To Do Good For You In The End (Deuteronomy 8:18)

Introduction

Let’s look at the Old Testament together this morning. Glad you’re here. Deuteronomy chapter 8. Deuteronomy chapter 8. Begin turning with me there. The journey has been long and challenging. And there has been a bunch of death. Forty years of wilderness wandering since the glorious deliverance from Egyptian bondage. A whole generation has perished. This is a young, fledgling nation with just a few older leaders, one of whom is about to leave Moses. And as they come to the brink of the long-awaited promised land. Deuteronomy represents God’s address to this new people whom he would bring into the land of promise. And that brings me to Deuteronomy chapter 8. Deuteronomy chapter 8, verses 1 through 6. And there’s a synopsis of it there. All the commandments that I am commanding you today, you shall be careful to do.

1. Humbling You, Testing You

There’s a sermon right there for all of us who are living now. Be careful to do the commandments of the Lord, that you may live and multiply. And go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to give to your forefathers. We just so happened to be studying that promise to Abram in Genesis chapter 12 in our adult auditorium class. And you shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart. May I suggest that in the journey of the believer, and I’ll get to this in a moment, that something similar is occurring. Humbling you, testing you, to know what is in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.

And he humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know. In fact, that’s why it was called manna, because when it fell, they had no idea what it was. They had never seen it before. And basically its name means, oh, what’s its name? What is it? Food which you did not know. Oh the bounty he bestows. As we sung in that song that was maybe a little unfamiliar to some of us. Oh, the bounty he bestows, the manna that he provided from above. And now he provides for us, of course, something more. The living water that fills our souls. He said it was a food that your fathers did not know, that he might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.

And it has always been so. No man lives really without. This is why we’re here today. Because we believe that abiding by the words of the Lord, the things that proceed out of the Lord’s mouth is truly the only way to live. Jesus quoted this in his defeat of temptation in Matthew chapter 4, when Satan admonished him to compromise and to turn the stones into bread because he was hungry. He said, There is a greater sustenance that I have. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. He said, Furthermore, your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these 40 years. You think about that. God says, I took care of you in ways that you don’t even realize.

In regard, I mean, where were they going to go to the clothing store after all? There was not even a good will in the wilderness wandering. Their shoes did not wear out. Their foot did not swell. Thus you are to know in your heart that the Lord your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son. He wasn’t being mean to them, he was training them. He was instructing them for their good and for their benefit, as we shall see. Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God. To walk in his ways and fear him. God doesn’t want them to forget how and why they arrived. Got that? God doesn’t want them to forget how and why they arrived. And so before they ever get there, God issues the call to remember.

That’s a challenge for them and for us. It’s one of the reasons why he instituted a weekly memorial for us to remember. In the next chapter.

2. Not Because of My Righteousness

That he’s going to talk about a little bit more in chapter 8. They are not in this land because they were so especially wonderful. Do not say in your heart, underscore Deuteronomy 9 and verse 4, coming soon to a pulpit near you, another whole sermon just on that phrase. Do not say in your heart when the Lord your God has driven them out before you, the inhabitants of the land, because, don’t say this. Do not say in your heart, because of my righteousness.

It’s because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is dispossessing them before you. It’s more about what they’ve done, not about who you are. It is not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart that you are going to possess their land, but it’s because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord your God is driving them out before you in order to confirm the oath which the Lord swore to your forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And know then it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess. And he adds this little caveat to the whole thing. For you are a stubborn people. That has been their history. And we shall see in moments, even though this generation is better, that will plague them still.

3. Beware Lest You Forget the Lord Your God

Now back to chapter 8. He says, I’m going to bring you into a land that is richer than you can imagine. Now, some of the things he goes on to talk about, we have an abundance. And that should tell us something. But to them, especially after 40 years of wilderness wondering, this is striking gold. We cannot begin to comprehend how lavish it appeared to them. I want to tell you when they came into the promised land. I know there were some battles and skirmishes that had to be fought and some enemies that had to be put down, but when they looked around compared to what they knew in Egypt, some of them as children, or as young adults, or what they heard about, and what they’ve experienced in the 40 years wilderness wandering, they get into the land of promise, and I want to tell you, their eyes were bugging out.

It was amazing. A land flowing with an abundance. When you have eaten, verse 10 and are satisfied, you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you. Don’t forget this. Oh, yeah, there were battles and skirmishes to be fought. But in the final analysis, you are here partaking in this abundance because I have given it to you. I have driven out the enemies. I have caused you to possess it. I did this because of a promise, an oath that I made with Abraham and his descendants. And you are basking in the riches of this place because I gave it to you. Bless the Lord your God. Beware lest you forget the Lord your God. By not keeping his commandments and his ordinances and his statutes, which I’m commanding you today, lest when you have eaten and are satisfied.

