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feast: Souvenirs

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Given 03-Oct-26; Sermon #FT26-08PM; 63 minutes

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We all know what a souvenir is, do not we? Something we bring home from a trip or an event like a concert or a movie or a ball game, and we buy these souvenirs to remind us that we were there and we had this certain experience at that place. The New Oxford American Dictionary defines the word souvenir as quote, a thing that is kept as a reminder of a person, place, or event. So, it's a memento. The word came into English fairly late I, or I should say fairly recently. It was only the late 17th century that it came into English from French, and in French, it means a memory. The French word derives from Latin. Sub venere And that word. Literally means come up to. Thus I guess you could translate it as to occur to or to come to mind. So a souvenir is a remembrance. We sometimes take souvenirs home with us from the feast. Especially if we attend a feast at a place where we've never been, it's a new occasion. We, we want to remember the setting for that feast. I used to collect shot glasses. Not that there was anything in them, but uh. When we would go to various places, not just for the feast, but traveling for the church or taking a personal vacation, we went to a new place. I would often get a shot glass until Beth complained about how much room they were taking up in the China cabinet. Some people collect T-shirts. Mugs Some people have way too many mugs. Postcards. Magnets, matchbooks. Can you even get matchbooks anymore? I guess you can, but. Yeah, every gas station used to have one in the day. Uh, spoons. That's a big one. People collect spoons with, you know, this national park or this place on, on the the handle. Snow globes With, you know, the little Eiffel Tower in them or something. Laura, it really, let's let's just be honest here. They're knickknacks. Uh, they are nothing special. But it's something you can display at home and show people who come in your house, where you've been and, and uh, you know, have a little fun collecting something. But Just looking at them, if you have them displayed somewhere, just looking at them immediately brings memories to the owner's mind of the time he or she spent at that particular place or at that particular event that they visited. Which brings us to a critical point about souvenirs. The souvenir is usually a cheap trinket. Probably costs pennies to make. And they are sold for a few bucks at the tourist trap shops. And they sell them by the thousands to the multitudes that come walking through whatever the the venue is. Every day But the true value of a souvenir is not in the trinket. Though it might be attractive in in a certain way. Their value lies in the memories they evoke. When the owner looks at them later on. You can prove this. It's very easy to prove that. The actual thing Is not valuable at all, but it's the memory. You know how you can do this? Give them to somebody else. You know what happens? They end up chucked in the trash because they are worthless to them. Cause they do not have the memories that are attached to that particular 2 cent piece of junk. Souvenirs are a fairly recent phenomenon. But memorials, remembrances, and memory are as old as humanity. We have recently figured out, thanks to a study that David has done. That the 8th day is an appointed time when God wants us to retain learned truths and principles to carry us through to Passover and beyond and maybe throughout your whole life. They teach us principles these feast days, and God wants us to remember them. So I ask you, what spiritual souvenirs will you take from this year's feast? We've mentioned in sermons and articles recently that Scripture tells us actually very little specifically about the 8th day. It is tied to the Feast of Tabernacles, which we just came through, but it is its own distinct festival. On it, God requires fewer sacrifices than the sacrifices he requires during the Feast of Tabernacles. He does not command his people to live in temporary dwellings on this 8th day, although we normally do because we are here and home is far enough away that we do not run home. They could do that in Jerusalem if they were Jerusalemites. They could live out in a temporary dwelling in their yard or wherever they put it up. Uh, but and they could take it down after the, the 7th day and go sleep in their own beds that night on the 8th day, but it doesn't work out that way for us. Uh, God also does not tell us necessarily to rejoice on this day. That's for the 7 days of the feast, and the 8th day, as was brought out a little while ago, has a different character to it. Let's go to Leviticus 23. We'll read verses 36 and 39 to see what the Bible tells us about this day. So Leviticus 23. 36 For 7 days, you shall offer an offer made by fire to the Lord. Here's the part about the 8th day. On the 8th day, you shall have a holy convocation and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. It is a sacred assembly and you shall do no customary work. Note that phrase, sacred assembly, down to verse 39. Also on the 15th day of the 7th month when you have gathered, gathered in the fruit of the land. You shall keep the feast of the Lord for 7 days. On the 1st day there shall be a Sabbath rest, and on the 8th day a Sabbath rest, and that's pretty much it. The only difference Between the 1st and the 8th day. Um At least here in this context here, is that God commands not only a holy convocation, but he says it is also a sacred assembly. This distinction is also mentioned in the other places where the eighth day is mentioned in scripture. If you want to go there or just jot it down, Numbers 29:35. II Chronicles 7:9. And Nehemiah 8:18, all mention the feast being kept or offerings made on that day, the 8th day. I'm I'm thinking