Remember Who Brought You Here | Deuteronomy 8:1–20

Intro: Thank you Leighton and team for leading us in worship this morning. Once again, if you are a guest with us this morning, specifically if you are a guest of one of our graduates, I want to thank you again for being here. If you have a bible with you this morning, if you could turn to Deuteronomy chapter 8. The book of Deuteronomy was written to a people preparing for transition. After spending 40 years in the wilderness for its refusal to trust that God would lead them into the promise land against all the foes that awaited them, it was now almost time for Israel to enter. Moses had been told by God that he would not be joining them, so he knew he was at the end of the life. The book of Deuteronomy is a collection of teachings from Moses. Some of the teachings recount the events of the Israelites leaving Egypt, coming to the edge of the promise land, and then wondering the desert for forty years. Some of Deuteronomy is the restating of the commandments and the covenant that the people had already received from God several decades earlier. Other parts of Deuteronomy involve Moses preparing Israel for their transition from the desert to being in the Promise Land. That’s what we see in chapter 8. Moses is calling on the people to remember God as they go into a new phase of life. I think this is appropriate for today. I could read a bunch of statistics to you about how young people are falling out of church when they leave high school. I could also tell you to just look around here and most churches throughout the Bible Belt and you will see this is true. But it’s about more than church attendance. It’s about a habit we have to forget all that God has done for us. In today’s text, we see that If we fail to remember what God has done for us, we will chase something other than God. Today we will see a call to remember the journey, a call to understand where we are going, and what happens when we forget all that God has done for us. This is a long passage this morning so I’m not going to ask you to stand. But may we turn our hearts to the reading of God’s Word.

Remembering The Journey (verses 1-6)

Exposition: We read in verse 1 Deuteronomy 8:1 ““The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers.” When Moses refers to the whole commandment, we must remember that he is restating the law that had already been given to the people of Israel. When we read the phrase, “be careful,” in our Bibles, the word used in the original Hebrew means to pay special attention to. He is telling them to pay special attention to the law. But he tells them to do this for a reason. He tells them to be faithful to keep these commands, “that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the LORD swore to give your Fathers. What Moses isn’t telling them is that there is some kind of quid pro quo going on here. It’s not just that God gives rewards for obedience. The God of Israel is the one true God. He is the maker of Heaven and Earth. To be obedient to Him was to follow the designs that he had given for the world. It was to live as was designed.

Application: The same is true in our lives. So often we act as if God calls us to live a certain way to restrain our lives. We act like living faithfully is a way for God to control us. No, to live obediently to God is to live within the design that God has for our lives. It is to follow the perfect will of God. Now that doesn’t mean every situation is going to be perfect when we live obediently. But I trust the way of the one who designed the world more than I trust the way of someone else.

Exposition: Verse two says, Deuteronomy 8:2 “And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.” The reason Israel wondered in the wilderness for forty years was because when they first got to the edge of the promise land they sent spies in to see what the lay of the land was. Two spies came back and said that with God’s power, they could take the land. The rest said it was not possible, even though God had already led them out of Egypt. He had parted the red sea and destroyed the pursuing Egyptian army. So God punished the people of Israel and made them stay 40 years in the desert. While this was punishment, this does not mean that God was not bringing good from this situation. Moses tells the people to remember that God has led them in that time. The whole episode wasn’t just punishment. It was a time to humble Israel, to test them and see if they would be obedient. We know that when we read the book of Joshua that the people obediently march across the Jordan river and show no fear when told to go walk around the walls of Jerico.

Application: Graduates, and young people in general. You probably already know this. But not everything you go through in life is going to be easy. In fact, there are going to be times in life that just seem unfair. You’re going to have a hard time understanding why God is allowing you to go through what he is allowing you to go through. But don’t think there is no purpose in those times. There will be times that you will realize that God was trying to teach you to quit doing so much on your own. He was trying to humble you as he humbled the Israelites. Maybe he is trying to teach you the value of obedience. Maybe He is trying to drive you to obedience. James 1:2-4 says James 1:2–4 “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” When you go through those hard times know that God is working in your life in those times.

Exposition: Moses then goes on to explain a little bit more about what all God did for the Israelites while they were wondering the desert. He says in verse 3 Deuteronomy 8:3 “And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” You see, when the Israelites were hungry God gave them bread from heaven called Manna. It was unlike anything they had ever seen and has ever been seen since. He gave them just enough for each day. If they tried to take too little, God multiplied what they took. If they tried to take too much, the excess would go bad. And at the end of each day, they were hungry again. You see they learned it was not just the bread they needed, but the one who provided the bread. The one that provided the bread was the same one that provided for their spiritual needs.

Application: So often we get caught up on our physical needs. But what we realize is that the food only satisfies for so long. We also know deep down there is a need that can’t be met by those things we need physically. Instead we realize that what we need is the one who provides it. The same one that gave bread in the desert, has given us His son, whose body was broken and his blood poured out to atone for our sins, something we could not do. We must never let our physical needs distract us from our need for the giver of all things to meet our spiritual needs.

