So, of course Deuteronomy chapter 26 was a lot about you see a lot there about what they were
Supposed to do when they came into the land and every three years thereafter they were to bring
the fruit of their land the tithes of their land
And present them before the Lord and they kind of you know
They had that the that kind of the oath or the the vow there not necessarily a vowel but they say in verse 14
Hey
I have not eaten thereof in my morning
Neither have I taken away out thereof for any unclean use or have given ought thereof for the dead
He's saying I'm bringing everything that I was supposed to bring
because you've recalled they laid this up year by year and then the third year they would bring it down there and
What they're saying is saying I'm bringing everything here, you know
Everything that I brought is everything that the Lord gave me. This is the full tithe, you know
And what he's showing is there and specifically saying they haven't taken away anything
When they were mourning or given some for the for the dead saying well, you know, this is kind of a special occasion
So let's just go ahead and give them on the Lord's tithe. He's saying no, there's there is no
Reason to give away that which belongs unto the Lord and they're also saying hey
We're being we're being honest and saying that this is indeed everything that we brought or everything that we were supposed to bring
This is the fullness of the tithe and if you recall the story and acts of Ananias and Sapphira
You know they came and said hey we brought everything but they had hold back part of the price of the land that they had
Sold, you know and it was in their power to say whether whether it was the land was sold for so much or not
And God actually struck them dead. So that's kind of what you see here is that they're coming before the Lord
They're make the ones making these vows. They're the ones that are saying yeah
This is everything and they're the ones that having to say it before the Lord
So, you know, that's not something that God takes lightly
But what I really want to focus in on is is you know, of course the first, you know
12 verses there are just talking about the tithe and how they were to bring it and you know that
Deuteronomy talks about tithing we've had sermons about that in the past
I really want to spend a lot of time on that tonight
But really when I focus in on there on verse 13 there and verse 13 if you read there along with me
It says then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God
I have brought away the hollow things out of mine house and I also give them under the Levite and of the stranger the fatherless
of the widow according to all
Thy commandments which thou is commanded II I have not transgressed thy commandments neither have I forgotten them
And that's kind of an interesting phrase there at the end
He says I have not transgressed and neither have I forgotten and really you can't transgress or you can't yeah, you can't
If you don't remember if you do forget you're likely to transgress that's the point I wanted to make there
What we see here in the beginning or what I point out is the importance of not forgetting the commandments
You know, the commandments are something that we have to be reminded of over and over and over, you know
There's a lot that's redundant even in the Old Testament that we read, you know about we read these
It's like God keeps harping on the tank, you know
These commandments this commandment and what he's trying to do is make that impression and get it in there because man by nature is forgetful
we tend to forget things and
The way he's helping them to not forget is
When they start to recall the preceding verses he's saying you're gonna come before the Lord thy God
And then you're gonna make you're gonna recall everything that happened to your people if you if you look there, you know, he starts out
What where was it verse?
Verse 5 he says and thou shalt say before the Lord God a Syrian ready to perish was my father
You know, he's going all the way back to Abraham, you know
He's going all the way back and he goes through the account now the people that are gonna be doing this here
You know every three years or whatever. They're not they're not these people
They were not though the exact ones the people that have been brought out of Egypt will have passed off
But they want them to look he wants God wants his people to look back and to remember everything that he did for
For their people bringing them up to this place. So that's what's gonna help them. Remember that's what's gonna help them to not forget
The Commandments is when they go there and they have to recall this whole story about
Their about Abraham and and the the bondage and in in Egypt and so on and so forth
So in again, and I think that's important for us to understand too, you know, if we're saved if we've been born again
You know, it's important for us to not forget where we came from and not to get this
You know puffed up and hottie attitude that we're you know, somehow better than other people or something, you know
I preached you know, I don't know if it's Sunday or last but we talked about yeah
I was last Sunday night. We talked about how you know, the Bible does teach that we are the chosen people in Christ
That you know, we are the children of Abraham by faith and that's a very special thing
You know, we are the these peculiar people that he's referring to at the end. That's us back then
It was them but the you know, the the church has replaced Israel and and that's and and that's kind of again
That's the sermon we preached Sunday
but the point I want to make is is that it's not to lift us up with pride and that's not to make us think that
You know, we're somehow better than everybody else because of that, you know, we're all sinners, you know
Everybody has they had opportunity to become part of you know
God's family to be that peculiar people that's open to everybody that that will receive it
So that's one thing that we could you know apply to our own lives
We should look back on our past, you know and think about you know, when God saved us, you know
What God you know and maybe we don't have and I'm not saying you have to look back on some dark, you know
Checkered, you know shady forest of a past, you know
Hopefully there's a lot of a lot of us that don't have that kids that are gonna be raised in this church
That won't have that, you know, we don't want that for them
But they could still look back on their past and say well
I remember the day I understood that I was a sinner and that Jesus saved me, you know
They could look back on that and they could up maybe they could look back on their past and remember friends that went astray or
They could you know, remember the time they went out soul winning in some ghetto or something and they saw somebody
You know living in squalor and in sin and they could they could think back on all these things and what was that gonna help?