specifically of the number 29, but they all mentioned that the 8th day is also a sacred assembly. Only 2 days, 2 holy days have this distinction of being a sacred assembly, the last day of unleavened bread, and the 8th day. Both of which end 7 day festivals. Now, underneath the phrase sacred assembly in the Hebrew is a word, Strong 61:16, if you wanna look it up later, it's the Hebrew word at Zeret. A T Z E R E T at Surret. And it implies a holy convocation with a special purpose. It is a holy convocation, but it is also a sacred assembly. At Zaret Derives from a root word strong 6113. Atsar, A T S A R. As I mentioned, it's a root word, and it contains the ideas of stopping. of restraining Of closing And of retaining. Now these concepts that are uh. That we can get out of Azar, help us to glimpse how sacred assemblies differ from the normal holy convocation that we have on the other holy days. Now, I will not go through stopping, restraining, closing just for lack of time. I want to focus. On the idea of retaining. That's why I, I opened up with the idea of a souvenir. To retain something. is to keep possession of it, to hold, maintain, and preserve it for a length of time. In terms of information or instruction, synonyms of retain are remember. Recall Recollect Memorize Come to mind Keep in mind And bear in mind. So, God wants us. In this sacred assembly, To spend time on the 8th day recognizing what he is taught. So we do not forget the lessons we heard when we returned back into the world, returned to our normal lives, and are in all the distractions that this world puts up in our faces all the time. He intends this sacred sacred assembly to help us to hold on to the teachings of the previous days of the feasts. Allowing us to reflect on what we heard, what we experienced. To glean profitable lessons that we can take home and use. He wants us to keep in mind the good that this feast produced. In a word, on this holy day, he desires that we collect a few spiritual souvenirs from this feast. It would be an excellent exercise. I'm just making a recommendation here. To take some time as soon as possible, perhaps tonight before bed, perhaps tomorrow when you're traveling please do not do this if you're behind the wheel, but It would be good To remember To write down What the messages in this feast have taught you. Go through your notes Examine them a bit Remember Try to retain some of the major ideas and principles that were talked about. Find a way to cement these souvenirs, these spiritual souvenirs in your memory. They are takeaways that you can mull over between now and Passover. And perhaps for years to come. Ask yourself, what themes did God stress through the messages, through the music? Through your conversations, what kept coming up? What was God trying to teach you through this feast? What details from the feast, from your conversations, messages, etc. Will help you cope In days to come. What principles? Will help you overcome. What did you learn about growth toward the kingdom of God? What is surprising. About God, perhaps, or something from scripture. That really made you think. Maybe it was a personal inspiration that God wants you to mull over in the coming months. But he wants you to remember and retain. Then I mean, it's fine if it's a memory, but it does no good just sitting in your brain as a memory. Put them into practice. Those principles that you learned. The new things that you, you found out about God in His way, because that's where the growth will start to show. I mean, really. Don't just show that do not just know that God wants us to have humility, be humble. Don't just agree that God desires kindness. Be kind Don't just assent to God's call for reconciliation and unity, reconcile and be unified. We love knowledge God loves action God wants it to come out in action, so it become will become solid character. Cause it's usually not until we do that we start reinforcing it by habit as part of us, what we are, what our character is. I think you get the picture. Do not let the feast teaching. Teachings go to waste. You've had 7, now 8 days of intense learning experiences. Use it for real character growth. I mean, you're not getting paid to be here. You might as well use it for something good. So Fulfill The purpose of the sacred assembly. And remember And retain For the rest of the sermon. We're going to go through The Book of Deuteronomy, all 32 chapters of it. No 34 chapters. No, I'm just kidding. But Deuteronomy is a book that has an important link to the Feast of Tabernacles. Please turn to Deuteronomy 31. And we will read verses 10 through 13. Now, this is not one of those years in which God commands us to read the Book of Deuteronomy at the Feast of Tabernacles, but um, For some reason, this book is important to him. In terms of the Feast of Tabernacles, and he wants us to read it at the feast. Every 7 years To get certain principles out of it and inculcate them in our minds and in our, our behavior. Let's go ahead and read this starting in verse 10. Uh, Moses commanded them, saying, at the end of every 7 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 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 who is 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 and that their children who have not known it may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land which you cross the Jordan to possess. OK, he wants us to read the book of Deuteronomy because it contains a condensed version of the law. It is, that's what its name is. Deuteronomy means in Greek the second law. Law number 2, I mean it really means a repeat of the law and It's a little bit different from what is shown in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus Numbers because it's, it's focused on the children of Israel going in to possess the land. A lot of the terms in the law changed just a little bit. Because now they are going to apply them