Sermon " A Song of the Saints" by Rick Shabi, September 4, 2021

well tuesday tuesday i mentioned this is the feast feast of trumpets every year as we talk about the feast of trumpets we rehearse the very many things that god is reminding us as we as we observe that feast and celebrate that feast day we talk about the things that lead up to the return of jesus christ we talk about the conditions that the world is in the time of devastation the time of tribulation that that the world will be going through that america will be going through and it will take jesus christ it will take jesus christ to come back and save the world from itself and we look forward to that day of his return maybe we don't look as forward as much to the times preceding that day of trumpets and the resurrection of the first fruits but this year this year we find ourselves actually living in those days living in those days we've talked about for years we see the buds on the tree we see some of the things that it talks about that we often talk about in the feast of trumpets we see the wars and rumors of wars we see the development of things in the world that we didn't see a year ago we see a plague that has plagued the whole world a pandemic that's plagued the whole world for over a year and a half and has no signs of giving way we see we see the trends of government we see the trends of control we see the trends toward away from freedom and liberty toward more of a totalitarian government not there yet but we see those things happening as we go through the feast of trumpets and the day of atonement and tabernacles this year these holy days should really be an illumination for us of god's god's plan and a recognition of how much we need to trust in god because he is the only way he's the only way through what is coming on this world he's the only way of survival the only way of salvation and it's time for us to all be paying attention waking up as i said a few weeks ago when i was here to the world and the reality around it and the reality of the times that we live in you know as as we read through the bible and last time i was here we talked about we talked about prophecy and we looked at a book in deuteronomy that we don't often think of as prophecy but we talked about some verses in there and how god laid the foundation for prophecy right there among moses who he calls a great prophet a great prophet who he said that there will come another one like you moses in deuteronomy 18 15 referring to jesus christ and often we think of moses in conjunction with leading the tribes of israel we think of him enforcing and well enforcing and encouraging the people to keep the law but sometimes we overlook the latter chapters of deuteronomy where he did where god gave him the great prophecy and layout of what is going to happen with israel at the end of time you know sometimes when we look at those prophecies we may get confused we have to look at we have to look at israel and we have to understand that there is a physical israel the descendants of abraham isaac and jacob god loves israel he loved israel back in old testament times he watched over them they frustrated him they angered him but he loves them and even though they're scattered all over the world and many people say we have no idea where the 12 tribes of israel are god knows exactly where those people are and they feature they feature in the end time prophecies you know we can read we can read and we will in a few minutes where god says i'm going to bring physical israel back to the land i promise their forefathers and living in the land of israel because you and i know where the tribes of israel are today we know and we understand the blessings that god has given the lands at the end the latter days and there's only one explanation for the the blessings that the english-speaking nations around the world have been able to enjoy and we find that in genesis 49 and deuteronomy 34 where god is very or deuteronomy 33 where god is very very specific on the blessings that he will pour out on joseph you know who bears the name of israel and we are the benefactors of that physical israel you know is also the home of many of us who are spiritual all of us here in this room who are spiritual israel spiritual israel the people that god has called out of this world spiritual israel who who repent yield to god receive his holy spirit after baptism and live that way of life for the rest of their lives becoming then the first fruits that god will resurrect from the dead spiritual israel and physical israel are intertwined we live in physical israel the things that the bible talks about that will befall physical israel you and i are going to experience to the extent that god wants us to and whatever he has in mind for whatever else we will experience some of that because we live here and we will partake we will at least experience some of what physical israel who has so dramatically turned from god especially in the last five and 10 years and especially in the last couple years as we see physical israel move further and further and further away from god further and further away from god and everything he stands for don't even want to retain him in their thoughts not even a mention you know in back in jeremiah 30 and verse 4 it talks about the time of jacob's jacob's trouble if you want to turn there you can many of us who've been in the church a long time know know what these verses say you know we can't exempt ourselves we're here we're here in in jacob if you will first church jeremiah 30 verse 4 certainly a prophecy for the future jeremiah says verse 5 thus says the lord we've heard a voice of trembling of fear and not of peace ask now and see whether a man is ever in labor with child so why do i see every man with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor and all faces turn pale alas that day is great so none is like it it is the time of jacob's physical israel's trouble but he shall be saved out of it it's coming it's time it's as sure as you and i are sitting here today god prophesied it he knows the pattern of human behavior he knows how satan works he knows exactly what satan will do and how people will yield to him to bring about exactly what god said will happen in his words back in deuteronomy 30 let's let's go back there as you're turning to deuteronomy 30 i'll refresh your mind to a couple weeks ago when we were talking about the virus and the pandemic that we've been experiencing and the effects that it's had on the nation the effects it's had on the government the effects that it's had on the society how it's brought a division and a divide between peoples in this country and really around the world a global divide and a global pandemic that the world has never seen before a time of change brought about by this we talked about afghanistan and even since the last couple weeks we've seen the we've seen more of what's happened in afghanistan and we've seen a government over there if we can call it a government we've seen a group put in power you know as the pride of america's power was broken exactly as god said it would happen in the end time in a way that i think is even worse than any of us could have predicted what has been left behind over there in afghanistan and these things are these things happen these things were prophesied in deuteronomy 30 we talked about some of those things that deuteronomy or that moses talked about in deuteronomy let's read a few verses here in deuteronomy 30 as we begin today i guess it's deuteronomy 31 no it is deuteronomy 30 deuteronomy let's begin in verse 29 of chapter 29 where i left off a couple weeks ago deuteronomy 29 verse 29 says the secret things belong to the lord our god but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever that we may do all the words of this law god knows what is going to occur in his time god reveals to us what is going to happen you remember amos 3 7 that he doesn't do anything without revealing to his people what will come he makes prophecy known to us he doesn't make it all we don't have every detail but what we need to know as we enter into the times he makes known to us we have prophecy that should motivate us to be closer to god motivate us to to yield to god more to examine ourselves and to be sure that we are living in the way that he wants to that he wants