Deuteronomy 8

Today's message, once again, Pastor Delisandro.

At this rate, we will finish somewhere just before the Second Coming. I don't know what was said last week, where Alexis was last week. She's a young woman who likes to travel. We did announce two weeks ago we baptized her. If you've not had a chance to give her a hug, to congratulate her, please do so as a new member of God's Church. The Book of Deuteronomy is a book that very much speaks to our day-to-day. It's not just some old, musty book that's at the very beginning of the Bible.

It's a book that is relevant for today. That's one of the reasons why I want to spend some time, once a month, hopefully, in this book in a Bible study format. The Book of Deuteronomy was written to give the children of Israel some guidance. They're about ready to enter the Promised Land. Moses realized he wasn't going into the Promised Land with them.

So he wanted to make sure they were well ready for the challenges that lie ahead of them. Much like you and I have challenges before us, we are not heading for a physical Promised Land. We are heading for a spiritual Promised Land. We call that the Kingdom of God. The Book of Deuteronomy is written to teach God's people how to be victorious, how to live responsibly and positively, victoriously in their lives.

Certainly, that is a message for us. Also, Deuteronomy was written with a second major theme, and that is to have the people rededicate their lives to God, to renew their commitment to God. Certainly, that's something that you and I should be doing on a daily basis. Every day we get on our knees before God. We want to renew our commitment. We want to rededicate ourselves. We may mention earlier that the Book of Deuteronomy basically is three different sermons.

The first sermon we've already covered, covering chapters 1 through 5, where the theme was what God has done for Israel. We're now just beginning, really, the second sermon Moses gave. The second sermon goes from chapter 5 through chapter 26. It's the bulk of the book. We're only in chapter 8. But the theme of this section, of this particular sermon Moses was giving, is what God expects of Israel.

What God expects of Israel. Let me give you the outline of chapter 8, and then we'll just get right into it. I've broken down the chapter into four sections. Verse 1 is one section, where the theme there is, Obey Every Word of God. The second section will be verses 2 through 6, where God inspires Moses the right that the children of Israel shall remember God from their wilderness wanderings. The third section will be verses 7 through 10, giving God praise for the Promised Land. And then the last section will be verses 11 through 20. The theme of that section is guarding against forgetting God.

Guarding against forgetting God. Now even though that is highlighted in that last section, that thought really permeates all four of the sections to guard against forgetting God. Again, Moses realized he was not going to be with them as they go into the Promised Land. He loved as much trouble as they were for him. He loved them very much and wanted them to be successful. So how can a person guard against forgetting God? We live in an age in this world where people ignore God, they neglect God, they forget God, they reject God. You and I have to ask ourselves a question.

We heard a little bit of that in the sermonette today. How much time, and you and I have to answer this in our own hearts and minds. Your husband won't know it. If you're the wife, the wife won't know it about her husband. We don't know about a kiss. We know ourselves.

We know in our own minds. How much time we spend with God? How much time we spend with God? Not only study, not only prayer, not only meditation, not only fasting, but just as you're going through the day. You know, the Bible talks about being in prayer constantly, being thinking about the things of God constantly. Now, obviously we've got to do our work, but when you have some discretionary time, you're walking in a hallway or you're driving to or from work, how much time do we spend with God?

Well, that's a question for each of us to ask and answer in our own hearts and minds. But here in chapter 1, let's begin. First section, chapter 8 of Deuteronomy, chapter 8, verse 1, says, Every commandment which I command you today, you must be careful to observe that you may live and multiply and go in and possess the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers.

Every commandment. God realizes, and God inspired Moses to write this, God realizes, and he wants Moses to make sure that people understand, that if we don't want to forget God, that one of the best ways for us to go about that is to be doing something. As human beings, we are keyed into doing things. And if we're doing something, if we're obeying the laws of God, as we're obeying those laws, our minds should be thinking about what those laws represent. Why are we obeying God? Why do we keep the Sabbath? Why do we come here, not on Sunday?

Why do we go to the Feast of Tabernacles? And as we're doing that, not only are we meditating and thinking deeply about these laws, we're fellowshiping with God. We're keeping Him uppermost in our mind. We're communicating with Him. And so keeping these laws of God are important so that we don't forget the great God.

