Have you ever stopped and asked yourself, ‘How did I get here?’  Maybe you are married, and that day you were madly in love seems so far ago because today you can’t stand each other, and today you wonder, ‘How did we get here?’  Maybe you stopped and looked at your finances and realized that things look worse than you thought, and you wonder, ‘How did I get here?’  Maybe you stepped on the scale, and you wonder, ‘How did I get here?’

Here is the truth.  We all drift.  We all naturally drift to what we want.  And the only thing that stops that drift is living on purpose.

I grew up in South Jersey.   That means we went to the shore a lot.   We went to Ocean City with our family.   We went to Wildwood with our friends.   Back before they made sunscreen, we would cover ourselves in baby oil, jump into the ocean, and ride the waves for hours.  Every time the ocean dumped us on the beach, we had to look up and locate where our towels were.  Why?   Because the current would drag us away.   And if we didn’t pay attention, about an hour later, we would end up way down the beach and lost.

We all drift.  We all naturally drift to what we want.  And the only thing that stops that drift is living on purpose.

We can drift spiritually too.  We can live a spiritually lazy life and drift.  And I don’t know if you noticed, but we never naturally drift into a passionate relationship with Jesus, do we?  We always seem to drift to do the least possible.  And when anyone brings up our spiritually lazy way of living, what do we do?  We get defensive, or we make excuses.  Why do we do that?  Because we know.  We know we are spiritually lazy, and we want to stay spiritually lazy.

CS Lewis said this.

“Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.” - C.S. Lewis in The Screwtape Letters

Scripture teaches us to live on purpose, like we are running a race to win.

Hebrews 12:1b Let us strip off anything that slows us down or holds us back, and especially those sins that wrap themselves so tightly around our feet and trip us up; and let us run with patience the particular race that God has set before us. TLB

In our story today, Moses is preparing the Children of Israel to enter the Promised Land.  He reminds them of what God has done for them.   He reminds them that their response to God has been hard-hearted and rebellious.  Moses prepares them to understand that they are about to inherit cities, houses, and vineyards they never built or planted.  He points out that everything they are about to enjoy is because of God.  He warns them: when you enjoy your new life in this new land, don’t forget that you have what you have because of God.  Don’t ever conclude that you made it possible by your own strength.  Everything you have is because of God.  And in your wealth and comfort, remember you will always be completely dependent on God.  

Moses is warning them to stay focused and passionate about God.  Why the warning?  Because if they don’t stay focused and passionate, God will reject them.  He makes it very clear that as long as they stay focused and passionate for God, they and their children will enjoy a blessed long life.  

Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. 10 But those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction; he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him. NIV

That is an intense warning.   You really must read the whole book of Deuteronomy.  It’s a book that prepares the Children of Israel to live in the Promised Land.  And it makes you wonder: who would need that?   Who would need most of Deuteronomy to prepare them for this new life?  The answer is, we would.  This whole book is about how to practically live wholeheartedly for God and not drift.   

Let’s go to Deuteronomy 7 and read.

Deuteronomy 7:1 When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations - the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you - 2 and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. 3 Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, 4 for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods, and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you. 5 This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire. 6 For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. NIV

What is God saying through Moses?  I’ll do my part, but you will have to do your part.  What is their part?   

Understand that you are my special treasure, so live like it and never drift.

Why?   Because no one drifts into a passionate relationship with God.  When you drift, you compromise.  You think you are getting away with something, and you are not.  Compromise waters down your love and always leads you to turn away from God.  Remember Sam’s talk last week?  Why did Moses geek out?  Because two tribes of Israel were comfortable.  They didn’t want to follow God wholeheartedly.  I thought one of the key points that Sam brought out was that those two tribes didn’t rebel.  They weren’t complaining.  They weren’t blatantly sinning.  They were just comfortable.  God doesn’t demand us to almost go all the way with Him.  God demands us to follow Him wholeheartedly.  