us to it's also a proof of his word a proof that he is god that he is he is sovereign and he is in control of all things and we may wish till we wish can wish no more that these things wouldn't be but these things will be if god says it it will happen and he's given us now the time to prepare and be ready for it so let's go into deuteronomy 30 and we see a prophecy as god opens the minds opens the minds of moses and joshua toward that in deuteronomy 30 verse 1 it says it shall come to pass when all these things come upon you the blessing and the curse which i have set before you and you call them to mind among all the nations where the lord your god drives you and you return to the lord your god and obey his voice according to all that i command you today you and your children with all your heart and with all your soul but the lord your god will bring you back from captivity and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where the lord your god has scattered you that hasn't happened yet that happens after the return of jesus christ god did scatter ancient israel but he has not yet brought them back from all the nations he scattered them to the land that he promised abraham isaac and jacob that's a prophecy that has yet to be fulfilled that's for physical israel verse 4 if any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven from there the lord your god will gather you and from there he will bring you and the lord your god will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed and you shall possess it he will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers and the lord your god will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants to love the lord your god with all your heart and with all your soul that you may live now god for those of us who he has called who responded to his call he has circumcised our hearts as we were baptized as we have yielded to him he has done that but he has not done that for all of physical israel that happens after the return of jesus christ when the kingdom of god is established on earth and the millennial reign of christ begins so as god was speaking to moses here and had him record in deuteronomy 30 he was showing him here's the end of time here's the latter days here's what's going to befall these people and here's what i will ultimately do with physical israel millennia into the future moses we know what it means today let's go over to deuteronomy 31. of course as you read through the you read through chapter 30 you see the prophetic the continuing prophetic intent of the chapter if we go to deuteronomy 31 and pick it up in verse 14 we see that god gives moses and joshua who he is inaugurating as he says to be the next leader of physical israel some of the prophecy of the things that will befall physical israel just in the immediate future during the old testament time deuteronomy 31 and verse 14. the eternal said to moses behold the days approach when you must die call joshua and present yourselves in the tabernacle of meaning that i may inaugurate him so moses and joshua went presented themselves in the tabernacle of meeting and the lord appeared as a tabernacle in a pillar of cloud and the pillar of clouds stood above the door of the tabernacle and the eternal said to moses behold you will rest with your fathers and this people will rise and play the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land where they go to be among them and they will forsake me and break my covenant which i have made with them this is what israel is going to do moses and joshua and then my anger shall be aroused against them in that day and i will forsake them i will hide my face from them and they shall be devoured many evils and troubles will befall them so that they will say in that day haven't these evils come upon us because our god isn't among us and i will surely hide my face in that day because of all the evil which they have done and that they have turned to other gods well that's something that physical israel today in the modern world hasn't done it all we don't hear anyone saying have all these things befall in us are all these things happening to us because we've turned away from god it doesn't even like enter anyone's mind they don't want god they don't want any part of him but ancient israel did exactly what god had said so in this prophecy we have a prophecy that was fulfilled in ancient israel's time if you keep your finger there in deuteronomy 31 let's just go forward a couple books to the book of judges judges 10 and we can see that what god said would befall israel is exactly what happened now you know the history as you turn to to the book of judges that that was the history of israel after joshua died they would do their own thing for a while they would be captive to other nations they would be slaves to other nations they would be oppressed and then they would oh let's turn to god it's because we haven't been following him then they would turn to god god would raise up a judge a ruler for them a righteous one they turned back to god they'd have peace for a while then they'd slide right back into their old habits and go back to the gods that they worshipped of other lands and they would keep repeat the pattern over and over again here in judges 10 beginning in verse 6 let's let's read this god kind of says well not kind of he says exactly what he prophesied would happen back when moses was still alive judges 10 and verse 6. it says then the children of israel again did evil in the sight of the eternal and they saved the serve the baals and the asterisks the gods of syria the gods of sidon the gods of moab the gods of the people of ammon the gods of the philistines i mean was there any god they didn't serve it's like whatever came their way yeah we'll serve you we'll do it your way we'll look to you forget god we'll just do it your way i mean everything around it it's almost comical the way they just yielded to these gods around them they did they deal with all these other gods and they forsook the eternal and did not serve him so the anger of the lord was hot against israel and he sold them into the hands of the philistines and into the hands of the people of ammon from that year they oppressed the children of israel for 18 years all the children of israel who were on the other side of the jordan into the land of the amorites in gilead moreover the people of ammon crossed over the jordan to fight against judah also against benjamin and against the house of april so that israel physical israel was severely distressed and the children of israel cried out to god we've sinned against you because we have forsaken our god and served the baals well good for them they at least recognized it something that physical israel today doesn't leave and let enter their minds at least they recognized it kept making the same mistake over and over again as they had done this wasn't the first time that they came back but they realized they needed to turn to god verse 11 so the lord said to the children of israel didn't i deliver you from the egyptians and from the amorites and from the people of ammon and from the philistines haven't we been through this before are you ever going to learn your lesson trust in me look to me serve me and things will go well but if you keep looking back at the world and serving other gods and putting me second third fourth or fifth or not even on the list things are not going to go well didn't i deliver you to these people verse 12 also from the sidonians and the malachites when they oppressed you and you cried out to me i delivered you from their hand yet you forsaken me and you've served other gods therefore i will deliver you no more there comes a time when god says enough is enough you've shown me what your what the intent of your heart is and now you will get what you have asked for go out verse 14 go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen let them deliver you in your time of distress and of course israel is like no no we know that we need you that's a prophecy that was fulfilled lessons we can learn from it correct we've talked many times that we don't have the gods of the zidonians or the gods of the amorites we don't have baal and ashteroth and and all these other gods of wood and stone and whatever that people bow down and worship but there's plenty of