Exposition: Moses goes on to explain that the journey shows that God was with them. He says their clothing did not wear out. For forty years their clothes did not wear out. I feel like I can hardly go a few months before my socks have holes in the heels. And their feet did not swell. They were saved from infection and the symptoms of malnourishment that should have accompanied somebody in that situation. God was with them in the trials.

Exposition: Moses says in verse 5 Deuteronomy 8:5 “Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you.” Moses is telling the people that God didn’t use this time of discipline because of he no longer loved Israel, but because he did love them. He knew they needed to learn to trust in Him more than they did when they had refused to take the promise land. So he allowed them to go through those times to prepare them.

Application: Have you ever felt yourself going astray from what you know God is calling you to. Do you ever feel yourself wandering. And then something happens. Maybe painful, and you feel yourself being pulled back into his grace. That’s not a lack of love on God’s part, but it is love on His part. Any parent in here knows that you discipline a child because you know that you don’t want whatever thing they did wrong to become a habit because it won’t be helpful for them.

Exposition: So Moses has told the Israelites to remember all that God has done for them. To remember that he used that time in the desert to prepare them for what was coming. He wanted them to see how he had led them, how he had provided, and what he was capable of. Moses says in verse 6 Deuteronomy 8:6 “So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him.” When the Bible refers to the way in which one walks, its not talking about a literal walk. It is referring to one’s manner of life. This is why we call our Sunday night youth gatherings The Walk. We want to help students reflect Christ in their walk, or manner of life. Moses is telling the people to keep the commandments by walking in his ways, or living a manner of life that is in the way of God. He then calls on the people to fear God. This isn’t a fear of the unknown in the way a child fears something that is not there. It is an understanding of who God is. It is an acknowledgement of the fact that he is the creator of the universe and deserves to be worshiped. It is putting him in the rightful place in our lives.

Application: We often try to avoid thinking like this, but when we live lives that are disobedient to the way God has called us to live, what does that say about how we view God? Does that show a respect for God. Does that show an acknowledgement that we understand who God is and what He has done for us? Or does it say that we really don’t think that’s important. Moses wasn’t telling the Israelites just to obey so that God would bless them. He was telling them to obey because God had already blessed them so much. We are incapable of earning our salvation. We can’t do one thing to make us right with God. But we as Christians obey because we have a desire to serve God well because He has saved us despite out inability to make ourselves right with Him. As we read in First John, our love for God comes from how He has loves us.

Transition: Why is it important to remember all that God did for us in the hard times. It’s because it helps us remember him in the times that are easy.

Understanding Where You are Going (Verses 7-10)

Exposition: Moses says in verses 7-9 Deuteronomy 8:7–9 “For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper.” If you look at a picture from Google Earth of this region of the world. You see a lot of desert. A lot of desert. Israel knew this better than anybody else, they had been in the desert for 40 years. The conditions were so bad that in order for them to eat, God had to give them bread from heaven. now they were going into a land that was filled with resources. There would be fruit and other crops that would be plentiful. There would be natural resources used for building such as iron and copper. They would go from having nothing to having more than they can imagine. And what does God tell the Israelites to do? Verse 10 says, Deuteronomy 8:10 “And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.” God didn’t tell them to just sit back and get lost in the moment, he told them to use the new found resources to bless The Lord.

Application: Graduates, you are preparing to go into a new phase in your life. The first resource you will have plenty of that you have never had before is freedom. You actually will have time during the days to do things like work and do homework that will free up your evenings. Take advantage of that time. Make it easy for yourself to have time each day to spend in God’s Word. Grow in holiness from this time. Make sure you have time to be a part of God’s Church. Take the opportunity volunteer in different areas and serve God’s Church well. If it feels like the Church does not have a place for you, make a place. to You will still have summer breaks, but you have more independence. Spend a or semester summer serving somewhere as a missionary. No age group as the potential to make a bigger impact on the world with the gospel because of the freedom you have. And bless the Lord with your decisions. I tell my students all the time you can tell you are getting older when the decisions you make impact the rest of your life more greatly. Honor God and make all decisions for His glory. Use this freedom for the advancement of the gospel. As you work more, you will also have more money. Be responsible and begin saving. I think God honors that. But don’t be a hoarder. Be a tithing member of the church. Begin to develop that discipline now so it is not hard to do later. Bless the Lord with your finances.

Transition:So what happens if we don’t bless God when we are in times of plenty. Well we forget God. And that brings with it a tough set of circumstances.