Them to do it's gonna help them to not forget the commandments that it's important to remember the past where you've came from so that
You don't forget the commandments so that you will do them
You will not transgress and when we do that if you would turn over Ezekiel chapter 16 Ezekiel chapter 16
You know God's real care gods, you know, he likes to remind them of their humble beginnings often in Scripture
You know God reminds the children of Israel and again keep something in Deuteronomy, of course
But go to Ezekiel 16 because a lot of times when you look back on the past it can be very humbling
You know sometimes, you know, there's something there's things we'd rather forget about in the past
Aren't there and it just will be driving down the road or walking or you know
Jen all of a sudden this intrusive thought just comes out of nowhere and we recall some something that happened or something
We did or said from the past we just like man that's that's almost embarrassing like when am I gonna forget about that?
When can I live that down?
You're recalling the past can be a very humbling thing
And I think that's why God's you know, having them come and recite this this, you know
This chronology before him of where they've come from
It could be a very humbling thing. In fact when God wants to humble them. He reminds them of their very meek beginnings
He says there in Ezekiel chapter 16 and look at verse 2 son of man caused Jerusalem to know her abominations
Of course Israel at this time is very backslidden and involved in idolatry and say thus saith the Lord thy God in Jerusalem
Thy birth and thine nativity is of the land of Canaan. Thy father was an Amorite and thy mother in Hittite
You know, he's kind of bringing he's taking them down a few notches not to say don't think that you know
Just because you're of a certain race or something that you're somehow better than these other people that are around you
He's saying look your father was an Amorite your mother wasn't Hittite and as for thine nativity
That was born the day that when I was born when that was navel was not cut
Neither was thou washed in water to supple thee that was not salted at all nor swatted all he's saying look
When I found you no one was taking care of you, you know when I started out with you
There was no you weren't some great mighty nation. You were weak
You were helpless and nobody was helping you not look at verse 5 none
I pitted thee to do the any of these unto thee to have compassion on thee
But that was cast in the open field to be the loathing of thy person is that in the day that thou was born?
So he's really bringing them down a notch and he's reminding them of what of their past where they came from
It says in verse 6 and when I passed by thee and saw thee polluted in thine own blood
I said unto thee that when thou was in thy blood live
Yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood live so he's reminding don't forget. It's me that came along
It's the Lord God that came along and found you
When nobody else will pity you and made you what you are today and he's trying to you know
Bring them back. He's trying to remind them where they came from
Why because they're backslidden and he wants them to stop transgressing the commandments and how does he do that again by?
making them recall the past
Go back to Deuteronomy. I'll read to you from Deuteronomy Deuteronomy 7 if you recall when we went through this chapter
He said in verse 7 the Lord did not set actually go to Ephesians. Sorry about that
Go to Ephesians
The Lord did not set his love upon you nor chose you nor choose you because you were more number than any people
He's saying look God didn't look down from heaven and say let me choose these people because there's just so many of them
Because they're so great because they're so wonderful. Let me use them to be my light unto the Gentiles
he's saying you because
He said for ye were the fewest of all people
But because the Lord loved you and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers
Hath he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen
From the hand of the Pharaoh of the king of Egypt. So he's saying look don't forget. It's my own love
It's the promise that I keeping to your fathers is the reason I brought you out when you were in hard bondage
When you were not because you were not the greatest of people and you know
This is something that Paul I believe was something the Apostle Paul, you know
He was a very humble man. Of course, he did great works for God, you know, he's very mightily used of God
Some could rightly argue. I believe that he was probably the greatest Christian that's ever lived but he was also a very humble person and
Why is that because he was able to recall his past?
He was never negligent to to be mindful of where he came from and who he was now again
He didn't Paul what's great about Paul is that though he was mindful of his past
He didn't let it become a weight or a snare to him. He didn't let the guilt
Perhaps that some people do let in they let their past just kind of hang on to them more than they should
When they should just let those things go the Bible says, you know
If we confess our sins and forsake our sins, he is faithful and just forgive our sins, you know
I'm butchering that first John but you know, if we if we go on if we confess it forsake it, you know
God's forgiven it and God's forgotten about it, you know
We're the ones that keep dragging it up a lot of times
But it's also good to just remember that we weren't always all that in a bag of chips
You know that even we might have it all put together today
You know, we might have the haircut and we might have the three-piece and the tie and everything's polished and looking nice
You know, it's it's nice to remember
It's good to remember that we weren't always that way that God had to work on us and bring us along
Through the through the reading and the preaching of his word and so and teaching us lessons as we as we went through life
So on and so forth, but look at Ephesians chapter 3 verse 7
He said whereof I was made a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me
by the effectual working of his power
He said unto me who am the least of all saints is this grace given
So he's been giving this great in this great opportunity this great privilege to do what that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable
riches of Christ
And that's what we're doing, you know, by the way
This is kind of a side note when we go out and we preach the gospel, you know
You're preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ
I mean we see through a glass darkly and we know some things about heaven and glory and
What it's gonna be like when we get there
But we don't even you know, I it hath not entered in the heart of man
What God hath prepared for the for those that for them that love him?
Yeah, we don't we don't even know that Paul said he saw things that were not lawful for him to speak
You know
We can't even begin to fathom what heaven is going to be like
And when we're out preaching that the gospel of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ
That's what you're preaching somebody you're good
You're pulling out the unsearchable riches of Christ to them and offering it and Paul was saying look
This is the gift of grace that was given to me of God
And he am but and he was but what also did he say there?