gods plenty of gods in the world today that we might be bowing down to and yielding to and anything we put between us and god and trust in him count that as someone that you are trusting in that god would look at as another god besides him and the first commandment is clear no other gods no other gods besides me so let's go back to deuteronomy 31. we can see that exactly what god told moses and joshua there is exactly what happened because god does tell us what's going to happen and we can look back and say god knows exactly what's there he understands human nature he understands satan's nature he understands that without his spirit we will yield to it and he knows exactly what is going to happen and it happened exactly that way with physical israel that didn't have god's holy spirit if we go back to deuteronomy 31 and this time drop down to the wrong book deuteronomy 31. let me see where we stopped off here okay verse 19. deuteronomy 31 verse 19. so god tells moses and joshua this is what's going to happen and he tells him therefore write down this song the song for yourselves keep a record of it remember what i told you what would happen because i'm god and what i say is going to happen will happen therefore write down this song for yourselves and teach it to the children of israel put it in their mouths that this song may be a witness for me against the children of israel that when they look back they would say yeah we did exactly we followed the wrong spirit we followed the wrong god we did exactly what god said would do if we had just listened to him and clung to him verse 20 when i brought them to the land flowing with milk and honey of which i swear to their fathers and they have eaten and filled themselves and grown fat you know fatness can indicate a time of plenty you know probably most of us have a little more flesh on our bones than we really really need but we live in a time of plenty and that's okay god has richly blessed us we don't have to worry where our next meal is coming from and haven't had to most of our lives but he says when you earn that time aplenty in that time of luxury that time when you have plenty of things remember what he said he said in deuteronomy 4 he said in deuteronomy 8 he warns them again when they have filled themselves and grown fat they will turn to other gods and serve them they will lose their focus on god they will trust in other things besides god they will turn to other gods and serve them and they will provoke me and break my covenant and it will be when many evils and troubles have come upon them that this song will testify against them as a witness for it will not for it will not be forgotten in the mouths of their descendants for i know the inclination of their behavior today i know the human heart i know what satan does i know how humans react to the influence of satan i know exactly how this is going to turn out it's there and god says i'm writing it as a witness you look at it and when it turns out you will know i'm god and you will wish if you're not following him now that you had wished him that you had followed him with all your heart mind and soul i know the inclination of their behavior today even before i brought them to the land which i swore to give them therefore moses did as he was commanded as moses always did therefore moses wrote this wrote this song the same day he taught it to the children of israel and he inaugurated joshua the son of none and said be strong be of good courage for you shall bring the children of israel into the land which i swore to them and i will be with you so it was when moses and completed writing the words of this law in a book when they were finished he commanded the levites who bore the ark of the covenant of the lord saying take this book of the law put it beside the ark of the covenant of the lord your god that it may be there as a witness against you for i know your rebellion i know your stiff neck if today while i am yet alive with you you have been rebellious against the eternal then how much more after my death verse 28 gather to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers that i may speak these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth to witness against them this will happen if you do not follow god back one chapter in deuteronomy 30 19 god says i call heaven and heaven and earth to witness to stay against you i have set before you life and death blessing and cursing and a very simple statement therefore choose life a simple statement so hard to do so hard to do when we understand what choosing life is and how we have to discipline selves and deny self deny the world around us give up what we want to naturally trust in and trust in god all those things that god says that we understand more than the israelites did because we have the holy spirit they didn't verse 29 for i know that after my death after my death you will become utterly corrupt physical israel and you will turn away aside from the way which i have commanded you and evil will befall you in the latter days not the days after the time of joshua in the time of the judges but in the latter days the days that we live in now god showed i chose moses who recorded it here's what's going to be happening even to physical israel and spiritual israel who's intertwined with it because they're living in physical israel in the latter days all the way back at the time of moses before moses died verse 29 again evil will befall you in the latter days because you will do evil in the sight of the eternal to broke him to anger through the work of your hands and then moses spoke in the hearing of all the assembly of israel the words of this song until they were ended and we come to chapter 32. it's called the song of moses it's quite an important song inspired by god and it is the foundation of all the prophecies in the bible every prophecy from here on out adds to what god gave moses to write down in this song and it teaches us so much about what god's plan is it teaches us so much about human behavior it teaches us so much about the things that we have lived in us in our little span of time here in the 20th and 21st centuries but all of the six thousand man years of man's time on earth this song this song this prophecy you know a few years ago i was up four or five years ago there was a widow who who mentioned to me and i always enjoyed conversations with her because there were always good biblical discussions and she asked me one day have you ever read deuteronomy 32 well i had but i could tell in the way that she talked she was seeing something in deuteronomy 32 i wasn't seeing i went back and read it and i thought yeah okay it's there but she said deuteronomy 32 is a really important song of god and that's never left my mind but this year as i've read deuteronomy 32 it's beginning to take it's beginning to take hold in my mind what god has put in this chapter in deuteronomy you know there's a few others that have have seen the same thing too barnes commentary is one of them and he says that in deuteronomy 32 specifically he says it is the foundation of every single prophecy from here on out in the bible it is the basis god gave moses the basis of everything that is going to occur and every other prophecy only adds to and complements and supports what god revealed to moses back here in deuteronomy 32. it bears some important to us too keep your finger there because we're going to come back to deuteronomy 32 in a minute but let's go to revelation 15. as we live in the times when we're certainly getting closer to the end time certainly the beginning of sorrows if not even a little bit beyond that as we see the buds on the trees all around us as the feast of trumpets the day of atonement and tabernacles will take on greater meaning to this this year if our eyes are wide open if we're awake not woke but awake right you know we'll see what god is there but in revelation 15 we see the resurrected we see the resurrected saints we see the people who have the victory over the beast you know we'll talk more about the beast in revelation 13 and the coming time where it will be government saying you don't have a choice this is what you do this is what you do this is who you bow down to or you either die or can't buy can't sell you know this is the the time in revelation 15 it says i saw another sign in heaven