Now, as you look at verse 1, let's take a look at this. It says, you must be careful to observe. Okay? Be careful. Again, we can ask ourselves, this is not a Passover session, but we certainly can examine ourselves. Are you and I careful to observe? How is our Sabbath observance? How is our Holy Day observance? How is our daily walk with God? And notice here, as we are careful to observe, God gives us beautiful gifts. The first gift says, that you may live. That you may live. I'm not going to turn here, but you might jot down John 10 and verse 10. John 10, 10, where Christ says, I've come that they might have life, and they might have it more abundantly. This is what God wants for every one of us, to have the abundant life. God certainly wants us to live in a different world. It wasn't God's... God did not want for Adam and Eve to do what they did. God doesn't want for you and I to do what we've done in our lives. God would prefer that we would be people who would simply obey at all times. That he can give us all the blessings. It's much like most of us in this room, our parents, or we are people who have got family. You and I want to be a blessing to our family. We want to give to our family. We want only the best for our family. And that's what God wants for us. He wants just to give us one blessing after another. There's nothing... I shouldn't say nothing, but one of the greatest joys I have in life is watching and seeing Mary smile. If I can do something that's pleasing to her, that's helpful to her, that helps her in some way. That really makes me feel good. And as a husband, I'm well trained. I can go shopping in a mall with the best of them. And that really... people enjoy different things. Mary enjoys going to Chico's and things like that. I enjoy going to Chico's there with her. And I will stand there or sit in the room as she tries on the various garments she puts on her little show. I enjoy that.

But God enjoys doing those kinds of things for us. He wants us to have the good life. But notice here also that you may live and that you might multiply. That you might multiply. Now here in Deuteronomy, multiplication is talking about having more sons, more daughters, and that's certainly a beautiful thing. But let's you and I look at this from a spiritual perspective. The whole day today, I want to look at this from a spiritual perspective. I would like you to put a marker here. Let's go over to Colossians chapter 1.

Colossians chapter 1.

This idea of multiplying. How does God want us to multiply today? And as you and I are working toward the kingdom of God.

Colossians chapter 1 and verse 10. That you may walk worthy of the Lord.

See, in Deuteronomy chapter 8 it talked about obeying the commandments. Well, this is the same thing. That you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him. How? Well, as we obey the commandments. Being fruitful. Being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

So in the Old Testament, talking about multiplying. By here we're talking about being fruitful. We as Christians want to be fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

Let's turn to James chapter 2. James chapter 2. You know, in the first verse there of Deuteronomy 8, it talked about how a gift that God wants to give to His people for obedience is the Promised Land. The Promised Land. He wanted them to have life. He wanted them to multiply.

He wanted to give them the Promised Land. Well, let's take a look at James chapter 2 and verse 5. James 2 and verse 5. Listen, my beloved brethren, has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? Heirs of the kingdom which He promised. So we are going to our own Promised Land. The kingdom of God. And so those are things God wants for us too. To have a full life, a rich life, to be multiplying spiritually, and to enter the kingdom of God.

So how can a person guard against forgetting God? By making sure we obey God. Making sure we obey God. Now let's take a look at the next section, which is verses 2 through 6. Let's go back to Deuteronomy chapter 8. Remember, this section is where God wants the children of Israel to remember, Moses is telling the children of Israel to remember, what they should have learned in the wandering.

Verse 2. And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way, these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. In verse 2 here, the word remember means to mark out. It means to recognize or be mindful of. It means to bring to remembrance or consider. God wants us to consider all that we've gone through in our lives.

He wants us to meditate deeply upon what we've gone through, you and I. And to think about how God has intervened in time and time again in our lives, to be there for us. Here he's talking about remembering how God led us these forty years in the wilderness. Brethren, think about how God has led you in your life. However long you've been associated with God's church, it could be forty days, it could be forty years or more. I'm sure there have been people who have been baptized in this room longer than me. But God has been leading you and guiding you and directing you. Why? Because He loves you.

Because He wants the very best for you. And He wants Israel to realize this. And as you and I realize that, that gives us a great deal of hope and encouragement. We look to God in faith. Back in the days when Jesus Christ lived, people always wanted to see a sign. It wore on Jesus Christ. Oh, we need to see a sign.