Would you mark verse 12?

After you have eaten and are satisfied and have built good houses and lived in them. And when your herds and your flocks multiply and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, may I suggest to you that we have even more.

God doesn’t fit in the equation in your heart. It’s what I’ve done, it’s what I’ve provided, it’s what I’ve amassed. When your heart becomes proud, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. He led you through the great and terrible wilderness with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water. He brought water for you out of the rock of flint. In the wilderness, he fed you manna again, which your fathers did not know, that he might humble you, and that he might cast you. And then I have this underlined. To do good for you in the end. Otherwise, you may say in your heart, sermon forthcoming.

4. A Very Perilous Journey

But you shall remember the Lord your God. For it is he who is giving you power to make wealth, and that he may confirm his covenant, which he swore to your fathers as it is day. And you shall not go after, he goes on to say, other gods. I want to speak to you for a moment this morning about what has been a very perilous journey. Perilous, not because it was destined to destruction. God had a plan, and he was going to bring it about.

Perilous because there were difficulties that they had to encounter. There were those who tried to fight against them and bring them harm and discomfort. But the greatest part of the peril of this journey had to do with at times their very great lack of faith in God. It began with them being destitute in the land of Egypt. The house of slavery, the text called it. And then God miraculously, with the ten plagues brought upon Egypt, delivers them from this awful bondage of their destitution. They were gloriously delivered. What a moment in the history of Israel. Their fortunes improved dramatically in moments and days. As God brought about this powerful deliverance. But now there is the journey that was met with faithlessness.

That the journey became increasingly perilous when they lost sight of their deliverer. When they lost sight of Jehovah God. When they stopped trusting in him, especially as they came to the edge of the promised land and they started walking by sight and not by faith, as they saw the giants in the land and said, We’re but grasshoppers. We can’t do this. Isn’t it amazing that when God said, okay, because of your faithlessness, you’re now going to wander in the wilderness for four decades, and I’m going to bring a new generation in this place. Now all of a sudden they whip up the courage and try to take the land in a disastrous failed attempt. Stubborn they have been. Oh, how we are prone to forgetfulness. So, what has this journey been all about?

5. From Desert to Dessert

I’m going to style it this way. From desert to dessert. I did this particularly for one sister who is noted for her love of desserts. By many Facebook posts to that effect. We get the idea of dessert, don’t we? Let’s go to Dairy Queen after services and all get a banana split. Or your favorite ice cream concoction. Or the bluebell, or whatever it is that you love the most. I can think of all kinds of candies that I really love that top off the meal perfectly. But this dessert was richer. It was the land that flows with milk and honey. And so I want to talk about your journey. Because our journey is very similar to Israel’s journey. From desert to desert. In sin we find ourselves dead and destitute and lost.

One of the saddest passages in the New Testament is Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 12. Actually, there’s a ring of hope all around it that there is salvation in Jesus. By grace have you been saved through faith. But he says your prior condition was.

For you what he provided for Israel in a much greater way. Deliverance. I feel great. But from the viewpoint of heaven, you don’t look great. Because you do not have the answer that you need the very most. Freedom from your sin. That alienates you from God, that keeps you from his fellowship and assistance, and will ultimately cause you to be banished from his presence eternally. You need deliverance. I love it when I have a message that’s applicable to every single adult in the audience. You need deliverance. And as you receive that deliverance, those of us who listen to the words of the Lord where we have life, and those words instruct us to be baptized for the forgiveness of our sins, we rise to walk in newness of life, and now we live the life of faith and dependence.

We’re saved by faith, period. We’re saved by faith initially, believing that we’re going to be cleansed of our sins by the blood of Christ, by his sacrifice at Calvary. It starts with faith, and then it continues with faith as he humbles and tests us in the journey. It is with difficulty that the righteous are saved. And trust your souls to a faithful creator in doing what is right, 1 Peter chapter 4, verses 18 and 19. Now, if you’re a child of God, if you’re in Christ, now is the time of dependence. Will you live by faith or will you jettison it as Israel did? God is testing us to know what is in our hearts. Oh, he knows. His understanding is infinite. But it’s being revealed in our behavior.

Will we be people of prayer? Will we be people of trust and dependence? Will we be people of service?