I am the least who am least than all of the Saints is this grace given so he was a very humble person
You know, he was not one that was puffed up and I believe that's because he was one who was always mindful of
Who he was where he came from, you know, he said he was the chiefest of sinners
you know of the chief of sinners and he was able to remember that and recall that and again not allowing it to become a
weight and a burden to him a
guilt
But a reminder of the grace that he's received and and that helped him to you know
Again, obey to not be one that would transgress the commandments
But actually go out and fulfill a great work for God and you know Paul he stayed there in Ephesians. He is also one that
Because of this I believe often, you know
emphasize the need to put people in remembrance and this is something that you know that preachers need to do and this is something that
You know people in the church need to understand is that you know
You're good probably if you're around church long enough around Bible preaching long enough
You're gonna start to hear some some of the same truths. I'm not saying the exact same sermons
I mean we shouldn't preachers should definitely, you know, put a little bit more work into their sermons and just you know
Re-preaching the old stuff but even if we preach through this whole book, you know
How many times we're gonna repeat ourselves if I just preached every chapter every service just a different chapter
You I guarantee you the same messages would be coming up the same themes the same
Just the same motivations the same rebukes the same everything there'd be so much that would just be repeated
Because God repeats a lot of things because man needs to have that have things be repeated to him
And that's why Paul emphasized that you know
He said in 1st 2nd Peter wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things
He's saying look if I didn't put you in remembrance of these things always I wouldn't be doing my job
I'd be negligent and he said I will therefore I will not be not negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things
Though you know them
Things that you already know
You know, I'd be like come on brother Corbin. You got anything new for us today. You know anything fresh something
I've never heard before I already know that yeah, but maybe you just need to be reminded and it's amazing
How many things like all I'll hear somebody preach and I'll say I remember I remember when I used to know that
They're reminding me of something I've forgotten like oh, yeah
That's that's amazing thing out of the Word of God or some truth out of the Word of God that I had just you know
Over the years just forgotten or you'll hear people that you know come and say oh
Did you hear what this preacher preached or that preacher preached those and you'll say you say yeah
I remember when he preached it last time and you were there
You didn't catch at that time of your forgotten, you know people will say things you like you didn't know that yet
You didn't you didn't hear didn't you said you listen to this sermon and that sermon you haven't you haven't caught that part yet?
So people need to peak hot
It's not because they you know didn't catch it maybe but it's maybe just because they forgot
Because that's just part of our nature to forget things and Paul saying look
For me to not put you in remembrance that these things would be negligent. He said in Jude Jude chapter 1
I will therefore put you in remembrance though
You once knew this how the Lord having saved the people of the land of Egypt after to store them that believe not
So again, there he is reminding them something that they already knew
Philippians chapter 3 finally brethren rejoice the Lord to write the same things unto you to me indeed is not grievous
But for you it is safe
He's saying it's safe for you for me to write the same things unto you
To put you in remembrance of things that you might already even know it's safe, you know
We should never get bored of hearing, you know, God's Word preached. Even if it's something we already know
Maybe it's something we just need to be shored up on
Maybe it's just something we have to hear over and over and over again till we really, you know, believe it and make it ours
so
You know, this is
And what's the purpose of all that?
What is the purpose if you would stay there in Ephesians chapter 3
You know the purpose of being reminded of these things over and over again is
Is to the glory of God
I mean when you're staying in Deuteronomy where we were reading
I mean they're coming and they're recalling this story of their deliverance from Egypt and
While they're recalling this do you think they're gonna be thinking to themselves, you know by my own hand I brought me into this place
No, they're gonna be recalling all the things that God did for them along the way how he was him that delivered them him that
brought them out of that land and fought their enemies and Canaan and give them this great land and what's gonna end up happening when
they're recalling the past and
There's not only gonna remind them to not transgress, but it's also gonna bring glory to God
And you and that's this that was the case in the Old Testament. I believe that's again
Even here what Paul was saying if you look there in verse 9
He said and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery from the beginning of the world that have been hidden
God who created all things by Jesus Christ
He's saying that was his purpose. That was the grace that was given unto him, right?
That was the unsearchable riches that he preached
He said on me who won the least and when the least of all saints is this grace given
That he could preach the unsearchable riches of Christ and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery?
To make all men see it is Jesus Christ that saves and that God would be glorified in it
So I think that's really what this is about
This chapter is God putting them in remembrance and that's so much of what the Word of God is about
in fact Deuteronomy itself is a book that's just
More than any other I believe just about being you know, remembering and remembering and remembering being reminded these same things
and
You
Say why you know, why is it that Paul was always ready, you know writing the same things under them telling them things
They already knew why does why are they having to come every three years and recite the same old story?
Because as I've mentioned human nature is to grow dull of hearing it's to grow dull of hearing
And the real danger is is when we start to hear some of the same things over we tune it out
That's when we're really needed to check ourselves
We say oh I ever heard that, you know, and we start to wonder about we just we're there but we're not there
We start to drift off there. He goes again, you know, the preachers going off on that same old thing
You know and preachers obviously they shouldn't just get on hobby horses, you know some some preachers they do just it's like they preach
That literally like the same thing every other
Sermon it just seems like it's always grace and it's always love and it's never, you know, I get that but I feel like
You know in our type on our brand of churches, you know with Pastor Anderson and even myself, you know
Even just going through the book of Deuteronomy
you know forcing us to
Preach on different subjects that people in the in the in the pew or get a variety of sermons
And that's something I try to work on as a preacher to make sure that I'm not just getting into a rut
And you know, I'm preaching the same thing over and over again
but the danger is is that when when you're in a church where that's not happening where
Where you're not the preacher isn't stuck in a rut that we start to grow dull of hearing
When something is being brought up again, it's it because it's important
When God is emphasizing things over and over again and is in the word, you know
We need to really take heed of those things and not grow dull of hearing
The Bible says in Hebrews 2 I'll just read you
Therefore we ought to give more earnest heed to the things which we have heard
He said we ought to give heed to the things earnest heed to the things which we have heard
not the things we will hear but the things which we have heard lest at any time we should let them slip and
Again, the the Bible the preacher it gets repetitive because of the fact that we grow dull of hearing and if we're not careful
We let we tend to let things slip
We go why do I keep oh, why is it that I keep that standard?
