Sermon: “A Successful New Year Is Yours for the Taking”
Scripture: Deuteronomy 11:8-17
“Therefore, be careful to obey every command I am giving you today, so you may have strength to go in and take over the land you are about to enter. If you obey, you will enjoy a long life in the land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors and to you, their descendants—a land flowing with milk and honey! For the land you are about to enter and take over is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, where you planted your seed and made irrigation ditches with your foot as in a vegetable garden. Rather, the land you will soon take over is a land of hills and valleys with plenty of rain— a land that the Lord your God cares for. He watches over it through each season of the year! “If you carefully obey the commands, I am giving you today, and if you love the Lord your God and serve him with all your heart and soul, then he will send the rains in their proper seasons—the early and late rains—so you can bring in your harvests of grain, new wine, and olive oil. He will give you lush pastureland for your livestock, and you yourselves will have all you want to eat. “But be careful. Don’t let your heart be deceived so that you turn away from the Lord and serve and worship other gods. If you do, the Lord’s anger will burn against you. He will shut up the sky and hold back the rain, and the ground will fail to produce its harvests. Then you will quickly die in that good land the Lord is giving you.”
Introduction: The Book of Deuteronomy is Moses’ 5-part sermon presentation of God’s history with Israel as they prepare for the next move of God. Moses prepares them for the new level of their future. Unbelief caused their forefathers to die in the wilderness, never seeing God’s best, and never experiencing the future God had for them. How sad it is to have God as their father, Moses as their leader, the promises of God in their hearts and the Promised Land as a gift, then to die with their dreams unfulfilled.
Chapter 1-3 Moses urges the present generation of God’s people to move forward in faith and dare to possess the land because this new land and new day was their heritage from God. God’s gift to them. God has kept them alive for this moment! It was in His plan, in His will and because of His good pleasure, you are here!
Chapter 4-6 Moses reminds them of all the things their great God has done for them. Moses list the victories God has given them, the provisions God has given them for every challenge and the ways God has led them.
Chapter 7-10 Moses reaffirms God’s love towards them and charges the people to love God with all their heart, mind, and soul, then cautions them to hold on to God. Prosperity and plenty can sometimes create a feeling of self-sufficiency or self-reliance.
Moses knew that they would need God even more in the future. Living in the land of Canaan was a special privilege because it was a land flowing with milk and honey, an expression describing the abundance of the land. In other words, Canaan was a prosperous land. God gave an excellent land to His covenant people so that they would enjoy their lives in submission to His will. This new generation is on the verge of doing something their parents failed to do. Moses helps this new generation to be mentally, physically, and spiritually prepared for the task ahead. “For the land where you are going is not like the land from which you have come.” No one can predict the events of the coming days, yet many are predicting a new day, a different day and we must prepare for a new normal. They are moving to the next level, and we are moving into a new year. What troubles will tomorrow bring? What kind of effort will the new land require? What challenges will the new year present? God made it clear to Moses and His people when He said, “Therefore, be careful to obey every command I am giving you today, so you may have strength to go in and take over the land you are about to enter.” The land is a gift, but you must go in and take over! The first thing required is a new mindset.
1. Adopt A New Mindset from Ease to Warfare! “Therefore, be careful to obey every command I am giving you today, so you may have strength to go in and take over the land you are about to enter. If you obey, you will enjoy a long life in the land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors and to you, their descendants—a land flowing with milk and honey!”
We must be strong, keep going and possess the Land. Going to a new level, a new year or a new normal will not be a cake walk! “Yarash” in the Hebrew means to take possession, drive the enemy out without fail. You cannot have a bright future without a fight. Learn new skills, sharpen your weapons, and look for new opportunities. Sometimes opportunities knock, but at other times they must be found, yet many opportunities must be created.
2. Adopt A New Work Ethic! The next level will require work, productive work. “For the land you are about to enter and take over is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, where you planted your seed and made irrigation ditches with your foot as in a vegetable garden. Rather, the land you will soon take over is a land of hills and valleys with plenty of rain— a land that the Lord your God cares for. He watches over it through each season of the year!”
