Good evening, or good evening.
Good morning, everyone. Good morning. I'm in the wrong
time. Turn, if you would, to Deuteronomy
chapter 11. We'll be where John read today. So good to be here with everyone. Deuteronomy chapter 11. We'll be looking at verses 10
to 12 today. The name of the message is Egypt
or Canaan. Egypt or Canaan. Deuteronomy 11 verses 10 to 12. For the land whither thou goest
in to possess is not as the land of Egypt. From whence she came out. There's
an important phrase right there. This is speaking of us too. Egypt's
a type of the world. Where thou sowest thy seed, and
waterest with thy foot is a garden of herbs. But the land whither
ye go to possess it is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh
water of the rain of heaven. A land which the Lord thy God
careth. The eyes of the Lord thy God
are always upon us. From the beginning of the year
even until the end of the year. Here before us in Deuteronomy
11 we have a contrast between the land of Egypt and the land
of Canaan. Now we know from studying scripture
that Egypt is typical of the world, typical of the condition
of the children of God, well, they are in bondage to the law
and sin, and work there is unceasing. There's always something that
we have to do. It's unceasing, and it offers
absolutely no rest. Those of us who came out of religion,
we know that. That was us. And this picture here, coming
out of Egypt, is a picture of deliverance which every one of
God's people enjoys. When by faith we rest and trust
in our Savior, Christ, who is our Passover. Who is our Redeemer? Who is our Savior? And it's only
in Christ, who is our rest, it's only in Christ, who is our rest,
that we cease from our labors. Only in Him. Only in Him. The passage through the wilderness
which the Israelites did is typical of the state of hoping and fearing
and doubting which we usually experience between the period
when we come out of Egypt and obtain the full assurance of
faith in Christ Jesus our Lord. Many here have come out of Egypt,
many here. Some may still be wandering around
in the wilderness. And some may still be in Egypt. But there are some of us who heard about Christ and God,
the Holy Spirit's done an operation upon us and we fled the Christ. But there's some of you here
who have heard about Jesus but have not believed on him. You've
not entered into the rest of Christ. And I pray, and I know
others here do too. Oh, that God the Holy Spirit
would make it so for you. So let us consider the text here
before us this morning. And pray that God the Holy Spirit
would illuminate the Scriptures. Because if He does not illuminate
the Scriptures, We will learn nothing. And let us pray that we who believe,
that we may grow in the grace and knowledge and truth of our
blessed Redeemer. And that God might be glorified.
That we might leave this place today rejoicing. Rejoicing in
our wonderful Savior. Let's look at the text again.
For the land, whether thou goest in to possess it, is not as a
land of Egypt. Oh, Egypt's full of bondage,
labor, no rest. And it says from whence ye came
out. where thou sowest thy seed and
waters with thy foot as a garden of herbs. But the land, whither
ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh
water of the rain of heaven, 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. So here before us, we see a contrast
between grace and works. between grace and works, between
the world and the glory which awaits us in heaven, in the land
of Canaan. One is a land of toil, and the
other though, and think of this for us, we who believe, the other
is a land which God cares for and watches over. Does he not
do that for his church, for his sheep, while we sojourn upon
this earth? Is his eyes not ever upon us? Oh, what great comfort we can
glean as the people of God. So let's consider verse 10 first.
