Remember the Lord
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Hey guys glad everyone could make it this evening. Turn with me in your Bibles to . Now we have been going through a study on the book of Joshua that I entitled stepping into the blessings of God. Its all about the journey of the children of God learning to trust and obey the Lord in the face of impossible circumstances. We will be continuing that study on SUnday nights.
WHAT IS GODS BLESSING?
Blessing- God’s protection and favor.
when blessings come from God its good. But is it possible that blessings can turn a persons mind or character in the wrong direction? Sometimes when God blesses us with talents or material things or success it is possible for people to start to think that you are better than anyone else.
Some people when they succeed in their career or their personal lives they begin to think they are smart and man I am telling you what let me tell you what I did.....
When you begin to believe that your success depends on you, and you alone then you are transforming into a different person. All of your talents and abilities and successes come from God. When we begin to think that our success and our well being rests on our own ability or wisdom we are headed for destruction.
BLESSINGS ARE RECEIVED OUT OF GODS GENEROSITY NOW OUR OWN ABILITY
Let’s remember the Israelites when God moved them from Egypt to the promised land. SI was wondering how did Moses faithfully patiently bring these people to the promised land for 40 years? Moses was not allowed to enter the promised land because he wasnt able to control his temper when the children of Israel were acting like children.
Moses went through everything he went through, coming down from the mountain and seeing the people worshipping a idol, and they complained against him constantly even though he was only being obedient to the Lord. Now because they drove him to lose his temper he was not going to be allowed to enter into the promised land.
The beautiful difference between Moses and most leaders is that even though he wasnt going to be allowed to enter the land he still loved his people. Moses here is about to die and he knows they will enter the promised land after he dies.
We have seen this havent we?
Moses died and then what happened?
god raises up Joshuaand now we are in and they are about to cross the Jordan to occupy the land God desired to give them.
So Moses now in the twilight of his life right before he dies gives his people instructions before he goes home to be with the Lord. He is just like a father instructing his children patiently emotionally. Although I cannot enter the promised land but this is what I want you to do:
“You must carefully follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase, and may enter and take possession of the land the Lord swore to your fathers.
Deuteronomy
Why do you think Moses says BE CAREFUL TO OBEY ALL THE COMMANDS I AM GIVING YOU TODAY?
Because Moses knew very well these people are rebellious people. They are stubborn people they always complained to God. Moses knew if this people did not follow the commands of GOd he knew what would happen to them.
For forty years he experienced that. Thats why he says be careful to obey! He cares for his people, if something happens to them he is no longer there to be the middle man between them and God. Moses interceded on behalf of his people he asked for mercy on the people when no one else cared.
Moses was no longer with them, thats why he was so concerned to give them these instructions before he died.
Remember that the Lord your God led you on the entire journey these 40 years in the wilderness, so that He might humble you and test you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commands.
REMEMBER HOW THE LORD YOUR GOD lead you these 40 years. Moses says it wasnt me that was leading you it was the Lord, He brought you out of slavery and into blessing, He brought you into freedom and blessed your children and grandchildren.
Every test they faced while in the wilderness was so that not only God would see what was in their hearts but so that they could see what was in their heart.
You see that entire 40 years was a preparation for this day when they would walk into the blessings of the Lord. He said the reason why we were in the wilderness for 40 years is because you wouldn’t obey my commands. God wanted the Israelites to learn from past mistakes.
In their pride they thought they knew better than the Lord, over and over again. Making a golden calf, wishing they were back in Egypt where they were treated as slaves but at least they had three meals a day...... they were thirsty they doubted Gods goodness even though he had done miracle after miracle to show them that He would never leave them nor forsake them.
Even when they were unfaithful to Him He was not unfaithful to them.
Pride and selfsufficiency was what cost them 40 years.
God knew they could not enter the land with this heart condition so what did He do?
He humbled you by letting you go hungry; then He gave you manna to eat, which you and your fathers had not known, so that you might learn that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 8:
God was after something from the Israelites and He is after the same thing with us. TRUST
Trust that God will provide (hunger produces a desperate situation)
Moses says He let you go hungry why?
So that He would give you Manna from Heaven which yo and your fathers had not known.
Moses tells us that sometimes God will put us in a situation where we are forced to depend on Him and then we must trust He will provide even though we do not see how it can be done.
They had never seen Manna fall from the sky but it did. If you were to look out over the vast desert the Israelites marched through you would have thought there was no way they could have survived. But God provided, He did the unthinkable he rained down Manna from HEaven to make sure they were fed well.
Do we still believe this today church?
I know we do, but I think in the world we live in it is easy for us to say well its good to hope but hope dont float. Totally forgetting the times in our lives when God has done supernatural things in order to provide for us.
He says not only give you what you did not have, He also took care of what you did have!
Your clothing did not wear out, and your feet did not swell these 40 years.
