“3 Killers”
March 9, 2014
Deuteronomy 8:1-18
“Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the LORD promised on oath to your ancestors. 2 Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. 4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.
6 Observe the commands of the LORD your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him. 7 For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; 8 a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; 9 a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.
10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.”
This is a very important Scripture for a number of reasons. One reason is because our forefathers who founded this nation applied it to themselves personally. They believed that they were God’s children. Many of their writings verify that fact. They believed they were blessed and would continue to experience God’s blessing because of their relationship with Him. And what He promises to the Children of Israel He promises to all who follow Him – even us today.
One thing I like about this Scripture is that it shows how loving God is. He longs for a loving relationship with His people. He longs to bless them. He longs to bless US! His desire is to lead us to even greater blessings. He wants to satisfy us and prosper us. He wants to free us from the things that enslave us. He protects us and leads us. What a wonderful God we serve!
When we follow Him the result will be great blessings. We have experienced that personally in our relationship with God, collectively as a nation, and in our family units. Many of us can testify to the outpouring of God’s blessings when our personal relationship with Him was renewed. It is easy to see God’s blessing on our nation like no other nation for over two hundred years. And those of us who have applied God’s principles to our marriages and families can vouch for the blessings of God on them. God loves to bless those who respond to His love. He makes everything better.
Relationships with God fall into three categories - at least I want to highlight these three. They are our 1) personal relationship with God; our 2) family relationship with God and our 3) national relationship with God.
Relationships have enemies, amen? There are a lot of them out there. I couldn’t begin to describe them all – but I do want to talk about 3 killers of relationships. These killers apply to our personal relationship with God; our family relationships and our relationship with God as a society or as a nation.
The three big killers are, 1) Ignorance, 2) Neglect. And 3) Apathy/complacency
Let’s look at our 1.) Relationship with God as a nation first. A few weeks ago we saw where our forefathers considered us to be a “Christian” nation - not a religious nation – A Christian nation. Let’s look at why the pilgrims came over here. The Mayflower Compact says it pretty well. A portion says,
“Having undertaken, for the Glory of God, and advancements of the Christian faith...”
The New England Charter says,
“…to advance the enlargement of Christian religion, to the glory of God Almighty.”
Rhode Island Charter of 1683, begins: “We submit our persons, lives and estates unto our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords and to all those perfect and most absolute laws of His given us in His holy Word.”
The reason for coming to America was to advance Christianity. It was to evangelize the New World. There is ample documentation of that fact.
Patrick Henry made it pretty clear. He said,
“It cannot be emphasized too often or too strongly that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians; not on religions but on the gospel of Jesus Christ....It is for this reason that people of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity and freedom of worship here.”
Even the Supreme Court ruled in 1892, in the Church of the Holy Trinity vs. The United States:
“Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of The Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it should be otherwise; and in this sense and to this extent our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian….This is a religious people. This is historically true.”
You don’t learn those things in school anymore, do you? If you want to learn the true history of America you won’t get it from the liberal media, the liberal school system or even in the liberal libraries and governmental agencies. You have to go back to the original sources. At my house each Wednesday we are learning the true history of America. Why? Because we have been lied to. We have been deceived. We have been ‘dumbed down’. One of the great killers of the relationship between God and our nation is Ignorance. We destroy that killer through learning. We destroy that killer through educating ourselves. The tools are out there. We can do this. David Barton’s “The America Heritage Series” is excellent. Focus on the Family’s “The Truth Project” is another. Kirt Cameron’s “Monumental” is good. If you don’t seek the truth – how will you find it? If you don’t pursue education – how will you ever know the truth?
Another killer is Apathy. Another name for him is ‘Complacency’. Our country’s relationship with God has been hindered because of Apathy and Complacency. We are just too busy to do anything. We fill our lives up with stuff. We live in a time where we have the most leisure time in history. We have so may time savers. The problem isn’t that we don’t have time. The problem is with our priorities and with our will. We need to make the important things happen. I don’t think “I didn’t have time” will cut it on Judgment Day.