Well, why is it that I don't do that or don't or do do this you start to forget and we start to just going now
We're just going through motions. Maybe we'll just get tired of growing the motions and quit and
That's why we need to be reminded over and over again of these things lest we should let them slip
You know
We really we need to focus more on what we have heard
Than falling into this trap of trying to find and hear some new thing a lot of people get caught up in this
You know, they're tired of hearing just the old things
They want to they don't want to just they don't want to focus on that what they have been taught or what the Bible says
Already they want to find some new exciting thing that that nobody's heard before
You know, they want to get on YouTube and start searching, you know flat earth and Nephilim and all these, you know
Bigfoot and all these things, you know is Nessie still alive or you know
You know the the tenth planets or something, you know, all these crazy things that are out there the reptilians
Where do you where do you think there's all these strange, you know, you know
400-foot giants all these bizarre teachings come from they come from people who aren't content with just hearing
The same solid truths out of the Word of God
They want to be tantalized and excited by some new thing
Rather than just you know, taking earnest heed to the things which they have heard already
You know, there's a lot of great exam
We could you know, there's a lot of ways to illustrate this through different examples
But one that's great is people that get so caught up in reading so-called missing books of the Bible
you know the Gospel of Thomas or the book of Enoch or I
Don't know, you know Belle and the dragon or they want to read the Mac you know Maccabees and the Apocrypha or something like that
They'll start reading. They'll read through the pocket for they haven't even read through the Old Testament
They run through their New Testament. You're in the pocket foots. What are you doing?
It's garbage. No wonder you think it's real because you haven't read the real stuff that actually has power in it
You know people who want to read all these these other books and things that are that are supposedly missing from the Bible
There are no missing books and they haven't even read the Bible one time
You know that and where does that all come from people who just don't want to hear?
You know be reminded of the same thing who want to take earnest heed to the things which they have already heard
So
really what I see there if you want to go back to
Deuteronomy where we were is that when God has them looking back, you know, he's saying
He's having them recite this this story and recalling their past it's so that they will keep the commandments
Because you're only gonna you're only gonna obey and keep the commandments if you remember them
I mean that just makes sense, right if you forget to you know, if we'll get what the commandments are
How do you ever expect to do them?
you know if you you know, it's the old saying, you know, if you don't you
Use it or lose it kind of thing if you're not recalling these things to mind
Eventually, they're just gonna fade away and that's just human nature. He says in verse 13 again
Towards the end there. I have not transgressed I Commandments neither
Have I forgotten them and one comes before the other, you know in the in the verse, of course
but really what comes first is remembering them and then not transgressing and
That's really I believe the purpose of this book of Deuteronomy
and if
If we when we go through the book of Deuteronomy, we've seen a lot of things
Where it's just God giving them reminders all these little things that God puts into their life on there
Just their daily life the ox and the ass not plowing together the ribbon of blue so on and so forth
All these little things that God's just constantly putting in them the book of Deuteronomy. I believe is just so much
About God just trying to drill into their head
Who he is who they are where there came from and then not forgetting
God doesn't want them to forget. In fact, the word remember is used in Deuteronomy more than any other book
you know and other than you know, the the few of the you know, the prophets like Isaiah and I can't remember the other one was but
You know those ones get up there
but they don't they get a little bit more than half as much as Deuteronomy uses the word remember and
It's kind of ironic because those are the books where they've forgotten and God's it's like Deuteronomy is God saying remember
Remember remember and then in the prophets where they're forgetting they forgot everything God's going remember remember
Remember because why because they forgot why because they grow dull of hearing
It's it's human nature
So you won't do the commandments if you can't remember them
And that's why it's important for us to be in church. That's why it's important for us to be reading our Bibles
So that we can be reminded of these things and not forget them and not let them slip
Because it's a it's a you know, it's a slippery slope when we start getting out of church when we stop reading our Bibles
You know and then it gets even harder to get back into those things
you know we get comfortable having not done them and
Then when we decide well, yeah, I know I should
But it's harder to make yourself do it because we're creatures of habit
But that's that's a slippery slope that's not something we want to fall into
because then we'll eventually we'll get a place like
Well, what does the Bible say about that that you know, does it really matter I can't remember yeah must not be that important
Is it not that important or is it just you forgot?
Because you haven't been around to hear it or because you haven't been in the book reading it for yourself
The Bible if you would go over to Psalms 119 Psalms 119
You know the books that this books got a lot of Commandments, by the way
You know, I know some of them been done away in Christ, but there's still a lot that applies here
You know, there's not an area area of your life that this book doesn't address. I
Don't care what it is any any question in life
That is reasonable. That isn't just you know, vain jangling, you know, who sneezed first Adam or Eve?
Vain jangling. Yes, I've heard that. All right
You know, but any reasonable question that you have out of life this has the answer
And don't we have questions about life? I mean who in the room has it all figured out?
You know, I I almost would want you to raise your hand so I could come to you
You know and say teach me show me, you know, let you preach, you know, you do a better job, right?
