TUESDAY 15 February 2022 “Keys to Success” Deuteronomy 8:1-5

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Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,

What if you were given the microphone or the pen and invited to express to the whole world, what you have learned to be the ‘formula for building a successful life’? I wonder what you would write or say? Certainly our world is full of opinions on this idea of a successful life, but what does the engineer of life, the author of life, God Himself, say?

These days we’re with Moses as he is speaking his farewell messages to the people of Israel whom he has led for 40 years. Farewell messages are often very powerful for they reflect the wisdom of a lifetime, would you agree? Today in Deuteronomy 8, let’s listen to Moses as he gives the people a formula for building a successful life! Listen to his opening statement: “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 that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers.” (Deut. 8:1) So there’s the first key… live with care that you respect and follow the commands the LORD God has given for building a God honoring, successful life. This begins with honoring each of the 10 Commandments God had given the people at Mount Sinai. (Exodus 20) So what does that look like today in our lives, our towns, our nations? Do you see societal breakdown begins when we set aside, disregard, even wholesale reject those powerful 10 Commandments of God?

Next Moses said: “Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these 40 years, to humble you and test you in order to know what was in your hearts…” (Deut. 8:2) First key word: “Be Careful”. Second key word: “Remember”. First key phrase: “Be Careful to follow God’s Commands”. Second key phrase: “Remember the lessons God taught you”. Do you see, my friends, that humility and discerning what is deep in your heart were two lessons God was teaching His people? Oh how pride can destroy a life, do you agree? And oh my how secret sin deep in the heart can destroy a life from the inside out! Here’s a powerful warning to consider about secret sin, found in Psalm 66:18… “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the LORD would not have listened to my prayer.” It might be wise to ponder that for a moment.

Next Moses made this remarkable statement to the people: “God humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna…to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” (Deut. 8:3) Now that probably stunned the Israelites. Yes, the daily, miraculous provision of manna, falling from heaven every morning as they wandered in the foodless desert, was remarkable. But Moses wanted to be sure they understood God was doing much more than simply feeding them like animals! Do you recognize that statement which Moses made? Yes Jesus quoted these exact words when battling with Satan during his 40 day temptation following His baptism. (Matt. 4:4) Jesus also made reference to this in one of His most powerful messages found in John 6. In response to questions from the people, about this 40 year desert journey of the Israelites with Moses, Jesus said: “I tell you the truth, it was not Moses who has given your forefathers bread from heaven, but it is My Father who gives you true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is HE who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:32-35)

Jesus was comparing natural hunger, and the brief satisfaction eating brings, and bread as the symbol of all food that satisfies hunger temporarily, with spiritual hunger. Jesus claimed that HE is the full satisfaction of spiritual hunger for relationship with God and eternal life in heaven. Spiritual hunger is never satisfied with mere bread, or any food. Jesus came to earth first to speak God’s truth. His words brought hope and life to people who trusted His truth words to lead them to God. Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except by Me.” (John 14:6) Jesus also came, of course, to pay our full sin debt price with His atonement death on the cross, earning our sin forgiveness and eternal life with God. In Deuteronomy 8:3 Moses is calling the people to recognize their physical hunger should drive them to seek God’s answer to their God given spiritual hunger, and that hunger quench is God’s words which lead them to a living relationship with God!

Have you discovered this powerful key to a successful life my friends? Do you have an almost insatiable hunger for God’s truth, God’s Word? Have you found filling your life with God’s Word is a vital key to living a successful life? Just as the Israelites needed to gather the manna first thing in the morning before it melted away in the sunlight, so reading and reflecting on God’s Word, first thing in the morning, nourishing your God given spiritual hunger before your day gets busy, can carry you spiritually all day! It’s one of the secrets to living a successful life!

Next Moses reminds the people of something I bet you never thought of… “Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during those forty years.” (Deut. 8:4) So how often do you find yourself needing to buy a new pair of pants or shoes or a shirt? 40 years of desert wear without needing replacement, wow! It was a kindness from God, not only providing daily food, but preventing normal wear and tear on some of their most basic needs… clothing and footwear! Have you found we often take for granted God’s loving and faithful provision even for the basic necessities of sustaining human life on this planet? Maybe right now would be a good moment for a brief thank you to God for all the things you and I take for granted… like air to breathe, nights to rest, sunshine, and even just water to drink!

Finally today let’s look at one more statement in this powerful message from Moses on successful living. “Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son so the LORD your God disciplines you.” (Deut. 8:5) Now, what is that supposed to mean? Sadly, the word “discipline” has fallen far out of popularity or respect in our day. Most often in these days when that word is spoken, people get all worked up assuming it means abusive behavior by parents or police or teachers or bosses. On the contrary, part of the reason we see such civil unrest and social mayhem is the absence of self-discipline and the understanding of how effective and essential true discipline is in the family, the workplace, schools, out in public and everywhere!

As God led these 1 million Hebrews out of Egyptian slavery, they would need to learn how to live freedom, without the slave master’s whip threatening them. So God’s commands and principles for living; and God’s leading them by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night; and God’s causing them to be reliant upon Him for almost everything out in the desert for 40 years. Discipline is coaching with love, training with respect, nurturing maturity and successful living. So my friends, do you and I welcome God’s loving discipline in our lives and do we see how God uses it to refine us into the people He has designed us to be for His glory and our success in life?

Those first 5 verses in Deuteronomy 8 are very powerful aren’t they? May I suggest we read them over and over a few times, and ask God to teach us, mature us, grow us, develop our self discipline as we learn to live our lives in ways that God declares are successful living. Here’s a song, based on Psalm 86:11, that will help us reflect and internalize these life shaping verses:

Today’s Scripture is Deuteronomy 8:1-5.

Choose below to read or listen.

Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.

Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.

Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)

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