For the land whither thou goest in to possess is not as the land
of Egypt from whence you came out. where thou sowest thy seed
and waterest it with thy foot as a garden of herbs." Right
before us, right away we have a contrast set forth before us
between the land which the Israelites will possess and they will possess
it because God said so. And He's decreed it. So we have
a contrast set forth before us of Egypt and Canaan. And let
us know, let us note how these two lands become fruitful. One
by the toil of man, right? As the scripture says here, in
water sit with thy foot, we'll get into that more. So it's thy
seed and water. So with that foot, I thought
we'll get into that more what that means. One, one with the
toil of man and his labors in the other, a land which God makes
fruitful. You see the contrast. We come
out of Egypt. Who makes us free? In Christ. It's gone. He does all the work. A land, the other land that God
makes fruitful. And it's a land where His eyes
are always upon it from the beginning of the year, even until the end
of the year. His eye never leaves the land. His eye never leaves His sheep. They are ever before. See what comfort we can glean
when we go through things and we think we're alone? We who
believe are never alone. Never. Never. So the land of Egypt is a land
of toil, a land of labor, where they must sow the land, a land
which must be watered with thy foot, scripture declares, to
water with thy feet. This implies that the soil was
watered as a garden in which the small channels for irrigation
may be watered by foot. They watered the land of Egypt
with great pains and much labor of thy feet. They did this partially
by going up and down to fetch water and then to disperse it
where it was needed. They did this also partly by
digging furrows with much labor, with much labor, And one commentator
said they also did this by using devices for distributing water. And these devices, they controlled
with their feet to open up certain things for the water to go through. They carried water as a gardener
when he is sowing his seed. Now, we just take a garden hose
now, don't we? They didn't have that back then.
They had to go get the water and distribute it with buckets. Or as I said, sometimes they
built channels to guide the water. But they had the labor to build
those. Now in Egypt, rain seldom fell,
one commentator said, especially in some places. It was very rare.
The River Nile overflowed once a year. Once a year, the River
Nile overflowed. And it not only moistened the
earth, but it left mud and slime and mire. It made the land fruitful, but
they had to labor. They had to labor to sow and
to plant and to work through the mud and the mire, to make
the ground fruitful, to water their crops, both by their hands
and by their feet. Constant labor. And sometimes
the heat of the sun, the earth would harden and crack so that
it was necessary that they would cut canals from the Nile. And they did that with great
labor and great work to channel the water to where they wanted
it to go. To carry the water from the Nile to their crops.
And as I said, both of these situations required much labor,
much toil. And so we see that Egypt, and
in Egypt, it's toiling away in labor. And think of this in a
spiritual sense. Oh, man, in Egypt with pictures
of the world, they toil in self-justification. Toil in trying to gain merit
and favor with God. I was there. It's work, and it
just beats you down to nothing. where you have no hope, and you're
always despairing. I'm never good enough. That's
true. But somehow in religion, I remember
I used to think that I could make myself better. But as I
grow in grace, now in the knowledge and truth of Christ, I see myself
more of a sinner, more and more. Is it not so with you? Oh my. I need Christ more now than I've
ever needed Him before. My! But in Egypt, there's labor trying
to self-justify. The labor never ends, and the
world knows not God. They cry out, who is the Lord
that I should serve Him? I know Him not. The language
of Pharaoh is the language of the world. They say, we'll not
have this man reign over us. And if they don't say it verbally,
they say it with their actions. And Egypt is a land where they
look down for their supply as they watered it with their feet
and their labors. Where do we as believers look
for our supply? We look up. We look to Christ,
don't we? In Egypt, they got their harvest
by their own toil and depending upon themselves, and they knew
not God. And God made it fruitful, and
they did not give Him the glory. They did not have God even in
their thoughts. That's how I was before the Lord
saved me. Is this not a picture of us in
our lost estate, in works-based religion, or just in self-justification? Not looking to God, not having
any concern for our souls, depending upon ourselves, and our own works,
and our own labors, and our own toils, which left to ourselves
would have led to our eternal doom. But God had mercy upon
His people. Mercy. But beloved, there is
a rest for God's people. There is a rest for sinners. And it's in the Lord Jesus Christ
in Him alone. There's only rest in the one
who says to sinners, Come unto me, all ye that labor and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you
and learn of me. For I am meek and lowly in heart,
and ye shall find rest unto your souls. Oh, what rest the believer
has found in Christ! For my yoke is easy, and my burden
is light. Those are the words of the Master,
the Lord Jesus Christ, God incarnate in the flesh, who came to this
earth to redeem his people from their sins. And he did it. Are you heavy laden by your works
and labor? Are you trying to work your way
to heaven? It will only lead to your eternal
doom. There's only one rest for our
souls, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone. He is the
One in whom the Father is well pleased, and we will only find
rest for our souls in Christ. Nowhere else. Nowhere else. Let us note that the land, let's
look at the verses 11 and 12 here. Let us note that the land
the Israelites were going to is a land which is given to them
by God. It's a land that God watches
over continuously. Look at Deuteronomy 11 and 12.
