Living Undistracted in a Distracting World Passing the Test

Transcription

1 Deuteronomy 8 August 13, 2017 Living Undistracted in a Distracting World Passing the Test Introduction: The text before us stands as one of the most important and informative texts in the Old Testament for the people of God. 1. Setting still plains of Moab (map) 2. The last will and Testament of Moses 3. Many concerns have been addressed 4. Core issue distractions 1

2 Here: The concern distractions that would lead to forgetting the goodness and deliverance of God. (ILL) Old Friends Can t Remember Last Restaurant This is a story of 30-year-old friends who had a reunion and were discussing where they should go for dinner. Somebody suggested that they meet at the Glowing Embers Restaurant because the waiters and waitresses there are young and beautiful. They all agreed. Fifteen years later, at 45 years of age, they met and discussed again where they should have dinner. Somebody suggested the Glowing Embers because the food and wine selection there are very good. They all agreed. Another 15 years later at 60 years of age, they once again discussed where to meet. Somebody suggested the Glowing Embers because you can eat there in peace and quiet and the restaurant is smoke free. They all agreed. Another fifteen years later, at the age of 75, the group discussed again where they should meet. Somebody suggested that they should meet at the Glowing Embers because the restaurant is physical accessible and they even have an elevator. They all agreed. Finally, 15 years later at the age of 90, the same group of friends discussed one more time where they should meet for dinner. Somebody suggested that they should meet at the Glowing Embers because they had never been there before. And they all agreed. Statistics on Our Drop in Attention Span According to the research of the National Center for Biotechnology Information, the average attention span has dropped from 12 seconds in 2000 to just 8.25 seconds in That s around a 25 percent drop in just over a decade. Want to know what difference this 8.25 seconds makes in our day-to-day lives? It means a lot of distracted people are not getting, skimming over, or just plain forgetting important information. Here are some more facts: Percent of teens who forget major details of close friends and relatives: 25% Percent of people who forget their own birthdays from time to time: 7% Average number of times per hour an office worker checks their inbox: 30 Average length watched of a single internet video: 2.7 minutes Percent of internet page views that last less than 4 seconds: 17 % Percent of page views that lasted more than 10 minutes: 4% Percent of words read on an average (593) web page: 28% Underlying theme that emerges in this section: 2

3 Divine Testing 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. Deuteronomy 8:2 NKJV Testing the heart Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, But establish the just; For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds. Psalms 7:9 NKJV But, O Lord of hosts, You who judge righteously, Testing the mind and the heart, Let me see Your vengeance on them, For to You I have revealed my cause. Jeremiah 11:20 NKJV The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the Lord tests the hearts. Proverbs 17:3 NKJV I. A Lesson from Israel s History Regarding God s Tests NOTE: Fascinating text: reveals how God tests our heart A. Moses rehearses what God did in the previous generation 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. 3 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. 4 Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. 5 You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you. Deuteronomy 8:2-5 NKJV 1. 3 Reasons for Test a. Humble them b. Test you (metallurgical term: refining, extracting impurities) c. Know shallowness of commitment 3

4 2. Know yada prove or bring to light 3. This testing was to purify Israel, purify what was of value B. Irony of verse 4 Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. Deuteronomy 8:4 NKJV 1. The people failed the test older generation died out 2. Not from lengthy journey clothes, sandals, feet, all held out 3. God s provision held out manna every day fidelity of people failed C. Fed them so they could survive 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. Deuteronomy 8:3 NKJV 1. Food in stomach nourished them and kept them alive. 2. But, taught them that obedience to His Word was key to spiritual life. NOTE: Deuteronomy 8 Opens "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. Deuteronomy 8:1 NKJV (Obey and live) Closes Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the Lord your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. Deuteronomy 8:19 NKJV (Fail and perish) 4

5 D. Crucial understanding 1. Previous generation a. Totally dependent upon God Red Sea b. Manna every morning, water from the rock c. Sandals, clothes, presence in the camp d. But, when their hearts are tested they failed 2. The generation to whom Moses speaks a. Water in abundance from the earth For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills. Deuteronomy 8:7 NKJV b. All the horticultural needs A land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; 9 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. Deuteronomy 8:8-9 NKJV c. Moses pleading with them that they would pass the test NOTE: If previous generation that had to depend solely upon God failed the test, how easy it would be for this generation when they were so blessed. QUESTION: How will they respond to prosperity and excess? E. Wrong response to this test 1. Failing to keep His commands "Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today. Deuteronomy 8:11 NKJV 5

6 2. Pride in accomplishments and forget God Lest when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; 13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; 14 when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; 15 who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; 16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end 17 then you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.' Deuteronomy 8:12-17 NKJV F. Correct response to this test And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. Deuteronomy 8:18 NKJV Remember=zakar (more than acknowledgement; to take seriously His presence and actions) G. The final warning Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the Lord your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. 20 As the nations which the Lord destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord your God. Deuteronomy 8:19-20 NKJV NOTE: Because you would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord your God 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. Deuteronomy 8:3 NKJV 6

7 IMPORTANT: Test in previous generation that refined people was deprivation and manna. In the future it will be prosperity: His purpose. And that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, in praise, in name, and in honor, and that you may be a holy people to the Lord your God, just as He has spoken." Deuteronomy 26:19 NKJV II. Four Warning Signs that we may be Failing the Test A. When our strategies and organization more closely resemble the world than a people dependent upon God s presence and prayer. 1. Soon would want a King 2. Planning, strategy, advertising are all ok, but when they replace seeking God, His presence, and prayer, we are all in danger B. When the gathering of His people in His presence becomes an occasional event engaged only when convenient rather than an essential life-giving gathering. C. When the blessing and favor of God on His people is trusted as a result of our creativity or excellence rather than a result of God s grace. D. When His Word becomes an unnecessary and irrelevant relic of a past day, rather than the essential and life-giving truth. III. The Tragic Consequence to Failing the Test Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the Lord your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. 20 As the nations which the Lord destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord your God. Deuteronomy 8:19-20 NKJV A. If we forget Him we trust other things, people, or ourselves. B. We will become as powerless as all other entities. C. Would lose the influence of the people of God. 7

8 IV. Safeguards to Ensure we do not Fail the Test When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you. 11 "Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today. Deuteronomy 8:10-11 NKJV A. Ensure that our gatherings are marked by praise that acknowledges His greatness and doesn t just manipulate our emotions PRAISE! B. Make opportunity to tell of His goodness and grace in our lives TESTIFY! C. Let prayers for His blessing give way to worship for His character WORSHIP! NOTE: Theology praise, gratitude, leads to awe for who He is prostrate, bowed, humbled see Isaiah woe is me! D. Accept the times of leanness and prosperity as times of testing the fidelity of our commitment to Him TRUTH! Conclusion: This distracting world is so easy to lose sight of Him (personal: Morocco, to here, but what we can t lose). America s Sin of Self-Sufficiency In 1863 President Lincoln designated April 30 th as a day of national humiliation, fasting, and prayer. Let me read a portion of his proclamation on that occasion: It is the duty of nations, as well as of men, who owe their dependence upon the overruling power to God, to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by a history that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord. The awful calamity of civil war which now desolates the land may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptions sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole people. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us. We have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has grown, but we have forgotten God. 8