The message was brought by Rev. Eddie Foster on 10/15/23.
Deuteronomy 11:7 But your eyes have seen all the great acts of the Lord which he did. 8 Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it; 9 And that ye may prolong your days in the land, which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land that floweth with milk and honey. 10 For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs: 11 But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven: 12 A land which the Lord thy God careth for: the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.
In the television show “Walker Texas Ranger” he always gets his man saying he’s always watching what you do. No one but the Lord sees everything that’s going on. This portion of scripture was written in 1451 BC. The children of Israel were about to enter the Promised Land after wandering 40 years in the wilderness. This was brought about by their unbelief in what God could do. They won the city of Jericho but lost at Ai because of sin. They conquered Canaan in about one year. Verse 12 ends with saying the eyes of the Lord were upon the land.
Most of us remember the children’s song “O, be careful little hands what you do…..; O, be careful little feet where you go…..; O, be careful little tongue what you say….; O, be careful little ears what you hear…. For the Father up above is looking down in love. O, be careful…..” We need to remember that where we go, what we do and say and what we hear are known to the Lord. He sees and hears it all. With all the gloom in the wilderness, God led the people by a cloud in the day and fire in the night. No matter what path our wildernesses take, God is watching over us. We’re human. Fear comes up at times but God is there and able to comfort.
Everything they experienced, we will: failure, discouraged due to death of loved ones or disease in our own body. Time takes a toll on our bodies. The days to come are far better. Most of us are good at anxiety and are good worriers. Matthew 6:27 assures us that worry accomplishes nothing. Jesus taught us that if we can do something about a situation, do it. If we can’t, don’t worry about it.
Wilderness is usually a bad experience. Jesus wept over the death of his friend. Timothy needed something for his stomach. Paul had a thorn in the flesh. In the first century many Christians were killed in persecution. No matter what, the eyes of the Lord are upon the situation. Men and women in the Bible went through the wilderness experiences; they didn’t quit. They got up and went on. When you fail, get up and do the same. Even so, not everyone survives wilderness. We must learn to be more patient because wilderness does have casualties. Some of you have been saved for 50+ years. Are you going to quit now? No! Ride out the storm. The eyes of the Lord are upon you; he will never leave you.
We will experience these things. Some say heaven is our Canaan. I understand why they may say that, but Canaan isn’t heaven. Why? For the children of Israel, the enemy was still there. There will be no enemies in heaven. Israel was required to fight. We won’t have to fight anyone or anything in heaven. They were still tempted in Canaan and we’ll face no temptation in heaven. No more battles with the devil. Israel committed sins in Canaan. When we get to heaven we will say goodbye to sin. They experienced death in Canaan. There will be no more death as it will be banished from heaven.
In this day and time right is wrong and wrong is right proving to us the Bible is true. There is no fear of God. Still nothing is hidden from him. We need to live our lives, every moment, realizing the eyes of the Lord are upon us.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 