You probably got more than I figured out
right
But here's the thing we're not gonna know these answers that are in this book if we're not hearing them
And we're definitely not going to do the commandments
If we're not hearing them and being reminded of why we should do them what it is
We're supposed to do what happens if we don't do them
Look there in Psalm 119 look at verse 9 wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way
By taking heed thereto according to thy word with my whole heart have I sought thee. Oh, let me not wander that from thy commandments
So he's saying look I want to live clean. I want a clean way in front of me. I want to take heed
Under your word and he's saying look my whole heart. I was sigh he's begging. Let me not wander from your commandments and
He's not just that, you know, he's not just ending it there and saying amen
That's his prayer
He's saying thy word look at verse 17 or verse 11 thy word. Have I heard it hit in my heart that I might not sin
against thee
He's saying I don't want to wander out of the way. I don't want to wander from your commandments. I want to forget and transgress
So, what does he do he hides his word in his heart
You know the more we read the Bible the more we meditate on it the more we hear the preaching about it
We think on these things and we those things sink down into our heart and not just you know through our ears and into our hearts
You know, the less sin is gonna be in our life
The more the more sin we're gonna get out of our life the more godly and holy lives we're gonna live and then therefore
The more blessing of God is gonna come upon us
You know God isn't just but you know, it's not just showing up to church that you know, God's gonna bless you, you know
Yeah, you got to come and you got to hear it. You got to read it
You got to understand it, but you have to also do something with it
You have to walk out the door and do something
You know, God's not like this spiritual vending machine. We're coming to church earns you a credit
Like well, I showed up, you know, and I earned a credit from God for it. So now he has to bless me
No, it's did these words sink down into your heart. Did you hide them in your heart today?
Did you carry this with you when you left?
Well, you know when you read something in the Bible this morning and you got up and you went about your day
Did it stay with you? Did it did it help you not to wander from his commandments? Did it cleanse your way?
So that's what you know
God is I believe trying to show us here in Deuteronomy and having and then specifically these people that are bringing
This sacrifice and they were to make the sacrifice and to recall these things
Now if you would go ahead and turn back to Deuteronomy chapter 3 or excuse me, Deuteronomy chapter 26 verse 3
Deuteronomy chapter 26
When they came and they made this the sacrifice and they recalled this story
You know part of part of what happened when they did that is it made them accountable
It made them saying hey, I'm acknowledging the fact that this is what God did
I'm acknowledging that you know that that that we're you know
I'm bringing the tithe and what it's doing is it's making them accountable by them acknowledging this
and it says there in verse 3 and thou shalt go to the priests which shall be in those days and say to them I
profess this day to Lord thy God that I am coming to the country which the Lord swear unto our fathers to give us
so they had to say that and to go there and profess that and
The priest shall take the basket out of thine hand and shall set it down before the altar of the Lord thy God
and verse 5 is interesting because at that point the priest doesn't set the basketball and turn down and then recite to them the story and
Say that, you know your father this, you know, it wasn't in the land of that kept. He doesn't recite the story
He sets the basket down and he's like, let's hear it
and he says in verse 5 and thou shalt speak and
Say before the Lord thy God and
So on and so forth they had to go make the sacrifice and open up their own mouth and not just let
You know the the Levite do all the work for them
You know, they had to be the ones that were making this profession because it made them accountable
You know that it was the other way around where the Levite, you know takes the basket and he's he recites to them
You know, they could just they could just be like, uh-huh. Yep
Mm-hmm
Check their phone. Mm-hmm. Is he done yet? You know, they could just be somewhere else and that's a real that's a real
Something that happens even in churches, you know people come to church and it's like they they're here but they just kind of
Zone out and I get it some days. We've had long days and things like that. It's hard to concentrate. I understand
Sometimes not every sermon is just the blockbuster red-hot just you know
Sermon, that's got you on the edge of your seat, but it's all profitable. It's all the Word of God and
I'll never forget when I was first getting into church and I
Remember for a few services we hear this like it would be a Wednesday night service, you know midweek service
Everyone's tired. Everyone's had a long day and then you heard this you hear the mail you this click click
Click click click click. I mean just like echoing
Right and the preacher preachers, you know, if they're good they're getting into it. They can just they'll just tune everything out
They're just on their points. They're just going through their sermon and they'll hear the sound but it just won't register what's going on
And I remember I went to my pastor at one point and I said, well, yeah, so-and-so is clipping his nails
He's like what I'm saying? Yeah, you don't hear him every like every Wednesday night just clipping away and he just shook his head
You know what and he wasn't upset about the fact that you know
He wasn't listening to him or he was you know what I mean? He wasn't like offended
He felt sorry for that guy and he said, you know what? He might as well just be anywhere else
And you just have to wonder how much does a person like that miss?
They all here goes the preacher again. Oh, you know, it's gonna be it. This is gonna be a dud
Let me just zone out here. Let me just clip my fingernails
You know, which I guess is better than biting them, right?
You know, I mean if you're it's one thing if you're if you're seeing if you find that, you know
You go to clean, you know, you go to clean the why is everybody turning around what's going on here?
Guys are just like throwing people under the bus from back. I
Didn't eat. Is that a thing here? I didn't even know do we have to have a little council after the service?
There's like fingers being pointed right now. Good grief, man. Where's the unity here, right?
Wow
I didn't even tend to go there. I really touched on a hot topic. I guess huh?
Well, let me just double down on this one, right? I
Mean good night, you know, you clean up you find the pile of fingernails. You're like, well, I didn't hear any Clippers like what's going on?
