REMEMBER THE LORD…

BIBLE PASSAGE: Deuteronomy 8:1-18

• Picture taken from Google
• Lesson Prepared by: Krisha of Solomon’s Wisdom FB page
• Scheduled Teacher: Sis.Roxanna Z.Velena
• Lesson Revised Dated Aug.18,2019

December 18, 2022

 

MEMORY VERSE

But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.

Deuteronomy 8:18

 

INTRODUCTION:

This month is a month of giving because of the special day we celebrate every year, commemorating Christ’s birth. With this, it’s normal to receive gifts from love ones and friends and sometimes because it’s normal, the word “thank you” is just two words we say with our own mouths.

Another thing, we will surely give gifts to our “inaanaks” and what would you feel if your gifts are not appreciated or haven’t received a word of “thanks?”

 

There is a Filipino saying, “Ang hindi lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makakaparoon sa paroroonan” is a good saying in terms of remembering who you were in the past and this makes you thankful and humble. We always say to people who have been successful “He or She has changed a lot” and sometimes we judge them with their ways and attitude at the present without thinking that there’s big possibility that we will be the same with them if our status in life changed. Therefore, it’s hard to promise that you wouldn’t be the same with others who easily forget what they were, before they are become successful. Another thing if you would not be saying any promise, there’s also tendency you would do nothing. Now what is the key for staying your faith, Christian attitude and status despite of your success? In our lesson for today it says, “REMEMBER THE LORD”.

 

LESSON OUTLINE:

1.  REMEMBER WHERE OUR BLESSINGS AND PROVISION COME FROM (V.10)

¹⁰ When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.

-      This passage starts with an excellent piece of advice: when you are satisfied, content or fulfilled, your first reaction should be to thank God and praise Him for what He has done. We’re used to thanking God for a meal, but what about our wages? When you open your paycheck or check your direct deposit, is your first thought to praise God for providing your money? https://bible.org/seriespage/biography-betrayer-matthew-261-16

 

-      In times of abundance, it is easy to forget the Lord, or to at least no longer seek Him with the urgency we once had. Also, we often think highly of our own hard work and brilliance. Yet we must see that God gives us the body, the brain, and the talent. It is all of God.

-      Proverbs 30:9-10 say, “Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:  Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.” These are some of the verses prove that life situations make us forget the Lord or either become disobedient in His words. If we just remember that everything we have comes from God, we would not be stray.

 

2.  REMEMBER THERE IS WARNING FOR FAILURE TO RECOGNIZE THIS (V.11-14).

We have heard many words and promises coming from people before they became successful and they always answer, “I’m still the person whom you knew before and I would remain as it should be” but though there were some words of certainty that they would remain the same, they still change as the years go by. What makes a person forget the Lord without his knowledge?

Here, we see how we get into trouble.

-      Many people find that it is easier to praise God in their suffering than it is

 to praise Him in their success.

-      Success often blinds us to God’s provisions. Success lulls us into a false sense of self-sufficiency, and that only leads us away from God

-      When things are going good—job promotions, raised incomes, obedient children, good grades—it is easy to sit back and think that we deserve these things.

-      As we convince ourselves that our blessings are the result of only our own hard work, we slowly begin to lose sight of the Lord.

-      Verse 14 issues a solemn warning that we cannot ignore. If we keep our eyes on our own accomplishments, then our hearts become proud.

-      The indictment of pride is a serious offense. Pride is one of the few things of which Scripture says God absolutely hates. (Proverbs 6:16–19)

https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/god-owns-it-all-mark-mitchell-sermon-on-trusting-god-

-      Pride doesn’t exist in our hearts instantly; it grows slowly and sometimes we don’t recognize it. It is very subtle, and we need to be aware of it and have that discernment by keep on meditating God’s word and be prayerful.

 

3.  REMEMBER WHAT GOD HAS DONE IN THE PAST TO STAND STRONG TODAY (V.15-16)

¹⁵ Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint;

¹⁶ Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;

 

This passage drives home the point that God is the one who has done the work. Speaking to the Israelites, Moses recounts all of God’s miracles throughout their journeys through the desert. The overriding theme in these two verses is clear: God did it. Whatever it is you think you accomplished, think again. God did it.

 

Have you remembered something happened in the past that makes you realize today why that situation happened? Have you experienced being betrayed? Have you experienced being alone? Have you experienced sadness because you were away from people you love? Have you experienced staying in the dark? These are the things happened to Joseph but at the end he didn’t blame the people made him experienced those things because he saw these as the hand of God guiding him to help his family. It was God’s will.

 

Sometimes people remember their past and make them proud of themselves but in this point, God is pointing out that remember the blessings of the Lord. Like the Israelites, God reminded them by asking: who led them in the wilderness? who fed them? and who guarded them to make them safe? Whatever we face today it’s the best to rely on god in bad times as well as bad because He knows everything we take.

Let me tell you a story got from the internet

During World War II, a US marine was separated from his unit on a Pacific Island. The fighting had been intense, and in the smoke and the crossfire he had lost touch with his comrades.

Alone in the jungle, he could hear enemy soldiers coming in his direction. Scrambling for cover, he found his way up a high ridge to several small caves in the rock. Quickly he crawled inside one of the caves. Although safe for the moment, he realized that once the enemy soldiers looking for him swept up the ridge, they would quickly search all the caves and he would be killed.

As he waited, he prayed, "Lord, if it be your will, please protect me. Whatever your will though, I love you and trust you. Amen."

After praying, he lay quietly listening to the enemy begin to draw close. He thought, "Well, I guess the Lord isn't going to help me out of this one.." Then he saw a spider begin to build a web over the front of his cave.