We need to see this miracle or that miracle. Christ had plenty of miracles. But one of the greatest signs was simply the life of Jesus Christ living the way He did. One of the greatest signs you and I have in our life is the fact of God, with His still quiet voice, operating in your life to lead you, to guide you. As I've said to you on a number of occasions, you know, I've been your pastor since 1997.

But some of the most interesting and chintillating times I've experienced as a Christian have been me, by myself, with my Bible, as I've studied the Word of God, and seen something that maybe you've seen before but maybe I didn't see before. And just pouring over these pages and God just saying, Randy, how about this? Did you ever see that? Did you really consider that? No. Forgive me for being not seeing that. Well, that's okay.

Keep on reading. For me, those are inspiring times. The intervention of God. And of course, as a church minister, how many times have I prayed for various ones and seen healings of all different kinds?

So many kinds. I can't even remember them all. And that's basically what God has sent through Moses here. Remember how God has been there for you. But in all of us, we'll face very dark times in our life. All of us. Trials, tests, excruciating times, difficult times. But it's at those very times we need to remember what God has done for us. Verse 3. So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.

That section of Scripture sounds familiar to you? I think it sounds like Matthew 4. I think it sounds like Luke 4, doesn't it? Doesn't that sound like what Christ said to Satan when Satan was trying to get Christ off the straight and narrow? God did give us a great many tests, and God says, I did that to see where you stood. I want you to be something more than just a fleshly lump.

I want you to be a creation that will be spiritual and that will be like me someday. God says, I want you to be God. That's a pretty exclusive club. We could talk about the Olympics. But being a member of God's family, that's pretty exclusive. The dues are really high. Jesus Christ had to pay tremendous dues, so you and I could be a part of that group.

Verse 4, Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell at least forty years. Wow! Garments didn't wear out. Back in those days, they said, well, I need a new dress. Where's Macy's? Where's Coldwater Creek? You know, He just couldn't do that. Your foot didn't swell. Well, once again, these people lived by faith.

God was going to not only feed them, give them water, God was going to take care of their clothes. Do we see some of the thinking here that Christ begins to discuss in the Sermon on the Mount? About the birds who neither toil or whatever, how God prepares for them and takes care of them? Same thing here. Same thing here. So the basic idea as Moses is being inspired by God to write these things is no matter what our needs are, God understands that. God will be there for us. He loves us. We're His people. Verse 5, you should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you. Chasing you. Let me mention to the church today this morning over in Ann Arbor that this last week I received an email from one of a group of maybe 15 or 20 people who answer letters that come in from the internet. And the one gentleman wrote a letter that was really heart-rending because he had gone through so many very severe trials in his life. Very severe trials. And he basically is almost giving up on God, almost giving up on the Bible. He said, I've gone through so much, I've tried so hard, I've gone... I said, where is God? Where is He? I've tried obeying and I've tried doing all the things I should do. Where is this God, this God of love?

And as you read through the letter, it really is heartfelt. I mean, He's not embroiled in a bad attitude. He's just asking honest questions. He doesn't understand why all the suffering. And so I'm going to have to write him a letter. Hopefully it will be a loving letter. Hopefully it won't be something that sounds canned. But there is a reason for our sufferings. Jesus Christ, the ultimate example, suffered more than any of us ever will suffer, and He was totally perfect. All of His prayers were answered. He had tremendous faith. There was nothing wrong with Christ, and yet the Bible talks about how He learned through what He suffered. You and I simply have to go through life, and there's some suffering for us to do. That teaches us some things. That helps us. We don't like it. We wish it wasn't so, but that's simply the way it is. It's like Oscar's mother. He was born with two legs, but the two were malformed. Again, they amputated the two legs, and his mother, when he was old enough to understand, Look, I'm paraphrasing, life dealt you some bad cards here. Okay, fine. Let's not talk about that. Let's move forward. And of course, he had a tremendous spirit, an Olympic spirit. He moved forward. He wasn't going to let anything keep him down. And that's what God wants from us. Let's turn over to Hebrews 12. You might find it interesting to, like I said, Google Oscar Pistorius and to read about his story. Hebrews 12, starting here in verse 5.

