Do Not Forget His Blessings!

Sermon Notes for April 15, 2007

A Day Of Thanksgiving

Do Not Forget His Blessings!

Deuteronomy 8

There’s a story about a man from the city who was visiting relatives on a farm. He was out walking around with the farmer when the farmer gave a whistle and his dog herded the cattle into the corral, and then latched the gate with her paw. "Wow, that’s some dog. What’s her name?" The forgetful farmer thought a minute, and then asked, "What do you call that red flower that smells good and has thorns on the stem?" "A rose?" "That’s it!" The farmer turned and called out to his wife. "Hey Rose, what do we call this dog?"

Introduction

Today Is A SPECIAL DAY OF THANKSGIVING IN THE LIFE OF OUR CHURCH.
Today marks the second year anniversary of our being in our new facility.
And we wanted to take a day to thank the Lord for this great blessing.
However, we will not simply thank God for this building, but we will also thank Him for what He has done in our young church since its beginning.
I will be preaching on a text that will greatly parrallel our journey.
as I was looking for a text that spoke of being thankful to God
I was amazed at how the experience of the Israelites so closely represented our journey as a church
Thousands Of Years Ago There Was A SPECIAL DAY IN THE LIFE OF ISRAEL.
After wandering in the desert for 40 years, the Israelites stood ready to cross the Jordan River into the Promised Land.
But before they entered the land, God spoke through Moses to let them know what their attitude should be before they entered the land.

I. The Israelites Were To REMEMBER THEIR PAST.

Their ENTRANCE Into The Promised Land.
After the death of Joseph, who had become second in command to Pharaoh:
the Jews found themselves, some 400 years later, slaves to Pharaoh
the Jews suffered greatly at the hands of the Egyptians
Upon finding out that he was actually a Jew, Moses proceeded to defend his people.
after literally killing an Egyptian who was abusing a fellow Jew, Moses was exiled into the desert
after being in the desert some 40 years, God called Moses to return to Egypt and set His people free
After leaving Egypt with the Israelites and crossing the Red Sea, Moses sent 12 spies into the Promised Land to see if they thought that the Israelites could overtake their enemies.
10 spies came back and reported that they could not overcome their enemies
while 2 spies believed that God would give them the victory
because of the lack of faith of the 10 spies, God allowed the Israelites to wander in the desert for 40 years
The reason for the 40-year exodus, was to allow the unbelieving generation to die.
once all of that generation had died, the children of the next generation would be taken into the Promised Land
upon entering the Promised Land, Moses would “remind” the next generation of the Law – thus Deuteronomy – the “second” giving of the Law to Israel
God wanted them to have a “proper mindset” before they entered the Promised Land
Their EDUCATION Before They Entered The Promised Land.
They were to remember their past.

Vs. 2 – “Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years.”

Moses wanted the Jews to remember how hard the exodus was
Moses wanted them to remember:

Vs. 15 – “He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions.”

1. the hard, endless, hot desert

2. the constant need for water

3. the continued looking out for snakes and scorpions

HE WANTED THEM TO REMEMBER THE PAIN!

They were to remember God’s provision.
BUT GOD TOOK CARE OF YOU!

1. Vs. 3 – “He fed you with manna, which neither you nor your
fathers had known.”

a. there were perhaps one million Israelites in the exodus.
HOW WOULD GOD FEED THEM?

b. God “created” a food that apparently had all of the
essential vitamins and nutrients that they would need for
40 years!

c. it may have been the same food each and every day for
40 years, but it was food and met all of their physical
needs

2. Vs. 4 – “Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not
swell during these forty years.”

a. even though the Israelites wore the SAME CLOTHES
FOR FORTY YEARS, . . . their clothes did not wear out

1. this was long before synthetics

2. How could you explain this except the work of
God “in their clothes?”

3. Can you imagine a woman wearing the “same
clothes” for 40 years! – now that’s suffering!

4. For the men, they probably never even thought
about it!

b. even though you had ONE PAIR OF SANDALS FOR
FORTY YEARS!