But the land, whether you go to possess it, is a land of hills
and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven, 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." We know that Israel is a picture of the
church in the Old Testament. And note, it's a land of hills
and valleys. One commentator said it could
not be watered by the river. and canals as Egypt was, because
Egypt was a flat land. So they could easily manipulate
the water that way. It took labor, but they could
do it. But here you see hills and valleys. It could not be watered as Egypt
was. This land, beloved, this land
drinks the water of the rain of heaven. It was watered and refreshed
and made fruitful, not by the means of men, not by the means
of men, not by the labor or toil of men, but by the Lord Himself. What a picture. What a picture. God provides water to this land. God makes it fruitful. What a
picture. of the grace of God in Christ
which worketh in his people. This land again is watered not
from man's labor or industry, but immediately from God's power
and God's goodness. Turn, if you would, to Colossians
chapter 1. Who causes we who believe to grow in the grace
and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ? Who causes us to be fruitful? We know we can't be fruitful
in ourselves, right? Not at all. But oh, look at this
wonderful scripture in Colossians chapter 1, verses 11 to 14. Strengthened with all might according
to His glorious power. unto all patience and long-suffering
with joyfulness, giving thanks unto the Father. We give thanks
unto the Father, don't we, for what He does. He strengthens
us with all might according to His glorious power, giving thanks
unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the
inheritance of the saints and light. We're made fit We're made
fit, we're qualified. That meat there means to be qualified
or made fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints
in light. Look at this. Who hath delivered us from the
power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear
Son? Do you note we're recipients? There's nothing in there about
what we do. Do you note it all comes from God? Strengthened?
with all might, according to His glorious power, who hath
delivered us from the power of darkness. We can't deliver ourselves,
but God can deliver His people, and hath translated us into the
kingdom of His dear Son, born again by the Holy Spirit of God.
Look at this. In whom, and beloved, may we
rest right here. In whom we have, look at that
word, we have. This is something that the believer
has in Christ. In whom we have redemption. What's
the cost? Through his blood. What's the
result? Even the forgiveness of sins.
Oh, and you notice we're recipients, beloved. We're recipients of
this marvelous, wondrous grace, which is only found in Christ.
He makes us fruitful. It's all his work, strengthened
with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all
patience and long-suffering with joyfulness. It is God who works
in us. to will and to do His good pleasure. Ephesians says this, and what
is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe
according to the working of His mighty power. His mighty power,
beloved. So the land of Canaan, the land
of Canaan we see in our text here, is watered by the Lord
Himself. Watered. He makes it fruitful.
He does the same for us. He does the same for us, beloved.
It's refreshed and made fruitful, not by any means of man, not
by any works of man, not by any labor of man, not by any toil
of man, but by the power of God. It's so with us too. Isn't it
marvelous? He gets bigger and bigger and
bigger. Oh my, oh my. The people of God have ceased
from their labors. We've ceased trying to gain merit
and favor and salvation by anything we do because we know that the
only merit we have before God is in and through the Lord Jesus
Christ in Him alone. Nowhere else. Nowhere. And that's
why we rejoice. And this is why we tell others,
flee to Christ. What a wonderful Redeemer. He
did everything for me that I needed. Everything to make me fit for
heaven. is in Christ, is in Christ. All that a sinner needs is in
Christ, is in Him. It's all in Him. And it's marvelous. Hebrews 4, verses 9 and 10, Scripture
declares this, There remaineth therefore a rest to the people
of God. For he that is entered into his
rest He also has ceased from his own works as God did from
his. There remaineth therefore a rest
to the people of God. For he that has entered into
his rest, he also has ceased from his own works as God did
from his. We cease from our labors, don't
we? We wholly trust Christ. We who believe, we cast ourselves
upon him. He is my only hope. Is He yours? Oh, I pray God to make it so.
