Deuteronomy 28:1–2 (NKJV) — 1 “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God:
God blesses obedience. Many have received the blessings of God through righteous living. Not all blessings are money and things.
Money and material things of this world have a tendency to cause our focus to move from God. We forget where the true blessings come from. The riches of this world can deflect our focus from God. In Matthew 19:23-24 Jesus tells His disciples, “23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Jesus did not say a rich man could not enter the kingdom of heaven, it would just be hard.
Our focus will be on the thing that is most important to us. We will follow that which is most important. We show our love for God through obedience to Him. We are to learn more and more about God. We are to be true disciples of Christ. Followers of Christ are to “observe carefully all His (God’s) commandments.
We live in a world where we are expecting the government to take care of us while we live life in debauchery. Unfortunately, the government feeds the appetite of sin. God does not. Jesus says to His followers in Matthew 16:24–26 “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
God calls us to follow Him. This is more than a Sunday morning “worship” service. This is a 24/7 a week lifestyle. One cannot “worship” God on a Sunday morning then live for the devil the rest of the week.
Discipleship is imperative for the believer in Christ. Discipleship is vitally important. Some will say “I do not have time to do discipleship.” If you are serious about growing in your relationship with God then He will make the time for you. When I dated my future wife, I did not just see her once a week. I made time to be with her as much as I could. I did not allow anything else to interfere with my time with her. How much more important is our relationship with God.