King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Thursday, March 14, 2024
Chapters: Deuteronomy Chapters 8-10
Message: Stay Hungry
Hello My Friend,
The other day I forced myself to work in an area that was unsafe because my job is on the line since I refused to do that area. I ended up in a hole in the wall store that kept everything that can be placed in ones pocket behind a counter with bulletproof glass. As I was sitting in my car watching the people walk around, God pointed something out to me, most people do not see the color of ones skin, the cars they drive, or even the homes they live in, they just see people in need. It was a reminder that God is no respecter of persons, [Romans 2:9-11 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; 10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: 11 For there is no respect of persons with God.]
Now, there are some wicked people everywhere and as I said before no job is worth endangering someone’s life, but for the most part we are all just people trying to survive in this wicked world. Some are blessed with more wealth than others, but most are living each day by their daily bread. And as I was reading the chapters for today, this passage comes to mind, [Philippians 4:11-12,18-19 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 18 But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God. 19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.]
It is truly amazing just how much life humbles us to the point that we can be content with just the basic needs of life, a roof over our heads, some bread and water, and of course, Jesus. No matter our walks of life, we all need Jesus, and I am pretty sure that when Jesus walked the earth He was not wealthy. In fact, He was quite poor and in the three and a half years of His ministry He was homeless. How did He put it? Foxes have holes, but He had no where to lay His head, [Luke 9:57-58 And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. 58 And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.]
Jesus, when He walked the earth in the very flesh, was very humble, He did not beg people for food, yet was provided for every day. The life that Jesus lived while in the flesh was shown to prove to us that life truly is more than bread and water, it is about living the life you live with Him, who is the bread and water of every saved, born again Christian. Jesus, will be the first to tell you that life in the flesh is a struggle, we are faced with more than death, we are also faced with sickness, hunger, and that dreaded sin nature of ours. I believe that God keeps us this way because He wants us to stay hungry. Jesus said this, [Luke 6:21 Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.]
As we continue in the reading of Deuteronomy, Moses, stresses the importance of the Israelites never forgetting that it was God who had been with them for more than just provisions, [Deuteronomy 8:1-4 All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers. 2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. 3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live. 5 Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee.]
[suffered thee to hunger…that he might make thee know…man doth not live by bread only,] God, wants us to be hungry, not physically, but spiritually, and sometimes He does use physical hunger and other needs of our flesh to bring about the hunger in our spirit so that we might feed off Him, [Luke 12:22-23,30-31 And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. 23 The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. 30 For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. 31 But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.]
So why are we to stay hungry? The fuller we get with what our flesh desires the less we turn to God and may even forget God. Moses, goes on to remind the Israelites the importance of acknowledging God in all that He blesses us with.
[Deuteronomy 8:11-14,16 Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: 12 Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; 13 And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; 14 Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; 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;]
[that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;] Sometimes God uses Satan to prove our faith with wealth, are we going to stay true to Him when we have everything we desire or forsake Him as soon as we get it? Moses, cautions the Israelites on what would happen if they forget that it was God who blessed them.
[Deuteronomy 8:18-20 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 sware 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 destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the LORD your God.]
[if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God…ye shall surely perish.] Can one who is saved and born again forget God? Yes they can. While no true saved and born again Christian can lose their salvation, the one who is saved in the moment can. You see, many accept Christ when they are starving, but it is only for the moment, as soon as things turn around forget God. This is why so many true Christians live each day by their daily bread, when God is our provider we tend to be more grateful and mindful that He supplies our every need, [Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.]
In order for us to stay hungry we need to practice some humility, those who are humble come understand that the blessings that God gives them has nothing to do with just how “good” they are, but rather how wicked the world is. Moses, goes on to explain this.
[Deuteronomy 9:1-4 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 knowest, 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 over before thee; as a consuming fire he shall destroy them, and 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.]
[as a consuming fire he shall destroy them,] The wicked will always be destroyed and it is not really God who destroys them, they destroy themselves through their disbelief in Him, [Matthew 10:32-33 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. 33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.]