And all of us in this room, as the Bible says, are works, are filthy rags. Our ways are the ways of death on our own. And so God, in his love, has to bring us back and put us on the road. Sometimes we fight him on that. And when we fight him on that, he has to sometimes he'll talk with us. Sometimes it takes more. It's like when you're dealing with any other child. We are God's kids.

And there are times, I remember with my two, especially my son, my daughter was a little easier to work with. But I remember with my son, you know, Brandon, I'm bigger than you. You're not going to win. And he had his own mind about a lot of things. And there are times I had to do more than just use language with Brandon.

And I had to spank him and so forth. But I did that in love so that he would be a person that would understand and grow and be a better person. And you understand that as well. Verse 7, if you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons. For what son is there whom a father doesn't chasten? If you love your children, you're going to work with your children. But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate, not sons.

Furthermore, we've had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the father's spirits and live? So here you've got the Apostle Paul saying, look, we obey our physical parents. There are certain lessons to be learned by doing that. But certainly we need to obey our spiritual parent and learn. And here is the key, verses 10 and 11. For they, the physical parents, indeed for a few days, chasten us as seen best of them.

But God, for our prophet, that we may be partakers of his holiness. This is the bottom line. This is what God wants for us. We may be partakers of his holiness. Now, no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful. Nevertheless, afterwards it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. So yes, God does correct his people. God does that in a loving way.

And he wants the very best for us. Go back now to Deuteronomy chapter 8. So God had to correct the children of Israel as they were going through the wilderness. That was a part of the learning process, and God says, remember that. Remember those corrections so you don't have to repeat those again. Verse 6, chapter 8 of Deuteronomy, Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God to walk in his ways and to fear him.

To walk in his ways and to fear him. So here we've got a restatement. It really goes back to verse 1 about obeying every... Be careful to observe and obey all the commandments, every one of them. So it'll be good for you. I'm going to quote to you a couple of verses so you don't wear yourself out taking notes. Romans chapter 6 and verse 4. Let me quote this for you. Romans 6, 4, Therefore we were buried with them through baptism into death, That just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, Even so we should walk in newness of life.

Newness of life. Moses wanted the children of Israel to forget the way they lived in Egypt. God was their Savior. God was bringing them out. He was delivering them. But they needed to learn a new way of thinking. Also, Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 1. Ephesians 4, 1, Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called. Walk worthy. Okay, so how can a person guard against forgetting God? To remember by remembering the lessons God has taught us our whole life.

Our whole life. Let's move on now to the next portion, the third portion of the 4, chapter 8 of Deuteronomy. This is verses 7 through 10. I may mention this section, the theme, or these verses, are to praise God. Praise God because He's given us the Promised Land. Verse 7, Deuteronomy 8, For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks, of water, of fountains and springs, that flows out of valleys and hills.

Let's pause there for a moment. Again, let's get our bearings. Who knows how many people there were when they were camped by the Jordan River? When they left Egypt, there were 3 million. I don't know how many million they have at this point. Let's just say it's 3 million. A lot of folks.

A lot of folks. I'm betting that of a cool of an evening, quite a few of these Israelites would walk up to the Jordan, walk along the banks of the Jordan, look over into the Promised Land, and just think about, you know, our ancestors came out of Egypt. We were slaves. We were horribly taken advantage of.

And just across this river is a new nation, a new home. And of course, their minds would meditate about how their children would grow, how their grandchildren would grow, how beautiful it was going to be. But it was interesting that right across that river, as they were thinking about the Promised Land, was one of the greatest fortresses in the region, a city by the name of Jericho.

Some archaeologists and historians think Jericho is the oldest city on earth.

