Deuteronomy 8, What Makes Your Life?

Deuteronomy 8: Remembering What Makes for Life

Deuteronomy chapter 8 be reading the entire chapter here. The Word of the Lord. 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.

And You shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these 40 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.

And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna. Which you did not know nor did your father's know that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone. But by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these 40 years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son the Lord your God Disciplines you so you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him 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 and You shall eat and be full and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land.

He has given you. 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 lest when you have eaten in our 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 his 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.

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.

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. 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. May the Lord add his blessings to the reading of his Holy Word. Well, what makes your life do you remember? You'd get so caught up in in making a living that you forget to make a life you you forget what you're working for.

You know like the man or a woman who works hard to support his or her family because he or she thinks you know life is all about the family and then because He or she spent so much time making money. Or building the career for the family.

He or she missed the family. And he never made time to go see his children playing sports or recitals or plays or a graduation. Help with a homework if he could do that kind of thing his her. Here's our money now made it possible and the kid should be grateful for that.

We sometimes we forget that in our culture in American culture the kid really should be grateful for that should be grateful for the for the Roof and the food and the clothes and the lessons that were paid for and that they didn't have to make the kid work.

At least not too much. So that he or she could do sports or play music or whatever other extracurricular activity. Concentrate on homework. So you could have good grades and get to a college. The kid should be grateful for all that and The parent can feel some satisfaction for having made all that possible.

But what about life? Is it just about making money? Okay, maybe making money for the for the family. Okay get that that's great for the satisfaction of making their fuller life possible. But has that parent forgot what makes for his life?

In America some ethnicities feel this more than others depending I think on on Where they came from and I don't mean what country I mean like what status? Where they came from or maybe how far in time they are away from where they came from if they came recently from poverty.

You know, they went hungry as children they they were raised in some one-room hovel somewhere. Maybe they had to go into debt to afford to get to this country and they had been had to work 16 hours a day.

For years by now, they have a comfortable financial cushion, but they still then live as if their mission in life Was to overcome poverty. Even though they're not really poor anymore those kinds of people can in their quest to make a living forget how to make a life a.

While back I did in a YouTube search for videos made for the switchfoot song gone. It's a anti materialistic song with lyrics like where's your treasure? Where's your hope if you get the world and lose your soul like Al Pacino's cash.

I don't know why they pick on Al Pacino, but whatever like Al Pacino's cash. Nothing last in this life. Life is more than money. Time was never money. Time was never cash. Life is more than girls life is more than hundred dollar bills.

All the riches of Kings end up in wills. We got information and the information age, but do we know what life is outside our convenient Lexus cages? She said he said live like no tomorrow every moment that we borrow brings us closer to the God who's not.

Short of cash now, but I like that song. So I I looked up music videos that people had made up about it. You know kind of lip-syncing to it and playing it out. The first one I found I thought it was interesting that it was done by a group of Asian American I think mostly Chinese college students.

Hmm, I wonder does that mean anything? Maybe it's just a coincidence. I was really it was really interesting when the second one I just clicked on by chance was also done by a group of Asian American students another group different group and Then the third one.

Oh, it's not a coincidence anymore. Is it was also put together by Asian American students? It's as though the experience of growing up for them was so much from their parents about making money getting away from poverty.

Life is chasing dollars time as money time as cash. Even if the desperation of poverty was now really far behind still. Even as we drive around in our convenient Lexus or whatever luxury car cages. We still live as if we live by dollars by bread or rice alone that it's money that makes for life.

Well, they have been raised in that environment and said.

Remembering Where You Came From

No.

That's not what makes for life. Now here we see of all places in Deuteronomy chapter 8 what makes for life? We're reminded of it because we're we're so prone to forget. We see that here in four parts for reminders.

Number one remember remember where you came from. To remember where you're going. Three remember what what to do and finally Remember how you got there? First remember where you came from now here. Understand the content where they're at.

Israel here is on the verge of the promised land. They spent 40 years wandering in the desert. They came out of Egypt a generation before and now. They've come through traversing aimlessly through the sandy waste of a desert through vast windswept Dry arid land on alert for poisonous snakes following a pillar of cloud by day always on the move.

And they were given the law the Ten Commandments at the beginning of their journey 40 years before and now they've Just been reminded of it again and remember it. All they're told here beginning a chapter.

Chapter verse 1.

Remember.

Be careful. Take care.

Beware.

Is the main theme of this chapter. Those words appear over and over again. Remember so you don't forget what makes for life. It's easy to forget. While you're working to make a living. You shall remember in verse 2 where you came from.