great and marvelous seven angels having the seven last plagues for in them the wrath of god is complete and i saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire and those who have the victory over the beast over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name standing on the sea of glass having harps of god these are the people of god who trust in him the only way you refuse the mark of the beast is you have god's holy spirit and you are so close to him and have developed that relationship with him that you can say no in the face of the most immense danger and threats that you can imagine because satan will literally throw everything at everyone to get us to kind to get us to yield to him and yield to well yield to him and yield to the society around us much like jesus christ faced in the great temptation when he threw everything at christ just yield to me we'll be experiencing the same thing the only way we stand is with god's holy spirit and what we are developing the courage the strength the trust in god now verse three these people who have the mark over the victory over the beast they sing the song of moses they sing the song of moses the servant of god and the song of the lamb saying great and marvelous are your works lord god almighty just and true are your ways o king of the saints who shall not fear you o lord and glorify your name you alone are holy all nations shall come and worship before you for your judgments have been manifested they will understand the song of moses they will live it it will be part of them whatever god means by that and we will learn more about that as time goes on and as he reveals to us but let's go back to deuteronomy 32 and i am going to spend the rest of the time in deuteronomy 32 not commenting on every verse but highlighting some of the things along the way because it's important for us to see what god has recorded here and to begin to contemplate it to begin to to allow it to be in our minds and to see what's going on around us and see what god had said he wrote it remember as a witness thousands of years ago see what i have said will happen it's a proof of him a proof of the word of god and a proof that he is with us today chapter 32 verse one remember this is a song the very the first few verses here are just absolutely beautiful one verse one give ear o heavens and i will speak hear o worth the words of my mouth let my teaching drop as the rain my speech distill as the dew as rain drops on the tender herb and it showers on the grass for i proclaim the name of the eternal ascribe greatness to our god he is the rock his work is perfect all his ways are justice a god of truth and without injustice righteous and upright is he verse 5 they physical israel have corrupted themselves they are not his children because of their blemish a perverse and crooked generation they are not his children they are not following in the ways that abraham isaac and jacob served him they are not following god he has blessed them and kept every promise he ever made them but they have departed from him and they are not his children anymore they have rejected him now let's go keep your finger there in deuteronomy 32 let's look at the book of hosea another prophecy of this time that supports what god is saying here about israel in the latter day in hosea i'm going to look at a couple couple verses here on the way to chapter 5. in isaiah 3 and verse 5 it says afterward the children of israel will return and seek the lord their god and david their king they shall fear the lord and his goodness in the latter days now there will come a time that israel the book of ezekiel tells us will load themselves it won't be before many many things happen to them and the nation falls and is no longer there in the time of trouble of jacob that we read about in jeremiah 30 has come about they'll then recognize what they've done and they will as the book of ezekiel tells us they will lower themselves they'll look back on decisions and things that were done today and think how could we have been so silly how could we have departed from god and not realize what is going on okay chapter chapter 1 or verse 4. hear the word of the eternal you children of israel for the lord brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land there's no truth now we've talked about that where do you find truth in the world today come on there's nothing there's no truth in the world today the only truth in the world today is the word of god that's the only thing you can put your stock and substance in forget the studies forget the random trials forget all that stuff it's all designed and it's all it's all one-sided to to just simply support the one of what they want to believe there's no truth or mercy or knowledge of god in the land verse six my people physical israel they're destroyed for lack of knowledge you know this can be you and me too if we're not putting our our minds in the mind in the book of god and allowing his words to permeate our minds and hearts my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge because you've rejected knowledge i will reject you from being priest for me because you've forgotten the law of your god i will forget your children verse 4 of chapter 5 they don't direct their deeds toward turning to their god for the spirit of harlotry is in their midst they seek off after every god they're willing to follow anything any other god of the world but they will not follow me or turn to me they don't direct their deeds toward turning to their god for the spirit of harlotry is in their midst and they don't know god the pride of israel testifies to his face therefore israel and ephraim stumble in their iniquity judah stumbles with him talked about that the three powers that are there today three chief israelites nations that is called israel today with their flocks and herds they will go to seek the lord but they won't find him he's withdrawn himself from them they have dealt treacherously with god for they have begotten pagan children they have begotten pagan children they don't teach their children the way of god they don't keep it themselves how many children today even know what god is how many children today even think of god when they're eating or anything how many parents today are really teaching their children anything about god you know that's the world what about us you know but god makes it very clear in the book of deuteronomy that one of our chief jobs as parents is to teach our children the way of god when you rise up when you lay down no matter what you're doing have him the most important part of your life make sure your children know who you are what you are who god is what it is that he does make sure they know the truth of god arm them with the truth but do we do that do we do that the way god said well certainly not certainly not physical israel god says they're pagan children they're not mine they're descendants of abraham they're descendants of jacob they're descendants of israel but they don't even know me they're pagan children they don't know me at all and so why would god keep on blessing a nation that has so thoroughly turned from him let's go back to deuteronomy 32. you know as moses as god gave moses this song to record he says in verse 5 there they've corrupted themselves they're not his children because of their blemish because of the sins they commit they're a perverse and crooked generation verse 6 do you thus deal with the eternal o foolish and unwise people isn't he your father who bought you didn't jesus christ come to earth and pay the penalty for our sins didn't he pave the way for salvation eternal life didn't he give up everything jesus christ so that he could do that for us and yet we've forgotten that we may claim it and the people around the world may claim it but they say you know what we'll claim that but we're not doing anything else you say we will cling to the nations and the ways they worship their god you know saturnalia is a really attractive thing and i'm sure god is okay as long as we have him part of it not as it clearly says in deuteronomy all the things the world does and tries to marry the ways of the pagan and the worship of their gods to our god and god says you get rid of all those ideas you worship me the way i instructed you to worship me you look at the words of the bible you