AM Deuteronomy 8 Remember how God has led you

[0:00] The whole commandment that I command you today, you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers.

[0:14] And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.

[0:34] And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna that 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 comes from the mouth of the Lord.

[0:59] Your clothing did not wear out on you, and your foot did not swell these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you.

[1:18] So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks, of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing.

[1:52] A land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you will lack nothing. A land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. And you shall eat and be full and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.

[2:10] Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes which I command you today. Lest when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them.

[2:27] And when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied. Then your heart be lifted up and you forget the Lord your God.

[2:40] Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. Who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water.

[2:58] Who brought you water out of the flinty rock. Who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know. That he might humble you and test you to do you good in the end.

[3:13] But beware lest you say in your heart, my power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth. You shall remember the Lord your God for it is he who gives you power to get wealth.

[3:27] That he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers as it is to this day. And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them.

[3:41] I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. Like the nations that the Lord makes to perish before you. So you shall perish. Because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God.

[3:59] We'll come back to that shortly. Let me ask you to have open before you Deuteronomy chapter 8. And we're going to look particularly today at verse 2.

[4:16] And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these 40 years in the wilderness. That he might humble you testing you to know what was in your heart.

[4:30] Whether you would keep his commandments or not. How good is your memory?

[4:45] Most of us find that our memory declines with age. When I was at school I used to have an almost photographic memory.

[4:57] Friends used to test me on memorizing textbooks. And they would say to me, so what's on page 154, line 2? And I could tell them.

[5:11] Nowadays I forget things minutes after being told. If you have a good memory, you are very blessed indeed.

[5:27] But now let me ask you another question. How well do you use your memory? You see some people remember all the useless, trivial things.

[5:43] And forget the important things. And other people remember the important things. But they fail to learn from them.

[5:54] Deuteronomy 8 is all about memory. The wilderness journey is over.

[6:07] The Israelites are about to cross over into the promised land. Moses has gathered them together to remind them what God has done for them.

[6:18] What God has promised them. And what God has commanded them. And here he asks them to remember what has happened.

[6:34] How the Lord has led them over those past 40 years in the wilderness. Now this is not just an exercise in nostalgia.

[6:49] Do you remember those days in the desert? How we used to gather the manna every day? Those were the days, weren't they? It's not even reverse nostalgia.

[7:01] Do you remember those days in the desert? How we had to get that manna every day? Glad we don't have to do that anymore. No.

[7:13] They are to remember for a reason. To praise God and to learn. They are to remember God's goodness toward them.

[7:29] So that they will trust in God. And not in themselves. They are to remember God's discipline of them.

[7:41] So that they will obey God. And not turn away. They are to remember the past. To prepare for the future.

[7:53] To prepare for life in the promised land. And to make sure that they get the message. He puts it both ways.

[8:05] Remember in verse 2. And again in verse 17. But also do not forget. Verse 11. Verse 14.

[8:16] Verse 19. The whole chapter is about memory. Remember. And do not forget. Now it would be tempting to apply this today.

[8:33] To our Queen. On the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne. I am sure there will be many in the media.

[8:44] Who will today be looking back. Over those 70 years. And I hope that the Queen also privately will be looking back. And remembering all the way that God has led her.

[9:01] We know that she does have a faith in God. And we pray that she will rejoice. In what the Lord has done for her. And also learn from the hard and bitter experiences.

[9:14] But I want us to apply it instead today to ourselves. I want us to consider first what it meant for the Israelites to remember.

[9:29] Then what it means for us. Individually as Christians. And then what it means for the church. Before finally we will come to communion.

[9:42] Which is itself of course. An act of remembrance. So first then. What it meant for the Israelites.

[9:53] You shall remember the whole way. That the Lord your God has led you. These 40 years. In the wilderness. The focus is on their own experience.

[10:08] In the wilderness. But to understand that. We need to go back further. Israel's history didn't begin in the wilderness.

[10:20] It didn't even begin with the exodus. Israel's history began with the covenant between God and Abraham. In Genesis 12.

[10:32] Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house. To a land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation. Right from the start.

[10:46] This was a covenant of grace. Received by faith. As it says in Hebrews 11. By faith. Abraham obeyed.

[10:58] When he was called to go out to a place. That he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out. Not knowing where he was going. For three generations.

[11:10] They had lived in the promised land. Albeit only in tents. But then they had gone down into Egypt. Because of the famine. God having prepared the way beforehand through Joseph.

[11:25] Then another king arose. Who knew not Joseph. And they became slaves. In Egypt. For 400 years. But God had not forgotten them.

