Having seen something of how the words, ‘Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,’ relate to us as Christians, we move on now to consider the phrase: ‘Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me’. Today we lack discipline, good and Godly teaching, good instructions and divine guidance in our society which is why many things are going very wrong! Shepherds, in the Bible days, carried very little equipment with them when they tended their sheep, but invariably they carried a rod and a staff. The rod was a club which had a number of purposes, but was mainly used to drive off wild animals or catch the sheep’s attention. If a shepherd saw a sheep wandering from the right path or approaching a potentially dangerous situation –such as poisonous weeds or the edge of a precipice –he would hurl his rod slightly ahead of the sheep, thus startling it for a moment and causing it to scurry back to the safety of the flock. The rod therefore became an object of correction and guidance, not to hurt or injure the sheep, but to direct it back into the right way. Young shepherds would train for hours and compete with each other to see who could throw his rod with the greatest accuracy and across the greatest distance. The rod was what a shepherd relied on to protect both himself and his sheep whenever there was the threat of danger. How many of us, I wonder, can go through the Christian life day after day without the need for some discipline and guidance? I can’t –and I’m sure that is true of you also. Someone described the Christian life in this way: ‘Dependence plus discipline equals dependable disciples.’ Notice –dependence plus discipline –You can’t be a dependable disciple without discipline. No discipline –no disciple. It’s as simple as that! But the problem is how many of us as Christians are really ready to give themselves in for proper divine discipline and training? Divine discipline and training come from divine inspirations from the Holy Spirit and from the Bible, it can also come from true anointed people of God, it is then left for us to give ourselves sincerely in for disciplines and for training as to be true people of God!

Now let us read Deuteronomy 8:1-18; All the commandments which I command you this day you shall be watchful to do, that you may live and multiply and go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to give to your fathers. 2 And you shall [earnestly] remember all the way which the Lord your God led you these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and to prove you, to know what was in your [mind and] heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3 And He humbled you and allowed you to hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you recognize and personally know that man does not live by bread only, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothing did not become old upon you nor did your feet swell these forty years. 5 Know also in your [minds and] hearts that, as a man disciplines and instructs his son, so the Lord your God disciplines and instructs you. 6 So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and [reverently] fear Him. 7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; 8 A land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey; 9 A land in which you shall eat food without shortage and lack nothing in it; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. 10 When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for all the good land which He has given you. 11 Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His precepts, and His statutes which I command you today, 12 Lest when you have eaten and are full, and have built goodly houses and live in them, 13 And when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all you have is multiplied, 14 Then your [minds and] hearts be lifted up and you forget the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, 15 Who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, but Who brought you forth water out of the flinty rock, 16 Who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. 17 And beware lest you say in your [mind and] heart, My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth. 18 But you shall [earnestly] remember the Lord your God, for it is He Who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

Moses is giving his final speech to Israel; he is preparing them to cross the Jordan and enter that fair land they had waited 40 years to enter. Moses cannot enter the Promised Land with them, so he wants them to have these final words. It’s an epic speech because it gives details of the past history of their nation narrating the deeds, adventures of their heroic or legendary figures in a chronological manner or order so that everybody will understand and treasure. Moses wants it to go well for Israel in that land and so he gives them this admonition in Deuteronomy chapter six reading from verse three through seven saying, “3O Israel, and be watchful to do them, that it may be well with you and that you may increase exceedingly, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.” Then Moses gave Israel the greatest words God has ever spoken, “4 Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord [the only Lord]. 5 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your [mind and] heart and with your entire being and with all your might. 