Do Not be Enticed! Hold Firm on God’s Covenant and Have Faith (Deuteronomy 11:8-17)

I hope that this will be a time where we hold firmly onto God’s covenant through Deut. 11. Deuteronomy is the sermon Moses gave to the second generation of the Israelites yet again, to remind them of the message God gave to their parents’ generation. We can see that the Old Testament began through the Exodus. As we read in the main passage, as they lived in Egypt, the Israelites lost hold of God, were living for idol worship, and within disasters. It’s fascinating because in our minds, we think without enough strength we can escape Egypt. But the Bible tells us that’s impossible. Egypt can refer to a geographical region, but it talks about a certain situation. The Bible tells us we can only escape when we apply the blood of the Passover Lamb. Where does the suffering of our lives come from? All of our suffering comes, because we were created to be in communication with God, living with His blessings in His strength, but we were separated. Because of that, we continuously face situations we cannot overcome with our own strength. It turns out we cannot escape from this spiritual stream. 

When the Bible talks about slavery, it’s not a issue of occupation, because Joseph was a slve. It’s talking about a situation you cannot escape from. In reality, Satan is controlling the entire world with his authority and culture. so there is no way humans can escape this world. Therefore, God has to work with power. He works with power according to his covenant. It talks about God’s blood covenant, the cross. Someone without sin must die on the cross on my behalf. Not escapable with the ability of humans. Someone must die on my behalf and he must resurrect. If he does not resurrect, then the one who died has sin. So without a doubt, as evidence he is God, he must resurrect to prove that he is without sin. Whoever believes in this says it doesn’t matter what situation they are in. 

The people of God who had this exodus from Egypt are going into the land God prepared for them. There are a lot of saved people of God, who don’t know the direction they must go in. If they don’t know the direction of their life, it means they are wandering and struggling. The Israelites who are going to church must go into the land of Canaan, but they don’t know where they’re going. And because they’re losing hold of their direction, they live their lives in conflict and destruction. 

So in verse 8, God gives this specific and definite word about the direction and method. “Observe therefore all the commands I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. To observe means to keep God’s command. Why is it that legalistic people receive the same word of God, but have no choice but to be discouraged and judge other people.   It’s because they’re looking at everything from the perspectives  of God’s command. They always judge themselves and other people whether we are able to keep it or not, so they get discouraged and judgemental. They have no choice but to look at people and say “this person keeps the word of God well” or “this person is a Christian why are they active this way?” And they aren’t incorrect but they have lost hold of the important thing. This isn’t talking about whether this person is right or wrong. Before God talks about our actions, he wants us to believe in what he is telling us. God is saying he will do what he has promised. And I’m the Old Testament, he expresses this by saying “observe all the command,” so we can fall into legalism easily. And in the current day there are too many people like this.  So people look at other people’s actions and judge whether they have faith or not. If you hold onto and believe the important covenant that God has given, then God will fulfill that covenant, and the one who believes that covenant is what God wants. When you believe that the God who brought us out of Egypt is my God and our God and the God of all things, then you will hold onto that covenant in faith and go forth.  

And when you do this, you will have strength. This strength isn’t talking about the strength people try gathering in the world but the strength from heaven. In other words, it’s talking about the blessing and power of the throne of heaven. It must be this power of the throne of heaven in order to have the strength to conquer the land of Canaan where demons and idolatry are ruling. In other words, you are fulfilling God’s covenant and kingdom there. Get rid of all of the idols there and establish the kingdom of  God in the land of Canaan. And God is saying he will do this work through those who believe the covenant. God will be with and work with power upon the one who believes in that covenant in your region. However, if you lose hold of God’s covenant, then we have to live a life that is like in the wilderness and Egypt. We say, “we are too old,” “we are too weak” but God promised to give strength. 

Verse 9, wherever God is with you, it is ok. And that covenant gets exactly relayed to the future generation so that no matter what situation they are in, it’s okay. However, if they life without this covenant and they try to live with their own strength and the power of the world, then they will lose and be a slave to the ruler of the kingdom of the air. 