I pray He would. Turn if you would to John chapter
15. John chapter 15. And here we see a picture of
this truth set forth, this truth set forth in Deuteronomy, where
the land drinketh of the water of the rain of heaven and becomes
fruitful because of God's providence. Look at John 15. Here we have
a picture of this truth set forth in John 15. The Father is the
husbandman. He cares and watches over His
people and provides for His people, and they are in Christ and Him
alone. Look at John 15, verses 1 to 5, and keep this in mind. The Father, God, is the one who
waters the land. I am the true vine, Christ says.
And my Father is the husbandman. Every branch In me that beareth
not fruit he taketh away, and every branch that beareth fruit
he purgeth, that it may bring forth more fruit." How do we
bear fruit? Only by being in the vine. It
all comes from Him. It all comes from Him. God's people are branches. And
the fruit that comes in our lives comes because all that nourishment
comes up through the vine, through Christ. Now ye are clean through
the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me and I in
you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide
in the vine. And here is a statement. No more can ye except ye abide
in me. And look at this next verse.
The latter part of this next verse is so telling. I am the vine, ye are the branches.
He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth
much fruit. For without me ye can do nothing. Nothing. So let us marvel at
the greatness, the greatness of the power of God in regeneration
The greatness of the power of God in redemption. Oh, the greatness of the power
of God in His mighty acts, both in providence and in salvation
of His people. It's all His work, beloved. And
we are simply recipients of the grace of God in Christ. What
mercy He has had upon us. What mercy. And think of this,
what mercy that he didn't leave us where we were. Talking to
Brother Tim and Sister Bonnie last night and we've been bringing
that out. They brought that out where if
he hadn't had mercy upon us, we would have been content right
where we were. Oh, I praise God for his mercy.
For his mercy. So let us marvel at the power
of God which is put forth in the whole of our salvation. From
beginning, alpha, to the end, omega. The author, in the finisher. And let us just marvel at the
power of God. At the power of God. Let us marvel
in the fact that God himself, God himself, God the Son, became a man, came down from
heaven to redeem his people upon Calvary's
cross, to save his people from their sins. That God himself,
right now, the Lord Jesus Christ, is ascended into heaven and sits
right now as our advocate. Let us just marvel at this, and
that He is reigning in majesty and power right now. Let us now consider verse 12
of this text here. Look at Deuteronomy 11, 12. The
land which the Lord thy God careth for, the eyes of the Lord thy
God are always upon it from beginning of the year even unto the end
of the year. So let us consider the verse
before us here in contrast the difference in this land in comparison
to the land of Egypt. The land of Egypt was a land
of toil and labor. This land though, this land beloved
God cares for. His eye is ever upon it from
the beginning of the year until the end of the year. And God
cares for this land. in a very special and particular
manner. And he does the same for his
people. He does the same for his people.