6 And these words which I am commanding you this day shall be [first] in your [own] minds and hearts; [then] 7 You shall whet and sharpen them so as to make them penetrate, and teach and impress them diligently upon the [minds and] hearts of your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up.” Then, when we come to chapter 8 of Deuteronomy, Moses tells them again and again, “Never forget all that God has done.” When you remember all that God has done for you, you are reminded that it was God who did it. It keeps you humble, it makes you thankful; it makes you appreciate God’s heart and God’s grace and God kindness. It brings you back to the love you had at the first. But what if you do forget? If you forget all that God has done, you are no longer reminded that it was God who did it. You’re no longer humble, you’re no longer thankful, you no longer appreciate God’s heart and God’s grace and God’s kindness; because it wasn’t just the love that you had at the first that was so important, it was also the obedience you had at the first. When you began this journey with God and you walked close to Him and your heart was thankful; you also clung to the principles of wisdom and understanding, the statutes and directives of God’s word for your life and you were blessed. His ways, His principles, His wisdom, His understanding, and His statutes guided you into the way of greatest blessing. If you forget that it was God who gave you all those blessings, then you will also forget the love you had at the first and you will forget the principles and the Spirit that guided you. As a result, your heart will be lifted up and your proud heart will lead you to destruction. That’s why God says, “Never forget!” It’s the way of greatest blessing! I. Remember All the Ways God has Led You: • Verse 2 – Moses instructed them that they should remember all the way, “2 And you shall [earnestly] remember all the way which the Lord your God led you these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and to prove you, to know what was in your [mind and] heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.” • Remembering all the ways which God led them in the wilderness those 40 years would also strengthen their faith. • God has proven Himself to you; He has won you to Himself. He personally brought you out of Egypt with a mighty hand and made His power known to you. Never forget. Illus – When I think back on all that God has done for me personally, I’m very thankful. But not only am I thankful, I am reminded again of God’s great power and how He has loved me. And I know that God is not finished with me yet. “God, You have done great things in my life; do it again!” A. God will let you be hungry; • Verse 2 — “And you shall [earnestly] remember all the way which the Lord your God led you these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and to prove you, to know what was in your [mind and] heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. • Verse 3 — “And He humbled you and allowed you to hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you recognize and personally know that man does not live by bread only, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. • The wilderness was a time of testing for Israel; it was an opportunity to trust God, to look to Him to be their provision and help in time of need. • It was a test. God doesn’t just pour an overflowing abundance into your life. He let them be hungry. It was an opportunity for faith to be put into action. • It’s one thing to believe that there is a God in heaven; it’s another thing to believe that He walks with you in the course of this life. • They didn’t do so well in this test. They grumbled and complained and even accused God, saying, “Why did You even bring us into this desert? Were there not enough graves in Egypt? Did You bring us out here to die?” B. That God would give manna; • Verse 3 — “And He humbled you and allowed you to hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you recognize and personally know that man does not live by bread only, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. • In other words, God let them be hungry in order to give them a miraculous provision. • But notice something with me. Yes, it was miraculous, and let’s not forget that manna was delicious and tasty, and very healthy. It was like Krispy Kreme doughnuts infused with everything good from the health food store. • But it was not milk and honey, it was not pot roast, or roasted chicken. It was not roasted lamb with mint jelly gravy. They would wait 40 years before they would taste such things. • Manna was enough; it was God’s provision; it was a miracle and it was enough to teach them a great lesson. “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” • It was about faith; about learning to trust God. Don’t complain, don’t whine, don’t become bitter when you’re in the desert, or in the wilderness. God may let you be hungry, but God will give you manna. It is because we are always in the wrong and not in the right, this is why we are always prone to fear, to complain and not take our time to meditate on so many things so that we can be learning as we are moving on with God in life! Matthew 6:9-11, “9 Pray, therefore, like this: Our Father Who is in heaven, hallowed (kept holy) be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread.” • You see, manna wasn’t the last