As he watched, listening to the enemy searching for him all the while, the spider layered strand after strand of web across the opening of the cave.

"Ha, he thought. "What I need is a brick wall and what the Lord has sent me is a spider web. God does have a sense of humor."

As the enemy drew closer, he watched from the darkness of his hideout and could see them searching one cave after another. As they came to his, he got ready to make his last stand. To his amazement, however, after glancing in the direction of his cave, they moved on. Suddenly, he realized that with the spider web over the entrance, his cave looked as if no one had entered for quite a while. "Lord, forgive me," prayed the young man. "I had forgotten that in you a spider's web is stronger than a brick wall."

We all face times of great trouble. When we do, it is so easy to forget the victories that God would work in our lives, sometimes in the most surprising ways. As the great leader, Nehemiah, reminded the people of Israel when they faced the task of rebuilding Jerusalem, "In God we will have success!" [Nehemiah 2:20]

Remember: Whatever is happening in your life, with God, a mere spider's web can become a brick wall of protection. Believe He is with you always. Just speak His name through Jesus His son, and you will see His great power and love for you.

Source Unknown 

4.   WE ARE CALLED TO “REMEMBER THE LORD” BECAUSE HE IS THE ONE WHO GIVES US THE ABILITY TO PRODUCE WEALTH (V. 17- 18)

¹⁷ And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.

¹⁸ But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.

Verse 17 says what most of think in our moments of triumph: “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me. That is, “Hey, look what I did! I worked hard and I made this money!” How often have we said, or at least thought, something like this? Verse 18 tells us the antidote to this kind of self-congratulation

 

It is interesting that in the opening of the passage, we are warned not to forget (a passive act), and here at the end, we are called to actively remember. This shows that forgetting something, or someone, is easy. We just relax our minds, focus on the things we can put our hands on, and let the important things slip right out of our minds. However, remembering is more intentional. It is active. It indicates a sharp, controlled and disciplined mind. We can forget something accidentally, but we must focus to remember. I think this is one way in which Scripture is calling us to master our thoughts.

 

5.   REMEMBER GOD OWNS EVERYTHING (PSALM 24:1)

“The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.”

-Psalm 24:1-

God owns it all. That doesn’t just mean that God owns all the land and all the “stuff.” It means:

-      God gives us our abilities.

-      God gives us our resources.

-      God gives us our skills and talents.

-      God gives us opportunities to earn money.

-      God gives us bodies and strength and energy to work.

-      God gives our employers the money to pay us with.

 

There is a story of a wife of an Indonesian businessman named Erny. She is a survivor of tsunami in Indonesia in the year 2004. She is 36 years old when it happened. Erny and her husband owned a business selling motorbike spare parts and a repair workshop for motorbikes. She has often shared with people that before she knew the Lord Jesus, her business was just normal but after knowing the Lord personally through their teacher and evangelist Mirna, who frequently comes to Malabo, She could see the abundant blessing of God upon their family and business. More importantly, she has become God fearing, leaving her bad temper, her old sinful habits and all that are not related to God. So successful was their workshop business that they became well-known from the western part of Ache to the regions of Sin bang. Not only they were blessed materially, but more importantly, they were blessed spiritually as well. They had peace, marital joy, good children, good health and a purposeful life serving the Lord. These are the blessings that they received from the goodness of our Lord Jesus. He is so kind to those who believe and love Him.

To make the story short, they experienced great earthquake and she thought she was the only person in the family survived in the tsunami because of the waves. When the water subsided, she saw the dead people. She was relieved a little when shemet pastor Amyati there. He is the shepherd of our congregation and he greeted and hugged her. Erny whispered in her ear, “I am all alone in this world now.” Then he reprimanded me and said, “Sister, don’t have such awful thoughts, we do not know yet. Put your hope in God. Come, let us pray for them.” Shortly afterwards, someone greeted her and told her that her children and her husband are safe. She shouted for joy, giving thanks to God because He saved her most precious possession. She cannot describe the relief she felt. She cried and cried. “Thank you Lord. Even though our 4 shops and the two cars (totaling five billion rupiahs) were destroyed, our lives are more precious than all of these. Once again, Amyati asked me to pray and give thanks to God for His mighty love.

That night, many thoughts went through her mind. They had lost all their possessions. She had plans to redecorate their home, to make it more beautiful. She had plans to increase her  wealth and also various plans for the future right up to their retirement age, because she was already 41. But human thoughts and plans are futile. The glory of the world is like vapor, God says. Then she understood the part in the Bible where God says,

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways”.

One wonderful lesson she’s learned from this that tsunami is that from now on, she must be faithful in tithing and be grateful that the Lord is most gracious and loving – He did not repay her from her wrong doings but gave safety to her family. She believes that as she tithes, everything that was lost will be returned. God’s Word is never wrong. She was one that was wrong all the while and, in the future, she will strive to be faithful in all things.

 

Sometimes tragedy happens for us to realize that God is the owner of all things and He’s in control of everything. This reminds us not to be proud and be humble because we can do nothing without God.

 

CONCLUSION:

God also wants us to remember how He specially cares for us. He is good.

8:3 And He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD."

God does humble His people. He humbled the Israelites in the desert. He had them become hungry. Hunger is a very desperate need. Sometimes man is so consumed in his perspective of life, though, that there is no other way to correct man's waywardness other than through destroying the very things that he cherishes. You, like I, would not like to go through times of hunger. God has a clear purpose, however. We need to understand something. This understanding is so important that the Lord God is willing to break our personal piggy banks and bring our societies through chaotic times.