Fullness 6/12/22

#14 Understanding The Journey

Deuteronomy 8:1-20 NIV 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. 2Remember 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. 3He 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. 4Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 5Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. 6Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him. 7For 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; 8a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; 9a 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. 10When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. 11Be 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. 12Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14then 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. 16He 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. 17You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” 18But 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. 19If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed.20 Like the nations the Lord destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the Lord your God.

I. Israel’s Journey

A. Examples for us

B. Salvation: Deliverance from Egypt

C. Wilderness: A place they learned dependence

D. The Promised Land: Their inheritance

II. The New Testament Parallel

A. In Jesus’ Life

1. Born by the Spirit

2. Baptized by The Spirit

3. Led by The Spirit into The Wilderness

4. Empowered by the Spirit

B. In our Lives

1. Born by The Spirit/Baptized by The Spirit

2. A time of testing and training

3. Walking in our inheritance

Christian Life Lessons

1. Everything is by the Grace of God.

2. There are lessons learned in the wilderness that cannot be learned any other place.

a. Filled with Challenges

· Water

· Food

· Disunity

· Enemies

· Disciplines

· Discomfort

· Dependency

b. Filled with The Spirit

c. Filled with The Scripture

d. David or Saul?

e. Jesus’ Ministry

f. Israel’s “Necessary Path”

g. It is in the wilderness we “learn God.” (The Mad Mouse - Tony Evans)

3. Our time in the wilderness is usually proportional to how well we learn — and how quickly.

a. Jesus’ stay was forty days.

· Led into the wilderness by the Spirit

· Empowered in the wilderness by the Spirit

· Sent from the wilderness into Ministry by The Spirit

b. Israel’s stay should have been only a few months.

c. How long will my stay be?

4. The inheritance that comes after the wilderness is far more important than we realize.

a. The wilderness is also training time for our future glorification. “Well done, faithful servant. You have been faithful in this life — now you shall be rewarded in this new life.”

b. Don’t be surprised when we find ourselves in the wilderness again for a refresher courses.

5. Always remember what the wilderness taught you; always cherish the gifts she gave you.