What a picture of his care and his ever watchfulness over the
church of God, over the elect of God, through all the ages. Remember that. We are in time
right now, but God's elect span of time. and He has always watched over
His people, and He has always cared for His people, and He
will forever. Forever. Turn, if you would, to Psalm
132.13. 132.13. And keep in mind, I'll
read our text again. A land which the Lord thy God
careth for, the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it. Now
this was a chosen land for the Israelites, right? It was a chosen
land for them. And God's eyes are always upon
it from the beginning of the year, even unto the end of the
year. Psalm 132. 13. Look at this. Look at this. Speaking of the
church, speaking of Zion. Look at this. For the Lord has
chosen Zion. When did he do that? before the
foundation of the world. For the Lord hath chosen Zion,
he hath desired it, look at that, he hath desired it for his habitation. Oh, he has chosen Zion, which
pictures the church. He has set his son as king in
Zion. And all this from the love that
he bears to Zion, a love which is an everlasting love, an undeserving
love for us, but nevertheless set upon us, which is figurative and spiritual
sense here in this verse, is his church. For the Lord hath
chosen Zion. He hath desired it for his habitation. He's chosen his people, the great
privileges through his son to be recipients of the grace of
God in Christ. And it's Him who chose us, because
we would never choose Him. And He chose us when we were
dead in trespasses and sins. He didn't look down through time
and see who would choose Him. That's the biggest lie from the
pit. No, He looked down through time and all He saw was lost,
a sea of humanity lost. And He chose to bestow His grace
upon whom He chose to bestow His grace upon. And oh my! God's people can say, He chose
me. He did it. And there's nothing in me that
deserved that. Nothing in me that merited that.
It's simply the pure, free, and sovereign grace of God in Christ. And beloved, our text says here,
a land which the Lord thy God careth for, the eyes of the Lord
thy God are always upon it. He's always watching over the
church. And there is nowhere that his providential care does
not reach, beloved. Nowhere. But the one spot in our text
is the place that he has chosen where the temple will be built
in Israel. This is the one place he had chosen would be his place
of worship, this land. This is the one place he had
chosen to be the habitation for his people. This is where He
had chosen that in the appointed time Christ would be born, and
that Christ would redeem His people from their sins. What
a picture of the church, beloved. And what rest is in this land.
Look, a land which the Lord thy God careth for. God cares for His people, and
God provides for His people. All that we need, all that we
need physically and all that we need more importantly, all
that we need spiritually is in Christ. And in Christ the sinner finds
all his spiritual needs complete. And beloved, we are complete
in Him, in Christ. Nowhere else. Nowhere else. I need a ransom to pay for my
sins. Lord Jesus Christ is my ransom. I need to pay for my sins. I'm
bankrupt. Christ pays for all my sins on
Calvary's cross. I need a perfect righteousness
to stand in the presence of God. Christ's perfect righteousness
is imputed to me. The law of God condemns me and
condemns you. But we who believe, Christ has
fulfilled the law of God in our place. The justice of God must
be satisfied. I can't pay for one sin. But
Christ, my substitute, dies in my room and place. Dies in the
place of sinners. Turning the wrath of God away
from us. away from His people, and satisfying the justice of
God completely. Completely. Oh, what a Savior! Redeemed by
the precious blood of Christ, God's people are. And look at
our scripture, it continues, it says, The eyes of the Lord
thy God are always upon it. Note, beloved, His eyes are always
upon it. God's eyes were always directed
toward it from the beginning of the year until the end. This
is a land, therefore, wholly dependent upon God. And in this
dependence upon God, we have a picture of how God's elect
live entirely to and entirely dependent upon God and upon His
grace alone. We are dependent creatures. And
we who believe are dependent upon God and His grace and His
mercy. God's eyes of providence are
upon this land. He gives the rain and the fruits
of it to be produced at their proper time by His hand of providence,
beloved. You see, religion tells you what
you have to do, but God is the one who makes us fruitful, who
has us to grow in the grace, in the knowledge, in the truth
of Christ. And we grow by hearing His Word
preached and proclaimed, by having Christ set before us, by marveling,
by setting our hearts, our minds, and our affection upon Christ
and Him alone. In His hand of providence, is
from the beginning of the year until the end, and all the other
intervening months. Oh, what a picture of the Church
of God. The eyes of the Lord thy God