not in the wilderness anymore but in the land, and he makes very specific, says uh, very specific instructions about when you go into the land you're going to possess. Across Jordan, you, you do it this way. There will be one place where I will place my name and you will come and worship me there and you will build one altar and that's the only place that you can sacrifice to me and etc. etc. etc. There is a lot of those laws that are specifically focused on dwelling in the land. And so he wants The people, the children of Israel to go over this every 7 years. Every generation So that the people will know how that they, they can please God and keep the covenant in the land. There will not be any forgetting, or there shouldn't have been. We know Israel, um, but he, he did this so that they will. Uh, have the constant reiteration of what God expects of them every 7 years. Well, that's done at the Feast of Tabernacles. And In applying it to this subject that I'm giving you I thought I would pull out from the Book of Deuteronomy. A list of scriptures in which God tells the children of Israel to remember something. I thought it would be profitable. To use it as an exercise to see what God thought would be important souvenirs for them to take with them into the land. We will not dwell on each one very long. I, I have 8 of them. We'll just touch on them and see the principle that God pulled out. Uh, sometimes they are a little strange, but he tells them to remember these certain things. He wants them to think about these certain things as they go into the land and prepare to live before him well, in his kingdom. So let's go to Deuteronomy 5. This one is in the midst of the 10 Commandments. Uh, if you want, you can jot down chapter 1515. Chapter 16 3. Also verse 12 of chapter 16. And verse excuse me, chapter 24 verses 18 and 22. So that's 15:15, 16, 3 and 12, and 24, 18 and 22. They say essentially the same thing as Deuteronomy 5:15. God says it's the end of the Sabbath command here, and remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm. Therefore, the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. OK In this first one God wanted them to remember not just their slavery that they had endured in Egypt. Uh, that would be the thing that probably would dwell with them the most because they had experienced it for a long time. And they would always be hearkening back to the fact that they had been slaves. But more importantly, God wanted them to remember that he brought them out of it. Maybe I should re-emphasize that, that he brought them out of it. He did it all for them. He did it because he had made a promise to Abraham that he would bring them up from the land of their bondage into the land of Canaan. Really, as we've said in the past, all they had to do was walk, walk out of Egypt, because he had done everything for them. All they had to do was choose to follow Moses. He faced down Pharaoh, he sent the plagues, he sent the leader in Moses, and in Aaron and he made everything happen to get them out of the land of Egypt. Now this of course applies to us. Because spiritually, we've also been walked out, led from slavery. Paul writes in Romans 6:16 through 22. Romans 6:16, do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether to whether of sin to death or of obedience to righteousness. But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered and having been set free. From sin you became slaves of righteousness. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh, for just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness and of lawlessness, leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed, for the end of those things is death. But now, having been set free. Passive voice here, uh. It was done to them. It was done for them, for us, having been set free from sin and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness and the end everlasting life. We're in the same boat. In a way, as those children of Israel. We can remember the slavery we had to sin before God called us. But now Having done so much for us. And all we had to do was walk out of the world. I know it was difficult. It was, I know that, uh. There are pools in the world, the pools of our family, of pools of culture but God made all of that fall down. Uh, all of that give in so that you could walk out of this world, walk out of a life of sin. He did everything. Christ Has set us free. And now we are slaves of righteousness for holiness. Unto eternal life. Remember that. OK, back to Deuteronomy, chapter 7, verses 17 and 18. Deuteronomy 7:17 and 18 If you should say in your heart, these nations are greater than I, how can I dispossess them? You shall not be afraid of them, but you shall remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt. This is very similar to the one we just spoke about. The context here is the children of Israel going up into the land. And conquering them, but they were afraid. They had a great deal of fear that they were not strong enough. They were afraid of the things that they might encounter when they crossed into, into Canaan over Jordan. And God Tells them to remember how strongly he stood for them before Pharaoh. Many of them were alive at that time. Even though it had been 40 years since they had come out of Egypt, this was the next generation. So there was a memory there. That they could consider about how strong God was in the face of the greatest empire in the world at the time, and the greatest emperor, the king, the Pharaoh of Egypt. He was no match for God. He was the same God that stood up to Pharaoh, that was leading them across Jordan, and would lead them to victory over the Canaanites. So what he did to Pharaoh, he can definitely do to the Much weaker kings of Canaan. We serve the same God. The Almighty sovereign God, the Lord of hosts. So We do not have to fear the people. The managers, the executives, the corporate heads, the