The whole way that the Lord your God has led you these 40 years. Remember where you've come from this past generation. Remember what you've been through in the desert on this pilgrimage taking the long route to the promised land.

Remember that God humbled you he said. Maybe he showed you That some sins you can't conquer by yourself. Maybe he showed you how much of the old sinful nature is still with you. Maybe he showed you how worldly or how greedy or how lustful or how selfish how unfaithful.

How angry that you could be. He humbled you by reminding you of where you came from and that you've not come as far as you think. Like here he tested you. Like that appears over and over again in these verses.

Verse 2. He put you to the test to know what was in your heart. To know whether you remember where you came from. What makes for life for them. The Lord tested them if they believed in the Lord if they believed that he would provide for them.

Or did they think do they think the Canaanites were too powerful? They couldn't take the promised land. That's why they had to wander those 40 years. That they remember the lesson that they should have learned a gym for this past generation.

Did they think their enemies were too powerful for them. Like you might think that your temptations are too powerful for you. You just got to give in to them as many people's excuse for sin, right? I just I just can't stop myself.

Here he test them to see if you have faith in your heart or do you only only your you only like to sound? Like you do. Do you really want to be a disciple of Jesus. He'll test you. He tested them. He'll test you to see what you want the most.

Maybe you really want success the most. So you'll leave a biblical church to go to a successful one. Or you'll not go to church at all so you can make money. Maybe you've learned the wrong lesson from where you came from.

That's a problem. A lot of people have they've been given all the lessons. They just learned the wrong lesson from them. People who came out of poverty sometimes concluded, you know, whatever happens in life they never ever want to go back to that and.

Then their life becomes consumed with getting as far away from being poor as they possibly can. They're kind of Scarlett O 'Hara had gone with the wind now seen just before the intermission. The I guess is to make you come back after you've gotten the popcorn.

When her plantation has been destroyed. She's starving. She digs in the ground for a radish. It's the only thing she has to eat and she clenches her fist up to heaven and said as God is my witness I will never be hungry again.

Instead of learning the lesson that life is not of the things that you possess. That life is more than in dollars and meals and cars and a big house. That we can be content even with simple things they conclude.

People like scarlet. They conclude the wrong lesson that life is about getting Far as far away from where you came from as you possibly can never being hungry again. You're being tested about whether You really believe in the Lord about what you really want the most the kingdom of God.

Or more money. But whether you remember Where you came from? The coronavirus has been a test for some people at some business owners now I don't think it's a test because I don't think it's be fair to make it a test one way the other about opening up.

Whether they should stay open or not some decide that they shouldn't. So they'll close during this time and suffer a loss of income. They decide that the money is not worth the risk. Fair enough. I think it's a reasonable conclusion.

Some decide they can. Try to social distance maybe they wear masks and gloves sometimes and do everything they can to keep safe. It's a judgment call. What I do think is a test is when the same people.

Who would not close down? For an hour or two on Sunday mornings to go to church. Because they feel they can't lose the income that they don't think what the church offers singing Psalms. Praying with God's people hearing the word preach.

They don't think that is it's worth the loss of income of closing down for a couple of hours once a week. Now those same people will close down for weeks or even months to avoid kovat 19. They won't close down a couple of hours a week for the Lord.

But we'll close for for over a month because of their judgment call about a virus. They're being tested and they've shown that while money may be second behind their health and family, which is reasonable but that the Lord is far behind and That's not reasonable if they're Christians.

They don't remember where they came from. They don't remember what makes for life. Do you remember? What makes for life, you know, it's not cash or the things he can buy. It's not bread or rice or steak or Sharks fin soup as good as that is or haagen-dazs ice cream.

That's pretty good, too. Or anything that you could put in your mouth. What makes for life. Sure, we're not so otherworldly. Christians are not so otherworldly we're not just so impractically spiritual that we're just denying that you need bread or rice or Whatever it takes to keep your body going.

Notice that passage doesn't say this. Let's say you don't need bread at all. But the question is is that all that you need? Is that all that makes for life? Well, you're being tested and the Lord Jesus was tested over just this point and Use just this scripture.

To fend off the temptation, you know, Satan took advantage of Jesus's legitimate need for food to tempt him. You know to use his divine powers for mere personal consumption. Is he a consumer is Jesus?

Just a consumer who believes that life is made of me getting what I want now. That was the temptation. Jesus fended Satan off with a repudiation of not only the temptation but of the root values of. You know, whatever you want to call it materialism consumerism.

