A Great Message Of Encouragement

Now look at verses 15 to 18:

“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil … IF you obey the commandments of the Lord your God … THEN you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it … But IF your heart turns away … I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish.”

The condition for prospering is obedience to God; the condition for perishing is turning away from God.

This is what Moses, with 120 years of experience, in his final words to the people of Israel, says. It’s in the Bible, God’s word, and it’s simple and straightforward. But lots of Christians don’t believe it. Preachers tell congregations that God loves them and wants to bless them and they don’t say anything about any condition.

THE IMPLICATION

Let’s consider what this implies. Moses says that when God’s people obey God, keep his commandments and turn to him with all their heart and soul, God will take delight in prospering them. But by and large the church in the UK is NOT prospering. It’s doing the opposite of prospering. The number attending church has halved in 35 years. So, what should we conclude? The obvious conclusion is that the church in the UK, by and large, ISN’T fulfilling God’s condition. That would be my conclusion. It is also the conclusion of a great many Christians in the UK.

In 2005, a Christian organization called the Ecumenical Research Committee published a survey titled ‘Let the People Speak’. 14,000 people responded to the survey. The survey noted that two-thirds of the British population say they believe in God. So, it asked, why do so few people attend church? I’m going to quote from the report:

“The answer to this question has been revealed by approximately 75% of those responding i.e. 10,400 replies. They pointed out that while many believe in God, they regard him as undemanding AND NOT REQUIRING OBEDIENCE OR ANY PARTICULAR STANDARD OF CONDUCT.”

What do you think? Do you agree with those respondents? I do! If those respondents are right then there is a deep problem with the message that churches in the UK are giving. God IS a forgiving, tolerant God. But God also demands obedience. Moses tells the people of Israel that God is with people who obey him, keep his commandments, and turn to him with all their heart and soul. We, as the church, need to tell people that. THOSE people can face the future with confidence. No one else can.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

What are the practical applications?

First, God doesn’t demand that we’re perfect. But he does demand a single-minded devotion, something like the commitment of a good and faithful marriage. We need to give him that. We aren’t saved by doing that. Doing that is a response to his love for us.

Second, if we are giving God that commitment then we should be encouraged as we face the future. We should be deeply confident that God WILL be with us in all our battles and struggles. He WILL give us success.

Third, in our passage today Moses encouraged God’s people. We should do the same! We should remind each other that God is with us, that he will give us success. Deuteronomy 31:6 is one of the great promises of the Bible. Let’s remind our Christian friends of it when they’re under pressure and struggling. I remember Sophie [our daughter] giving this verse to Priscilla [my wife] when she was about 13 years old. She wrote a little message and concluded, “Deuteronomy 31:6 ‘…God will never leave u nor forsake u’ Keep smiling” – and a smiley face. We need these messages of encouragement!