Introduction: A Line Drawn by God
Deuteronomy 28 is one of the most sobering chapters in all of Scripture. It begins with overwhelming blessings and ends with terrifying curses. God drew a line in the sand—and He didn’t blur it.
Deuteronomy 28:1
And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
And then the other side:
Deuteronomy 28:15
But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
This isn’t just for Israel—it’s for every generation. God still offers blessing. He still warns of cursing. And He still says: You choose. Let me be clear. You get to choose your path.
There’s two paths you get to choose. Only two. There is the pathway to blessing over here. And there’s the pathway to cursing over here. God made this simple for us. You get to make the choice. Blessing or cursing.
Wise people love to hear the warnings so they know what will happen. Foolish people don’t want to hear the warning. Hey, if you do that, something bad is going to happen. Hey, if you do that, something good is going to happen. Blessing or cursing?
What Is a Blessing? (For Adults & Children)
A blessing is something good that God gives you because He loves you and wants to help you.
Example: A blessing is like using an umbrella in the rain. If you listen and bring your umbrella like your parent said, you stay dry and protected. That’s how blessings work—God helps you when you listen to Him.
Blessings are good. You want blessings in your life now and in eternal life. You need to stick to the good in your life so you are blessed.
1. The Pathway to Blessing: Obedience from a Heart of Faith
God’s blessings aren’t random. They come when we listen to Him, trust Him, and follow Him by faith. We obey God from a heart of faith. This leads to blessing.
Deuteronomy 28:2
And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.
Some of the blessings God promises:
Deuteronomy 28:3
Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
Deuteronomy 28:4
Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
Deuteronomy 28:7
The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.
Deuteronomy 28:12
The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.
Bible example: Joseph in Egypt. Sold into slavery, falsely accused, thrown in prison—but he stayed faithful, and God blessed him. He didn’t get mad at God because he wasn’t getting everything he deserved. He stayed faithful through the tough times.
Genesis 39:2-3
And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand.
Modern example: A single mom who gets saved, gets her kids in church, learns the Bible, starts living right—God begins blessing. Her home gets more peace, her decisions get stronger, she knows what to do, and God starts opening doors.
Galatians 3:9
So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
As you are saved, you are blessed. As you live your life in faith, you are blessed. Abraham had faith and was saved. And then Abraham lived his life in faith and was blessed by God. Stay on the right path and continue to receive blessings. Get off the path and you lose those blessings.
Imagine a pathway filled with good things along the way. It’s clearly there. You can see it. There are great blessings for you. All great things that you want in the spirit. Why not take that path? Take it.
What Is a Curse? (For Adults & Children)
A curse is something bad that happens when people disobey God and don’t listen to Him.
Example: A curse is like touching a hot stove after being told not to—you get burned. When people ignore God’s warnings, they get hurt.
You don’t want cursings. Cursings are bad. You need to stay away from evil so you don’t get cursed.
2. The Road to Ruin: Rebellion and Unbelief
You choose today the pathway of blessing or the road to ruin. Obedience to God through faith or rebellion and unbelief in God. God lays out what happens when people reject Him:
Deuteronomy 28:16
Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.
Deuteronomy 28:21
The Lord shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it.
Deuteronomy 28:24
The Lord shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
Deuteronomy 28:28
The Lord shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart:
Deuteronomy 28:34
So that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.
Deuteronomy 28:43–44
The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low. He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.
Bible example: King Saul. God gave him power, but he disobeyed, became proud, and lost everything.
1 Samuel 16:14
But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him.
Modern example: A young man raised with the truth walks away from God—ends up addicted, broken, maybe in prison. That’s not by chance—that’s by curse.
Galatians 3:10
For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
Everyone gets to make their own choice. You can choose to put money above God. Cursing. Make your job more important than church. Cursing. Make your family more important than church. Cursing. Make everything else more important than church. Cursing. That’s your warning. And that’s what happens around here.
You can see the cursing. Some people will start coming to church. Things get better. Something happens that changes things. They quit. And their life is cursed again. They got out of the cursing and then they go right back into the cursing.
Imagine a pathway. Along this pathway are thorns, briars, and things that hurt. Beatings, bruises, cuts, gunshots, prison cells, and more horrible things. At the end is death. Why would you want to go that way? Don’t do it.