do that exactly the way i say carefully the way i say don't add to it don't add take away from it in the same book of deuteronomy a very important book for us to to be aware of and to know what is in there does it verse six don't you d do you thus deal with the lord o foolish and unwise people isn't he your father who bought you didn't he make you and establish you now you know we could look at physical israel but we shouldn't exempt ourselves as we read these because these are words for spiritual israel as well for you and me didn't god make us and establish us didn't he give us the future didn't he give us the hope of eternal life didn't he give us an invitation to eternity and to be part of his family how do we deal with it how do we deal with what god has given us flippantly take it for granted think as long as we do a couple things along the way a couple physical things god's okay with it he didn't buy us just to kind of you know just observe a couple things he wanted heart mind and soul verse seven he says remember how many times does god say remember go back and think about what god has done for you think about what you know think about what he's opened our minds to think about the peace that we have today i can't even imagine i can't even imagine if i was living in the world today seeing everything that's going on what i would be thinking how i would be reacting to what is going on because the writing is on the wall for many people not just people in the church they see what's going the direction that the world is going to how would we handle that what will we think about for our children and grandchildren and see the changes in the in the society and what would it mean for them growing up what kind of world will they grow up in remember the days of old consider the years of many generations ask your father and he'll show you your elders and they will tell you when the most high divided their inheritance to the nations when he separated the sons of adam he set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the children of israel he's talking about physical israel there back in the old testament time for the lord's portion is his people jacob is the place of his inheritance jacob then and jacob today where we know the israelite nations of the world to be today jacob is the place of his inheritance god found him in a desert land and in the wasteland the howling wilderness he encircled him he instructed him you know god found us in a place of wilderness he found us in a life that we were going nowhere had no place to go just wandering around in circles really not knowing what the meaning of life was not having any idea of what it is to be alive or what the purpose of life was he found us and he instructed us and he continues to instruct us that's what we do every sabbath that's what we do every bible study that's what we do when we read the bible when we look at it we know the bible god says they're the words of instruction they're the words of correction they're the words of inspiration when we look at the bible read it as the word of god not just a memorization exercise but the instruction that he gives us he instructed him he kept him as the apple of his eye today still we're at the apple of god's eyes he knows every single thing that goes on with you and me you know so many are suffering today and i i ask god to to please let people remember that as their suffering he knows what's going on there's a purpose for it god doesn't do anything without a purpose and it's all designed to strengthen us and make us stronger and more trusting in him we just need to be loyal to him we need to ask him we need to see the things that he's doing and trust that he will bring us through but we always have to keep our eyes open what do you want to teach me what am i doing because if these things keep befalling me there is something i'm not doing the way that you want it done you know there's verses in the bible to tell us those trials what do the trials come for because god is directing us and if we're so stubborn that we don't get it he'll just keep giving him over and over and over again until we yield his way and his way is all of our life not just what we do with sabbath services not just what we do for us individually but with our families with the whole way of life that god has orchestrated and designed and instructed us in he kept him as the apple of his eyes he knows what's going on he loves us he wants us to be in his kingdom as an eagle verse 30 11 as an eagle stirs up his nest over its husbards over its young spreading out its wings taking them up carrying them on its wings so the lord alone led israel and there was no foreign god with him 40 years in the wilderness 40 years in the desert no food that they could see around them no water literally nothing just them and god and if they looked around them which they often do we we know what ancient israel did they would look where's the water where's the meat where's the bread did they need anything else besides god no god was more than able to provide everything they needed they with their human nature wanted to look back at egypt and say oh if we had been in egypt we still had the markets there we had all these things that we could do there they didn't need anything except god israel didn't seem to ever get that lesson that you can always trust in god you know the people of god today spiritual israel we need to come to that point in the times in our lives leading up to the return of jesus christ we need to get to the point where we know all we need is god we don't need the little gods we don't need the little things that we trust in the little things that hold us back from completely yielding to god and trusting him he gives us the time he gives us the time the lesson of ancient israel is all they needed was him all we need today is him but it takes time to get to that point it takes our focus in realizing that's where we need to be and we need to be coming out of the world as jesus christ said in a couple places in the bible including the end time in revelation 18 coming out of the world and learning excuse me and learning to trust in him more and more he will bring us to that point if we let him and if we know that's where we need to be going because in the end time when the beast power and the pull the full prophecies of the bible have come to fruition we will learn it is only god the trust we have in anything else will not deliver us it's only the trust and commitment to god verse 13 god made israel ride in the heights of the earth we know that today we live in a wonderfully blessed nation he made him ride in the heights of the earth that he might eat the produce of the fields he made him draw honey from the rock and oil from the flinty rock curds from cattle and the milk of the flock with the fat of lambs and rams of the breed of basian and goats with the choicest wheat and you drank wine the blood of the grapes but he gave him all these things and all these blessings to be intended but there's that but what israel did what we could be guilty of doing but jeshurin we see that in chapter 33 as well kind of a name for israel but joshua grew fat and kicked well those who mentioned before growing fat is kind of a sign of well you have plenty nothing wrong with having a little bit of that but look at the progression of where that fatness took israel you grew fat you grew thick you are obese and so god shows the progression here look at your look at your mental status you kind of took it a little easy you had plenty you're kind of like ezekiel 16 49 it says just like the sins of sodom and gomorrah what were they you had plenty of food you had lots of leisure time we kind of did that but you kind of let it get a little bit out of hand then you were thick and then you're obese and obese is a spiritual malady just like obesity can be a physical malady you know i worked in health care for many years and back in the time with the back of the time i left obesity was the third leading cause of death in america because of all the other things it led to you name it and obesity could lead to it you know today i was listening to a what you would consider a left-wing a left-wing celebrity and he was making some comments about everything that was going on and he made the comment you know i look around and i think of this