What happens when you forget (Verses 11-20)

Exposition: Moses says in verse 11 Deuteronomy 8:11 ““Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today,” Obedience leads to more faithfulness. The more we are obedient, the more we step out on faith and are reminded of God’s goodness. The more we continue to see the way He works in our lives and it leads us to be more in awe of Him. But the flip side of that, is that when we become so content with the blessing, we forget about the one who provides the blessings. Moses says in verses 12-16 Deuteronomy 8:12–16 “lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end.” Moses is telling them that when they become so focused on what they have been blessed with, they forget what God did to bring them to that point. Moses is telling them the danger is that when they get to the promise land, they will forget how God led them out of Egypt, the land where they are slaves. When they are comfortable in the land, they will forget how God led them through the wilderness. When they have plenty of water, they will forget how God brought forth water from a rock so they could drink. When food is plenty, they will forget how God gave them the manna to eat in the wilderness. When life is easy, they will forget how God used the hard times to test them and refine them.

Application: When life is going well, it is easy to forget what God has done for us. When we seem to be going in the right direction, it’s easy to forget how in need of God we are. We must never forget the times where we didn’t feel as blessed and how God was walking with us in those times. When things in this life are going well, we forget the cross. We forget that we are fallen people who cannot make bridge the gap that sin created between us and God. And we forget that Christ came from heaven and though he lived a perfect life, died on the cross for our sins. I beg you graduates and everyone else, never forget the gospel. Never forget the sacrifice Christ made, and never forget that it is from God that every blessing comes.

Exposition: We also see in this passage that this selfishness to only focus on what we have and to forget God leads to arrogance. Not only did Moses warn that the people would become so focused on the blessing that they would forget all God had done, they would also risk taking credit for the blessing. He says in verses 17 and 18 Deuteronomy 8:17–18 “Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”

Illustration: About two years ago Morgan, Amelia and I were at the beach with my parents and my brother and his two girls. Our oldest niece, Marley Kate, was four at the time. Morgan got Marley to help her get ready for dinner. Morgan would give Marley Kate very specific instructions and would hand her whatever she needed to do the task. When dinner was ready and the table was set, Marley Kate said, “I did it, all by myself.” Isn’t that how we act towards God sometimes. We look at all we have, and we think, look what I have provided for myself. We chose to neglect the fact that God has blessed us with the health to accomplish that thing. He gave us the mental capacity to achieve it. He put us in a place where that opportunity was available, and he is constantly working in ways that we don’t even see to provide for us. But we look back and say, man look at what I did all by myself. We treat ourselves as God, as if we are the one who provides all things and as if we are the ones who are in control.

Exposition: But what we will find, is that we aren’t God. There is nobody that knows our flaws better than we do. We can’t find ultimate satisfaction in ourselves. So we go and look elsewhere. We don’t look to God, because at this point there are probably habits lifestyles that we have adapted that we don’t want to get rid of. So we go searching somewhere else. Verse 19 says Deuteronomy 8:19 “And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish.” You see when we go searching for something else, we will pursue the gods that people around us pursue. In our context, it’s highly unlikely that we will pursue idols like we tend to think of them. But maybe we pursue popularity. And this leads us to doing the same thing that everyone else is doing. Maybe it is that momentary euphoric feeling, so drugs and alcohol become something we excuse and pursue. Maybe it’s a relationship that we think will make us happy and once again feel blessed. You see, an idol is anyone or anything that we find our identity in more than we do Christ. But this will lead us to a place we don’t want to be. The chapter ends in verse 20 when Moses says Deuteronomy 8:20 “Like the nations that the Lord makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God.”

Explanation/Application: Obviously we exist in a much different context than the Israelites did. Autumn and Riley, I don’t remember anything about conquest in your plans after high school. You’re not preparing to go and conquer a land filled with idolatrous people. But what is true still today, is that when you pursue the same things as those that are not a part of the people of God, you will get the same result as the people that are not a part of the people of God. This doesn’t mean that you will lose your salvation. But look around at the world, do people seem satisfied? Do they seem happy and blessed. Not remembering God during the good times leads us to pursue something other than God, and pursuing anything other than God will not bring us hope. It will bring us despair and a deep feeling of something missing.

Conclusion: Graduates, as you get ready to go into this next phase of life, I plead with you to not be like so many others across our country who have walked this path. They graduated, and when they got to the next phase of life, they quit remembering what God had done for them. And they chased after other things. Be a people that is diligently pursuing God. Remember what He has done so you can walk faithfully with Him. Today is obviously a service that is geared towards graduates. But the truth of this passage is something that applies to all of us. We have a God who has done so much for us. We have a God that did not even spare His own Son so that we may know Him. But so often we forget, and we go our own way. Maybe you are here today and you realize that you have allowed your memory of the Things of God to get foggy. Take time today to remember. The altar will be open. Come pray that God would help you to remember. Maybe you are here today and realize that you have never accepted Christ. Maybe you realize that you have never ben in relationship with the one true God. I will be here and there will be others in the back. Come find somebody to talk with you more about what it means to follow Jesus and pray today to make Jesus king of your life.