Three Killers

“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.