pandemic that's there 80 percent of the people who have died have been obese maybe he went on to indicate we need to be looking at what we're doing maybe we need to become a healthier nation maybe you and i need to look at what our health is because god god has given us a way of life a way of life that's spiritual and physical as well and if we become if we allow this progression to go to where he says here in verse 15 we may see the maladies befall us that need to be corrected as we come back and become the lean fighting machine that god wants us to be as we fight against the wiles of the world and the cares of the world when he became yes he grew fat you grew thick you are a beast look what happened does that happen then he forsook god who made him then he forsook god who made him and he escortfully scornfully esteemed the rock of his salvation he just kind of forgot god because kind of went on his own way and and and whatever the spiritual illness they provoked him to jealousy with foreign gods with abominations they provoked him to anger and i read that verse back a couple weeks ago maybe you've taken the time to look at again what abominations are sometimes we think abominations are the absolute worst thing you could ever possibly do but if you go back and you look at leviticus 11 you look at leviticus 18 i think it is if you look at proverbs the first six chapters you see all the time that god calls what he calls abominations it is an eye-opener to us we need to be sure that we are not committing any of those what things that god would call abominations and believe me they are extant in the world in physical israel today they provoked him to jealousy with foreign gods with abominations they provoked him to anger verse 17 they sacrificed to demons not to god you know we're we're yielding to one of two spiritual forces in life we're either yielding to god and following his way or we're following satan's way there is no in between well there isn't there was an in-between but if it's an in-between it really is following satan's way it's either follow god or follow satan and look how god puts it here they sacrificed two demons not to god we know what the sacrifices of god are we know that we're just deny ourselves and follow god we know in romans 12 1-2 paul said that it's our only reasonable service to present ourselves as living sacrifices to god that is to deny self deny the world around us come out of it do what he says to do follow him explicitly carefully diligently and earnestly that's our service that's our reasonable service if we appreciate what god has given us and if we're doing anything different if we're still holding on to the little gods of the world our own ways of doing things putting ourselves and thinking we know a little better than god i'll just keep doing it my way then you know what we're sacrificing to demons you know paul and he's instructing timothy and i think it's first timothy 4 talks about the doctrine of demons people teaching the doctrine of demons that has to be kind of an eye-opener to people as they as they read that to hear about the doctrine the doctrine of demons but here he says that as well it's either god or someone else that we are sacrificing ourselves to keep your finger there in deuteronomy 32 let's look at a couple verses in the new testament that speak to the same thing first corinthians 10 and verse 19. paul writing to the church at corinth church of corinth would have had you know many of the problems that you and i you know face in the world around us today instructive uh this relative epistle to us first corinthians 10 19 paul says what am i saying that an idol is anything or what is offered to idols is anything it's like paul you know it's like no i'm not conscious of that but we need to watch what we're doing we may not even realize what we're doing rather verse 20 that the things with the gentile sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to god when they take their offerings to artemis and those other gods the names of which you can rattle off the things they sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to god and i don't want you to have fellowship with demons i want you to practice and live the pure religion the pure religion that god has called us to you can't drink the cup of the lord verse 21 and the cup of demons you cannot partake of the lord's table and of the table of demons choose god is what he's saying or do we provoke the lord to jealousy are we stronger than he look what he speaks to pride when we do things our own way and think oh that doesn't apply to me i can do this way god understands or i i want to interpret this verse this way even though the bulk of the bible the rest of the bible interprets it one way who do we who are we making stronger ourselves some friend some family member some child some employer who do we yield to who do we yield to some government authority some doctor some anything in the world around us that will tell us one thing when we should be looking at what the bible says and where we need to have our trust revelation revelation 9 at the end of time as the end of this age comes to a close and god starts raining the trumpets the trumpet plagues out on the world and verse 20 even though the world knows the things that are happening to them there is no natural explanation they can't look at and say oh you know we've known this from the time of whatever it's clear it's from god it's clear it's from god but they simply will not yield to him or accept it verse 20 revelation 9 the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues you know read read through chapter nine you know before we get to the feast of trumpets the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues they didn't repent of the work of their hands that they shouldn't worship demons and idols of gold silver brass stone and wood which can neither see no nor hear nor walk they didn't repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts they weren't willing to acknowledge any of it they were just going to keep holding on to those gods in the old testament it was the gods of baal and all those that we talk about today we know the gods that are there he lists some of them gold brass money economy military government the united states of america who could ever topple the united states of america it will stand forever right and we look around we look around the world and we see new gods we see new gods in the last couple years that weren't there that weren't there a few years ago we'll read about those as we head back to deuteronomy 32. we're in verse 17 they sacrifice to demons that's the world around us you and i need to be sure we're not sacrificing to demons we need to examine ourselves and make sure we are sacrificing our will and committing ourselves to god fully and completely they sacrificed to demons not to god they sacrificed to gods they did not know to new gods new arrivals that your fathers did not fear you know when i was growing up most of the time in the 60s a little bit in the 50s you know the america had a strong economy we didn't lack for anything you know we didn't have tons of money to do everything we wanted to do we lived comfortably we had a nice place to live and whatever but i don't remember growing up ever hearing about you know do this for the economy do this for the economy every december we hear about oh go out and buy go out and buy this go out and buy that do it for the economy and so we even have these little things it's no longer about that it's all about feeding the economy it's a sacrifice to the god of economy you know we have a military that's been frankly embarrassed in the last few weeks that people put their stock in you know one of the things that i heard not my own words heard it on on tv we might have the strongest military on the earth but do we have the strongest leaders on earth do we i don't know that's that's for you to make your decision on is it military there's new gods on the horizon the last couple of years too you know never before have we had kind of like a health care czar in america do this do that this is the right way this is what you need to do and so many people just oh okay okay if you say it if you say it i'll do it you know we need to we need to be thinking about the things we need to be seeing what the way of the world