We have every motivation. Not just God’s assistance as Israel had. But remember the nature of the journey. From desert to dessert. Let me tell you about the dessert God is offering for us compared to that land. Remember, I said their eyes bugged out. Our reward, our dessert is exponentially great. Now I’m not great at math. And when I say exponentially, I understand that’s that little number upside the other number that says this times however many. Okay, I’m not real good with that. But the reward that God offers us, the dessert at the end of the journey is going to be exponential. Think about that when you in our abundance have a little trinket of chocolate after lunch. Or a banana split. Whatever it is, the next time you have that favorite dessert of yours, and our palates are all so very different.

As to what we love the most, let’s have a poll as we go out. Tell me what your favorite dessert is. I’ll know something else about you. God’s offer to us is the experience of that dessert times I don’t know the number exponential and unending if we had any idea what the experience of heaven will be like we would not surrender it for anything when you appreciate what God has done. He says you shall bless the Lord your God. That’s why we come here today. I didn’t come here today to put a check mark in the box. I attended service on the first day of the week. The elders say off my back, I won’t get disciplined. I’m being a good person, I’m being a good Christian.

6. Paul Makes This Analogy

I am here today to bless the Lord my God. For what he has done. This has been a call to remember. Because the journey can be perilous. You shall bless the Lord your God. So we said, well, I’m not sure about this analogy you’re making. Paul makes this analogy for us in 1 Corinthians chapter 10. That’s precisely what he’s doing. Just as Israel was led and baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and they all drank of the same spiritual drink, and they all ate of the same spiritual food, and that rock was Christ from which they drank. What he’s saying is there’s a greater spiritual application to the journey that they underwent. And it’s you. And so he goes on to say, nevertheless, with most of them, God was not well pleased.

And he says, don’t act like they did. Do not crave evil things as they did. And boy, that is so relevant. We think, boy, I’ve got to have this. I want this. Let us not be idolatrous as they were, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10. Let us not be immoral as they were. Let us not grumble and complain. Let’s remember what God has done. Let us not grumble and complain as they did. And then he says, now you do realize you have more, right? We are those upon whom the ends of the ages have come. We see God’s full plan in 4K, in living color, in high definition. We see what God was planning from all eternity. In the bringing of his people from every nation and every tribe into a relationship with him and his son.

Conclusion

The call to remember. I want to conclude with this morning. Essential things to remember in the journey. The journey will not be perilous for us, even if it means the loss of our lives. Even if it means that we will suffer immensely in the journey, physically, emotionally. We understand. As Israel, God wanted Israel to understand, He will do you good in the end. What are some things we need to think about in the journey? Things that He was suggesting they think about. We need to be reminded that God is near.

He was close to them. Even though he was not seen. Even though they could not touch it. He had been demonstrating all the way along that he was near. God, and you might want to jot these down. Because we need to remember them. Put them someplace conspicuous that you’ll know where they are. God is near. God is powerful and helpful. He is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that you ask or think. God is powerful. As Ross talked about him working through Providence, that was very powerful. What Ross taught us this morning at the Lord’s Supper table. God is powerful and God is helpful. Sin is harmful. Oh, but we crave it. We want things that seem to promise so much. But we need to be reminded, as Israel was being reminded that sin is harmful and that earthly pleasures will not fill us.

Only by what God provides can we ultimately and truly be filled in our souls in eternity. He is the only source that fills the soul. This is where it gets a little rigorous and demanding. We must remind ourselves in the midst of pain that comes and goes, and as you get older, it comes more than it goes. Pain is temporary. Well, what if you’re in pain for 30 years? It’s still temporary. It just seems forever.

We need to be reminded that the godly are blessed.

Got another sermon working. Living the dream. We’re living the dream. The godly are the most blessed people in the world. And then this heaven is worth any cost. Fellowship with God is worth any price. But that’s just the problem. Denying self now for the promise of future reward beyond our wildest imagination. Well, seeing is believing, but we have not seen it. We need trust, and we need patience. With future anticipation, Jesus accepted the cross, and he died.

Take up our crosses and follow him.

Somebody got a great idea here.

1619, you go to all this trouble and you get the wrong verse. 1619 talks about the report of the obedience of the Romans, and Paul rejoices over that and he says, be wise in what is good, innocent and what is evil. It is actually Romans 16, 20. This person got it like right, and I like the colors better.

What does that mean? Isn’t it Jesus who crushed Satan under his feet? But yes, just as we take up our crosses and follow Jesus, we become partakers and share with him in his victory. And that’s why Paul would say, you too will crush Satan under your feet because we are aligned with the victorious Savior. We have been empowered to defeat the adversary. To win the battle.

From desert to desert.