politicians the, the great and mighty of this world. Or any kind of obstacle that might come up along the way to the kingdom. Just follow God. He's strong enough. To defeat any enemy that might come against us, we do not need to fear. But if we begin to fear, the instruction here is to remember. Remember what God has done to Pharaoh. And he's the same God. He can take down whatever enemy you may have. And Paul gives us again. Parallel instruction in Ephesians, um, The 6th chapter I just want verse 10 of chapter 6, Ephesians 6:10. Um Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord. And in the power of his might. Don't forget that He's called you specifically. Individually He's empowered you by his spirit. And he says, follow me. He's not some weakling. That needs our help He's the great almighty God, the great divine warrior. Who will take down our enemies right and left. Let him fight your battles. Remember that he is strong, and if he is strong, then you are strong, because he is in you. And he's helping you move forward. And he'll conquer before you. To bring you into his kingdom. OK, back to Deuteronomy. We have a couple here in chapter 8. Starting in verse one. Deuteronomy 8:1-2. Every commandment which I command you today, you must be careful to observe that you may live and multiply and go in and possess the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers, and you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these 40 years in the wilderness. To humble you and to test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. Remember, again, Remember God. Remember that he is out in front. He is the leader. God did not Save the Israelites out of Egypt. And then abandon them in the wilderness. He did not liberate them from slavery and say, well, I guess I've done enough, you're on your own. No, he led them every step of the way, all the way these 40 years. It's not only distance, but time. He was there the whole time. In the cloud, in the fire, in the tabernacle, speaking to them audibly sometimes, or at least through Moses, sending out fire for them to see, knowing that he was the one that was directly directing their battles, directing their direction because they had to follow the cloud. He was there letting them know that he was there. He guided them, he protected them, he fed them. He watered them How much did he do? He was busy those 40 years. Helping them But he says he did this to humble them. To find out what they were made of. To get an idea if they would obey him, to keep his commandments, takes a while. He wanted to see what they were made of. Whatever he did, it was for their good. He wanted to bind them closer to him. And make them into useful servants. But People's memories are short. They get They get confused Shiny things distract them. So It did not work out with that generation very well. God says in Hebrews 3 that they disobeyed, they tested him, and they all died in the wilderness. See, what they forgot to do was remember that God led them all the way those 40 years in the wilderness. And gave them everything that they needed. But they wanted more or they wanted different. And that's not good They were They purposely Ignored Or even forgot that God was with them. But you know what? In Jesus Christ We have a God who is in us. He's not in the pillar of fire or in the cloud. He's actually in us. That's one of his names, Emmanuel. God with us He's making us into a kingdom of priests. And he wants us to remember he's with us all the way. He said as he left the disciples, at the end of Matthew 28:20, he says, I will be with you always, even to the end of the age. He's leading, guiding, teaching, uh. Feeding protecting us. Even more closely than he did the Israelites. Don't forget it. We may not see him physically, but he's always there. And he's always working. To bring us to the kingdom of God. OK, let's go down the page here to verse 18. Notice how many of these have to do with remembering God. That's a sad indictment on us that we forget God so often. Verse 18, you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers as it is this day. God wants us to remember that he is the source of our blessings. It's not our own might. It's not because we are stronger than some other people. It's not for any other reason than he gives it. He provides it to us. We do not get them on our own. We do not deserve them. But he gives them to us because he loves us. He gives us the power to get wealth, if that is. What is necessary, he gives us power to lead. He gives us power to serve. He gives us power to do whatever it is that we must do as his servants. He goes, goes on to say that if we forget this, what happens is we end up in idolatry. And breaking the covenant. So we have to remember that he is the source. He is our God. He will prosper us and lead us to our inheritance, the right and best way. Don't think you know more than God. Don't think that the way that you choose is going to get you there faster or better because it's not true. God knows you better than you know you. And so he will prosper us and lead us to our inheritance in a way that will be best for us in the long run. And it might look like a diversion to you or a disaster. And often it is when you look at it from human eyes. But he's teaching something. And helping us to get where we need to be. Normally if we take the road of wanting to get wealth or power in our own way, it's all selfish ambition. It's our human nature rising up and wanting to get for ourselves. We will not go there, but the apostle Paul in Philippians 2 tells us, as we saw earlier in the feast, that selfish ambition is directly contrary to the mind of Christ. He was humble. We do not want to be grasping. What does it say there in Philippians 2? He did not even think that holding on to his position there at the right hand of God was something to be grasped at. He willingly, voluntarily, Humbled himself