Man does not live on bread.

Alone.

But on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Quoting verse 3 from here Deuteronomy 8 when Jesus quoted this passage, you know, he just completed a 40-day fast. This is really good completed the fast.

So technically wasn't even fasting anymore. He just hadn't gotten to gotten to where the bread is yet. The temptation was to use his divine powers to change a stone into a loaf of bread. Merely for him to consume merely to satisfy his hunger.

Now he fended off the temptation by telling Satan that though he as fully God Had the ability to turn a rock garden into a pastry shop if he wanted to he was also a human being. And human beings Are not designed to live just for feeding our hungers.

That's not what our life is made of. Now many religions try to empower their their followers to overcome The lure of getting what everyone call it materialism consumerism. By denying their humanity, but they're dying our humanity by trying to tell us, you know, the body the world.

It's just an illusion. It's Maya and you and you can get enlightened and then you can overcome Your need of it they say. That's the tactic of other religions.

Jesus.

Repulsed the temptation to consumerism in the opposite way. He affirmed his humanity. Yes. I am. Thank you. He's taking this quote. Man's not live by bread. What's he assuming? I am a man and we men Need more than just bread to live.

Man.

Like me Jesus said does not live on bread or rice or money or electronic gadgets or stuff alone. We need the Word of God.

Where did you come from?

Here they came from the desert. Remember the Lord says how you were sustained in the desert in verse 4. You know learn the right lesson how you were preserved. So just your your own abilities. How did you get through that?

Not that you have to work and scramble all the time look back and see that the Lord preserved you here. He made it so for these people the Israelites your clothing didn't wear out your feet didn't swell not even through the hot Desert sand he provided the food that you need at the right time.

Sure. You went through some hard times. Sure, that's because you're the Lord's children and he disciplines all his children in verse 5. Remember that you've come through discipline and learn the right lessons of that discipline.

That you're weaker than your thing then you think. That what makes for life? Is it what you do? Is it your money or your religion or your morality or even your family learn the right lesson so that you don't have to be?

Disciplined over and over again for the same things if you never seem to learn never seem to learn that you need the Word of God more than you need a bigger bank account. What makes for life? Well, it helps to know.

As we've seen if you'll remember where you where you came from and second. Where you're going. Here in verses 7 to 10 the Israelites are reminded of where they're going. They're going to the promised land.

And he just scribes it for them there for the Lord. Your God is bringing you into a good land. It's unlike the arid desert it's a land of brooks and water of Fountains and springs flowing out and in the valleys and the hills and he goes on really for three verses just Describing how how verdant how fruitful how rich?

The land where they are going is. You shall eat and be full. And the result of that in verse 10 you shall bless the Lord your God. For the good land he has given you that's where they're going. To remember what makes for life it helps to remember where you're going.

We too have a promised land, you know, like the Israelites and like the Israelites here We've already partially entered it. If you remember the land where they are at here before they cross the Jordan is also part of the promised land.

They haven't crossed it. They haven't crossed the Jordan yet. They ever crossed the fullness into the fullness of that land yet.

But they're.

Partly there. That's the same with us. We have it crossed into the fullness of God's blessing, but we're partly there here. It's a good land the let the fullness of the land we have of where we're going.

It's also a good land with all the life of this earth, but with none of the death. All the good things that we enjoy none of the problems bodies. With no disease. No kovat 19. No cancer. No gout. No aging.

Sunlight without sunburn. Cool breezes without frostbite. Now the Bible is it really have a lot to say. Some people be surprised about that. They don't know the Bible very well. The Bible really doesn't have a lot to say literally about where we're going.

It really doesn't tell us. In fact, it just tells us we can't even imagine it is so great. It's portrayed for us symbolically in Ezekiel in Revelation as a land called a city called the Lord is there.

Radiates light. It's a perfect cube made of gold while also as clear as glass. How that's possible, you know, we don't really know except I don't think it's supposed to be literal this is supposed to show that it has the best of everything the beauty of gold and the beauty of Perfect glass with a foundation made of every kind of jewel gates.

Imagine you could drive through made out of a single pearl take a big oyster to make one of those wouldn't with no temple because the Lord is everywhere in it. And Flowing through the middle of the city is a river the river of life that gives life to everything it touches.

Watering the tree of life. Whose leaves heal? Everyone now. All of that is a picture a promise of what Paul says in 1st Corinthians chapter 2 verse 9 that we've never seen we haven't even heard about.

