Deuteronomy 8:1-20

Introduction

      Evreyone wants to succeed and prosper. Every one who is farming would like to have low input costs and high prices for grain. Everyone who plays a sport would like to win. Everyone would like to be able to purchase a new vehicle as soon as the old one is off warranty. All of us would like to have a job that is fulfilling, that we can do well and that pays well. Prosperity and success is the wish of all of us and if someone wanted to fail, we would think that something is wrong. If a team plays hockey, they want to win, they don't plan to lose. Some people would like to become famous. All of us would like to be the best we can be. The whole world context is one of success. There is a college named, "Success Commercial College" The US army invites people to " be all you can be." One company has a pension plan called "Freedom 55" which advertises that you can be wealthy enough at 55 that you don't have to work any more. We encourage our children to succeed and we are happy when they do and disappointed when they don't. We are wired for success.

      There is nothing wrong with success, but do we realize how dangerous it can be spiritually? Do we prepare our children to succeed as Christians by warning them of the dangers and giving them tools to help them remain faithful when they succeed? We often think that when we succeed, then we will be able to relax, when in fact when we succeed we need to be much more alert and careful in our spiritual walk than when we do not succeed.

I.                   Stories

      I would like to tell you two stories to explain what I mean.

A.                 The Story Of Israel

      If you will turn in your Bibles to Deuteronommy 8, the passage Art's care group read, you can follow along to hear the first story.

      When Israel came out of Egypt, things were tough. They hadn't been good in Egypt, but they were worse in the desert. The passage talks about the hardships in the desert. Verse 15 talks about the "dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions." It doesn't sound like a picnic or a vacation. They experienced hardship, lack and trouble. In the desert, Israel learned that God would provide when they could not provide for themselves. God provided manna to provide for their hunger; He provided water - bringing it out of the rock. He provided  clothing - verse 4 says that "Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these 40 years." Israel experienced help from God at a time when they could not provide for themselves. God was faithful and they became convinced by experience that God provides.

      Now Moses told them good news that this time of suffering was almost over. In a short time, they would be crossing over the Jordan River and entering into the promised land. The text tells about the beauty of that land. Notice in verses 7-9 there is a description of the abundance of the land they were about to enter. The deprivation of the desert was about to end, they were about to get rich. There would be plenty of water, the crops would do well indeed, the promise in verse 9 is, "you will lack nothing." Further down in verse 12, it talks about the "fine houses" they would build and about how their flocks would grow large and they would have lots of silver and gold. What a welcome relief it would be when they would enter this land. Prosperity and success would be theirs. All of it a blessing from God.

      But, this chapter is written to warn them about the dangers that would accompany that prosperity.  Numerous times Moses warns them that entering the promised land would not be a time to relax, but would be a time of great spiritual danger. In verse 11 he says, "Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God..." Verses 12-14 also warn that when they would prosper they should watch for the danger that "your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God..."

      God warned them of the danger of success and warned them in verses 19,20 that if they were not careful and if they would forget God, then he would destroy them like He would destroy the nations they were going to dispossess.

      The sad thing is that when Israel entered the promised land this warning was not heeded. What God warned them about happened. They became wealthy and they did forget about God and eventually, because of their faithlessness, God destroyed them. In Jeremiah 13:24,25 we read the warning to Israel at the time of Jeremiah many years later, "I will scatter you like chaff driven by the desert wind. This is your lot, the portion I have decreed for you," declares the LORD, "because you have forgotten me and trusted in false gods." During the lifetime of Jeremiah, this destruction occurred.

B.                 The Story Of the Mennonites

      This is a story that strikes close to home. It is so similar to what has happened to the Mennonite people and because I am one, to my family and to me.

      Following the Russian Revolution, the Mennonite people in Russia began to experience escalating deprivation. During the revolution, some experienced the loss of family. Later there was an increased tax burden which forced the collectivization of business and farms. Eventually, many lost their wealth and freedom. Freedom of religion was taken away. A number of years later as the second world war approached, further losses occurred as all the men of the villages were taken away and then whole families were deported to Siberia. For those, like my family, who managed to escape the trains to Siberia, there was a further loss of all property. At one point, members of my family were refugees on the steppes of Russia with only the clothes on their back. The loss and deprivation they experienced was terrible and frightening.

      Out of this experience, I have heard the stories of faith in which people with nowhere else to turn learned to trust fully on God because they knew that He was their only hope. I have heard stories of prayer times when the whole village of refugees gathered to pray because they needed God's help in their desperation. I have heard of Scripture that became precious because it sustained in a difficult time.

      Eventually these people came to North America. Some of you have personally experienced the things I am talking about. At first there was poverty, but eventually there began to be signs of prosperity. Today, those who came out and their descendents are living in comfort. Most of us are middle or upper middle class. We have risen to high positions in government and industry. We have succeeded! In fact, we would have to say that with or without this background, we are a people who have succeeded.

      But what has happened to faith? Have we kept faith or have we succumbed to the danger of prosperity? There are some who have allowed their wealth to cause them to forget God. Even those of us who continue to live as children of God have succumbed to the temptations of wealth. We have learned to depend on our wealth and become quite nervous if that is threatened. Although we are generous, I wonder how many of us are giving out of our excess. We have accomplished many things, but have we accomplished them by the power of God or by our wisdom and political power? We attend church, but is worship of God at the center of our life or is it a leisure activity? If trials came, what would be revealed about our hearts?

      I think it is clear that what God warned Israel about in Deuteronomy 8 is a clear and present danger and we as North American Christians need to heed this warning.