Someone's having lunch back there is um, right
Anyway, let's move on. Okay. This just got awkward really quick
That's funny and you guys are savage
I'm glad I'm up here. You know, I thought this was the rough spot. Whoo
Anyway, where was I going before that
What was I saying? I don't even know anymore. I don't even know I got distracted
That guy's fingernail clip and finally caught up to the preacher. I guess I don't know he did distract him. So anyway
Right the sacrifice, you know, that's making them accountable. You know, they're the Levites not the one just doing all the work
He's listening to them
Verse 13 he goes it goes on there. We know where we're focusing. He says then thou shalt say before the light God
I have brought thee
Away before the hallowed things of mine house
He's getting them to say all these things and making them accountable and you have to really think about that
I mean if you were going there and you're going to make this proclamation before the Lord thy God and everybody present
You know, you probably make sure that your walk matches your talk as the saying goes
I mean if you're gonna go there and say, you know
I haven't held back anything. I haven't given it away everything, you know, I've not
Transgressing my commandments. It's all here. You're gonna make sure that's true
If you have to go there and verbalize that
To somebody before you know the priest and everybody present and before Almighty God
You know that's gonna make you accountable to make sure that you actually do that
You know the Bible just read for us here
It says in Ecclesiastes chapter 5 keep thy foot when thou goes to the house of God and be more ready to hear
Than to give the sacrifice of fools, you know, it'd be better just to not to not say anything at all if it wasn't true
You know if you what if you had taken some of the tithe would you really want to get up and say?
Oh, it's all here. What if you had give someone away? Would you really want to say? No, it's all here
You'd probably be like well, I can't really say that because well, you know, we had a funeral and I had to give some away
at a wake
You know, it's not right but it'd be better than making the sacrifice of a fool and being a liar
He says be not rash with thy mouth and let not thy heart to be hasty to add or anything before God
For God is in heaven and thou upon the earth
Therefore let thy words be few for a dream coming through the multitude of business
Saying look when you come to the house of God let thy words be few now
I don't mean that, you know after
Everyone needs to clam up after service, right? We could still talk in a fellowship
I don't know after that little thing. Some of you might not be talking to each other for a while, but you know
What he's saying is to not be rash with your mouth not to be hasty to utter anything before God make sure what you're saying
Is the truth?
When you're gonna come and say yeah, I brought a whole sacrifice. I haven't given everything away
Everything that God required is here today that better be true
You know everything that you're saying better be true and you know
We can apply this today the fact that a lot of people not a lot of people I shouldn't say that
But I have run into people we've probably all met people or seen people
You know who talk a real big game
You know, they're just they're just super Christian and they come in. They're like, oh I do this and I do that
I'm on fire and I'm gonna
XYZ whatever it might be and they talk a real big game, don't they?
But when you find out is like after a while when that when the when push comes to shove, you know
It's not there, you know, I'm gonna serve God till I die. I'm gonna be in church every day
You know, I'm gonna with you all the way this church is gonna be great and then things start to get hard, you know
Persecution cometh for the word's sake and by and by they are offended and they wither away because they had no root in themselves
You know people typically who talk the biggest game usually have none and what that stems from is what's called a need to persuade
You know, I remember
Pastors saying this pastor Anderson saying show me what a person brags about the most and I'll show you what they're terrible at or something
that effect
Because people want to persuade other other people that they're you know
If they have some shortcoming or they have some flaw or something
They're insecure about they'll talk themselves up to try to convince everybody else around them that that's not the case
But we don't want to be like that as Christians, you know
We don't want to let you know, let your words be few be not rash with thy mouth
You know if you bring the sacrifice and it's all there great say so
But don't come and bring the sacrifice when it's not all there and say it's all there and then some
It's a lie, you know and God's gonna find you out
So let's move along here. Look at verse
Verse 16 this day the Lord thy God commandeth thee to do these statutes
Now he's kind of you know, he's gone through verses fifth, you know one through 15
He's saying this is what you're gonna do
And then verse 16 is Moses kind of jumping in and saying reminding them, you know speaking in the present tense back then
Of course, he's saying this day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments thou
Therefore shall keep them and do them with all thine heart with all thy soul
So we have to remember as we've been going through the book of Deuteronomy and I haven't brought this up
I don't think in fact at all
But is that this is something that Moses is speaking to them before he dies this entire book every chapter
I mean you thought I'm long-winded, you know, you thought I was taking my time and keeping you late or something like that
I mean Moses is just page after page after page after page is laying it all on them
But we have to remember we're gonna get to the end Moses passes away
These are his you know in a sense his dying words to this people that you know
He carried in his bosom these all these years these people that he's you know
Prayed for and watched over and and led and and everything
So he's really kind of just unloading the truck before they go off into the Promised Land
So keep that in mind as we go through Deuteronomy, you know these next few weeks, but in a verse 17
We'll pick it up again
He says thou hast avouch Lord like the Lord this day to be thy God now what is a vouch mean?