The 3 killers I mentioned that are destroying our country are also destroying our 2) family units. What are they again? 1) Ignorance, 2) Neglect. And 3) Apathy.
We are cheating ourselves out of God’s blessings because of our ignorance. Often time it is ‘wilful ignorance’. I think sometimes that every family ought to be required to read some important books. Books like “Love and Respect”, “Dare to Discipline”, and “How to Influence Friends”. There are many others as well. I could build a pretty good list. But the point is that everyone comes into relationships ignorant. All we know is what we picked up from our parents and by observing others. Our examples may not have been the best. They may have been flawed or warped or imperfect. Marriage is a learned skill. Parenting is a learned skill. Since these are skills – it is important to fight the killers of relationships. There are a lot of good helps out there to help us out in our ignorance. But the old killers of relationships, Apathy and Complacency hinders us and we neglect these important things and before we know it - the kids are grown or our mate went off to greener pastures. Good marriage don’t just happen. It takes work. It takes planning. It takes making right choices. There are so many blessings if you do. Marriage relationships can be hell on earth – or they can be heaven on earth. The choice is ours to make.
The last relationship I want to talk about today is our 3) relationship with God. God’s Word describes Him as our “Heavenly Father” and our “Friend”. He wants to dwell within us. The three killers of relationships, 1) Ignorance, 2) Neglect. And 3) Apathy, will prevent that from happening if we let it. Don’t let it. Remember all those promises to His children?
“LORD your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; 8 a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; 9 a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.” Deuteronomy 8:7-9
What a wonderful promise! God’s promises reveal what a kind and generous God He is. He is loving and compassionate. He is gentle and full of joy. And He loves you. He longs for you to love Him in return.
Today in too many churches the emphasis is on ‘accepting Jesus’ or ‘believing in Him’. Certainly we need to believe in Him and accept Him as our Savior – but He desires so much more. Imagine if a husband accepted a woman as his wife and then neglected her. Never told her he loved her; never spent time with her - but they were married! Does that make a marriage relationship? Not so much!
Do you know that the Children of Israel never actually rejected God or rebelled against Him verbally? It was always neglect and choosing other things; other gods; other priorities - that was their downfall. To neglect God is to reject God. To be apathetic is to be pathetic. To ignore God is to deny God.
God has so many blessings for us. He promises so many things. But with a promise of blessings comes a warning of danger. God says,
“You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth…” Deuteronomy 8:17-18
Your blessings are from God. We have no power; we have no strength apart from God. We need to remember it is all Him who has given us these blessings. And God wants to bless us more! He has so much more to give. But we need to kill the killers in our lives. 1) Ignorance, 2) Neglect, and 3) Apathy.
If you have found your relationship lacking – God has given us a very good formula for restoration. We shared it last week. It applies to our Homes, our Country and our relationship with Christ. God says,
“if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” 2 Chronicles 7:14
Humble themselves; pray; seek His face; Turn from your wicked ways – it is good advice for the home. If you humble yourself to your mate, communicate, seek their favor and stop doing whatever caused the problem – the result will be forgiveness and blessings.
It is the same for our country. And it is true for us in our relationship with God. He wants so much more from us to believe in Him. He wants a relationship with us – a LOVING relationship with us. But relationships are two way streets, aren’t they? Both have to want it. No matter how badly one may desire it – if the other doesn’t want it, neglects it or is apathetic towards it – it won’t happen. Or at least it will be stunted, warped, and less that it could be.
Are you willing to humble yourself and pray? Are you willing to seek God’s face? Are you willing to turn from your sin? If you are – the blessing will come.
Blessings come with a simple prayer like this:
Jesus, forgive me for neglecting and rejecting you. Help me to turn from anything you do not approve of. I want to live a life that pleases you. Give me the strength and the wisdom to do that. Thank you, Jesus, for dying for me. Help me to live my life in such a way that it brings you pleasure. From this day on – I will follow you to the best of my ability. Teach me your ways and help me to do them.