II.               Faithfulness In Prosperity

      Therefore, we need to examine ourselves to see if we have fallen into the dangers associated with prosperity and we need to provide a warning and a way of avoiding this danger to our children.

A.                 Aware Of The Danger

      When Israel experienced the difficulties of the desert, Moses indicates in 8:2 that it was a time of testing to "see what was in their heart." Difficult experiences prove what is in our heart. In trials, people will either throw the whole thing overboard or they will learn to cling to God completely. There is a danger in trials, but there is no doubt about where a person stands. Trials will test to see if we really believe in the omnipotence, love and righteousness of God?

      Success, on the other hand, is much more subtle. A person who is successful can appear to be a person of faith, but we really don't know. The danger in success is much greater because we are untested and we can coast along with the appearance of faith, but it is not a real faith.

      Therefore, it is doubly important that when we succeed and when we are prosperous that we are aware of the dangers and constantly examining ourselves to make sure that we have not left faith behind.

      The passage in Deuteronomy 8 helps us recognize the process by which people walk away from faith in times of prosperity. Awareness of this process can help us arrest its progress.

1.Pride

      Verses 14 and 17 give us the first step. Verse 14 says, "your hearts will become proud" and verse 17 says "You may say to yourself 'My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me."

      These two verses talk about the same thing. The first step away from God, when we succeed, is the pride of thinking that we have done it. We begin to think, "I earned this money. I succeeded in growing the right crops and selling at the right time. I earned this degree. I deserve this position because of my ability. When "I" gets in the center, God is forced to the edges of life.

2.Forgetting God

      The second step is that we forget God. Verse 14 goes on to say, "you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt..."

      Moses warned the people that if they were not careful, they would forget that God brought them through the desert and gave them the promised land. When "I" gets in the way, we begin to forget that God has done so much for us. It may happen so innocently. At first we think that if we don't get to work and do our best, we will fail so we stop having devotions because we don't have time. Then business appointments take us into Sunday because the work must get done. Soon our life is lived apart from God both in our hearts and in our lives. We get to the place where we forget that we live and breath and move and indeed have life because of God.

3.Discipline

      In verse 5, God talks about discipline. God is so patient and so loving that when we forget Him, or begin to forget Him, he allows us to go through times of trial so that we will remember that we depend on Him. I have sometimes wondered if the trials that happened to the Mennonite people in Russia because of the revolution happened in part because they had begun to forget Him. So when trials come, let us use them as opportunities to turn back to God.

4.Destruction

      In verses 19,20, He talks about the destruction of those who have forgotten Him. Israel was warned that if they did not follow God, he would destroy them. Forgetting God always leads to destruction. Let us make sure that does not happen.

      Prosperity does not always lead to forgetting God, but it presents a subtle temptation in that direction. Let us be aware of the danger of prosperity and not become proud and not forget God!

B.                 Avoiding The Danger

      How can we avoid the danger of prosperity?

1.Remember

      In verse 2 & 18 we are told to "remember" the Lord. One of the best ways to avoid the danger of falling away in prosperity is to remember God. Moses talks about remembering three things about God.

      First of all they were to remember what God did for them in the past, bringing them out of Egypt, guiding them through the desert and so on. As we remember God's good deeds of the past, we are encouraged to remain faithful.

      Secondly, He reminded them in verse 18 that they were dependent on Him for ability and life and that they did not produce their own wealth. As we must remember that God has created our hands, our minds, our skills we are humbled in His presence.

      Thirdly, in verse 18, Moses reminds them of the covenant. He encouraged them to remember that God was a covenant keeping God. He had promised to be their God and that they would be His people. Up until that day God had kept the covenant and they were assured that He would continue to do so. We also need to remember that God has promised and that He will keep His promises.

      Remember is a command, it is a choice we make. We need to build into our lives times and events which serve as reminders of God's leading and provision.

      There are several things which help us remember. Meeting together from week to week in church with other believers helps us remember what God has done. We recite the stories of grace. As we observe communion which we will do next week, we also are reminded on a monthly basis of God's work in salvation.

      Another important way to remember is to tell stories. I have written out my grandmothers and my mother-in-law's stories and have read my mothers story. In families, we need to tell the stories about the time when God provided. We have told the story about the time we were traveling Easterville road and would not make it home and prayed and ran out of gas just in front of the home of a church member who had gas in his garage. We need to tell such stories of God's provision and guidance. They remind us and the next generation that we are dependent not on ourselves, but on God.

      What are the stories that this church has that show God at work?

2.Praise God

      A second way to avoid the danger of prosperity is to praise God. Verse 10 says "When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you."

      Praise is an important way to keep before our eyes the constant care and provision of God. In praise we humble ourselves and recognize the power, care and provision of God, in other words, we remember Him. When we stop praising, we will stop praying and we will begin down the road of self sufficency and forgetting God. That is why daily time reading God's Word and praying and weekly times of corporate worship in church are important to help us remember God.

Conclusion

      The question before us today as a result of having heard this sermon is, "Have we allowed our prosperity to cause us to forget God?"

      What do you anser?

      If we have, what changes are required?

      Do we need to make a change in our thinking? Do we need to remind ourselves about where our source and strengh are? Do we need to make a change in our lifestyle? Perhaps, we need to change our giving habits to reflect our dependence on God?

      I Cor. 10:12, warns, "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!"

      We have designated today as debt reduction Sunday. I did not plan this convergence, but I think it is appropriate for us to have the offering on this day and at this point because of the connection between prosperity and faith. One way to declare that you are dependent on God is in giving this offering. So I invite you today to make giving this offering a symbol of your commitment to and dependence on God.