It means to like it basically just means to affirm
You know, you've confirmed this you've avouched it, you know, you ever hear the saying, you know, I can vouch for this guy
Right. It's kind of like that. I can vouch for him
I can I can confirm that he is what I say he is and that's what he was
so what he's saying is here is that you know thou hast avouch the Lord this the
Thou hast avouch the Lord this day to be that God
He's saying look you're saying that God the Lord is your God
That's what you're saying today and that you're going to walk in his ways and to keep a statutes and his commandments and his judgments and
to hearken unto his voice
You know Moses is saying look you've confirmed this this is what you're saying. This is what you're telling me
This is what this is what you're saying
you're going to do that you're gonna walk in his ways that you're gonna keep a
Statutes and his Commandment Commandments and His Jud Cortana new his voice
You know in that first generation that went over they weren't perfect
but they did a pretty good job. I mean, considering, you know, where they were
coming from and everything they had to go through and the bad example that they
had in the previous generation, they weren't faultless. They made their
mistakes, but that generation that went on with Joshua, they did a
pretty good job of walking in his ways. They did a good job of keeping his
statutes, but even at the end of Joshua's life, you know, he's having to put them,
you know, call them in a carpet again and remind them again of all these things so
that, you know, the next generation would continue to do so, and it wasn't long
before this was not the case, where God's people were no longer walking in his
ways or keeping his statutes. So, you know, it's one thing to claim the Lord as your
God, isn't it? It's one to say, oh yeah, I'm a Christian. Oh yeah, I believe the
Bible. It's one thing to say that, you know, it's one thing to say, to claim
to be a Christian, the Lord as your God, but it's a whole other thing to live
like he is your God. That's a whole other thing, and not, you know, and obviously you
don't have to live a certain way for the Lord to be your God, to be saved, right?
But it's really hard to tell that about people when they're not living that way,
you know, when they're not living for the Lord. So it's one thing to just claim
it and say, oh yeah, yeah, I'm a Christian. Oh yeah, I believe the Bible, but it's a
whole other ball of wax to actually follow through. It's one thing to avouch
him as the Lord thy God this day, but it's something else to walk in his
ways. It's something else to keep his statutes and his commandments and his
judgments and to hearken unto his voice, and that's really where the, you know,
with Christians, that's a lot, that's kind of a line in the sand, and some people
never get over to the other side. You know, they're saved, they're on their
way to heaven, they're gonna, they're gonna, they're gonna be there, they've
trusted in Christ as their Savior, they know the truth of the gospel, that
salvation is by grace through faith, they get that, but they never quite get all
the way over to all of this, because that's where the real work comes in.
That's where into the rubber meets the road, and even people that get over
there, you know, they say, no, I am keeping his commandments, I am walking, and
they are, you know, they're, they're doing, they are bringing the sacrifice, and it
is all there, you know, they're, they're, they're really doing it, but even those
people, we, they have to be careful that they, again, don't grow dull of hearing,
that they start to be negligent of the past, and forget those things, and, and,
and because they could end up right back over there, they could end up right back,
you know, just saying, oh yeah, I used to go to church, yeah, I used to live for the
Lord, that can happen as well, but I think these, kind of these closing verses here,
these are our verses that, you know, will help us to, you know, stick by the stuff,
as I've heard it put, you know, you want to stick by the stuff, that was an
admonishment, and there was a guy in my first year, should always say to me,
he'd say, he'd say goodbye, he'd be like, all right, stick by the stuff, what is he
saying, you know, don't quit, don't give up, you know, keep living for the Lord, you
know, you would say, you know, how goes the battle, steady by jerks, right, like, you
know, sometimes the way forward isn't just a straight line, but as long as
we're making progress, you know, sometimes it's steeper, and sometimes it's, you
know, nice and flat as we go, but we have to stick by the stuff through those hard
times too, and, you know, he's reminding them in verse 17, he's saying
to them, look, thou has said, thou has avouch the Lord to be thy God this day,
and that you're gonna walk in his ways, and you're gonna do all these things, and
hearken unto his voice, and that's good, people should do that, but they
should mean it, and I think what will really help people to mean it, and to
stick by the stuff, is these closing verses, and be reminded that it's not
just a one-way street with God, you know, the Bible says draw nigh to God, and he
will draw nigh to you, you know, but there's, we have to kind of meet God
halfway, but that should be an encouragement, you know, not that God is
just, you know, always tailing us along, holding out some carrot, you know, or one
day you'll have the blessing of God, if we get our hearts right with God,
God wants to forgive, God wants us to live for him, God wants us to, you
know, live the successful Christian life, God wants that for us, and when he starts
to see us take that step in that direction, he's gonna start, you know,
clearing the path, he's gonna start pulling out, you know, making the way
easier, you know, he wants his children to grow and move along, that's what he says
in verse 18, and the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, I
mean, that's a, that's a huge thing in the Word of God, to be God's chosen people, to
be able to say that about yourself, that God has avouched thee, you didn't claim
that, you didn't, he's not saying, and you have claimed to be the people of God, no
he's saying God has avouched thee, God has confirmed thee to be his people, you
know, that's a big deal, that we should read something like that and that should
really encourage us, why is it that we should keep his commandments, why is it
that we should walk in his ways and do his judgments, because we're his people,
by his choosing, because he wants to be our God, and as he, as he hath promised thee
that thou should keepest all his commandments, and to make thee high above
all nations which he hath made, you want to live for the Lord here on earth, is
because of the kingdom to come, you know, that nation which shall be made high
above all nations, we're gonna be a member of that nation, we're gonna rule
and reign with Christ, might as well start now, you know, I'm not saying we're
gonna go take over the city and overthrow town hall or something, but we
want to start living like those people now, because that's what eternity is, you
know, and if the Christian life is just, you know, not exciting enough or dull or