If there is one thing I have learned over the years as a Christian it is that God has protected me and had a lot of mercy on me when I was wandering around in my own wilderness. While God wants us to understand that once we get saved our sins are long forgotten, He also wants us to never forget that we are saved by His grace. Moses, goes on to remind them of why they are not getting to the promised land by any good that they have done.
[Deuteronomy 9:5-7 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 word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, 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 stiffnecked people. 7 Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the LORD thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the LORD.]
[Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the LORD] We are to never forget where we were before we chose Christ and allowed Him to live in and through us, remembering that we were just as stiffnecked as the Israelites and may still be from time to time. When Christ gets in us He changes us, and let me tell you, these reminders keep you humble because you know how bad it was before He was in your life. Moses, reminds the Israelites of what they did to provoke God more than anything.
[Deuteronomy 9:13-14,19-20,23-24 Furthermore the LORD spake unto me, saying, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: 14 Let me alone, that I may destroy them, and blot out their name from under heaven: and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they. 19 For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith the LORD was wroth against you to destroy you. But the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also. 20 And the LORD was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him: and I prayed for Aaron also the same time. 23 Likewise when the LORD sent you from Kadeshbarnea, saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you; then ye rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God, and ye believed him not, nor hearkened to his voice. 24 Ye have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you.]
[rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you.] How is that for conviction? Do not think for a moment that if Christ was not a constant in your life that you would not fall quickly back into the world. God, showed me that the hard way that we must be dependent upon Him at all times or else we will provoke Him, [1 Corinthians 10:21,31 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils. 31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.]
We get this idea in our heads that in order for God to do something in our lives we need to be a certain way, and while there is some truth to that, it is often not what we think. You life is yours, it is the one God gave you, what He chooses for you is not necessarily what He chooses for someone else. We can accept that, trust Him, and let Him guide us or we can rebel, and in the end have nothing to show for it. Moses, tells Israel exactly what God requires from every one who chooses Him.
[Deuteronomy 10:12-16 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, 13 To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good? 14 Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD’S thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is. 15 Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day. 16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.]
[what doth the LORD thy God require of thee] Exactly what does God require of us in order to receive His blessings? Two things, faith and faithfulness. Our faith in God is what leads us to Christ, our faithfulness to God after we receive Christ is what leads us to fear Him, which in turn teaches us to walk in His ways, loving Him, and serving Him with all our heart and soul. Do you know why humility is our greatest asset? It removes that foreskin around our heart. It also does something else, it keeps us hungry for God. It does not matter if we are saved through our faith in Christ today or if it was through our righteousness through our faith in the LORD before His passion, the same rule applies. Why? Because He is God.
[Deuteronomy 10:17-21 For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: 18 He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. 19 Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. 20 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name. 21 He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen.]
[a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons,] Again, God, is no respecter of persons, so it is time to remove any doubts, fears, pride, anger, strife, bitterness, or whatever it is that is on our heart that has hindered any blessings or taken them away, and replace it with that humility that we need, and watch God lift us up, [Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. – James 4:8-10]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Deuteronomy 9:25-26 Thus I fell down before the LORD forty days and forty nights, as I fell down at the first; because the LORD had said he would destroy you. 26 I prayed therefore unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, destroy not thy people and thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed through thy greatness, which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand.]
Today’s Prayer: God, I cannot praise You enough for everything that You have blessed me with, not of my own righteousness, but by my faith alone in You. My salvation, only given by my faith in Your Son, my life, only given by my faith in Your promises, my protection, only given by my faith in Your Word, my provisions, only given by my faithfulness to You. Nothing I have is of my own merit, it all comes as I humble myself to You, fear You, and reap the benefits of my faithfulness to You. Lord, keep me hungry for Your Word, for Your presence, for Your direction in my life. Lead me and guide me, keep my heart tender, pure, and willing. Help me remove any doubts, fears, or anything else that is on my heart, and keep me humble so that I never forget to give You the glory for all that You have blessed me with. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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