Introduction : When I lived in the countryside, I often heard people say, "Oh, a man worked so hard and earned a lot of money and bought a new house. Unfortunately, he died. How miserable he was." Others said, "A man makes money, and another spends it." That means that parents save money without eating or wearing good clothes, and their children squander it. There are also blessings we have received and blessings we enjoy in our Christian life.


1. The first generation of Israelites who escaped from Egypt
    1) They left the land where they had lived for 430 years    (Ex 2:24; 12:40-41)
    2) They suffered in the desert for 40 years    (Dt 8:15-16)
    3) They received a blessing, the land overflowing with milk and honey, but they didn´t
        enjoy it, and they all died in the desert    (Nu 14:22-23)
    4) Their descendants enjoyed the land of Canaan    (Dt 1:39; Jos 1:2-3)

2. The redemptive blessing of Jesus´ Cross
    1) The blessing of the Fivefold Gospel    (Ro 8:2; Gal 3:14)
    2) The self-image of the Threefold Blessing    (3Jn 1:2; Ps 103:3-5)
    3) The fourfold status    (1Pe 2:9)
        - This blessing is given to all believers freely    (Eph 2:8)
        - Believers in Jesus have received blessings, but many of them don´t enjoy
           them    (Heb 4:1-3)

3. How to enjoy blessings
    1) We must repent of secularism and sin and remove them
        - the first generation of Israelites escaped from Egypt physically but not mentally
           (Jos 24:14)
    2) We must serve God wholeheartedly - the Israelites served God and idols together,
        and they were destroyed    (Ex 20:5-6)
    3) We must realize that we are a new creation, believe it, and obey God
        (2Co 5:17; Ro 10:17; Rev 1:3)
    4) We must speak a new language and sing a new song - if we are bound on earth,
        we are bound in heaven    (Col 3:16-17; Pr 18:21; 6:2; Ro 10:10; 4:17)


Conclusion : Some of the Israelites lived and died in the desert, and others lived in the land of Canaan overflowing with milk and honey. Likewise, some Christians live in the pasture- abundantly enjoying the redemptive grace of Jesus´ Cross-and other Christians live in the desert their whole life, even though they believe in Christ. The responsibility does not lie with God, but with each Christian. God has given us blessings, and it is up to us to enjoy them.