is we need to be understanding the spirit of the world and where it's going we need to be looking at the things and make sure we're not bowing down to new gods new arrivals new fears that can come our way things that our fathers didn't know things that we didn't know two or three years ago to gods they sacrificed to gods they didn't know verse 17 to new gods new arrivals and there will be more right we know revelation 13 there's a new god coming the beast power he's going to say worship me worship the image god after god after god after god will come our way at some point we're going to have to say no only the eternal god is who i follow new gods new arrivals that your fathers didn't fear of the rock who begot you you are unmindful you forgotten the god who fathered you and when the lord saw it he spurned them because of the provocation of his sons and daughters and he said i will hide my face from them i will see what their end will be for they are they are a perverse generation children in whom is no faith similar words that jesus christ said when i return am i going to find faith on earth a perverse generation children in whom is no faith well keep your finger in deuteronomy 32. again let's go to proverbs 1 read a few verses there because of this what god prophesies you know he records there for us of when he says let's see what the end of their ways will be you know god is not a god who makes us do anything he'll open our minds to the truth but he's not going to make us do his truth he's not going to make us be here every sabbath he's not going to make us refrain from telling that lie he's not going to re you know make us not do this it has to come from our heart it has to become what we do from our heart as his holy spirit leads us you know very nice if god every time we were about to make a mistake and a thought came into their mind he tapped us on the shoulders and said uh uh uh that's not the way to do it that's the way it's going to be in the millennium right isaiah 30 that'll be what you and i are doing as a people learn the ways of god but his holy spirit does that today if we're paying attention letting our conscience guide us knowing the word of god and making sure we are following that conscience and not searing it and thinking that's okay god doesn't care it's not that important to him but let's look at proverbs 1 because here in the beginning of the book of proverbs you know he does talk about about this verse 20. proverbs 1. wisdom calls aloud outside you and i god calls it's his wisdom he gives it to us wisdom calls aloud outside she raises her voice in the open square she cries out in the chief concourses at the openings of the gates in the city she speaks her words every time you read the bible you're hearing your words every time you listen to a sermon you are hearing his words if a sermon from the church of god the true church of god and not other sermons you can hear on the internet but from the church of god if you're listening to bible studies if you're doing those things then you are getting the word of wisdom she speaks her words verse 22 how long you simple ones will you live some love simplicity scorners delight in their scorning fools hate knowledge i don't want to hear that i don't want to i don't want to hear that it goes against what i want to do turn god says at my rebuke surely i will pour out my spirit on you i will make my words known to you ask me turn your heart to me and i will give you what you were looking for i will give you the holy spirit i will lead you into truth and all the things that god wants us to have because i've called though verse 24 and you refused i've stretched out my hand that no one regarded because you disdained all my counsel and would have none of my rebuke i will laugh at your calamity i will mock when your terror comes when your terror comes like a storm and your destruction comes like a whirlwind when distress and anguish come upon you oh he won't laugh because he's happy it's like okay this is what you asked for this is what your actions said you wanted this is what you're getting what he's going to do now what gods are you going to turn to now who's going to deliver you then they will call on me i won't answer they'll seek me diligently but they won't find me because they hated knowledge they didn't choose the fear of the lord they would have none of my counsel and they despised my every rebuke therefore they will eat the fruit of their own way i'll let them make their decisions and they'll see and they'll learn for all eternity their way doesn't work god's way works they will eat the fruit of their own way and be filled with the fill of all their fancies for the turning away the simple will slay them and the complacency of fools will destroy them but whoever listens to me will dwell safely and will be secure without fear of evil i think enough said i think god makes it pretty clear i think one of the lessons we learned in life is god does let us go our own way and when we learn our lesson we better not keep repeating the same mistake we better learn repent and then go the way that god wants us to go we go back to deuteronomy 32 see where my time is here okay deuteronomy 32 i may keep you a little bit over today we'll see how this goes okay 32 verse 21. they have provoked me to jealousy by what is not god they've moved me to anger by their foolish idols notice he says foolish idols the things that they put their trust in they have moved me to anger by their foolish idols but i will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation isn't that interesting those who are not a nation you know the last few weeks we've heard of groups that are kind of scary that aren't nations groups like al qaeda groups like isis groups like taliban all those things that we hadn't heard of for a while but now all of a sudden they're back alive and well and they've been kind of resurrected from the dust over there they will be they will be provoked i will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation i will move them to anger by a foolish nation for a fire is kindled in my anger and shall burn to the lowest hell it shall consume the earth with her increase and set on fire the foundations of the mountains the kingdoms of this world go back and read joel 2. look how the kingdoms of this world will be shaken at the end time and without jesus christ's return all humanity would disappear because the world would do its its way which is satan's way which the end is complete destruction of mankind not the life that god wants to bring to mankind iowa verse 23 i will heap disasters on them i'll spend my arrows on them they'll be wasted with hunger devoured by pestilence and bitter destruction i will send against them the teeth of beasts with the poisons of serpents of the dust the sword shall destroy outside a nation that attacks from outside but there will be terror within terror within now think about what we've seen in recent times you've heard it if you've been listening to the news you've heard it all over the place about refugees coming no vetting going on no one knows exactly who these people are we hear things about sharia law that's what they like to practice we see a southern border that we keep hearing god is wide open with everyone who wants to walk in bringing in whatever they want whatever ideas they want who knows what god has planned but terror within can tear a nation apart very quickly and as we watch and keep our eyes open to what's going on in the world around us today the seeds are being set for terror within terror within terror within for the young man and virgin the nursing child with a man of gray hairs i'm going to give you ezekiel 7 verses 23 to 26 in fact all of ezekiel 7 that you can read later which builds on this prophecy which is the foundation of all prophecies in the bible where ezekiel says the same thing and he talks about a disaster will come the end has come he progresses through there and talks about the same things moses said in verses 23 to 26 it says disaster upon disaster will come upon you one right after another it simply will not stop are we in that time are we in that time where we see disaster upon disaster and things just building on themselves and multiplying so quickly it makes your head spin verse 26 i would have said i'll dash them in pieces i'll make the