And just across the river, their Promised Land, but just across the river, was this fortress that they needed to take. So you and I, as we think about the Kingdom of God, and we're meditating about, which, you know, we're on a precipice. It can't be too much longer. Well, as we're meditating, remember, we've got our challenges, too. We've got our challenges. And sometimes they seem very large. I'm sure Jericho seemed very large to them. They weren't a warring people. They were a slave people. And they were going to take down one of the oldest, most well-fortified cities in the world at that time, at least in that region. But it says here, Lord said, you know, you've got a land full of water. I think there's a meaning for us spiritually as Christians here as well. Spiritually as Christians, as we think about this, let's put a marker there. Let's go back to Ephesians, chapter 3. Ephesians, chapter 3. And verse 20 is one of my favorite verses in the Scriptures, Ephesians 3.20. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think. And now notice, according to the power that works in us, the power that works in us is God's Holy Spirit. One of the symbols for God's Holy Spirit in the Bible is water. God said there is a lot of water out there. You're going to need to overcome a lot of things, but there's a lot of water out there. Well, we've got a lot of water that God will give us in His Spirit. There's a lot of things for us to overcome. There's a lot of challenges for us to meet and to be victorious over. But the book of Deuteronomy is written for us, so we would be victorious. We do have a great deal of water, God's Spirit, available to us. And notice, God, who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, what is our Jericho? As we're thinking about our spiritual Promised Land, what is our Jericho? What is standing in our way? What is the big fort? What is the big issue? Well, God will give us, just as God took down Jericho, God will take down, if we are faithful people, He will take down whatever it is that we think is standing in our way. We go back now to Deuteronomy chapter 8. Deuteronomy chapter 8, let's look at verse 8. It's a land of wheat and barley, of vines, of fig trees, pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey. A land of olive oil and honey. In other words, there's an abundance, not only of water, there's an abundance of food. I learned something today after I had given the sermon over in Ann Arbor. One of the women came up to me, Paula Ashley. Paula is a very well-read individual, very bright person, owns her own business, came up to me. We had a seminar of what it was, but she had somebody that was speaking to her and I think her employees. They made mention about how olive oil and honey have great medicinal qualities. Honey being basically germs just don't live in honey. It's kind of like an antiseptic sort of thing. Olive oil, the chemicals in olive oil are helpful to maintain health. When you put olive oil on something because of the chemical makeup, it's a health-giving sort of an oil. So here you have a discussion about how God's going to give us food and whatever it takes for us to be healthy. God knows what he's doing. We anoint people, we anoint them with a little dab of olive oil. Well, we realize olive oil represents God's Holy Spirit, God's power. But it's also a type of biblical medicine. It's a type of biblical medicine. It's a land of wheat and barley. Food. Good food. Now, again, let's look at this from a spiritual perspective. Go to John 4. Jesus Christ talked about the food he had. He had an abundance of food. John 4. And verse 34, John 4.34.

He says, My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. That was his food. To do God's will and to finish his work. God told, through Moses, Israel, that he was going to give them plenty of food. Well, we've got plenty to do. We've got a great work to be done. A great work to be done. And these are exciting times. Chris could talk probably eloquently about what's taking place in the home office. He's right there. He sees that all the time. It's an inspiring thing to know what is happening.

The tremendous advances we're making in terms of our TV, reaching more millions upon millions of people. I asked for a new printout on the people who lived just in the Ann Arbor area so we could send out a mailing. And what I got was astounding, because last time I asked for that, I got a mailing list of about 600, not even quite 600 people.

I get the new mailing list, and I see quite a few more who are getting the good news. That's why I called Connie's assil. I said, Connie, what's up here? She says, well, we realized that some of the zip codes weren't really attached to the right church areas, and we went through and made sure that, at least with Ann Arbor, that you had all the right zip codes for that church.

So we had something like 1,100-1,200 people in the area taking the good news magazine. Now, we're not going to send a mailing out to all that. We can't afford that. So we're just going to send the mailing out to those people living in Michigan, which is still 600 people, which is 200 more than last time. That's a lot of folks out there. As I told you in the past, when I asked about the Detroit Ann Arbor areas and who's taking our literature, they were surprised.

The Home Office was surprised. They told me, he says, you know, Randy, you've got more people in Detroit and Ann Arbor taking our literature than they've got in Dallas and Fort Worth. Now, I've asked you to pray. We've got people here. It's like God told Paul, I've got much people here. We've got them here. So we need to ask God to help those people to be inspired to come. And then when they're inspired to come, we've got to be inspired to greet them.

I've got to be inspired to speak to them. You've got to be inspired to fellowship with them so that we can have some more brothers and sisters here with us. But Christ said he's got a lot of food. Brethren, we've got a lot of work to do. If we go back to Deuteronomy chapter 8 again, verse 9, we've seen in verse 7, water, verse 8, we've seen food, verse 9, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper.

