Are We Here Again? By Brother Curtis Hansen

         Good morning. In reading the books of the Bible where Moses is the writer and storyteller, you get a sense that at this point in his life, he was not much of a motivational speaker. There were no stirring speeches given to the Israelites as they were outside the promised land. The scripture we are reading from is in Deuteronomy. We will be on the 8th chapter. In the text, we will read the advice Moses is giving the next generation of Israelites as they were preparing to pass over the Jordan. 

        I want to start this message with this statement. Not everything you pursue in your life is tied to your promise from God. The confidence in God's promise and no commitment to his process of overcoming is not dependence but delusion. You cannot have bad thoughts and actions, while still seeking God's promise, or even worse believe you are entitled to it. Don't be content and stuck in your own wilderness. We will begin reading starting at verse 15.

        15 Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water our of the rock of flint;

        16 Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;

        As you can tell in these opening verses, Moses is going over the Israelites history in the wilderness to the next generation which has been brought up there. 

        17 And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.

        When the Israelites departed Egypt in Exodus chapter 12, they took gold and valuables from the Egyptians by simply asking. Now, obviously there were people in the wilderness who had thought they were wealthy on their own accord rather than remember and credit God for the increase.

        18 But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he share unto thy fathers, as it is this day.

        19 And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the Lord thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.

        20 As the nations which the Lord destroyed before your face, so shall ye perish: because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your God.

        Moses is warning the people what he has been saying to them for almost 40 years there in the wilderness. Don't serve other gods. Don't be like other nations. Sometimes the promise may not be for you and rather for others, without the correct process to use in your life. We are going to chapter 9 and verse 1.

        Hear, O Israel: Thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fenced up to heaven,

        2 A people great and tall, the children of the Anakims, whom thou knows, and of whom thou hast heard say, Who can stand before the children of Anak!

        3 Understand therefore this day, that the Lord thy God is he which goeth before thee; as a consuming fire he shall bring them down before thy face: so shalt thou drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the Lord hath said unto thee.

        4 Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the Lord thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the Lord hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the Lord doth drive them out from before thee.

        5 Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the work which the Lords swore unto thy fathers, Abraham, Issac, and Jacob.

        6 Understand therefore, that the Lord thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiff-necked people.

        Look at your life as you read Moses' words. What you have in life is not a blessing of God but it is through his grace you have obtained anything. Do you believe God will give you peace? There are some homes in which chaos reigns. There are christians who think they have greater trials than anyone else. Without the right process in place in your life, you may never know God's peace. Turn to the book of Philippians chapter 4. We will read from verse 6.

        6 Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

        7 And the peace of God which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

        8 Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

        Paul's exhortation to the church in Philippi speaks of the process for peace within you. Prayer, supplication, thanksgiving, in that order you will set your mind towards peace, and truly dwell on the things listed in verse 8. You cannot have consistently bad and obnoxious thoughts and think a small prayer will cover them. If our flesh allows, God will take our desires and replace them with his desires.

        Pivoting back from peace to promise. Give God the chance in working his process for his outcome. We all want a promise like a pill to take after before breakfast in the morning. We pop it and swallow, and are surprised that it only lasts temporarily. Get into his promise. A promise is a seed. You take the seed and you nurture it. That seed will eventually produce some fruit.

        Moses writes three messages in the book of Deuteronomy. Nothing had changed about the promise given to the Israelites in 40 years out in the wilderness. We all want the milk and honey of the promised land, but we need to slay the giants standing in front of the promise. Moses' ongoing struggle with the people in his latter part of life was "You don't trust me enough".

        Out there in the wilderness with this stiff-necked people, Moses had two modes in scripture. There was " I just don't have it" and "I just don't want to do it". Both of those phrases as well as mindsets apply to you and I today.

        Let's talk a little about the promised land. Only people 20 years and younger wold join Joshua and Called to cross over the Jordan and into Canaan. In reading these messages to the people, there is an air of regret. Even though you've been here before, now the time is different. Your faith is greater today than it was then. 

        You are going to fight greater nations, with greater weapons, larger sizes and people. The question floating about the tribes from the older people to the young ones was Who can stand before the children of Anak? That's a provocative question to ask. Same variation of that question which many of us say in our daily walk when we are confronted by adversity. Don't confuse the time in the wilderness being fed manna daily as a blessing. What is your personal Anakim in your walk this morning? The Anakites were a formidable race of giant warlike people  whom the Hebrews thought to be the descendants of the Nephilim. You can look at Genesis chapter 6 and Numbers chapter 13 for more scripture regarding the Nephilim. The question was ingrained in the people's thoughts there in the wilderness. Today, we slap labels on things we want to avoid or things we don't have the courage to overcome. Without the process there is no peace. Don't be content in the label. You won't have the promised land delivered to you, nor have you arrived there. God wants to take you to the promised land and not be satisfied in the wilderness. It's never been about you, it's how great God is. Don't confuse the struggle with surrender in life.