How does Moses teach the Children of Israel to practically love God wholeheartedly?  How does Moses teach them to avoid the drift?  He gives them the commands of God.  Each command God gave will help the Children of Israel stop the drift.  It will stop them from being spiritually lazy.  It will stop them from compromising with other nations.   It will give them passion for God.  God never wanted the Children of Israel, years from this point, to say, ‘How did we get here?’

Let me ask you quickly: what do you think about the commands of God?   Do you view them as a barrier or struggle?  Do you know them and wonder, How can I get around them?  Maybe you grew up in church and you know what Jesus taught, but somehow they don’t apply to you.  Please hear me: maybe the way we should see God’s commands is to understand they are there to keep our passion and avoid the drift.  

In Deuteronomy, God told them to make no treaty and show no mercy.  To understand the Old Testament, you must understand context.  The seven countries that were in the Promised Land were given hundreds of years to turn away from idol worship and give their lives to God.  But they didn’t.  They continued to reject God, and they continued with idol worship.  Their idol worship was filled with sex and prostitution.   Their idol worship became so evil that they were killing their babies as part of worshipping demons.  It was pure evil.  When God commanded Israel to destroy them with no treaty or mercy, it was because He wanted to put an end to evil.  God’s command wasn’t a lack of mercy; it was judgment for hundreds of years of rejecting God and embracing evil.  

When God said, don’t associate with other countries, was it about race?  No.   God said, don’t associate with them in any way because God knew that when they associated with evil and evil practices, they would compromise, and they would turn away from God.  

Moses is trying to help them understand that they are God’s special treasure.  He is teaching them to follow God wholeheartedly.  Don’t drift.    

What did they do?   They drifted.  They compromised.  The Children of Israel thought, What is the big deal with idol worship?  Let’s do both: let’s worship idols and go to God’s Temple; that way, we can cover our bases.  We will worship all gods for good luck.

Psalms 106:34 Nor did Israel destroy the nations in the land as God had told them to, 35 but mingled in among the heathen and learned their evil ways, 36 sacrificing to their idols, and were led away from God. 37 They even sacrificed their little children to the demons - the idols of Canaan - shedding innocent blood and polluting the land with murder. TLB

God responded and allowed other countries to take them captive.

In Deuteronomy, God gave them commands to worship Him.  No idols, and give 10% to the temple as tithe.  Why?  Because God wanted them to understand that they are His special treasure and He will care for them.  Their giving was an act of worship for what God gave them.  It was a regular reminder that everything they have was from God and that God would continue to bless them.  

What did they do?   They drifted.  They compromised.  The Children of Israel thought, Why give anything to God?  The less I give God, the more I will have for me.  They started giving less.  Then they gave nothing.  Then the temple fell into ruin.  The place where God’s presence was, the temple, was ignored.  

God responded.

Haggai 1:6 “Take a good, hard look at your life. Think it over. You have spent a lot of money, but you haven’t much to show for it. You keep filling your plates, but you never get filled up. You keep drinking and drinking and drinking, but you’re always thirsty. You put on layer after layer of clothes, but you can’t get warm. And the people who work for you, what are they getting out of it? Not much - a leaky, rusted - out bucket, that’s what.” MSG

In Deuteronomy, God gave them commands to Sabbath.   Take one day and do no work.   Why?  Because God wanted them to understand that they are His special treasure and He will care for them.  No other culture had a Sabbath.  It was unheard of.  God established rest in their culture so they would never be a slave to work.  

What did they do?  They drifted.  They compromised.  The Children of Israel thought, who in their right mind would work less and produce less?   Who would believe that, with God, you can get more done with Sabbath rest than you can working all seven days? 

God responded.