If you've got any kind of Bible works at home, you can read about all the metals that are in the Holy Land. But when I read this, what I see is, Israel was basically an agrarian economy, but even in an agrarian economy, you need to have some kind of manufacturing. Somebody's got to make equipment for the farmers. Plows break. Somebody's got to replenish those, or rework those, or fix those. So basically what you're looking at here is, whatever you have need of, food or things to build with, God says, I will give you what you need to build with.

I will give you the raw material that you need. Now, again, let's look at this spiritually. Now, God gives us the raw materials we need. 2 Peter 1. They were heading for the physical Promised Land. We're heading for the spiritual Promised Land. 2 Peter 1. 2 Peter 1. Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and Godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by His glory and virtue. In Deuteronomy, God says, I'm giving you everything you need.

There won't be any scarcity. Here He's saying, through His divine power, He's given us all things. The message to God's people, whether Old Testament or New Testament, is the same. Our God doesn't change. He's going to give us the tools we need to get the spiritual job done. Dropping down to verse 10. 2 Peter 1. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you do these things, you will never stumble, for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly in the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

You do these things. You are diligent. Much like Eric was talking about in his message today, if we're diligent with what God gives us, the tools, the resources, we're going to enter this Promised Land. But we must be diligent. Let's go back to Deuteronomy 8. We'll finish up that one section with verse 10. Verse 10. When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given to you.

When you are eaten and are full. Basically, this is God saying, look, you couldn't do anything on your own power. God says, I give you the life. I'm the one who allows your heart to beat.

I'm the one who allows your mind to think. I'm the one who allows your hands, your fingers, your toes, every part of your body to work. And without me, you would be dirt. You would be dust. You would be nothing. And so it is up to us to remember, and that's what God wants for us people, to remember who we are.

We are God's kids. We are God's spiritual family. The whole point of the sermon today was about not forgetting God.

I'm not going to turn there, but you might jot down your notes. Hebrews 13, verse 15. Hebrews 13, 15. It says, Therefore by him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God. Offer the sacrifice of praise to God. That is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name. And why is that so important? Because when you and I praise God, that puts us in a certain frame of mind.

It helps us to see how we are nothing, and he is everything. And that's so important for us as Christians. It's so very important for us as Christians.

Okay, lastly, let's go through the last section here, verses 11 through 20. And as I may mention, this section, the theme here is, Guardian Against Forgetting God. Guardian Against Forgetting God. Verse 11, chapter 8, verse 11.

This basically is a reiteration of verse 1. It's a repetition for emphasis. If you and I fail to obey God's holy commandments, we'll forget God. And brethren, all of us know people who have left the church. Many of us have examples where we've seen people on a holy day, and we've seen people who have left the church. Many of us have examples where we've seen people on a holy day, and they wonder, well, why are you here? Why are you all dressed up? It's a weekday. I know that you're a mechanic by trade. Why are you all dressed up? Well, it's a holy day. Oh, it's a holy day! What holy days are they? You know, is it spring or is it fall? They know what time of the year it is. But people, I've heard of various ministries who have forgotten, oh, yeah, that's right. That would be this time of the year, wouldn't it? That would be this time of the year. Yeah, it's fall. Yeah, it's their own feast time, isn't it? Well, you stop obeying God, you're going to forget. Verse 12 and 13, Lest when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell on them, and your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, when your heart is lifted up and you forget the Lord your God.

There's an old saying, can we live with prosperity? And many times people can't live with prosperity. We can't handle prosperity. This nation can't handle prosperity. You know, when you think about our nation as we were coming up in the world, quite literally, we were a hardworking people, we were self-reliant, I mean this from a physical point of view, we got things done. Now, we've got generations who want, you know, you've worked hard all your life for what you have. Most of us in this room are older folks, we've worked hard for what we've got, but we've got some people who say, well, you know, I get out of high school, I want to say the same things mom and dad have.

Well, have you worked as hard as mom and dad? Have you been working the last 30, 40 years? Oh no, but I want that house, I want that car, I want more money than dad, or mom, or mom and dad both. Well, part of it is our own fault for the way we've reared our children, and talking about not as a church, but as a country, part of it is our own fault.

But as it shows here, God is warning the people of Israel through Moses, beware of prosperity, beware of the good days, because they can lull you to sleep. They can lull you to sleep.

Verse 14, when your heart is lifted up and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage.