memory of them deceased from among men god is so angered by what israel has done and how they responded to him with the blessings that he's rained down on them i would have done this had i not feared bad translation had i not feared the wrath of the enemy lest their adversary should misunderstand and say our hand is high it's not the lord who has done all this come on god is the one who allows all these things to happen in any nation you know like we saw on the tv with the afghans you know celebrating over there after their victory god says i'll punish them as well unless their victory should misunderstand say look what we've done our hand is high it's not god who's done all this for they are a nation void of counsel nor is there any understanding in them oh that they were wise that they understood this if they could see what was happening if they would wake up if they would look at the roses they would look at the buds that would know what to do know what is happening oh that they were wise that they understood this that they would consider their latter end talking about us today the times we live in it's all there how could one chase a thousand and two put ten thousand to flight unless their rock had sold them unless god departed from them unless fear gripped them they no longer had the will might or even wisdom to know what to do anymore and as we look around we see wisdom we see wisdom departing very quickly with some of the things we hear and scratch our heads about how could this happen unless their rock had sold them unless the lord had surrendered them unless he said my blessing i take off of them because they are a perverse generation they completely and they continue to multiply the abominations that they promote in the land that they call evil good but all the good evil for their rock their rock their little gods their governments their way of doing things their rock is not like our rock not like you're in my rock even our enemies themselves being judges their vine is the vine of sodom we know where sodom that vine led to complete and utter destruction their vine is the vine of sodom and of the fields of gomorrah their grapes are grapes of gall their clusters are bitter their wine is the poison of serpents it leads to absolute destruction misery pain torture great tribulation end of age and of mankind if jesus christ didn't come to return to save mankind from himself their wine is the poison of serpents of the cruel venom of cobras verse 34 isn't this laid up in store with me sealed among my treasures i know what's going on i know how it's going to happen i know israel i know their minds i know how satan works i know it is all going to be there write this song down take it to the bank i'm going to let them do their own thing but i know how it's going to end up because they're following the way of satan as opposed to my way and there's only one thing that satan is interested in and that is destruction and yet my people and i'll talk about spiritual israel now still put their stock still put their stock and look at some of those things in the world well it's time that we paid attention to become coming out of that world avengers is mine verse 35 and recompense their foot shall slip into time for the day of their calamity is at hand and the things to come hasten upon them verse 36 god will judge his people but you know god never forgets israel physical israel he always has compassion on them he wants them to learn their lesson his mission and his purpose and his will is that we will all turn to him he remembers abraham he remembers the promises that he made he remembers the promises that he's made to you and me do we remember the covenants that we made with him do we remember the vows that we made to him and are we doing them the lord will judge his people he'll have compassion on his servants when he sees their power is gone and there is no one remaining bond or free he will say where are their gods the rock in which they sought refuge who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offering let them rise up and help you let them be your refuge that's what you chose that's where you put your trust let's see what they can do for you now see verse 39 that i even i am he there is no god besides me i kill and i make alive i wound and i heal nor is there any who can deliver from my hand for i rise my hand to heaven and say as i live forever if i wet my glittering sword and my hand takes hold on judgment i will render vengeance to my enemy and repay those who hate me i will make my arrows drunk with blood my sword shall devour flesh with the blood of the slain and the captives from the heads of the leaders to the enemy but god knows where his saints are chapter 33 let's quickly read through verses two through five clearly a prophecy for the future a time yet ahead of us god gave these words to moses and he said the lord came from sinai and dawned on them from seer he shone forward from mouth mount peran and he came with ten thousands of saints jesus christ returning to earth with the saints who know the song of moses who have learned who understand god who understand the way of man who have rejected them own selves and clung to god and yielded to him completely he came with ten thousands of saints from his right hand came a fiery law for them yes he loves the people all his saints are in your hand they sit down at your feet everyone receives your words moses commanded a law for us a heritage of the congregation of jacob and he was king in jerushan when the leaders of the people were gathered all the tribes of israel together and then he goes into the prophecies of the tribes of israel for the end time now let's remember who god is let's be focused let's be cognizant of the times we live in let's keep our eyes on god let's be thinking about turning to him in everything we do let's stop and think before we act and we just do what someone in the government or someone someone says let's think and check where god's spirit is leading you know john tells us discern the spirits test the spirits whether they're of god or whether they're not that's our jobs to do he'll lead us to that he'll do that he gives us time he knows we're weak he knows we have to build the character and build what we need to become to withstand the time ahead of us and as we go through the rest of our lives he'll teach us he'll teach us the song of moses so when you and i are standing with jesus christ we'll know that song you'll understand the plan of god i want to close and give you one assignment from now until the end of the feast if you'll turn with me back to deuteronomy deuteronomy 31 we read about the song that that we've just read that moses recorded that god said keep this keep this teach it to them let it be a witness against them here's the foundation of all prophecy and everything that's going to be going going on forward in verse 9 says of deuteronomy 31 moses wrote this law and delivered it to the priests the sons of levi who bore the ark of the covenant of the lord and to all the elders of israel and it's delivered to you and me and moses commanded them saying at the end of every seven years at the appointed time in the year of release at the feast of tabernacles when all israel comes to appear before the lord your god in the place he chooses notice all israel go to the place where he chooses to you to be when all israel comes to appear before the lord your god and the place which he chooses you shall read this law before all israel in their hearing gather the people together men and women and little ones and the stranger within your gates that they may hear and that they may learn to fear the lord your god and carefully observe all the words of this law i'm going to close and i'm going to give you an assignment i'm not going to follow up on but we haven't done this for a while but between now and september 28th which is the last great day the eighth day that we'll be in daytona or wherever you're going for the feast take your family take yourself and let's do what god said let's do what god said and read through this book of deuteronomy just don't read through it quickly just to fill us an assignment meditate on it think about it and let god speak let's let god speak to us direct us and instruct us

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Published: Sat Sep 04 2021