miracle, it was one of the first miracles, along with defeating the gods of Egypt, parting the Red Sea, destroying the armies of Egypt, and bringing water out of a rock. In other words, these were the first miracles. God was proving Himself to them the Israelites. If Israel would trust Him; there were many more to come. This is also how God is trying to prove Himself to each and every one of us aiming to know how far we have known and understand Who He is. So if I should ask you now, do you actually know who God is? Remember that He asked His disciples, who do men say that I am? And who do you say that I am? Knowing who God is, that He is Lord Jesus Christ is very very important and it determines your relationship with God. • How about you? Have you stopped looking to God to do something with your life? God hasn’t changed; He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. God is still on the move. How about you? Are you still looking and watching for God to move? Zechariah 4:10, “10 Who [with reason] despises the day of small things? For these seven shall rejoice when they see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel. [These seven] are the eyes of the Lord which run to and fro throughout the whole earth” • That story comes from a time in Israel’s history after they had been exiled in Babylon for 70 years and then God restored them to return to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. But when they came back to the city of Jerusalem, they found the city in ruins; a mountain of rubble. They became discouraged at the size of their problems; so God sent a word through the prophet to strengthen them… Zechariah 4:6-7, “6 Then he said to me, This [addition of the bowl to the candlestick, causing it to yield a ceaseless supply of oil from the olive trees] is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit [of Whom the oil is a symbol], says the Lord of hosts. 7 For who are you, O great mountain [of human obstacles]? Before Zerubbabel [who with Joshua had led the return of the exiles from Babylon and was undertaking the rebuilding of the temple, before him] you shall become a plain [a mere [a]molehill]! And he shall bring forth the finishing gable stone [of the new temple] with loud shoutings of the people, crying, Grace, grace to it!” Remember that Zerubbabel is thought to have originally been a Babylonian Jew who returned to Jerusalem at the head of a band of Jewish exiles and became governor of Judaea under the Persians. The name Zerubbabel means A stranger at Babylon, dispersion of confusion and from all what Zerubbabel did we learn to do good, seek justice, strengthen the oppressed, render justice for the orphan, plead for the widow!

• Verse 7 – “7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; 8 A land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey; 9 A land in which you shall eat food without shortage and lack nothing in it; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper.” • Verse 10 – “When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for all the good land which He has given you.” • This is a life lesson. When God has done great things for you – bless Him. This is a key to spiritual maturity and spiritual victory and for taking hold of greater things to come. This verses applies to individual as well as to nations, we have seen it in the first time with the Israelites, we are again going to see it in the New Nation that God is about to carve out of Nigeria at the due time because this nation is going to have all the mentioned characteristics and more that God mentioned with regard to the good land talked about above! When God did it through Israel it was focused for people around that area, this time around God using the New Nation from Nigeria, it will be focused more on Africa so that Africa will be enabled to play the vital role of showing True Peace and Love to the whole World. Psalm 126:1-6, “1 When the Lord brought back the captives [who returned] to Zion, we were like those who dream [it seemed so unreal]. 2 Then were our mouths filled with laughter, and our tongues with singing. Then they said among the nations, The Lord has done great things for them. 3 The Lord has done great things for us! We are glad! 4 Turn to freedom our captivity and restore our fortunes, O Lord, as the streams in the South (the Negeb) [are restored by the torrents]. 5 They who sow in tears shall reap in joy and singing. 6 He who goes forth bearing seed and weeping [at needing his precious supply of grain for sowing] shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” A. God’s discipline is spiritual training; • God led you by humbling you, by testing you, by letting you be hungry and then giving you just enough manna, a miraculous provision, enough for each day… • Verse 5 — “5 Know also in your [minds and] hearts that, as a man disciplines and instructs his son, so the Lord your God disciplines and instructs you.” • I can almost guarantee that this is widely misunderstood. When many think of the discipline of the Lord, they think of it wrongly. They think of it as negative, something to be avoided, and something that is too hard and harsh. They think God disciplines because He is angry. The truth is that God disciplines because He loves, He wants to put you right, He wants you to succeed in life. • The word ‘discipline’ means to train; to teach. To make a disciple is to make a man