We are not even capable of. Imagining what God has in store for us. What God has made. Where we're going. We can get a glimpse of it. We can maybe get a feel for it every now and then since our promised land has already started with our eternal life.

We can get a sneak peek. You know when we know. We get a feel for it when we sense it is well. With our soul with the joy and the peace and the sense of God's presence. The glory that we can sometimes.

Almost.

Touch the assurance. That our sins not just in part. But the whole has been nailed to the cross and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord praise the Lord. Oh my soul. What makes your life? Well, it helps to know you'll remember where you've come from and where you're going and third.

What to do. Starting in verse 11. Take care. There's again. Take care. Be careful. Beware, take care lest you forget the Lord your God. Be careful that you don't forget the Lord that you don't forget.

That is he who makes your life not your food or your money or your marriage or your family? But remembering it's not just not just knowing we say remember. We kind of think it's like remembering something for a test.

Remembering information, but it's more than just knowing or recalling or thinking about more than just singing. Lyrics that you have memorized you sung many times before they are hearing sermons about learning doctrine about it.

It's doing in verse 11. Take care lest you forget the Lord your God.

By.

How do you forget the Lord? By this is the way by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes. If they remember it Then they do it right. True remembering of the Lord means you you do his his word and you get the promises of God and that right there is.

The main purpose of what we're doing right now, you know having church. It's to make you Remember, you might not always learn something new in church and really that's not the point. Not always to make give you some new information.

We still need to come to be reminded because We're all prone to forget and we're reminded in a way that makes us careful to do what God has said. Remembering without doing is like faith without works.

It's dead.

Now reform people are famous for their doctrine for loving finely-tuned theology long lessons on abstract speculations about Super lapsarian ism and in for lapsarian ism. I like to say those words. That's not so for sophisticated don't they about the order of God's decrees in eternity past.

But do we then live differently? Do we follow God's Word now? I know a reformed man who loves to talk theology who thinks debating super lapsarian ism is important. But he doesn't keep his promises. He hardly gives.

While he spends big on his own cars and vacations what makes for life? Well, he thinks doctrinal talk. Not integrity not generosity not seeking first the kingdom of God.

Remembering the Promised Land

Here.

Keep God's Word do it. Because if you don't in verse 12 if your religion is just Doctrine that you say you believe if it's just words You'd like to talk about when you're prospering. And what will happen when you're prospering?

When you're heard and your flocks multiply and your silver and your gold is multiplied. When that happens in your your faith is empty talk and.

When the money is rolling in.

Your business is booming. You've gotten a raise. When your stocks have doubled in value, you know like here. It's like when you're your flocks multiply your silver and gold multiply everything multiplies then you'll think That is what makes for life all that stuff and you'll forget the Lord your God Who saved you?

Remember to do and that's what church is for to remind you to challenge you if necessary discipline you.

To do.

That's what we have a church covenant for you know. These are some of what Scripture is still down to less than one page tells you to do. We're not just here to educate you with doctrinal lectures or entertain you with a nice religious show.

We're here to change what you do.

How you live?

Who you love?

So that you'll show with your life That you know What makes for life if you forget to do it's like forgetting where you came from. And so in verses 14 to 16 again, he reminds them no Seth. Like like they're prone to forget where they've come from already.

Again, he reminds them of where they came from they came from slavery we come from slavery to sin and Satan and death. They came through says a great and terrifying wilderness with its fiery serpents.

He means poisonous snakes and scorpions. We come through a world a present evil age a dry and barren land. Where there is no water, there's no real refreshment in this world. Now, there are a lot of mirages.

The world is full of mirages of oasis that look like they have. Looks like they have refreshment. It looked nice whatever your kind of mirage that you might fall for. The life of sexual immorality looks like it could be fun.

But like living for the our life of this indulgence material indulgence living for the luxurious car the expensive vacation. The mansion the mirage that wealth is what makes for life. It all looks great.

It looks it looks terrific like a mirage in the desert, you know, it's an illusion. There's an oasis just up ahead. But it you can all you can tell for certain that that Oasis right up ahead. It has all it's just flowing with pure clean water so much.

You be able to swim in it. It appears just a short walk away. You're sure it's there and you keep keep trudging forward to get it. The world promises It's there. All you got to do is keep walking. For it keep getting up every day.

Working for that mirage that perfect oasis. There it is. Just up ahead that perfect satisfying life that the wealth and luxury and indulgence and chasing dollars. It's it's finally gonna give you you can tell it's Right there.