1. they did not wear out

2. and their feet did not swell

3. note: with a lack of proper diet, a person could
contract beriberi, which cause swelling in the
feet – they did not have that problem

3. Vs. 5b – “He brought you water out of hard rock.”

a. obviously, in the desert, there is little or no water at all;
that is why it is called a desert

b. so, like the manna, God miraculously and supernaturally
provided water to 1 million Israelites by calling forth
water from a rock!

1. in Exodus 17, the people began to complain that
they had no water

2. God sent Moses and some of the elders to a
place called Horeb: God told them to strike a
rock and water would come forth – and it did

3. so . . . God provided water to Israel

They were to remember God’s purpose.

Vs. 2 – “Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.”

“to humble you”

1. one of the main reasons that God took the Israelites into the
desert was to humble them

a. to take away any sense that they could take care of
themselves

b. God wanted them to be utterly dependent on Him, so
that they could not point to themselves at all

c. Deuteronomy 29:5-6 – “During the forty years that I
led you through the desert, your clothes did not wear
out, nor did the sandals on your feet. You ate no bread
and drank no wine or other fermented drink. I did this
so that you might know that I am the LORD your
God.”

2. it apparently took 40 years to make this point to Israel – they
perhaps could not learn this lesson in less time than that

“to test you”

1. God wanted them to see who they really were

2. it’s always easy to be spiritual and mature when all is well; it is
a different story when life becomes hard

3. by the end of those 40 years in the desert, there would be no
doubt as to the character of the people and who was their
provider

II. The Israelites Were To REVEL IN THE PRESENT.

The BARRENNESS Of The Desert.
For the last 40 years, the Israelites had suffered in a barren land.
for 40 years they had looked at desert as far as the eye could see
for 40 years they had set up tents, take them down and put them up again
for 40 years they had only manna to eat
for 40 years they had only water to drink
for 40 years they had no permanent home
Can you imagine their mindset?
for the second generation, those born in the desert, this was all that they had ever known
it would have been totally fair to ask . . . would this ever end?
The BEAUTY Of The Promised Land.
The availability of water.

Vs. 7 – “For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land--a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills.”

yes, there would be water
but water that would literally come out of all “kinds” of places:

1. streams of water

2. pools of water

3. springs that flowed

they could have water anytime and anywhere they wanted it!

The abundance of food.

Vs. 8 – “a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey”

wheat – something that could be grown and then grown again and again
barley – a different kind of food, unlike manna
vines – grapes that could be used to make wine INSTEAD OF ONLY WATER
fig trees – something sweet
pomegranate – something sweet and varied
olive oil – something to cook with and flavor the various foods
honey

1. something sweet

2. but also a food that would be made EVEN DURING
FAMINES!

The availability of metals.

Vs. 9b – “A land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.”

while these were not precious gems
God was providing them metals to make tools to farm with

The BLISS Of The Difference.
You can only imagine how the Israelites felt:
what they had endured for 40 years
and what they were going to experience shortly
You would think that they would never forget what they had gone through.
that they would never be able to thank God enough for His goodness
that every day after entering the promised land, they would be grateful
Tyler’s trailer parents

III. The Israelites Were To REFLECT ON THEIR FUTURE.

They Were NOT TO FORGET THE PROSPERITY OF GOD.

Vs. 10-14 – “When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”

Once they got to the Promised Land, experiencing all of God’s blessings upon them:
once you eat and eat and eat . . . you will forget the manna
once you build your fine, big permanent homes . . . you will forget your tents
once you have huge herds and flocks and silver and gold . . . you will forget that you had no possessions
You would think that the Israelites who experienced the barrenness of 40 years WOULD NEVER FORGET . . .

They Were NOT TO FORGET THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD.

Vs. 14 – “Then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”

DESPITE their utter dependence on God in the wilderness.

Vs. 17 - You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me."

they had NOTHING TO SAVE THEMSELVES
and had to depend on God for everything; they would not only forget God’s provisions

BUT AFTER A FEW YEARS IN THE PROMISED LAND . . . THEY WOULD THINK THAT THEY WERE THE CAUSE OF ALL OF THEIR BLESSINGS!
that THEY had done all of the work
that THEY had worked the fields and produced the crops
that THEY had raised the cattle and sheep
that THEY had grown the vineyards that produced the wine

Conclusion:

As a church, we must REMEMBER OUR PAST.
God’s provision.