with godly character and spiritual power to accomplish great spiritual things. Hebrews 12:5-6, “5And have you [completely] forgotten the divine word of appeal and encouragement in which you are reasoned with and addressed as sons? My son, do not think lightly or scorn to submit to the correction and discipline of the Lord, nor lose courage and give up and faint when you are reproved or corrected by Him; 6 For the Lord corrects and disciplines everyone whom He loves, and He punishes, even scourges, every son whom He accepts and welcomes to His heart and cherishes.” Illus – If you were an NFL football player, who would you want to play for? Not just the team, which coach? Vince Lombardi? Bill Belichick? Tom Landry? Why would you want to play for these? Because they will make you the best player you could possibly be. What if they discipline you? You welcome it. • Here’s my point, I would rather be disciplined by the Lord than spoiled by anyone else; because God is bringing me to a good land; a place of spiritual victory and spiritual power. He will give life meaning and purpose. He always has a purpose in everything that He do and He is the only true Being in the universe, all others are false, yes I know! • Verse 17 — 17 And beware lest you say in your [mind and] heart, My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth. This is the most deceptive and dangerous aspect of every being or individual to think that all your achievements in life is by your own power and strength is an attribute that need to be watched out for in your life because this aspect or attribute of a being is very difficult to know when you are acting or doing it and it is the area of every or most individuals that has misled in life. • Success can be a dangerous thing. You get to the point in life where you can easily pay your bills, you got a promotion and a rise in virtually all aspect of life and it’s starting to feel good. That’s when you’ve got to be very careful because this is the point in life where many people begin to shift away from God and their dependence in God to depending on themselves living life without God and not knowing it. Sooner everything begin to develop problems and you will not know that is a sign that God is no longer there. • Otherwise, you don’t think you need God anymore. “I’m good. I don’t need God. I did this and that. How do you think I got that promotion? I worked hard, that’s how. I use my smarts. I worked my way up this ladder. I did this thing.” God says, “You be careful right there. You are treading on dangerous ground.” A ground, ‘where you don’t think you need God anymore’; that false ground will soon start bringing problems home to you, problems that only God can solve for you! • God is saying, “I built that, and I can destroy it; because I’ll humble you if I’ve got to.” • When the Lord has done great things for you – – bless Him. Always remember; never forget. The good aspect of it is that in spite of your moving away from God, God still love you and will try to see if He can humble you through the hardship that you have caused yourself. Only a few people responds to this humbling, others get more angry and move further away instead of developing a contrite heart and allow God to humble them. • Verse 18 — “18 But you shall [earnestly] remember the Lord your God, for it is He Who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. Do you hear it? B. Man lives by every word God speaks; • Verse 3 — 3 And He humbled you and allowed you to hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you recognize and personally know that man does not live by bread only, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. • This is a difficult lesson for many to learn. Life is not found in the things of this earth; life is found in the One Who gave life to it. Every wise person should try to learn this lesson about life! Luke 12:15, “15 And He said to them, Guard yourselves and keep free from all covetousness (the immoderate desire for wealth, the greedy longing to have more); for a man's life does not consist in and is not derived from possessing overflowing abundance or that which is over and above his needs.” Covetousness is marked by inordinate desire for wealth or possession or for another’s possessions. • The most important part of our being is our soul, and life is only found there. • These words should be familiar because Lord Jesus quoted them just before He began His ministry, Matthew 4:2-4, “2 And He went without food for forty days and forty nights, and later He was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to Him, If You are God’s Son, command these stones to be made [[a]loaves of] bread. 4 But He replied, It has been written, Man shall not live and be upheld and sustained by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” Lord Jesus later said to His disciples…. John 4:31-34, “31 Meanwhile, the disciples urged Him saying, Rabbi, eat something. 32 But He assured them, I have food (nourishment) to eat of which you know nothing and have no idea. 33 So the disciples said one to another, Has someone brought Him something to eat? 34 Jesus said to them, My food (nourishment) is to do the will (pleasure) of Him Who sent Me and to accomplish and completely finish His work.” How about you, what is your own food, your own nourishment, is it to do the will (pleasure) of God which is to help finish God’s work?