3. A Nation on the Edge: The Curse Around Us
The nation we live in is on the edge. And it’s close to falling off. Why is that? Because this nation has forgotten God. Somehow we continue to put people into offices that hate God. They’ll tell you they love God, but they honor him with their lips. We’re on the edge and about to fall into the pits.
Deuteronomy 28:32
Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in thine hand.
Deuteronomy 28:66
And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life:
This is America today.
- Our kids are raised by screens and schools that mock the Bible. Phone screens. TV screens. Computer screens. That’s all the kids see. Then they go to horrible schools where they get picked on. It’s not good for them.
- Depression, violence, and chaos fill our streets. It’s everywhere. We need to get things right. And we need to do it now. It’s violent out there. We have drug dealers out there who mock God. I’ve tried with some around here. Mockers of God.
- Families are broken. Justice is upside-down. We need to stop the broken families. There needs to be a husband who is the dad, a wife who is the mother, and children with their Dad and their Mom. We have to stop the wrong cycle and get the right cycle started.
We fix it right now. The sin needs to stop and things need to get right.
Psalm 9:17
The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
We’ve forgotten God—and now we’re facing the curse. You have false churches everywhere around here that preach lies and do abominable things to people. It’s actually sickening what I’ve heard that churches do around here. The wicked shall be turned into hell.
You don’t want to resemble the wicked and get caught in the fire. You need to stay away from the evil in every way. Don’t go near the alcohol. It might be your last day alive. Don’t go near the drugs. It might be your last day alive. Don’t lie. You might die. Don’t steal. You might be killed.
This nation needs fixing, and it starts within the churches of God. And you’re here right now in one of those churches. And it’s your choice. Fix it. Or don’t. So, there is a curse. God talks about it all throughout the Bible.
4. Christ Redeems from the Curse
But there’s hope. Jesus took the curse for us! The curse of death and hell was taken away by Jesus Christ.
Galatians 3:13
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
Illustration: A man on death row is set free—not because he earned it, but because someone else took the punishment. That’s the cross.
We don’t have to pay our penalty. We need to truly understand that what we’ve done in our life is punished with death and hell. We don’t need to be high and lifted up. Jesus set us free. Death penalty. He saved us from it.
5. What Will You Choose?
What are you choosing in your life? And don’t just go away from here and forget all of this. Remember this tonight, tomorrow, the rest of the week, next week, next month, next year, and next decades. What choices are you going to make? You don’t have long to live.
Get the blessings or get the cursings. God makes it plain:
Deuteronomy 30:19
I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
God sets it plain and clear right before you today. He sets down two paths. One is life. One is death. One is blessing. One is cursing.
There were two criminals crucified next to Jesus. One chose life and paradise. One chose death and hell.
Bible example: The thief on the cross had nothing to offer—but he believed. He chose to be saved. We have nothing to offer. You have nothing to offer. Choose to be saved for free by Jesus.
Luke 23:42–43
And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Call to Action: Choose Christ—and Walk in the Blessing
Salvation is by faith alone in Jesus Christ. You can choose to take that great blessing of heaven or everlasting life. That’s the first great blessing you receive.
But don’t stop at believing. Don’t stop at the first drop of faith. It’s powerful but increase your faith. What do you do next?
- Get saved.
- Get baptized.
- Get in church.
What do you do in church? You hear God’s words. Learn them. Increase your faith in God so you’re ready for anything. You will go through trials and troubles but you faith will bring you through.
James 1:22
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
And now you do what the word of God tells you to do. We are here to teach that. We are here to learn what God wants from us. He gave us instructions. We read them and follow them. And this helps us and others.
Finally, as we do God’s work and as we follow his instructions, we walk in the blessings of God.
Deuteronomy 28:9
The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways.
The Lord will establish you. He will make you and bless you.
Conclusion: The Blessing or the Curse—You Choose
You’ve heard both sides:
- God loves you.
- He wants to bless you.
- He warns you.
- And He gave His Son for you.
Now it’s your move.
Choose life. Choose Jesus. Choose blessing. Or choose cursing.
Let’s pray.
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