Deuteronomy 8
Now let me just say this, we go the closet and there is 25 outfits or more we can choose from. These people maybe had 2. They fled from captivity, it is very possible they only had the clothes that were on their backs.
YEt God did not let their clothes wear out. Now can you imagine this? No washer, no dryer, only rough terrain with tents to sleep inside of. Yet their clothes did not even have holes in them. But not only that they wandered for forty years and their feet didnt swell!
We serve the GOd who cares for his children and not only will He provide the things you need He will protect the things you have!
There is a reaosn for all of this wandering Moses said.
Keep in mind that the Lord your God has been disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son.
Gage wants a knife and he wants one bad. But Gage is not ready for a knife. He runs with things in his hands already that he has no business running with, he has outbursts when he gets angry.
There will come a time after he has shown me he is mature enough, that I will buy him a knife. But right now he is not ready AT ALL.
When God looked down at the people of Israel they wanted to enter the promised land but they werent ready AT ALL.
So instead there was a period of preparation. A period of discipline where GOd would discipline them, and teach them the importance of obedience. When they would disobey God would just let them wander some more. IT COMES RIGHT DOWN TO THIS WE CAN WANDER OR WE CAN WONDER....
In our lives we can wander or wonder
Lean to your own understanding and wander, or trust in the ability and provision of God and stand in wonder of the God who is in control of all things and this is what the Lord God is teaching his children.
So Moses says in light of these realities- God desires obedience
God has been disciplining you
God has been preparing you
God has been humbling you
In light of all these things
So keep the commands of the Lord your God by walking in His ways and fearing Him.
Deuteronomy 8:
Anyone remember why Moses wasnt already chilling with a glass of sweet tea in the promised land already?
Anyone remember why the israelites were sipping milk and honey?
FEAR
God said GO AND TAKE THE LAND I AM GIVING YOU AND THE PEOPLE SAID THE GIANTS WILL KILL US!!
God said nope they are not ready.
We are not ready for the blessings of God until we fear GOD ALONE
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This is what Moses says DONT FEAR YOUR FEARS FEAR THE GOD OF YOUR FEARS!
If He says go you go!
No matter what lies before you!
TRUST HIM FEAR HIM AND NO HE WANTS THE BEST FOR YOU!
For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with streams of water, springs, and deep water sources, flowing in both valleys and hills;
a land of wheat, barley, vines, figs, and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey;
a land where you will eat food without shortage, where you will lack nothing; a land whose rocks are iron and from whose hills you will mine copper.
He says listen God is going to bless you, your going to have bread, figs pomegrantes olive oil and honey no food shortage there will be nothing you are in need of. Youll have materials to build with, and copper you will have wealth!
These are the things God desires to give you!
I think sometimes we dont believe God wants the best for us. I think sometimes we think because of our unworthiness we think that nothing good should or could happen to us. But that is not true!
God does want to bless His people in order for His people to bless others!
A Stern Warning
A Stern Warning
At this point in the mind of Moses he fast forwards to the time when they will enter the land. A GOOD LEADER ALWAYS LOOKS TO THE FUTURE
This is what Moses is doing right here.
When you eat and are full, you will praise the Lord your God for the good land He has given you.
BUT WATCH OUT
“Be careful that you don’t forget the Lord your God by failing to keep His command—the ordinances and statutes—I am giving you today.
Its really easy when life seems so bountiful to forget in our day to day lives about the goodness of God, sure we remember it. But so often we have to face adversity before we remeber the goodness of God. So Moses is reminding the people DONT FORGET THE LORD YOUR GOD!
DONT FORGET TO OBEY HIS WORD
When you eat and are full, and build beautiful houses to live in, and your herds and flocks grow large, and your silver and gold multiply, and everything else you have increases, be careful that your heart doesn’t become proud and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.
Deuteronomy 8:12-14
He says dont forget that God brought you out of a land of slavery and he can send you back in whenever he wants to. If you forget Him if you become rebellious he can and will discipline you! DONT FORGET!
He led you through the great and terrible wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions, a thirsty land where there was no water. He brought water out of the flint-like rock for you.
He fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers had not known, in order to humble and test you, so that in the end He might cause you to prosper.
God wanted His people to prosper but pride got in the way. Control got in the way, rather than listen to the word of God mans understanding got in the way.
BE CAREFUL NOT TO THINK THIS BLESSING IS BECAUSE YOUR SOMETHING SPECIAL
You may say to yourself, ‘My power and my own ability have gained this wealth for me,’
but remember that the Lord your God gives you the power to gain wealth, in order to confirm His covenant He swore to your fathers, as it is today.
Moses warns that the belief that my well being and my protection and my wealth all depend on me is heresy. IT cannot be this way.
If you ever forget the Lord your God and go after other gods to worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will perish.
Deuteronomy
Like the nations the Lord is about to destroy before you, you will perish if you do not obey the Lord your God.
Deuteronomy 8