Vs. 2 – “Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years.”

1. just like the Israelites who wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, we
met in the Farragut Middle School for 11 years!

a. that’s like “dog years” to a church planter

b. most church plants build in the 6th or 7th year; we built in the
11th year

c. situations:

1. nurseries in classrooms

2. terrible acoustics

3. losing the air conditioning an entire summer

2. but God took care of us!

a. some statistics say that 50% of all church plants do not survive

b. time after time God took care of us

1. my first trip to the Middle School – I met Dr. Bill
Wilson – his wife Judy became our pianist

2. and people began to come

a. Sunday school teachers

b. nursery workers

c. youth leaders

d. helpers who set up chairs

3. and money came in

a. Nov. of 1994 – putting together our first budget

1. first year – 280K – 340K

2. second year – 350K – 420K

b. 140K “walked in off the street”

God’s purpose – “to humble you and test you”

1. Boy, did He humble me.

a. I am a different man than I was in 1994

1. a planner

2. an organizer

3. I would take care of it

4. very little prayer

b. today in 2007

1. I wait on God

2. I allow Him to speak through His body, especially the
elders

3. I spend time in prayer

2. and did He test all of us

a. I commend all of you who made it through the school
experience

b. but what did you learn through it?

1. one of our first nursery coordinators

2. M.Hicks

As a church, we must REVEL IN OUR PRESENT.

Vs. 7 – “For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land.”

and look where we are now

1. a new building

2. clean, beautiful nurseries and children’s rooms

3. a room with wonderful acoustics for worship and corporate singing

4. as the building was being built, I just went around “touching the new
stuff”

and look where we are going

1. we have just finished a brand new parking lot

2. we are planning to build a new building in the fall

3. with the view to build the sanctuary next!

it is still hard to believe that we are here!

1. this is our place

2. we don’t have to look for other places to meet anymore!

3. all is well . . .

4. a building that we can use ANYTIME! (recent Mission Conference:
men’s breakfast, women’s luncheon)

As a church, we must REALIZE OUR FUTURE.

Vs. 10 – “When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you.”

but we are ALREADY in a very dangerous place

1. already, I am beginning to forget the school

2. already, I am feeling as if we have been here forever

3. already I am beginning to see the present and future success instead of
the previous struggle

4. and already, I find myself not running to prayer and utter dependence
upon God for His continued provision, but back to planning

5. Sleepless in Seattle – “I’m already beginning to forget Mom.”

THAT IS WHY I CHOSE THIS TEXT TODAY.

1. because it was not only the nature of the Israelites to forget God’s
provision after 40 years in the desert

2. it is our nature as well

LET US NEVER FORGET OUR PAST.

1. the story of the Pilgrims when they landed at Plymouth

a. Pilgrim William Bradford wrote in his diary that his voyage
to America was motivated by “a great hope for advancing the
Kingdom of Christ”

b. The Pilgrims set aground at Plymouth Rock on December 11,
1620. Their first winter was devastating. Weakened by their
seven-week crossing, they came down with pneumonia.

1. they began to die, one per day; then two and sometimes
three

2. they dug graves at night so that the Indians would not
see how their numbers were dwindling

3. by the spring, they had lost 46 of the original 102 who
sailed on the Mayflower

c. The Pilgrims needed help and they found it in an English
speaking member of the Wampanoag Indian tribe, named
Squanto.

1. Squanto stayed with the Pilgrims for several months
teaching them to survive

2. He brought them food and skins, taught them how to
cultivate new vegetables and how to build Indian-
style houses. He educated the Pilgrims on poisonous
plants, medicine, how to get sap from the maple
trees, use fish for fertilizer, and dozens of other skills
needed for their survival. The harvest of 1621 was a
bountiful one and the remaining colonists decided
to celebrate with a feast. The author of The First
Thanksgiving states, "This was not a day of Pilgrim
thanksgiving." Instead, she writes, "This was pure
celebration." The event occurred between September
21 and November 11, 1621, with the most likely time
being around September 29, the traditional time for
English harvest homes. The settlers asked Squanto and
the leader of the Wampanoags, Massasoit, to bring their
immediate family and to dine with them.