The new land is a land of labor, not leisure. The land flows with milk and honey. The new land is bountiful, the new year brings many opportunities, but it will require labor, not laziness. Milk is plentiful but it must be gathered. Cows don’t give milk; you must squeeze out every drop. Gathering honey requires protective equipment, skill, and determination. We much not allow this slowdown to make us lazy and unproductive. The promise is true and we can have everything God promised. Houses we did not build, vineyards we did not plant, walls will fall, and enemies will flee, but productive work is required. (some assembly is required)
3. Adopt A Continuous Learning Attitude. The next level will require continuous learning and additional wisdom. The new land is not like the land of Egypt they are leaving behind. In Egypt, the seed was provided; the tools required was minimal, they could plant seeds with the heel of their feet. The water from the Nile River was used for irrigation. Canaan with its rocky hills and seasonal rains will require more wisdom. They must understand the terrain, the seasons and the technology needed. They will need plows, oxen, hoes, picks, and additional wisdom. We must continue to grow, and we can grow. We all can become stronger, wiser, and better. Understanding and technology alone are insufficient, they would also need a close, obedient relationship with God. God is the father of the rain. Our success will depend on His showers of blessings. Our new year will require determined warfare, productive work, and additional wisdom.
4. Give Careful Attention to Your Heart. V.16, 17 “But be careful. Don’t let your heart be deceived so that you turn away from the Lord and serve and worship other gods. If you do, the Lord’s anger will burn against you. He will shut up the sky and hold back the rain, and the ground will fail to produce its harvests. Then you will quickly die in that good land the Lord is giving you.”
The new land would be filled with challenges for Israel. The new year bring equal challenges for us but remember, these things are not new to Our God. Years have always changed. Seasons will always change. Conditions will change. Difficulties will come and go. There will always be hills and valleys, yet every trial will be conquered, every victory will be won, if we maintain our relationship with God. God knows where he is leading us. The Lord God cares for this land and watches over the land and directs our steps from the beginning of the year to the end. Under His watchful eye, He gives rain as needed, the former and the latter rain. He will give rain in due season when it’s needed. You will be fruitful and prosperous in the new year, your crops will produce abundantly, and your livestock will be fat and full.
“If you carefully obey the commands, I am giving you today, and if you love the Lord your God and serve him with all your heart and soul, then he will send the rains in their proper seasons—the early and late rains—so you can bring in your harvests of grain, new wine, and olive oil. He will give you lush pastureland for your livestock, and you yourselves will have all you want to eat.”
Notice the blessings of obedience, rain in the proper amount and proper time for maximum production. You will have grain for food, selling, and planting; new wine for pleasure, and enrichment; olive oil for lighting, cooking, for beauty and blessing others; lush pastureland for your livestock, sheep, cattle, horses, and everything else. And you yourselves will have all you want to eat.
I know you maybe asking, does God know about inflation or economic downturn or Covid-19 or the flu? Here is God’s response in verse Deuteronomy 11:18-20,
“So, commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, so that as long as the sky remains above the earth, you and your children may flourish in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors.”
Successful new year’s dreams will be accomplished by warfare and determination. Moving forward requires taking new ground and driving out the enemies. Secondly, productive work will be required. Seeds must be planted, crops must be cultivated, vineyards must be pruned, storerooms must be repaired, and the harvest must be gathered. Then new skills must be learned, new connections made, new understanding of the land, seasons, and the obstacles in the way. We must keep improving our skills. Finally, we must be careful to stay with the Lord. You would think that prosperity and plenty would bring God’s people closer to Him but there is a caution in the text. The caution is twofold. It is possible to allow prosperity and plenty to lead us away from God and into pride and arrogance, then we lose the blessing. Then it is possible to fail to pass on to our children our knowledge of God, and they take God’s blessings for granted, walk away from God, and start following the Gods of this world. Listen to the caution again,
“But be careful. Don’t let your heart be deceived so that you turn away from the Lord and serve and worship other gods. If you do, the Lord’s anger will burn against you. He will shut up the sky and hold back the rain, and the ground will fail to produce its harvests. Then you will quickly die in that good land the Lord is giving you.”
There is a danger of living in gated community, driving luxury cars, relaxing on designed furniture, dressing in designer clothing, yet quickly die in that good land without God and without His favor. Some are dying badly in a good land. Their hearts are so deceived, they are laughing their way to destruction.
God encourages believers to, “Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, so that as long as the sky remains above the earth, you and your children may flourish in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors.”
God has one desire for His people and that is, …”so that as long as the sky remains above the earth, you and your children may flourish in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors.”
God will bless them with an abundance of all good things, if they would love him and serve him. Godliness has the promise of the life that now is; but the favor of God shall put gladness into the heart, more than the increase of corn, and wine, and oil. God wants you and me to have a happy, prosperous, glorious new year and life. It begins and ends with a relationship with Him through our Lord Jesus Christ. Today, you can begin more than a new year, you can begin a new life. Amen.