God says, don't think you did that on your own. You were slaves for over 400 years. You didn't do anything on your own to leave Egypt. I got you out of there.

I got you out of there.

And so God says, you better remember that. And there's results for our forgetting God. And one of the results, as we see here in verse 14, you forget where salvation comes from.

You were saved from the house of bondage. You were slaves for 430 years.

You forgetting that? How can you forget that? What your people went through?

Verse 15, talking about God who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, in which there were fiery serpents and scorpions, the thirsty land where there was no water, who brought water for you out of a flinty rock.

God says, you know, if you can't handle prosperity, you're going to forget and lose track of the guidance and protection God has given you all these years.

The guidance and protection God has given you. Brethren, probably every one of us in this room has stories to tell about how God has protected us, how God has been there for us to provide for us. Every one of us in this room, I'm sure, has stories to tell like that. Inspiring stories, gripping stories about how God has been there. But if we're not following God, if we're not obeying Him, if we turn our back on Him, we will forget Him and we will forget all of that.

Forget that God provided for us. Verse 16, Who fed us in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers didn't know, that He might humble you and that He might test you to do good in the end. You know, Isaiah puts it in a very interesting way. Isaiah says, it was for my good that I endured bitterness.

We endure bitterness. We endure trial and suffering and heartache, ultimately for our good. Much like sometimes we've got to spank a young child or we've got to discipline a young child, for that child's good. We don't want to spank or discipline a child. We'd rather just be of blessing upon blessing, have the child go through life learning. But that's not how we humans are. We need course corrections. And God has to correct our course on many occasions. Verse 17, Then you will say in your heart, My power and the might of my hand has gained me this wealth. No, it won't. No, it hasn't. Proverbs 16, verse 18, let me read that for you. Proverbs 16, 18, Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.

Pride does go before destruction. Now, these last three verses, verses 18, 19, and 20, are verses that show two things people must do. You and I must do. If we are to not allow ourselves to forget God. We're going to go through those three verses, but that won't be the end of the sermon. I'm not going to keep on going into chapter 9, but there's something else. There's a postscript I want to give to you today.

So don't be hanging up everything when you're there in verse 20. Taking, putting everything in your satchels. Let's give you a heads up here. Okay, verse 18, And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the power to get wealth. It is he who gives you the power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

All you've got to do is watch Oscar Pistorius in the Olympics. Watch him walk around. And, you know, sometimes I make fun of myself. I've got flat feet. I've got big feet. But I've got feet. Oscar had his legs taken off below the knee. He's got prosthetics, and he's happy to have them. And nothing's holding him back.

He's an Olympic runner.

So, remember what God has done for us. Verse 8-19. Now, if we don't remember God's the source of all things, then verses 19 and 20 come into play here. Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the Lord your God and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day, that you shall surely perish.

God's a loving God. I think he's the only being that loves unconditionally, but notice, even though he loves unconditionally, he will march people into the great lake of fire if they don't obey. There's a price to be paid. God is a just God, too.

Verse 20. As the nations which the Lord destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord your God. So, basically what Moses is saying here, again, inspired by God is, remember, if you don't obey, judgment, condemnation, lies at the door from God himself. Now, as I was thinking about this section, an example in the Old Testament came to my mind.

And I want to turn, I want to be there for a few minutes. Let's go over to 2 Chronicles 14. It bears on what we've just read and dood around me very well. 2 Chronicles 14. We're going to take a look at the life of Asa, king of Judah. Asa was the third king of Judah, ruling from about 911 B.C. to 870 B.C. Asa was a revival king.

He restored the worship of the true God. He was very powerful and very strong with God at the very beginning of his rule. Let's take a look at this, Chapter 14, verse 1. Then Abijah rested with his fathers, 2 Chronicles 14, verse 1, and they buried him in the city of David. Then Asa's son reigned in his place, and in his days the land was quiet for ten years. And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord as God. For he removed the altars of the foreign gods in the high places, and broke down the sacred pillars, and cut down the wooden images.

He commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the commandment. Does that sound like Deuteronomy, Chapter 8? Seek God, be careful to obey, be careful to observe. Verse 5. He removed the high places, the incense altars from all the cities of Judah, and the kingdoms were quiet under him. Dropping down to verse 8. Asa had an army of 300,000 from Judah, who carried shields and spears, and from Benjamin 280,000 men who carried shields and wielded bows. All these were mighty men of Valor. Pretty big army! He's got close to 600,000, over half a million troops. Mighty men of Valor. But now notice verse 9.

Then Zara, the Ethiopian, came out against him with an army of a million men. Well, what's 600,000 versus a million? Asa here is greatly outnumbered. 300 chariots, and he came to Mazara. So Asa went out against him, and said the troops in battle arrayed at that place there, in verse 11. And Asa cried out to... Now, notice this. And Asa cried out, verse 11, cried out to the Lord as God, and said, Lord, it is nothing for you to help, whether it is many or those who have no power.

Help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on you. And in your name we go against this multitude, O God. You are our God. Do not let man prevail against you. So the Lord struck the Ethiopians from Asa and Judah, and the Ethiopians fled.

So here you've got a revival king who was doing what it said in Deuteronomy 8. He wasn't forgetting God. God blessed him. We move forward to chapter 15. Chapter 15, verse 1. Now the Spirit of God came upon Azariah, the son of Obed, and he went out to meet Asa. Asa had just been victorious by the hand of God in defeating an army almost twice his size. But now this prophet comes out to talk with Asa. He says, Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin, the Lord is with you while you are with him.

If you seek him, he will be found by you. But if you forsake him, he will forsake you. Brethren, that's something all of us need to hear. If we walk away from God, God can't help us. He loves us. Christ gave his life for us. But if we have the power to tie God in knots by our lifestyle, God is not on our bound to help sinners who are unrepentant. Let's drop over to chapter 16 in the story here. Chapter 16, verse 1.

In the 36th year of the reign of Asa, Basha, king of Israel, came up against Judah and built Rama, but he might let none go out or come in to Asa, king of Judah. What you have here is the king of Israel says, you know what?

Asa is getting a little too big here. I'm going to bottle him up in Jerusalem. He's basically blockading Jerusalem. He says, I'm not going to let anybody come in or out of Jerusalem. Notice Asa is now. The man who once upon a time was a revival king who wouldn't forget who God was, now notice how he responds. Verse 2.

When Asa brought silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the Lord and the king's house, and sent them to Benhaydad, the king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying, let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. See, if sent you with silver and gold, come, break your treaty with Beshah, king of Israel, so he will withdraw from me. So Benhaydad heeded King Asa. He sent the captain of his armies against the cities of Israel and attacked. Where is God here? Asa seems to be forgetting God here.

How is this going to work in Asa's life here? Verse 7. At that time, Hanani the seer, the prophet, came to Asa, king of Judah, and said to him, because you have relied on the king of Syria, you have not relied on the Lord your God. Therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand. Were the Ethiopians and the Lubim not a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen?

Yet because you relied on the Lord, he delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to him. In this you have done foolishly. Therefore from now on you shall have wars. So the man who was a revival king forgot God, acted presumptuously, and God was not going to bless him. Verse 10, then Asa was angry with the prophet, with the seer, and put him in prison. For he was enraged at him because of this, and Asa oppressed some of the people at that time.

So not only is he not relying upon God, he's going to take the man who was trying to correct him, and he threw him in jail. Asa is really going off the deep end in a big way. In a big way. Verse 11, note that the acts of Asa first and last are indeed written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. And in the 39th year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady was severe, yet in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians. So Asa arrested with his fathers, he died in the 41st year of his reign.

Asa said, a man who was a revival king, a man who looked to God and was honored by God, God backed him up, then later on in his life. As most of us in this room, we've got some younger folks here, but most of us are later on in our lives.

We don't want to be like Asa. We don't want to forget God. Because God's not honor bound to bless us if we walk away from him. We don't want to be like Asa. We don't want to be like Solomon. No, we wouldn't know if Solomon eventually repented. Doesn't look too good, but God will be the judge of that, not us. But certainly in Asa's case, it looks pretty bad.

Looks pretty bad. So, brethren, let's you and I take a good, long look at all the lessons there are to be learned in Deuteronomy 8. Let's not forget God. Let's make sure we always remember who he is and who we are in relation to him. So we will be in that kingdom and enjoy the life that God wants us to have.