Verse 10, it’s not like the land of Egypt. Verse 11, this is an explanation of the ground or the terrain. Verse 12, it is a land the LORD your God cares for. In Egypt they were living next to the Nile river so they had water from the Nile but in the land of Canaan the water goes down to the valleys and gets stuck there. This means the physical things are not what’s important. What’s important is this is a land the LORD your God cares for. The eyes of the LORD your God were continually on it from the beginning do the year to its end, that’s why we can go to the land where no one else goes, we can go to a place where no one can help us, and we can begin anew in a place that has nothing. Because whoever has the covenant, God will work upon them. 

But if you lose hold of God’s covenant and you just go into the land of Canaan, you aren’t going there to be conquered but to be seized. And when the remnants go out to the field of the world, you must go holding onto this covenant. You must go into the field holding onto this covenant for God to always be with the remnant and with whatever you are doing. You hold onto this covenant and strength and you go to fulfill the goal and direction God wants you to fulfill. 

What is that kingdom of God? It is breaking down the kingdom of Satan and establishing the kingdom of God. Every field in the world is centered on humans. And the reason people serve idols is because they want to satisfy their own greed. And this is how the devil is deceiving the entire world and controlling them. John 8:44 says the devil is the liar from the beginning. And in that field if you say “me” you’ll die with them. If we talk about or think about ourselves more than we think about God’s covenant, it aligns with our nature. And that’s why before you go into the field of the world, you must have and prepare this covenant. For the remnants that hear this Word in the church and in the homes, they will rise quickly. Because the works will take place according to how much they hear this Word. If you’re far away from these Remnants, you can relay it to them spiritually through prayer. Because God actually works through the spiritual things. What’s important is the church and the family that have this faith. People cannot change with your persuasion, but they change by faith in God. 

For people who know this, they don’t need to compete with others. Their goal is entirely different, there’s nothing to compete for. There’s no one to compete with, because their goal is not on this earth. They’re going in with the goal of God’s covenant, of establishing God’s kingdom and world evangelization so there’s nobody to compete with. Joseph arose in the field of nobody and nothing. There was nothing he could gain for himself. It is exactly like today’s word. God said, “I will be with you and take over the land for you.” We are made for God to establish his kingdom through us. When the things of God become my things, we will conquer this world, meaning the kingdom of Satan. And we enjoy that strength every day, that’s what is the platform. 

If someone doesn’t have power or strength, people will not be drawn to them. It doesn’t matter how much they know the Bible, people will not be drawn to those without strength. There are so many people in this world who know the Bible, why is it that people are not drawn to them? It’s because they know a lot of the words, but because they don’t have faith, they lack strength. But the world is moving with a different kind of strength. Where did that strength come from? It’s not their own personal strength. They’re drawing and moving people with the strength they get through religion and transcendental meditation. Even conmen will gather people if they have that strength. If you look at them spiritually, they are caught by evil and dark spirits. If the Christians know this covenant and have the power of God, people will be drawn to them. Because I have this strength, I am able to give strength to others. And it’s not a simple strength, it’s strength that comes from the covenant of God, and you can relay it to others. 

But if we live our walk of faith, but we don’t have any strength, it means we don’t have the covenant. Even if you know it, it’s not connected to your faith so you don’t actually have the strength. Then first and foremost, this person is not conquering the land of Canaan, but instead being conquered by the world. So Remnants, you must have this strength always and every day because the Triune God is already with me. God has already given us the direction of world evangelization to the 237 nations. And in order to fulfill this covenant, God is giving us his word every week and every day. We must hold onto the word and receive strength. When the strength of God comes upon us, then everything we need will be naturally given to us. That is how God explained it in the Old Testament.

Deut. 11:13-14 “So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today – to love the LORD your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul – then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and oil” meaning God will give you everything you need. If you believe in God’s covenant and you fill your heart with it and go into the guidance of being with God, God will give you everything you need physically. For the people who are holding onto the covenant of temple construction, God will give you whatever it takes to fulfill this covenant because things do not belong to people, it belongs to God. God is the owner of everything. And of course, the master of everything will work upon the person who holds onto His covenant. For Remnants, you need to understand finances when you are young. Where does money come from? It comes from God. God gives you the ability to work, and God does it. 

