America has Issues- The Prosperity Problem

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20120205-eastside-sermon.mp3

 America has issues. It is tough to live in America as a Christian. Do you know what the problem is? It is the Prosperity Problem. Prosperity is not a problem by its very nature.  There are some godly, rich, growing Christians.  But prosperity often is a problem because it provides comfort.  When I have an emergency fund and a well-funded IRA, I feel financially comfortable and it’s easy to stop praying about my finances.  Have you become satisfied with your Christian life?  Be honest.  Do you hear encouragements to pray or read the Bible daily or be the spiritual leader of your home and (instead of changing) simply smile, “Thanks, but no thanks.  Things are going well with me right now.” America is a wonderful and dangerous country.  It is wonderful because we who were born here have lived with tremendous prosperity from day one.  Even if you have been on welfare, been homeless, and been out of work, you still live better than the vast majority of the world.  If you’ve visited a third-world country, you’ve been floored by how good we have it in America. The problem is that our physical blessings are related directly to our spiritual blessings.

Our text this morning was a reminder to the children of Israel of the Prosperity Problem. Moses was speaking to those who had been provided for with daily bread. Manna was provided by God in the desert each day,  just enough for each person. Quail was provided so they had just enough. They wandered for 40 years with one set of clothes. Things were going to change when they went into the Promised Land. They were going to be richly blessed with things they never worked for in their life. They had lived with adversity now they would have to prepare for prosperity. When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, ¹¹ houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, ¹² be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

“Then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful…” The Lord God that is the Triune God, points out the danger lurking in the fully-furnished land:  Forgetfulness. Why would the blessings of the Promised Land be a danger?  They would be satisfied.  When you are satisfied, you tend to forget.  That’s the key thought of this paragraph. Satisfied is a dangerous word because it means we stop striving, and our mission is “growing in Jesus”.  A vision will absolutely fail if we are satisfied with the status quo. Remember why God was giving these blessings to them. God promised this land to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In that land they would be a great nation, but the greatest blessing would be that the Messiah, that the Savior Jesus Christ, would come from their nation. That Messiah Jesus was at the heart of the faith of Abraham as mentioned in the New Testament by the Apostle Paul in Romans 4. Abraham believed and it was credited to him as righteousness. They would need to keep living by faith in the Lord who redeems them.

America is dangerous because we can all eat until we’re satisfied.  Either the economy allows us to earn it or someone else provides it, but we are satisfied. “Be careful that you do not forget the LORD.” The word “forget” stands out to me.  Most of the important things in life aren’t things that we reject or deny; they are things we forget.  I don’t reject the power of prayer; I just sometimes forget to devote larger blocks of time to it.  I don’t deny the value of working out regularly.  I just sometimes forget to go when my schedule picks up.  Through the prophet Hosea, the Lord expressed his disappointment when just that very thing had happened: “When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me” (Hosea 13:6).

What causes us to “forget the LORD” here in America?  Work.  T.V.  Sports.  Routine.  Tradition.  The home-model we grew up in. Maybe all those things boil down to one word:  Busyness.  Busyness becomes an idol that we fear, love, and trust above all things. This is a real issue because almost all of us are busy.  Students are busy.  Graduates are busy.  New parents are busy.  Retirees often say they’re busier than ever!  Those hunting for a job are busy.  Those with jobs are busy.  Therefore, all of us face the problem of forgetting about God in our busy schedules.

How do you make sure you don’t “forget” God?  That’s simple.  Just like you make sure you don’t forget anything else.  You build it into the rhythm of your life.  You write it in your calendar.  You set a reminder in your smart phone.  You pick a time for family devotions.  You decide to pray every day on the way to work.  When it’s a part of your daily life, you won’t forget it.  Remember the Lord and what he has done. Remember that he directs us back to his Word. We need to keep thinking of Jesus who did everything to make sure we would be his children. He obeyed God’s commandments for us as he lived in this world with the constant use of God’s Word. Think about who Jesus is and what he did for you every single day of your life. Life is all about Jesus not just the house, the car, the job, the family and all the other blessings God gives to us.

Remember Jesus answered all three of Satan’s temptations in the wilderness with quotations from Deuteronomy. When Satan promised to give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor if Jesus would only bow down and worship him, Jesus answered with verse 13, “Fear the Lord your God, serve him only.” When Satan dared him to plunge off the southeast corner of the temple complex, Jesus responded with verse 16, “Do not test the Lord your God.” Moses warned Israel, “Don’t take your Lord’s grace for granted. Don’t try his patience to see how long you can disobey without suffering sin’s consequences.”

¹³ Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. ¹⁴ Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; ¹⁵ for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. ¹⁶ Do not test the Lord your God as you did at Massah. ¹⁷ Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. ¹⁸ Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land that the Lord promised on oath to your forefathers, ¹⁹ thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the Lord said. “Fear the LORD” is a great phrase.  To fear is to be in awe of.  We can’t forget what we fear. “Do not follow the gods of the peoples around you” What a phrase.  We could look around and see the “American Idols”  Although we could develop a whole series on the idols of greed, pleasure, laziness, etc., The greatest harm in busyness is the  having time for the Lord God to be a part of our conversations at home as we soak in his promises daily.  Remember what God wants us to do. Remember to focus on the Giver of all the gifts you enjoy and not just the gifts themselves.

“God is a jealous God…and he will destroy you” Don’t forget that!  If you fall from faith, you will go to hell.  If your children drift and forget the Lord, they will not only miss out on the “enjoyment” of the “life that is truly life” (1 Tim. 6), but also THE life God wants for us in heaven.  This is an eternal life and death issue.  Busyness is a deadly foe for our faith. I can’t control the decisions my children make when they grow older, but I can shape them.  Today I have the powerful Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.  I have the responsibility and authority of the Most High God to lead my family as a Bible teacher.  While I know I will care intensely about the spiritual decisions they make about church, prayer, Bible-reading, spouse-choosing, etc., I can’t feel guilty about any foolish choices they might make.  However, I can take advantage of today and create a home of joy, peace, patience, kindness, etc. by using the Holy Spirit’s tool, the Word of God.

Busyness robs us of time for the means of grace. The three channels of God’s grace are Baptism, the Lord’s Supper and His Word. Busyness robs our time to talk to God in prayer. Focus on the Giver of all the gifts you enjoy not the gifts.   Think about Jesus your Savior who shed his blood for you so that you might have life now and forever. Where do you hear that message? You hear it in God’s Word in your home in God’s house.  Remember the Lord every day. Focus on the Giver of all the gifts you enjoy. The greatest gift God gives is the knowledge of his love, forgiveness and mercy that he wants to bring to you and your family every day. Think about Jesus love for you every day. Remember Jesus loves you. Remember. Remember. Focus on the Giver of the gifts and not the gifts themselves.