DEUTERONOMY 11:24-28 “Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea shall your coast be. There shall no man be able to stand before you: for the LORD your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that ye shall tread upon, as he hath said unto you. Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.”
God had a plan for His chosen people when He delivered them from the bondage in Egypt. He marked off a territory which was destined to be theirs if only they followed His commands and remained obedient. When His plan came to fruition they would serve as ministers of Him to the entire world.
If you look at a map of Israel today, you will see it does not match the description found here in Deuteronomy. This is not because God lied or because He was unable to fulfill His promise. He did in fact fulfill His promise but not the one in verse 24, but the curse promised in verse 28.
The Israelites did not stick to God’s plan. They followed after their sinful desires and after idols and pagan gods and every time deprived themselves of more of God’s blessings. They did not live up to the potential they had – they settled for less.
We should never settle for “good enough”. With God on our side the sky should be the limit. All God ever asks for in return is obedience to Him which really is not asking for much. 1 John 5:3 says, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.”
The church today is certainly not living up to its potential. There is too much squabbling and bickering among Christians and as a result we seem to be moving backwards rather than forwards. Too much emphasis is being put on protecting others feelings when we need to stick to the truths of the Bible without compromise. Only God’s way will enable us to succeed – man’s way will only drag us down.
Warren Wiersbe said, “Every local church ought to be a Bible institute and every Christian ought to be a Bible student.” Herein is the answer for us to reach our potential as the collective body of Christ. Every Christian needs to devote a significant portion of his or her time to learning God’s Word inside and out and become a disciple rather than simply a believer. As they grow in the faith they will be equipped to train other believers in their local church body and help build it into a “Bible institute”.
Are you living up to your potential? If you are not growing in the Word and drawing closer to God then you are selling yourself short, just as the nation of Israel did.
Mount Nebo Baptist Church - Fred, Texas 