All you need is just a few more dollars a day more of work. It's always just a few more steps ahead. That's the dry and barren world that we're trudging through. And it too comes with fiery serpents and scorpions.

The Lord Jesus has promised us that we can tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy and Nothing shall hurt us. We just have to be living in his kingdom. We had filled with his spirit though this world with devils filled should threaten to undo us.

We will not fear for God has willed his truth to triumph through us. Remember where you came from? Remember that he sustained you through this world that the reason that you have it fallen away like others have.

You know whose others have started well, but they got bit by that snake of greed consumerism of lust or immorality. Arrogant self-sufficiency the reason you weren't bit by those fiery serpents. It's because the Lord preserved you with his word and his spirit.

He reminded you and temptations were strong. That you don't live by bread or money or pleasure. Ego alone you live by the Word of God and that's just not a doctrine that you say you believe. But you put it into practice.

By how you handle your money how you handle your body your time your life. What makes for life. To know that you need to remember where you've come from where you're going and what to do and finally. How you're how you're going to get there and when you've gotten there how you got there.

When you get there when like when like scarlet you're like later in the movie and you're not hungry anymore. You don't have to dig out radishes out of the dirt for your dinner anymore. When you have the sweet family in the cars in the house and the fine clothes and the gadgets and the plentiful investments remember what makes for life and How and how you got all those things?

That really don't make for life. Beware that you forget. Like here in verse 17 if you forget and you think. My power and the might of my hand has gotten me this wealth. You're driving down the road in that expensive luxury car cage my power my work.

Got me this thing. My work my discipline my getting up every day for 16 hours for years on end without a hardly a day off or a vacation. That's how I got this stuff and that's what makes for life if that's what you think.

You've forgotten. Now somebody say but but come on that's exactly how I got rich I are. I earned it I worked for it really and Who gave you the health to be able to work every day for years? We see now don't we should be abundantly clear how easily God can take all of that away.

All he has to do is unleash a microscopic virus and Bring someone who has it within six feet of you and then you can't work at all. Maybe you don't even have to get it. Maybe you have to shut down your business because everyone else is afraid of it.

Or it could have been many other things. He could have given you a birth defect. So you you couldn't work or he could have given you a childhood disease. That killed you young. Maybe he could put a government in place.

That's just stupid and cruel and so doesn't allow you to prosper no matter how hard you work. Maybe he lets you get robbed and shot. There are a million ways that God could have stopped you from prospering and Then you're gonna ignore all that all the ways that he blessed you Preserved your life the ways that he put you where you are that he gave you the opportunities.

He protected you. He blessed you. You'll forget all that and congratulate yourself and think well. What makes for life is being like me pulling yourself up by your bootstraps working hard being smart putting in the long hours.

That's how you do it. And God says in verse 18 that he is the one. Notice verse 18. God says he is the one who gives you the power to get wealth. Don't forget that if you have the ability to lift yourself up to make Money to make a living the Lord gave you that ability.

It was a gift from him. So praise him for that. He gave you the power to gain wealth and by the way by the standards of Almost all of history and most of the world. All of us here are wealthy and he gave us that ability so that he could keep his covenant to bless us his promise to bless us to give us life beginning now and Blessing us.

Yes with material things. He is not against wealth and health and all the nice things that earth offers. He created them. He gave us the ability gives us the ability the gift of getting them. But those things that the money the house to find meals the cars the gadgets they do not make your life.

They are some fruit of life the life the ability to get some of its fruit Comes from God don't forget that. Because if you do and then you replace him with other gods.

Like mammon.

Serving the almighty dollar. Worshiping money. By giving your life. To just getting more and more of it. If you do. Then the Lord swears in those last few verses of the chapter that he will punish you.

He might let you keep the cash. Yeah, he might do that but the kids that you supposedly earned it for Will be so estranged from you that they can hardly stand to visit you like one local family. I know of.

Or he might take it all away. With a virus or a cancer or a heart attack. So that one day. What is in it as you are in the midst of grabbing one more dollar? It's all over and you die Never having known.

What makes for life? Well what makes for life? Life is not of the things that you possess. Life is more than money more than hundred dollar bills. You have information, but do you know what life is? Outside your convenient luxury car cages.

Remember every moment. That you borrow brings you closer to the God who's not short of cash who even gives you the power To make it. But he expects you to do more than just make a living. He expects you to make a life and you can only do that if you remember To live for the Lord.

Do you remember that?