Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III

Synopsis of Sermon 01/28/24

Deuteronomy 8:10-18 NKJV
10 When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you. 
11 “Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, 12 lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; 13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; 14 when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; 15 who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; 16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end— 17 then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’ 
18 “And 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.

I.          INTRODUCTION 

1. Going to the next level affords us another level of living on the earth. Getting to the next level is only possibly when we walk in the righteousness of God.
2. It is a mindset. Our quality of life has to do with the quality of our decisions.
3. When you get to the next level, you must remember you can’t get beside yourself. The children of Israel were reminded constantly, not to get beside themselves. You have to remember where you came from.
   1. Remember the Children of Israel left 12 smooth stones in the Jordon for remembrance of where they crossed.
   1. Remember the last supper? Jesus told them that as often as they did it, they should do it in remembrance of Him.
4. We shouldn’t develop convenient amnesia. We ought to have gratitude wrapped in humility. When you grow in your relationship with God, you can remember all the times where God was at work in your life. You realize that what you are, God made you. You realize where you are, God brought you. You just can’t get beside yourself!
5. Today this Word will help us to remember to keep God as our main thing.
6. Today we talk about the Hebrew Bible which is the collection of the first 5 books of the Old Testament. These books make up what is referred to as The Law. Other names for these books were the Torah and the Pentateuch.
   1. These 5 books were Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.  
7. Right before the Children of Israel go into the Land of Promise, God warns them not to get beside themselves. Just like the Children of Israel, God would not be releasing this Word into your situation, if things weren’t about to change for you.

II.          PRAISE HIM FOR WHAT YOU’VE PERSONALLY WITNESSED 

• In the scripture, He doesn’t say if the blessing happens, but instead when the blessing happens in your life. If you keep doing what God assigns you, you will reap if you faint not.
• As soon as they get to the Promise, the writer says:

A.    Praise Him for His Goodness 

1. You cannot be a benefactor of the previsions of God, and not be grateful for the goodness of God.
2. You can walk into your closet and see options now, when in the past, you didn’t have any options.
3. You could be in ICU, but instead, you are here.

B.     Praise Him for His Grace 

1. The Children of Israel were complainers. If we were to be honest, it surprises me how much God does for us daily. We are the benefactors of grace!
2. When you think about grace, you can’t help but give God glory. We are not consumed because His mercies are new every morning!

III.          PRIDE PREVENTS PROPER WORSHIP

• When you accomplish certain things, there is a risk that you will contribute to your own fall. Proverbs 16:18 NKJV says Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall. 

A.    5 Things Pride Produces 

1. Moral Self-Righteousness
   This is when you find yourself in a place where everyone is wrong but yourself. We have to remember that all of us have issues in our lives. We are all filthy rags in God’s presence.
   1. Hermeneutics means interpretation. Hubris means pride. Together you have interpretous pride. These are people that think they are always right. You have to realize that you might not always be right.
   1. Remember Self-rightness is a product of pride. Here’s an example of pride. Luke 18:11 NKJV says The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 
2. Confidence in your own Accomplishments 
   You have to know that God gives you the power to do what you do. You don’t accomplish everything on your own.
   Daniel 4:28-37 NKJV says All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 At the end of the twelve months he was walking about the royal palace of Babylon. 30 The king spoke, saying, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?” 31 While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice fell from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! 32 And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.” 33 That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws. 34 And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever: For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, 
   And His kingdom is from generation to generation. 35 All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven And among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand Or say to Him, “What have You done?” 36 At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned to me. My counselors and nobles resorted to me, I was restored to my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added to me. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down. 
3. A Desire to be God 
   Pride can cause you to want to be God. Isaiah 14:13-14 NKJV For you have said in your heart:‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; ¹⁴ I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’
4. Lack of Teachability 
   Pride an cause you not to be teachable. Hebrews 13:17 NKJV ¹⁷ Obey those who ^[a]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.
5. Arrogance 
   Pride an cause you to be arrogant. You can’t walk around being prideful! Proverbs 8:13 ¹³ The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate.

B.     He Gave You All of It, But Can You Give Him All of You? 

1. When God meets all of your needs, you can begin to neglect God. Remember God gave it all to you, to see if you will give your all to him.
2. Can God get your talent and your treasure?

C.     You Cannot Worship If You Allow Yourself to Be Worshipped

1. The truest communion of God is when we get ourselves out the way. God didn’t bless you for you to get the glory.
2. Let people know that Jesus made what you achieved possible. It is our responsibility to remind people that the Lord can give, but he can also take it away.
3. Don’t worship people because of the things that they do. The Bible says that God made us a little lower than the angels. Rev 22:9 ⁹ Then he said to me, “See that you do not do that. ^[a]For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God– The angel shows John something that blows hid mind. As a result, John wanted to worship him. The angel told him not to, because he was a servant of God, just like he was. He told John to worship God!

IV.          PROTECTED AND PROVIDED FOR IN THE WILDERNESS 

• Know that whatever God allowed us to go through was necessary for our development.
• Know that there is no Promised Land without a wilderness journey. The wilderness is a place where there is more question than answers.
• 2 things about the wilderness
  • If you’re in wilderness, it means you escaped Egypt.
  • If you are in the wilderness, everyday you are getting closer to your promise.
    
    

A.    He Kept You When You Couldn’t Keep Yourself 

1. God wouldn’t take you through the wilderness if he hadn’t intended on bringing you out! Everything that came after you in the wilderness is beneath you. It could kill you, but it is beneath you.
2. God led us by:
3. When we were thirsty, he brought water out of something that was not supposed to produce water. God can provide where something is not supposed to come from.
4. He provided manna. God let the manna fall in the day, and he had the quail at night. He wanted carbs for the day and protein for at night.
   
   
5. God allowed you to go through what was trying to attack you. It was trying to take authority over you, but he gave you authority over it.

B.     All of It Was for Your Good 

1. God allowed you to go through it to humble you and test you! God was preparing you for the Promised Land.
2. We are at a point that we would like to be humble ourselves voluntarily and not involuntarily.

V.          PROPER PERSPECTIVE ON THE POWER TO GET WEALTH 

• When you have perspective, everything changes. God took you through, so you wouldn’t know it wasn’t about what you did. It was all because of Him.
• The Lord gave you the power to get wealth. You left Egypt a land of oppression and He’s bringing you to a place with more than enough.
  
  

A.    You Didn’t Accomplish This by Yourself 

1. God gave you the power to get things done. A lot things wouldn’t haven’t happened in your life without God allowing you to do t.
2. Story: There was a turtle on a telephone post. Finally, someone asked, how in the heck did the turtle get up there? One person replied by saying, “I don’t know how he got up there, but we know he didn’t get there by himself”.
3. God gave you the power to access power over your life. You might not be able to do it by yourself, but God gave you the power to make it happen!

B.     Never Forget What He Gave You to Get It

1. There are many arguments concerning which cellphone is best. There is one thing that brings all of our cellphones to common ground. That common ground is, when they get to 3%, they will shut down, if you don’t find a power source!!
2. No matter how expensive your phone is, it will not function without a power source for it to plug into. You need to get close to a power source!
3. Why do you get up so early in the morning trying to get a word? It is because you are trying to get where the power source is!