[11:38] He is the covenant God. And he never forgets his people. He raised up Moses to deliver them. And brought them out with a mighty hand. And with signs and wonders.

[11:51] And brought them through the wilderness. To where they were now. On the borders of the land. Now very few of them.

[12:03] Would remember the whole of that journey. Most of them. Were too young. A great disaster.

[12:14] Had come upon them. At Kadesh Barnea. In Numbers 14. And the whole. Of the older generation. Had died.

[12:25] You remember the story. They had refused. To go into the promised land. At the first opportunity. Because of unbelief.

[12:37] Being afraid of the Canaanites. And God had said in his wrath. That not one of that generation. From 20 years old and upward. Would enter the land.

[12:48] Except Caleb and Joshua. Who had urged them to have faith. And go in. Instead they would wander in the wilderness. For 40 years.

[13:00] And that older generation. Would all die. So here in Deuteronomy 8. Caleb and Joshua. They were there. They would remember the whole story.

[13:13] They were there. Right the way through. The next generation. Who would be 40 to 60 years old now. They would only have childhood memories.

[13:27] Of the exodus. Plus very vivid memories. Of the wilderness. The younger generation. Well they would only remember the wilderness.

[13:41] So far as the exodus was concerned. They would only know what their fathers had told them. But whether they personally remembered. Or whether they had only been told.

[13:53] They were to remember the whole journey. All of it. The good and the bad. The whole way. That the Lord had led them.

[14:04] That journey had begun. With God bringing them out of slavery. In Egypt. With that amazing night.

[14:14] Of the Passover. When by faith. They had sacrificed the lambs. And sprinkled the blood. On the doorposts. And the lintels. And God had passed over them.

[14:27] When he slew the first born. Of Egypt. And Pharaoh. At last. Had let them go. God had led them.

[14:39] Right from the start. By a pillar of cloud by day. And a pillar of fire by night. He'd parted the Red Sea for them. By faith they had crossed over.

[14:52] He'd fed them. With manna from heaven. He'd given them water. Out of the flinty rock. He'd given them his law.

[15:04] At Mount Sinai. And commanded them. To make the tabernacle. And the ark of the covenant. There had been bad times.

[15:16] Certainly. But God had always been good to them. They'd grumbled against him. But he'd still provided for them. They'd rebelled against him.

[15:29] But he'd still forgiven them. Even after Kadesh Barnea. He hadn't abandoned them. Throughout those wilderness years.

[15:42] He had given them the manna. Every day. Six days of the week. They collected the manna. With double on the sixth day. So that they could rest on the Sabbath.

[15:54] And amazingly. Their clothes didn't wear out. And their feet didn't swell. Moses focuses in this chapter. On the manna.

[16:06] I think perhaps. Because that was something. That everyone. In the congregation. That day. Had experienced. He could have talked about the Passover.

[16:17] But. Only a few would remember that. But they all remembered the manna. Young and old. They had all. Tasted the manna. God.

[16:30] Had both led them. And fed them. All the way. And now. They were coming into the promised land. And God would continue to feed them.

[16:40] Only in a different way. In verse 7. It is a good land. A land of brooks. Of water. Of fountains. And springs. Flowing out in the valleys. And hills. A land of wheat.

[16:51] And barley. Of vines. And fig trees. And pomegranates. A land of olive trees. And honey. A land where you will eat bread. Without scarcity. Rich provision.

[17:03] For the people of God. They are to remember these things. And learn. They are to learn. Firstly. To depend. Upon God.

[17:17] God. God. Had led them all the way. God. Had fed them all the way. And they wouldn't have survived otherwise. If God hadn't led them. They would have got lost in the wilderness.

[17:27] If God hadn't fed them. They would have starved. The manna especially. Was intended to teach them that dependence. God gave them the manna.

[17:39] Moses says. To humble them. To make them realize that. Man does not live by bread alone. But by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

[17:51] You will know. I'm sure. That Jesus. Quoted those words. When he was in the wilderness. Being tempted by the devil. The devil said.

[18:03] If you're the son of God. Turn these stones into bread. Jesus. Would have none of it. Though he had the power. He would only do.

[18:15] What his father commanded him. So far as his personal needs were concerned. He was happy. Just to rely. Upon God. These Israelites must do the same.

[18:30] Rely upon God. Even when they come into the promised land. They mustn't imagine. That they can provide for themselves. Beware.

[18:41] Moses says. Verse 17. Lest you say in your heart. My power. And the might of my hand. Have gained me. This wealth. No. It is God. Who gives you. The power.

