Living by the Word of God

Deuteronomy 8:1–3 NKJV

“Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers. And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.

God gives His word to bless us

His “commandments” comprise the word of His covenant.

God is a covenant-keeping God.

We are in covenant with God through faith in Jesus Christ.

All His promises are based upon right standing in His covenant.

The blessings of His covenant are:

Life (“that you may live”, to be alive and remain alive)

Increase (“and multiply”, to have abundance)

Right-standing (“and go in”, qualification or access into God’s promises)

Possession (“and possess the land”, to obtain the blessings and promises of God)

God leads us into the “wilderness”

The wilderness represents a season of unpleasant circumstances.

Isolation

No food (hunger)

No water (thirst)

No medicine (healing)

No conveniences (comfort)

No entertainment (pleasure)

No clothing and shoes (covering)

No houses (shelters)

Exposure to the elements (protection)

Threat of wild animals, reptiles, birds, insects (security)

Threat of human enemies (thieves, raiders, hostile nations) (preservation)

God is not trying to destroy us but to help us look to and trust in Him.

The wilderness humbles us

God allows us to face our weakness, vulnerability, and mortality.

God wants to strip us of pride, stubbornness, and self-sufficiency that hinder His grace in our lives.

1 Peter 5:5–7 NKJV

Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

The wilderness tests our heart

Are we “real” or “fair-weather” Christians?

A fair-weather Christian is someone who only believes in God as long as miracles are present and only repents when ominous danger looms near.

The wilderness “reveals” what is in really in our heart.

God already knows what is in our heart.

God uses tests to reveal what is in our heart.

Will we obey and serve God only when it is convenient, comfortable, and easy or will we obey and serve God when it is inconvenient, uncomfortable, and hard?

The wilderness tests our faith

James 1:2–4 NKJV

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

True faith is not destroyed by testing; true faith is proven and refined by testing!

The wilderness teaches us to trust in God

Israel had leaned to trust in Pharaoh and his government to supply their needs. Now they had to learn to trust in the LORD.

Do we trust in Him as our only and ultimate Source?

Have we learned to live every day of our life by the word of God?

Faith in the LORD must be personal. We cannot live by another person’s faith and righteousness before God.

Ezekiel 14:12–23 NKJV

The word of the Lord came again to me, saying: “Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it. Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness,” says the Lord God. “If I cause wild beasts to pass through the land, and they empty it, and make it so desolate that no man may pass through because of the beasts, even though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters; only they would be delivered, and the land would be desolate. “Or if I bring a sword on that land, and say, ‘Sword, go through the land,’ and I cut off man and beast from it, even though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but only they themselves would be delivered. “Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out My fury on it in blood, and cut off from it man and beast, even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither son nor daughter; they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.” For thus says the Lord God: “How much more it shall be when I send My four severe judgments on Jerusalem—the sword and famine and wild beasts and pestilence—to cut off man and beast from it? Yet behold, there shall be left in it a remnant who will be brought out, both sons and daughters; surely they will come out to you, and you will see their ways and their doings. Then you will be comforted concerning the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, all that I have brought upon it. And they will comfort you, when you see their ways and their doings; and you shall know that I have done nothing without cause that I have done in it,” says the Lord God.

Response to the Word

Are you prepared for the wilderness?

Are you in a wilderness now?

Now is the time to get right with God.

Now is the time to prepare your heart to trust in God.

Now is the time to start living by the word of God.