and became a worm of a human. If you will To do the work for us so that we can be saved. All right, let's go to the next chapter, Deuteronomy 9:7. Yeah. Remember, and do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness from the day that you departed from the land of Egypt until you came to this place. They were right sitting, sitting there right across the Jordan from uh Canaan. You have been rebellious against the Lord. Well, The example we have from the children of Israel is that they left, they let human nature lead them into murmuring and testing God and rebelling every other week. God would have been entirely justified to wipe them all out. But he forbore with them. To keep his promises. It was not his character. To just wipe them out, give up and start again. He thought about it I just told him Well, you need to think about the witness of this, you know, what will the, will the nations think if you start over with my family, and I do not want that. So, God had mercy on them. But he also points out here. That This provoking God. And testing God rebelling against him. It's natural for human beings. It's something we would do. Because we have human nature. We should be better But he, he wants us from a New Covenant point of view. To consider this, to consider. Our proclivities as human beings. That we would follow. The example of the Israelites. If we Allowed ourselves to be distracted. Let's go to I Corinthians 10. Those Corinthians. Paul has to remind them about this. Mhm He's making a parallel between the church and the Israelites here, the children of Israel. We'll, we will start in verse 5. But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things became our examples to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted and do not become idolaters, as were some of them. As it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play, nor let us commit sexual immorality as some of them did. And in one day 23,000 fell. Nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them were also tempted and were destroyed by serpents, nor murmur, as some of them also murmured and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition on whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore, let him who thinks he stands. Take heed lest he fall. That's what I'm selling you through this souvenir. Don't think you're so strong that there is some, there is nothing out there that you could tempt you to go the wrong way. That's the first step toward falling into sin. Thinking yourself, priding yourself on your own righteousness. So God is telling us through Paul, through, through Moses. That if we follow their example. We'll suffer their fate. So we need to be careful. We need to understand ourselves. And pull ourselves back from the brink when human nature takes over. And repent, seek forgiveness from God for those proud thoughts. Just be aware That even though you have God's Holy Spirit and you're walking in the way of God. That you could still fail if you. Give in to the world. If you're not careful. If you allowed your allow yourself to be led astray by something. All right, let's go to the next one. That, that was depressing. Um Let's go to Deuteronomy 24. Uh, this is the most surprising, remember statement in the book of Deuteronomy. Chapter 24 verse 9 Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam on the way out when he came out of Egypt. Remember what God did to Miriam. This is in the context of obedience to the priests during an outbreak of leprosy. But the general idea that God is warning us about here. I do not think you know better or could do better than my servants whom I've raised up. We know from Numbers 12. That Miriam is the poster girl for speaking against or criticizing or judging legitimate authority. She and Aaron. Thought that they were just as good as Moses, and so they could criticize him for having an Ethiopian wife. They did this she and he, I guess, but, uh. I get the idea that it was Miriam's idea because she got the leprosy and Aaron did not. But she did this out of envy for how God and Moses communicated to one with one another, and she did not have the proper fear of the Lord and You know, said a thing or two. And she was struck with leprosy. God's wrath and judgment was immediate. Let's just go back there. Numbers 12. Just to Refresh ourselves hereVerse 4, suddenly the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, Come out, you three, to the tabernacle of meeting. So the three came out. Then the Lord came down in the pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle and called Aaron, Aaron and Miriam, and they both went forward. I wonder how they did that. Uh, then he said, Hear now my words. If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make myself known to Him in a vision, and I speak to him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. I speak with him face to face, even plainly and not in dark sayings, and he sees the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? Something to think about. God told the Israelites. To remember this Remember this incident. Now I, I would say about myself in my position. I'm no great shakes. I can see that God has been working with me since I was a very young lad. Giving me experiences that have brought me to this place, but. You know, I I'm not nothing great. But he has given me this position. Um, and that's the same case with any of the ordained men in this congregation and in any other. But there always seems to be a few. That think they can do better or they are very quick to criticize because it's not being done the way they would do it. So, this is a reminder from God, you're out of Deuteronomy 24. To be very careful About questioning the things that are said or or uh. Ordered to be done in the church. And I do not say this as a measure of respect for me. But if God or any of the other ministers, but if God has directed us to do