[18:52] To get wealth. Be thankful therefore. And depend upon him. How this materialistic world today.

[19:04] Needs to learn that lesson. Governments the world over seem to think it's in their power. To make us wealthy.

[19:16] It isn't. It's in the power of God. They and we need to be depending upon God. Yes God will guide governments in the right policies.

[19:31] But we must all depend upon the Lord our God. To provide for our needs. They are to learn also to obey God.

[19:44] The God who brought them out of Egypt. The God who led them all this way. The God who had fed them in the wilderness. He was their God. The almighty God.

[19:56] The covenant God. And he has a right. To their obedience. Remember how the ten commandments start. I am the Lord your God.

[20:08] Who brought you out of the land of Egypt. Out of the house of slavery. Therefore. You shall have no other gods before me. Etc. God had fed them in the wilderness.

[20:24] To test them. Whether they would obey or not. They must not forget that lesson. When they entered the land. But how does this apply to us.

[20:39] As Christians. We were not there. On the wilderness journey. We haven't eaten. The manna. As they did. But we too.

[20:51] Are on a spiritual journey. And it is God who has led us. All the way. Praise God that he has. Led you.

[21:03] And remember. How he has led you. Indeed. Remember. The whole way. In which the Lord has led you.

[21:14] Every step. Of the way. Both in the good times. And in the bad. Many of the Puritans.

[21:24] Used to keep diaries. For this very reason. To prompt their memories. To reflect at the end of the day. On how the Lord had led them. And so presumably.

[21:36] They could read back. Years later. When perhaps. Their memory was clouded. And they were perhaps. Going through a time of doubt. They could look back. On that diary. And say yes. The Lord was with me.

[21:49] And he is still with me now. It is a good practice. But whether or not.

[21:59] You keep a diary. Remember. How the Lord has led you. Our spiritual journey. As Christians.

[22:11] Began. Like Israel's journey. Long before we were born. It began with a covenant. The eternal covenant. Made. In heaven.

[22:22] Between. The Father. And the Son. And the Holy Spirit. That the Son of God. Should come. And die for our sins. And rise again. And that the Spirit of God.

[22:34] Should come. And lead us to salvation. Through faith in Christ. Our personal journey. However. Began.

[22:45] When we were born again. And when we trusted. In the Lord. As our Savior. When we trusted in him. As our. Passover lamb.

[22:57] Whose blood. Cleanses us. From all sin. If that hasn't happened. To you. Yet. Then.

[23:07] It needs to happen. There's a saying. A journey of a thousand miles. Begins with a single step. That. Single step. Is faith.

[23:19] In Christ. Christ. Now. Now. Each of you. Will have your own experience. Of salvation. Your own. First steps. As it were.

[23:32] Some of you. Will have come to faith. Early in life. You were brought up. In the truth. You heard the gospel. In your earliest years. And you believed. Praise God.

[23:44] For that. Others. Of the bitterness. Others. Like myself. Came to faith. Much later in life. Having tasted. All too much. Of the bitterness.

[23:56] And the emptiness. Of this world. But all of us. One way or another. Have been brought out. Of the slavery. Of sin.

[24:08] We've been through. Our own Red Sea. As it were. And we followed. Christ. As our. Pillar of cloud. And pillar of fire. Through the wilderness.

[24:20] Of this world. And it is a wilderness. Isn't it? So confusing. And spiritually. So barren. But we followed Christ. Through this world.

[24:33] Jesus said. Remember. I. Am the light of the world. Probably referring. To the wilderness. And God has graciously.

[24:44] Fed us. In that wilderness. With his word. Both the written word. Which sustains us. Just as it did Jesus. In his wilderness experience.

[24:56] And the living. Word. Which is. Christ himself. Remember. How Jesus said. In John. 6. 48. I. Am the bread of life.

[25:06] Your fathers. At the manor. In the wilderness. And they died. This is the bread. That comes down. From heaven. So that one may eat. Of it. And not die. I am the living bread.

[25:17] That came down. From heaven. If anyone. Eats of this bread. He will live. Forever. Forever. There have been.

[25:28] Many. Hardships. Along the way. I am sure. For every one of you. There have been. Difficult. Experiences. To contend with.

[25:39] Sometimes. Tragic. Experiences. There have been. Temptations. Too. And sometimes. If you are honest. You will have to admit.

[25:50] You have stumbled. And you have fallen. Maybe even. Rebelled against God. You may even have had. Your Kadesh Barnea. Experiences. Where you have.