just, you know, it's not, it's just not your thing, well you're gonna get really, I
think heaven might be a bit of a bummer for you, because that's, you know, that's
what it is, it's living for the Lord there, you know, it's not just gonna be
this, you know, well anyway, I'm just gonna move on here, but, you know, we like the
fact that we are God's people, and we should, shouldn't we, I mean, that should
encourage you, that's something we should think about, but we also have to
understand that with that benefit of being God's people, there also comes the
burden of having to keep his commandments, it makes us accountable
when we understand that, when we come and make that profession, you know, my, you
know, I am of this gender, I am of these people, you know, my father was a Syrian
and it was God that delivered us, you know, that comes with, again, that
accountability, it comes with that burden that you have to keep all his
commandments, we'll close here, but go over 1st Corinthians chapter 8, we'll
close here at this thought, you know, God didn't just save us to sit on the
sidelines, God didn't just save us to kind of just take it easy and just coast
through the Christian life and, and just maybe, maybe get a few rewards at the end,
you know, God doesn't want that for his people, he wants them to be, what is it,
what did he say there, a high above all nations, which he hath made in praise, a
name and an honor, that thou mayst be in holy people as he hath spoken, you know,
people, it ought to be a big deal to us that we're saved, it ought to be a big
deal to us that we're God's people, you know, that's a really special thing, a lot
of people try to lay claim to that and it's not even true, they don't have a
shred of evidence to prove it and we have this book and we understand that
this book is the Word of God and we understand what it takes to be born
again, that that makes us the people of God and that's a really special thing
and that should encourage us to keep his commandments, Jesus said if you love me
keep my commandments, you know, you can tell somehow how much somebody loves God
not by what they say, not by them coming, you know, and saying all the sacrifice is
here, everything's here, you know, I added more unto it, it's not that, it's not the
words that come out of their mouth, it's what they do, that's how you can tell
somebody really loves God and I'm just trying to encourage everybody in the
room tonight to love God and to keep his commandments and to do his judgments
Jesus said if you love me keep my commandments, don't just mouth words, you
call me master and Lord, why do you not those things which I say, that's
where the rubber meets the road, that's what's going to help us to stick by the
stuff, that's the difference between just claiming the Christianity or just saying
I'm a Christian and actually living like one, look there in 1st Corinthians
chapter 8 verse 2, and if any man thinketh that he knoweth anything, he know
nothing yet as he ought to know, but if any man love God, the same is known of
him, so what he's saying here is, you know, if any man knoweth, think he knoweth
anything, oh man I got this figured out, you know, I figured out something out of
the Word of God, yeah you should know that, that's why God put it in there, you
know, don't let that puff you up, you don't know anything other than what you
ought to know, people want to get a pat on the back because, you know, you know, I
attend church regularly, well you should, you know, hey I tithe man, well great
that's what the Bible says to do, I'm glad you figured that out, you know, so
does a lot, so do a lot of other people, a lot of people other people have
figured that out, you know, you pick whatever commandment, pick whatever you
want out of the Word of God to say, well I'm doing this now, because the Bible
says so, good, you know, I'm glad to hear it, but here's the thing, you only, you
only know it, you only know that because you ought to know that, that's something
you ought to know, but if any man love God, the same is known of him, so what
what I'm trying to say here is that it's one thing to just say you know something
out of the Word of God, but when you're actually living it out, when you're
actually doing it, that's when someone can say without you having to say a word
that that person loves God, and we say that about people often, don't we, we'll
say, we'll be, we'll say something, we'll be talking about somebody say so and so,
you know, they love the Lord, people say that about people, and is it because they
came up to him and said, hey I love the Lord, just want you know that, no it's
because you observe their life, you go, oh man, they're doing the things they ought
to do, and that's how we know they love the Lord, they don't have to tell me, I
know it, so don't expect people to just, you know, fawn over you for doing what
you're supposed to do, all right, we shouldn't expect people to just be like,
I tithe everybody, you know, I'm here at church, you know, just how proud of you
do I do that as the preacher, I'm here to preach everyone, I've written a
sermon tonight, you'd be like great, oh great job brother Corbin, you wrote a sermon,
like yeah, that was your job buddy, yeah, it'd be weird if you didn't, be a real
long awkward service if you hadn't taken the time to actually write a sermon, good
job though, right, so don't expect people to just fawn over you for
doing what you ought to do, but you know, do those things, and what will happen is
that people will just know you love the Lord anyway, you know, you should
seek that, and that's another reason, you know, I guess all I'm trying to say is
this, when you start to do the things that you know you ought to do, that's how
people know you love the Lord, and you won't have to tell anybody, it'll just be
that guy loves the Lord, so what's the point of this message tonight, what's
Deuteronomy 26, what is that we can learn out of it tonight, is you know, don't grow
dull of hearing, don't grow dull of or weary of well-doing, you know, don't get
tired of hearing the same truths out of God's Word, we need to hear these things
over and over, and understand, you know, that God has promised us that we are his,
the Lord hath avowed thee this day, you know, and we should do the same, you know,
he's, I'm his, and he is mine, that should be our attitude, and you know, keep your,
keep his commandments, you know, that's how you know that you're gonna stick by
the stuff, that you're gonna make it, is if you keep his commandments in the good
times, and in the bad times, when it's not easy to keep the commandments, when it
might actually cost you something, and if you do that, then it will be said of you,
by others, without you having to do anything, so-and-so loves the Lord, and he
said, why is that important for me to love God, well I don't know, because all
things work together for good to them that love God, I mean, if we want things
to go well in our life, if we want things to go well with us, and work together
for good in our lives, it's to them that love God, and them that love God, are them
that keep his commandments. Let's go ahead and pray.