are always upon it. Now think of this in light of
the Church, beloved. We are ever before our great
God and King. ever before. There is nothing
you do, there's nothing you go through, whether it be sorrow,
or a trial, or a temptation, times of health, times of happiness,
times of sickness, times of sorrow, that the eyes of the Lord are
not upon His people. He watches over us day and night,
at the beginning of the year, and at the end of the year, and
He is ever watchful over sheep, like a shepherd. He watches His
sheep. Turn, if you would, to Psalm
33. Psalm 33. In the times of valleys and in
the times when we feel like we are on the mountaintop, our great
Savior is ever watchful over us. Psalm 33, verses 18 to 22. Psalm 33, verses 18 to 22. Behold, the eye of the Lord is
upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy. Do you hope in his mercy? Then
the eyes of the Lord are upon you. To deliver their soul from
death, and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waiteth for
the Lord. He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in
Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. God's people
are trusting in Christ and Him alone. Let Thy mercy, O Lord,
be upon us, according as we hope in Thee. All spiritual blessings
are in Christ. The only hope for this sinner
is Christ. The only hope for any sinner
is Christ. Turn one Psalm over to Psalm
34. And let us remember, beloved,
that no matter what we go through, the eyes of the Lord are always
upon us. Look at Psalm 34, verses 15 to
19. Psalm 34, verses 15 to 19. The eyes of the Lord are always
upon the righteous, and its ears are open unto their cry. There's
nothing too small to take to God. Nothing. The face of the Lord
is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of
them from the earth. The righteous cry, And the Lord
heareth and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The Lord
is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such
as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the
righteous, many are the affliction of the righteous, but the Lord
delivereth them out of them all. Oh, what a King, what a Savior,
what a God, the one true God. So we've looked at today two
pictures. One, a land of toil and labor,
which Egypt represented, in which is the same as the world, in
the religions of the world. Then we looked at the land of
Canaan. A land where God provides the rain. And He watches over
from the beginning of the year until the end of the year. And
what a picture of the rest that we have as believers in Christ. We have ceased from our labors,
haven't we? We have ceased from our labors. We're resting in
Christ. We're trusting in Christ. We who believe are resting and
reposing in our wonderful Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And lastly,
we looked at how the Lord will ever have His eye upon His people.
Turn, if you would, to Hebrews 13, 5. Hebrews 13, 5. How the Lord will ever have His
eye upon His people, and what great comfort and joy this can
bring God's sheep in our time of struggle upon this earth.
And let us close with this scripture. And let us keep in mind this
week of what this says. And may this be a comfort for
you who believe. May this be a comfort for you
who believe. You who are resting in Christ. Now our text will
be Hebrews 13, 5. And there's a word in this text,
the word never. And I'm going to just read quickly
about the Greek here. This word never in the Greek
is a double negative, strengthening the denial. A double negative,
strengthening the denial. Anymore, at all, by any no means,
neither, never, no, at all, in no wise, nor ever, not, at all,
in any wise. And then the word is defined
as this. Never, certainly not, not at all, by no means. And keep in mind, the eyes of
the Lord are ever upon the land. And we know, ever upon his people,
right? So let us close with this precious
scripture. And knowing that the word never
there means never, certainly not, not at all, by no means. Let your conversation be without
covetousness. and be content with such things
as you have. For he has said, now he said
this to his people, I will never, ever, certainly not, not at all,
by no means. This is my life verse, beloved.
I've clung to this verse. Let your conversation be without
covenants and be content with such things as you have. For
he has said, Christ has said this, I will never leave thee.
Lord, forsake thee. Lord and Savior. Gracious Heavenly Father, we
are so thankful. We who believe are so thankful
that our salvation is not dependent upon our labors, but Christ's
work. Not dependent upon our toil,
but dependent upon what Christ has done as our great substitute. And oh, Lord Jesus, may we marvel
this week that you know not ever will leave us or forsake us.
You are an ever-present help, an ever-present help, the great
shepherd of our souls. And we believe, rest, and trust
in you. We pray that you'd use this message
for the furtherance of the gospel, and that you'd receive all the
glory, and all the honor, and all the praise. In Jesus' name,
amen.