[26:00] Missed opportunities. And as a result. You have wandered. For years. And years. But God. Has never. Abandoned you. And he never will.

[26:12] He will bring you. To that promised land. Of heaven. Because he has promised. To do so. In his covenant. Remember all of this.

[26:25] And learn by it. Learn. To trust him. He has never let you down. In the past. He never will let you down. In the future. Be thankful.

[26:36] For all that he has done. For you. Obey him. And press on. With your own. Spiritual journey. But we mustn't think of this only.

[26:52] Individually. It applies also. To the church. The Israelites. Remember. We're not traveling. As individuals. They were traveling.

[27:03] As a nation. And we're not traveling. Simply as individual. Christians. We're traveling together. As the church. Of God.

[27:16] The church's history. Also goes back. To eternity past. God chose. As Paul says. Before the foundation. Of the world. To be his people. The roots of the church.

[27:28] Lie in Israel. As Paul says. In Romans 11. Act 7. Speaks of the. Congregation. Or the church. In the wilderness.

[27:41] But the New Testament church. As we know it. That started. With just a handful. Of disciples. Following Jesus. Jesus said to Peter.

[27:54] On this rock. I will build my church. And the gates of hell. Will not prevail. Against it. And they never have. For the past. 2,000 years.

[28:04] He has continued. Building his church. All the fury of hell. Has been let loose. Upon it. But the devil. Has not overcome it. Praise God.

[28:15] For that. On the contrary. The church. Has raided. The kingdom of Satan. And brought back. Captives. Into the kingdom of God.

[28:28] You know. Many Christians say. They're not interested. In church history. I can't understand that. Because church history. Is exciting. It's the story.

[28:40] Of the whole way. In which God. Has led his church. These past. 2,000 years. It's a story. Of struggle.

[28:51] It's a story. Sometimes. Of sin. But ultimately. It is a story. Of triumph. The triumph. Not of men. But of the grace.

[29:01] Of God. Time would fail us. To tell even. A thousandth. Part of that story. But. Read it. For yourselves. You can read.

[29:13] In the acts. Of the apostles. Of the very early days. How the church. Spread. Out from Israel. Into the Gentile world. All the way to Rome. Despite persecution.

[29:26] It grew. Until the emperor. Constantine himself. Became a Christian. And Christianity. Became the official. Religion of the empire. Who could have imagined.

[29:37] That happening. Yes. It was a mixed blessing. Worldliness. And false doctrine. Crept in. And the church. Wandered.

[29:47] For hundreds. Of years. But it found. Its way again. By the grace of God. At the reformation. Yes. There have been. Many problems. Since then.

[29:57] And many divisions. But the church. Has continued. To spread. And today. There are millions. Of believers. All over the world. Here in Scotland.

[30:09] Read about the story. Of John Knox. And the reformation. Read the heroic story. Of the covenanters. Read about the revivals. Of the 18th. And 19th centuries.

[30:23] You know. We're rather like. That younger generation. In the wilderness. Historically. We're too young. Very few. Here.

[30:34] Can remember. Times of revival. If any of us. We only remember. The desert years. Of the last few decades. But listen to those.

[30:45] Who can remember. Days of revival. And read about. Those days. What God has done. For his church. In times past. And can still do.

[30:58] Remember. All the way. The Lord has led us. And learn. Learn from our mistakes. Yes. But learn also. Of the grace. And the love.

[31:09] And the power. Of God. In times past. Remember the past. To prepare. For the future. The God of Israel.

[31:19] Is our God. The God of the apostles. Is our God. The God of the martyrs. Is our God. God. The God of the reformers.

[31:33] Is our God. The God of the covenanters. Is our God. The God of the past. Is the God of the future. The eternal God.

[31:46] The great I am. May the Lord. Help us to. Remember. All the way. The savior has led us.

[31:56] And may we all. Trust in him. For the future. Amen. We're going to sing now. A hymn.

[32:06] Before we come to communion. As we come now. To our time of communion. Let us.

[32:17] Hear the familiar words. Of Paul. In. One Corinthians. Chapter 11.

[32:28] Verses 23 to 26. For I received from the Lord.

[32:41] That what I also delivered to you. That the Lord Jesus. On the night. When he was betrayed. Took bread. And when he had given thanks.

[32:52] He broke it. And said. This is my body. Which is for you. Do this. In remembrance of me. In the same way.

[33:03] Also. He took the cup. After supper. Saying. This cup. Is the new covenant. In my blood. Do this. As often. As you drink it. In remembrance of me.