That is the principle God works upon , on all people, whether they are believers or nonbelievers. But what God is talking about in this passage is slightly different. There is a covenant, a command given by God. For the people that go out holding onto the promise of God’s covenant, God will give them the promise of economy. And everything belongs to God. However, there is a difference between the economy God prepared for the covenant versus the money that believers and nonbelievers make with their own money. And ever since you are young, you must be able to discern this. Because the economy and finances control most people, so it’s very important. What’s the reason God gives us the economy of light? Why is it that God is telling us that in the land of Canaan He will bring rain in autumn and spring and gather grain, wine, and oil? They can just go in and farm, according to their strengths. But that’s not enough. In order to conquer Canaan, you must have the economy of light that God gives you. But people who do not have God’s covenant, they just work according to their own strength to maintain their own physical needs, because that is not the economy of light. But in order to fulfill God’s covenant, God has prepared both the spiritual and physical things. 

Deut 11:15 God says, “I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.” meaning God can also prevent grass from growing in the fields. If there is a famine, God can let it be. However, it is also in God’s hands that allows us to avoid the famines. How? If we obey God’s commands. In other words, if we believe in God’s covenant, and we set our direction of our lives to fulfill God’s covenant then God will take care of us regardless of the environment and atmosphere. That’s why it says in Psalms 1, the ones that are blessed are prosperous. Prosperity means that the work God is doing is fulfilled exactly. But the prosperity that nonbelievers talk about is not aligned with God’s prosperity. In other words, when these people face drought or famine, God just lets them be because they don’t have God’s covenant. However, the ones who are blessed are different. What is a blessing? The one that’s liberated from Satan, sin, hell of Genesis 3 is blessed. The one who knows and believes in Jesus Christ is a blessing. The characteristic of these people is not that they work diligently, but they meditate on the Word of the Lord day and night. There is a law that is contained within meditating on the word day and night. Does that mean they don’t even work holding onto God’s word? No. It means while they are doing everything, the most important thing in this person’s center is the Word of God. Because this person already received the blessing of Christ, the most important thing in their lives is the Word of God. These people will live a life that bears fruit in season just like a tree planted by the waters.

However, the wicked cannot be like that. What is wickedness? Not acknowledging Christ is wickedness. These people do not chase after God’s word but chase after their own thoughts. These people are like chaff, blowing in the wind. They shake in front of problems and circumstances of their lives. These people will face their destruction. However, the one that’s blessed and meditates on the Word of the Lord every day will continue to have prosperity. 

Deut. 11:16 ” Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them.” He is telling you to “be careful for yourselves.” Being in the field of the world, it entices us. The way that it does it is very simple. It makes us think about me and whatever I want to do, and that is my idol. It is so easy for us to be enticed, especially girls or women. Even if there’s a man, without any thought, if he looks good, he’ll say a few words and even if he doesn’t have the covenant, the girl will be swept up by him. It’s the same thing in business. There are many words being passed around without the covenant, but people will be enticed by them. People say, “we won’t be enticed,” but they are bound to be enticed. They know your thoughts well and that’s the words they use. They know exactly what you want and fill your desires with their words. That’s why we have no choice but to be enticed. When you hold onto the covenant, you only move when things are aligned with the covenant. When we go out into the world, there are so many things to be enticed by. If you don’t have the covenant, you are bound to be enticed. That’s why even as people go to church, they are enticed by idols. Colossians 3 was not words given to nonbelievers. They were words given to the believers of the church of Colossus. God told the believers, the Israelites of the Old Testament, “you are worshiping idols.” It means they have already been enticed. 

Instead of being fully satisfied with God’s covenant alone and God’s plan should be our vision, dream, and life, but we hold onto the dreams and visions of the world, that’s why we are enticed. That’s why we are enticed so easily. Because there is a spirit that is enticing us. It is invisible, and it entices us through people and our thoughts. But the people who hold onto God’s covenant don’t need to be enticed. Because if something is aligned with the covenant, we do it; if it is not, we stay still. But because we don’t have the covenant, we don’t give offering, but we give our money to other things. I’m not saying marketing is a bad thing. I have no ability to say that, but I’m saying that it’s easy for people to be enticed by marketing. Multi level Marketing is every enticing, because you don’t have to do the work, but if you convince a few people under you to do your work then you’ll take a percentage of their commission and make money. That is so enticing. So the Multi Level Marketing itself is not a bad thing, but it has a bad effect. So when you look at someone, you look at them according to the money they can make you. If you have your own business or product, you can do your job well. Instead you look at people based on the money they can make you. That’s why it’s easy to get enticed. Even if it isn’t Multi Level Marketing, if you have a business, do you think that the people coming to you don’t know who you are. They do. Whether you are doing it consciously or unconsciously. The issue is that you’re not able to discern between the people because you don’t have the covenant. That’s why people without the covenant are bound to ultimately fall. That’s what this is saying. 

