Mensa Otabil - Divine Promotion
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Welcome to day number 30 of our 40 Days of Power. God has been so good to us; we have 10 more days to go. Please join us as we praise the Lord, honor Him, and thank Him for His guidance and direction in our lives. The Lord is our strength, the Lord is our shield, and the Lord is our portion. This week, as you know, we’ve been talking about claiming God’s promises, and we’ve discussed several of God’s promises. They are not all that God has promised us; there is so much more. As we’ve said, the promises of God are based on His nature-who He is-and that is what He blesses us with.
Today, we conclude by talking about the blessing of divine promotion. Deuteronomy chapter 28, verses 12 and 13: «The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow, and the Lord will make you the head and not the tail. You shall be above only and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day, and are careful to observe them.»
The Lord lifts up those who trust in Him, and Deuteronomy chapter 28 is full of God’s blessings; there is a whole list of them. This is part of what God says He will do for His children when they obey Him, when they walk in His commandments, and when they do His will. When we serve God, He blesses us. When you look through all the blessings that God promised His children in Deuteronomy 28, they touch different aspects of our lives. They touch our spiritual lives and our material lives. God is interested in our spiritual well-being, and He is also interested in our natural or material well-being. The same God who promised Israel to bless them is the same God we worship, and He will bless us too.
God promised to open His good treasure for Israel, and that phrase we call «good treasure» refers to what we normally would say is a treasure house-a place where treasure is stored. For God, His treasure house is heaven, and in the New Testament, He says, «My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory.» God’s treasure house is not on earth, and it is out of His treasure house that He pulls out blessings to us. So He says to Israel that He will bless them; then He tells them what will happen.
First, He says their land will be watered. That means that God will open the fountains of water so that their land will be well-irrigated to produce fruit for them. God’s blessing causes nature to favor us. Then God says that when their land is bountiful, they will give, but they will not borrow. In other words, they will become givers-not just receivers; indeed, one of the greatest blessings God gives to us as children is to make us givers and to help us be able to assist people. «My God shall supply all your need,» but not only is He able to supply all our need; He’s able to make all grace abound toward us so that we, having all sufficiency, may abound in every good work. God doesn’t just want to bless you; He also wants you to become a giver so that people can look up to you for supply, provision, and blessing. That is part of God’s promotion in your life-that your life blesses somebody.
Then He says to them, «You will be the head and not the tail. You will be above only and not beneath.» That is the blessing of honor, dignity, and promotion; wherever you are, God will lift you up. God will cause people to look up to you, and that is the promise of God to you. You may be young; you may not have much, but when God blesses you with the blessing of promotion, even people who have more than you will look up to you. People will come to you for advice, prayer, or counsel because God has made you the head and not the tail. You are a blessing to your generation; it’s God’s promise to promote you, honor you, and make you a blessing. Take that blessing and use it for your life.
Let us pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, You have set me apart for favor. I receive Your blessing of promotion and increase upon my life. In Jesus' name, amen.» Well, we conclude our teaching on claiming God’s promises, and I trust that this week has been a great week for you. Next week, tomorrow, we open a new treasure house of God for His goodness to come to us. I am Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.