Nehemiah 13:16 People from Tyre who lived in Jerusalem were bringing in fish and all kinds of merchandise and selling them in Jerusalem on the Sabbath to the people of Judah. 17 I rebuked the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this wicked thing you are doing - desecrating the Sabbath day? 18 Didn’t your ancestors do the same things, so that our God brought all this calamity on us and on this city? Now you are stirring up more wrath against Israel by desecrating the Sabbath.” NIV 

Do you see what is happening with God’s commands?   God is sharing His love for them.   He is giving them commands to stay passionate for Him.  He doesn’t want them to wake up someday and say, ‘How did we get here?’  But they drifted.  They ignored God’s commands.  They compromised.  And sadly, they turned away from God.  Do you see the damage drifting does?    

Please hear me: we have the same challenge today.   How are we supposed to live in this world today?  

Understand that you are God’s special treasure, so live like it and never drift.  

How?  Embrace God’s commands.

Hebrews 13:14 This world is not our home; we are looking forward to our everlasting home in heaven. 15 With Jesus’ help we will continually offer our sacrifice of praise to God by telling others of the glory of his name.… 1 John 2:15 Stop loving this evil world and all that it offers you, for when you love these things you show that you do not really love God; 16 for all these worldly things, these evil desires - the craze for sex, the ambition to buy everything that appeals to you, and the pride that comes from wealth and importance - these are not from God. They are from this evil world itself. TLB

This world isn’t our home.   Our real home is heaven.  What do we do while we are here?  We tell others about the glorious Name of Jesus.  And while we are here, we don’t fall in love with what this world offers us.  Craze for sex.  Ambition to buy everything.  Pride from wealth and importance.  Why?   These things are not from God.   The more we fall in love with these things in this man-made world, they squeeze out our love for God.  What is another way of saying it?  Make no compromises with this world.  Why?  If our love for what our world offers grows, we will drift.  It will water down our love and passion for God.  Do you see it?  It’s the exact same battle the Children of Israel faced when they moved into the Promised Land.

That’s what drifting does.   Compromise always starts small and makes you think you are getting away with something, but we aren’t. It never starts with a major crime or sin.  It starts small, and it always grows.  Here is how it starts.  You don’t have to follow God wholeheartedly.  Showing up to church now and then is okay; it’s not a sin.  You don’t have to tithe; the guy on Instagram said we didn’t have to.  You don’t have to serve.  You don’t have to grow.  You don’t have to help build the local church.  Sleep in, have another ‘me’ day.  You don’t have to Sabbath; that’s old school.  You can cut corners to find success.  You can see a little pornography; it's not a big deal.  You can hold onto a grudge.  You don’t need to spend time with Jesus to care for your soul.   You can sin with no repentance.   Just feel bad and move on; no big deal.   And on and on.

The little compromise grows so big that we begin to think the things of this world are normal and the things of God, the Bible, and the church are weird.  Notice, compromise doesn’t grow into a passionate way of living that says, the things of God, the Bible, and the church are normal, and this world is weird.

Let’s turn to Scripture.

Philippians 3:17-20 Stick with me, friends. Keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal. There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them. I’ve warned you of them many times; sadly, I’m having to do it again. All they want is easy street. They hate Christ’s Cross. But easy street is a dead-end street. Those who live there make their bellies their gods; belches are their praise; all they can think of is their appetites. But there’s far more to life for us. We’re citizens of high heaven! MSG

Do you see it?   Compromise is easy street.  It always does the least possible.  It always fulfills every desire you have.  And ultimately, compromise hates Christ’s cross.    

Please hear me: compromise isn’t our friend.  

You are God’s special treasure, so live like it and never drift.  

Practically embrace God’s commands.

Let’s close with these questions. 

Five questions about how you are living.  Have I become comfortable with something that once bothered my conscience?  Am I taking one small step in the wrong direction and telling myself it isn't a big deal?  What am I afraid will happen if I choose obedience?  Where have I lowered the standard so I don't have to change?  Do I say, ‘It’s not a big deal’, a lot?  

Five questions about your relationship with God.  What is God asking me to do that I am avoiding?  Am I obeying God, or am I negotiating with God?  Am I more concerned about being accepted by people than living the way God asked?  What desire in me is growing and becoming more important than my relationship with God?   Am I willing to give up anything, change anything, do anything, to get more God in my life?