[33:15] For as often. As you eat this bread. And drink this cup. You proclaim. The Lord's death. Until he comes. We've been remembering.

[33:29] Our own spiritual journey. Our God has led. Each one of us. Now. In communion. We remember. Christ's.

[33:40] Spiritual journey. And how God. Led him. To the cross. For our sake. This is the main purpose.

[33:52] Of communion. To focus our minds. On the death. Of Christ. Do this. In remembrance. Of me. The cross.

[34:05] Was Christ's. Great mission. In life. That's why. The father sent him. Into the world. God. Again. And again. He told his disciples.

[34:17] That he must. Suffer. In Jerusalem. Matthew 20. For example. Behold. We're going up to Jerusalem. And the son of man.

[34:28] Will be delivered over. To the chief priests. And scribes. And they will condemn him. To death. And deliver him over. To the Gentiles. To be mocked. And flogged. And crucified.

[34:38] And he will be raised. The third day. When we think of God. Leading us. We tend to. Imagine. He will always lead us.

[34:50] Beside the still waters. That he will always lead us. In the green pastures. But the example of Jesus. Shows us that. There are occasions.

[35:02] When he can lead us. Into difficult experiences. To put it mildly. Christ was led. Up into the wilderness. To be tempted. By the devil. He was led.

[35:13] To the cross. To suffer for our sins. And we as his followers. Must expect. Sometimes. That we will be led. Through the dark valleys.

[35:28] But why was our Lord Jesus. Led in this way. Why was he led to the cross. For the very best of reasons. To fulfill. The covenant.

[35:38] As he says here. This cup. Is the new covenant. In my blood. God had promised. In the new covenant. The forgiveness of sins.

[35:50] And that could only come about. By the death. Of Christ. God had promised. In the new covenant. Their sins.

[36:00] I will remember. I will remember. No more. Here we are talking of a command. To us to remember. And there is God saying.

[36:10] Here is something I will not remember. I will put your sins. Out of my mind. And we today. We remember Christ.

[36:22] Who died. So that our sins. Might not. Be remembered. But also. Communion.

[36:33] Reminds us. That Christ is our. Manner. We have been looking a lot. At manner today. Haven't we? Well let's remember. That Christ is our living bread.

[36:46] And as we take the bread. And the wine. We are reminding ourselves. Not only of his death. But of the life. That we have in him. We feed upon that living bread.

[36:57] The bread is the symbol. Of Christ. Who is our life. May the Lord. Help us then. Even now. As we come to.

[37:08] Eat this bread. And drink this wine. To remember Christ. I'm going to give. Thanks for both the bread.

[37:19] And the wine. And then. We will. Take the bread. And the wine. Afterwards. Let's bow together. And give thanks. Heavenly Father.

[37:33] We thank you. For all. That we have read. Both in the Old Testament. And in the New. We thank you. For that. Great.

[37:44] Mystery. Of mysteries. That the Son of God. The Eternal One. Who is life in himself. Should come into this dark world.

[37:58] And die. And we marvel at the reason for it. The love of God. That passes knowledge. That you loved your people so much.

[38:10] That you sent your Son. To die for us. We thank you. For the bread and the wine. That we have before us. As symbols.

[38:22] To remind us. Of this. Great and glorious. Sacrifice. That Christ has made. We thank you.

[38:33] That his body was broken. Upon the cross. We thank you. That his blood. Was poured out. For us. And we thank you.

[38:44] For the scriptures. That urge us. To feed upon him. To have his life. Within us. We ask you. Heavenly Father.

[38:55] That even now. As we. Share the bread. And the wine. That these small. Tokens. Before us. May. Stimulate.

[39:06] Our memory. Of what the Lord. Has lovingly done. For us. Personally. And for his whole church. And that. It might be an occasion.

[39:19] When the Lord himself. Will mysteriously. Draw near. When we will know. Close fellowship. With our Savior. And when the life of God.

[39:31] Will be renewed. In our souls. So Lord. Accept our thanksgiving. And be with us now. As we share in the bread.

[39:42] And the wine. We ask. In Jesus name. Amen. So you should have.

[39:53] Bread. In the. Foil wrapper. Jesus. Took the bread. And after he'd given thanks. He broke it. Said. Take it.

[40:05] Eat. This is my body. Broken for you. Let us. Eat together. In remembrance of him. Ah.

[40:16] oh oh you should have also the small cup of wine Jesus took the cup also and gave it to them saying this is my blood of the new covenant shed for you for the remission of sins let us drink this together and rejoice that our sins are forgiven our closing psalm is psalm 116 you