're in a prosperous position God will use you in transformational ways.
Be encouraged in the Lord!
Fabiola
4 comments:
Fabiola ~ This is truly a word in due season for all believers. I believe that the tithe is a true 10% of your income. I have several testimonies where when I was giving my 10%...I never wanted for anything. However when I held on to the tithe, it ate up everything else. It surely is TOTAL DISOBEDIENCE!!!! Thank you for submitting this word. WE ALL NEED TO BE REMINDED OF THIS! - Crecia
Thank you so much for sharing, my sister and I were just having this conversation just last week. I can't wait to share this morsel with her, hopefully it will truly bless her. Crecia I can also testify when I give my tenth like I am supposed to I constantly have abundance, but when I don't I am steadily trying to figure out how I am going to make it. I thank you Fabiola for posting this timeless message. Be blessed.
thank you Fabiola for this awesome message. God has been steadily dealing with me on trusting & having faith in him and his word & just seeing this today, I know this is truly him speaking to me through your encouragement. We definitely must trust him to be who we say he is. He is our God, our refuge and our fortress, in him we shall not be dismayed. Sometimes all it takes is for a test to knock us off of our rocker to make us think things are falling down all around us. However we must trust in the mighty God we serve, he said he will never leave us or forsake us. And yes, we are to be the head and not the tail. Therefore we must trust him with everything, even when we can't see the whole picture or we don't understand why we go through certain things. Just trust him and believe in him and hold strong to your faith. Thank you so much for this, this message was truly a blessing to my heart. Be blessed everyone and Trust God to make a way out of no way. He is the author and the finisher of our faith!
This is a great message. Someone mentioned that it was timesless. That is so true. This is a personal motivation to be because it directly speaks to a specific area of my life. Thank you Fabiola for sharing such a great message and personal testimony. May God continue to bless and prosper you. Sidenote: I love how you outline your messages. Great job ;)
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