Deut 11: 17 “Then the LORD’s anger will burn against you, and he will shut the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the LORD is giving you.”  This means that even if you’re a saved Child of God, without the covenant you will be enticed and may be destroyed. And so there’s different ways to use the word “perish”, but this is talking about the people who live their walk of faith but who don’t receive answers and the power of God at all. Even though they may have salvation, they suffer, and even from the eyes of nonbelievers, they don’t seem right. Because God is saying, He will shut the heavens, so it will not rain. And the standard of why God shuts off the blessings of heaven is that you serve the idols and have left the covenant. Then when the Remnants go out into the world, the standard you must have first, second, third, fourth, and fifth is it must be God’s covenant. That’s why we use the word “only”. It is for only the covenant that God gives us answers. If there’s no rain on anyone else but there’s only rain on this one person, no one can compete with them. That’s what God is promising to give to the Remnants. There’s no reason to hold onto any other words. Because everyone else’s words come from their own experiences and greed, so there’s no reason to listen to them well. Yes, we do study and read books about successful people; but that is not the principle that will continue. God is telling us very surely, “Do not be enticed.” We think we’re not going to be enticed, but you will be the moment you lose hold of the covenant. Even for Adama and Eve, no matter what anyone else said to them, if they had sure faith, it wouldn’t have mattered, but they were times they were weak. The devil knows exactly the time when you are weak and that is when he attacks.

1 Pt. 5:7 says that in that time of weakness, the devil roams around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. That’s why the most important thing when you begin your day is to hold onto God’s covenant, receive His strength, and confirm you are going out into the field as a missionary to relay God’s covenant. That’s the reason why God promises to work. As much as this is imprinted, rooted, and natured in you, you will not be enticed. You shouldn’t listen to any other words. The more you listen to them, the more confused you’ll get. Because these people are speaking words to you without knowing what they’re saying. Listen to the words of your school studies, but you shouldn’t put them into your heart, because it’s just one aspect of your life. The only thing to believe in is the covenant to save the 237 nations and the power of the throne of heaven God gives us to fulfill that covenant. If you don’t believe in that, you’ll have to use your own strength and abilities. You have to look for a strong person to partner with. But that person has already lost. The powerful God has already promised to work with you, but instead you don’t believe in that. You look for a strong business partner to work with, and you’ve already lost. There’s no reason to be wary of others, you just have to hold onto God’s covenant. And when God’s time schedule says “go,” you do it, and if not, you stay. May you confirm this strength and blessing everyday, and may you go with it out in the field everyday. 

God, we thank you. Allow us to enjoy the blessings and the power of the throne of heaven that God has promised us everyday to save the 237 nations and the 5000 unreached tribes. May we be the ones to save the field as the watchmen and watchtowers. May we be the ones to communicate to the entire world as the antenna for the 237 nations. In Jesus Christ’s name we pray, Amen. 

The gathering of churches with other churches is the oneness that God has planned for and blesses. There is a blessing of God being with us together. On 9//17, there will be the Young Adult Retreat. So I hope the young adults will announce it to all the young adults who come to church. In September, there is also the Korean College Retreat. Let’s pray for that and the LA retreats. Through our prayer, may the disbelief and darkness be broken and may the covenant be imprinted, rooted, and natured.

Next let’s pray for our mission fields. Let us pray for these precious Remnants and especially for El Salvador. 

I hope that you will continue to pray for temple construction because God has prepared something for us and is guiding us and knows our current circumstances.

Now by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. The unending love of our Father God. The indwelling, working, guidance, and the communion of the Holy Spirit. Be upon the heads of all the church officers, Remnants, and multi-ethnic people who hold onto the covenant of the 237 nations and the 5,000 unreached people groups. Be with them now and forever more until always. Amen.