this. The criticism is actually against God. So God wants us to be very careful. About how we judge things. Um, some of the. Uh, instructions that maybe the ministry would give about a certain situation. Like I said, the context here is of uh. Doing what the priest told them to do when there was an outbreak of leprosy. So you have to understand that in this case, The the orders that were given by the priests were to save their lives. Cuz they had to go about things in a certain way. And so the criticism of, let's say, Miriam against legitimate authority. would cause pain and death. So just take that as spiritually as you may to understand that uh. The ministry is here to help you. And the things that if we are doing things right, if we are counseling you in the right way, it's for your good. It's to save your life. Or to enhance your lifeBut Just a, a, a little something that God throws in here. To say Remember He has put certain people in charge, and we have to Uh, respect that. In the New Testament, there, the same things are actually said again. Second The first Thessalonians. 5:12 and 13 Paul says, we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. Be at peace among yourselves. I mean, remember what happened in Corinth. That was a very similar type of thing where they were rejecting some and, and putting them behind others. Themselves behind others. Also Hebrews 13. Verse 17 Hebrews 13:17. Obey those who rule over you and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you. So, these are put more kindly, let's say, than what he said back in Deuteronomy 24, but, They are no less demanding that uh. The Church of God is a church of order and uh. Yes, it's hierarchical. Some people do not like that term, but Jesus Christ or God the Father is the head of all things. Jesus Christ is the head of the church, and there are apostles, and there is the, the prophets and evangelists and, and pastors and teachers, and so we need toJust stay in our lanes in that hierarchy as God has made it and uh. And not become like Miriam and criticize unduly out of envy. All right, let's go back. To Deuteronomy Chapter 25 verse 17. Remember what Amelech did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt. This is another surprising one, but I think it's worth noting. Amalech was a continual thorn in Israel's side. They were a perpetual enemy of Israel. And God did not want them to forget Amalech's perfidy. Their faithful faithlessness, their backstabbing nature. For us, it implies to our enemies, to Satan and his demons. It can also apply to various people in the world or the world itself as, as an entity. We should not forget that our enemies. Will not change their stripes. They will be enemies. So we can't cuddle up to the world. Thinking that the world is changing. It's becoming nicer. It's not Amalek will be Amalek. So always be on the alert. Do not become complacent. About the enemies that we have. An attack From the world, from Satan, from his demons can come at any time. So as Jesus tells us in his Olivet prophecy. Watch. Be alert. Be on guard. Let's notice I Peter 5. I know many of you know this one very well. I Peter 5:8-9. This is about Satan. Be sober. Be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Resist him steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. You're not in this alone. There are others going through trials of Satan and his demons. So that's a small comfort, but if you're vigilant, if you're alert, if you're keeping up your guard. You can meet those attacks with faith. And overcome OK. The final one back in Deuteronomy 32, Deuteronomy 32. This is in the Song of Moses. We're going to just pick out verse 7. God tells us, remember the days of old. Consider the years of many generations. Ask your father and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you. God tells us to remember the days of old. Generally, this means do not forget what God has done in the past. Because he will act the same way toward us now. Malachi 38. Hebrews 13:6, these are memory scriptures. God does not change. That's Malachi 3:8, Hebrews 13:6 says Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever. What Jesus did in Deuteronomy, the times of the wilderness wandering, he will do now. His Uh, his modus operandi, if you want to call it. is unchanging. Martin taught us that this morning. Because he is the same, his character is constant. It's because of that fact that we can have faith in him because he'll always do as he says he will do. He will always fulfill his promises, whether those promises are negative. Or whether they are wonderful and positive. If he says it And this is how he acts. He's going to do it So you can know. How God will react to you and to your problems. And what you need and where you need to go in the same way that is written in this book. So we can have a solid faith in him. Knowing from his word. How he will act or react in a given circumstances. And I ask you to please trust him. Trust him to follow his righteous character. He's not going to do something out in left field that you can't predict. It may seem unpredictable, but when you think about it, you say, Yeah, that's the God I know. He told me right here he would do something like this. That's why you can have faith in him, because he was always, he is always consistent. Let's conclude in John 14. John 14 25 and 26. The words of Jesus Himself. These things I have spoken to you while being present with you, but the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Memories are so precious. But spiritual memories, these souvenirs are the most precious of all because they lead to eternal life in God's kingdom. And our God. Has been so gracious as to give us the tool. The Holy Spirit to remember. To bring to mind. The truth that God has taught you. In this feast And throughout your conversion. Make use of God's gracious gift of memory. And take home some precious souvenirs.