GOD'S DESIRE

1. Introduction

a) Do you know that God 's desire is to bless us? There are so many things that have been said concerning the blessings.

2. What are the blessings?

a) Land, houses, cisterns, vineyards.

i) 10“The LORD your God will soon bring you into the land he swore to give you when he made a vow to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a land with large, prosperous cities that you did not build. 11The houses will be richly stocked with goods you did not produce. You will draw water from cisterns you did not dig, and you will eat from vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. When you have eaten your fill in this land, 12be careful not to forget the LORD, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 6:10-12 NLT)

b) Many children, land & animals, large harvest, protection from sickness

i) 13He will love you and bless you, and he will give you many children. He will give fertility to your land and your animals. When you arrive in the land he swore to give your ancestors, you will have large harvests of grain, new wine, and olive oil, and great herds of cattle, sheep, and goats. 14You will be blessed above all the nations of the earth. None of your men or women will be childless, and all your livestock will bear young. 15And the LORD will protect you from all sickness. He will not let you suffer from the terrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but he will inflict them on all your enemies! (Deuteronomy 7:13-15 NLT)

c) Food is plentiful and nothing is lacking

i) 7For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land of flowing streams and pools of water, with fountains and springs that gush out in the valleys and hills. 8It is a land of wheat and barley; of grapevines, fig trees, and pomegranates; of olive oil and honey. 9It is a land where food is plentiful and nothing is lacking. It is a land where iron is as common as stone, and copper is abundant in the hills. (Deuteronomy 8:7-9 NLT)

d) Rains ... blessings

i) 10For the land you are about to enter and take over is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, where you planted your seed and made irrigation ditches with your foot as in a vegetable garden. 11Rather, the land you will soon take over is a land of hills and valleys with plenty of rain— 12a land that the LORD your God cares for. He watches over it through each season of the year! 13“If you carefully obey all the commands I am giving you today, and if you love the LORD your God and serve him with all your heart and soul, 14then he will send the rains in their proper seasons—the early and late rains—so you can bring in your harvests of grain, new wine, and olive oil. 15He will give you lush pastureland for your livestock, and you yourselves will have all you want to eat. (Deuteronomy 11:10-15 NLT)

3. What must we do when we are blessed?

a) Not to forget the Lord, fear & serve him

i) 12... be careful not to forget the LORD, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. 13You must fear the LORD your God and serve him. When you take an oath, you must use only his name. (Deuteronomy 6:12, 13 NLT)

b) Do not become proud

i) 11“But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the LORD your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today. 12For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, 13and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful! 14Do not become proud at that time and forget the LORD your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. 15Do not forget that he led you through the great and terrifying wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions, where it was so hot and dry. He gave you water from the rock! 16He fed you with manna in the wilderness, a food unknown to your ancestors. He did this to humble you and test you for your own good. 17He did all this so you would never say to yourself, ‘I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.’ 18Remember the LORD your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath. (Deuteronomy 8:11-18 NLT)

c) Be careful, don't let your heart be deceived and turn away from The Lord

ii) 16“But be careful. Don’t let your heart be deceived so that you turn away from the LORD and serve and worship other gods. 17If you do, the LORD’s anger will burn against you. He will shut up the sky and hold back the rain, and the ground will fail to produce its harvests. Then you will quickly die in that good land the LORD is giving you. (Deuteronomy 11:16, 17 NLT)

4. Prayer focus

a) Pray for God's blessings according to his word.