[0:00] We're in Deuteronomy chapter 12, again, making our way through the book of Deuteronomy. A lot of repetition in the book of Deuteronomy, but that is intentional. That is absolutely, 100% the purpose of the book of Deuteronomy.
[0:14] It is a second telling of the law. It is Moses repeating and emphasizing and reiterating that which the people already knew, right? And he is doing it with some points of clarity, too.
[0:25] So there's some new things in there. There is kind of expounded. It's exactly what he says. He is expounding the law or making clear of the law and helping them to come to a better understanding of exactly what God was requiring.
[0:40] So we see here he is challenging the people. But keep in mind, the book of Deuteronomy is always looking at their entrance into the promised land. What life looks like when they're in the land, right?
[0:51] Because their days of wilderness wandering are over. The days of journeying and the days of tabernacling in the wilderness and the 40 years, that's come to an end. They're going into the promised land.
[1:04] And as you'll see tonight, things are absolutely different in the promised land. And things are going to be so much different. One thing that you need to understand, okay, especially before we read Deuteronomy 12, because this is where we begin to get to understanding of it.
[1:21] When they journeyed through the wilderness. Remember, go all the way back to the book of Numbers. And there was the description of how they were to camp around the tabernacle.
[1:32] And then how they were to set out on their journeys. There's one tribe that was always going first. It was the tribe of Judah, right? Judah is always first. Judah is always first. Judah is always prominent.
[1:43] Always first. That's not coincidental or accidental. It's because there's a line from the tribe of Judah who's coming, right? And we see that. And Judah is always camped in the same location.
[1:54] Everybody's camping. But they're together, right? It's 2 million people probably. Somewhere around 2 million people. That's a lot of people. A big camp. But they're together, right?
[2:04] They're camped close, together, tight. The same three tribes that camped on this side were always camping next to each other. And then the three tribes to the south. And the three tribes to the west.
[2:15] And the three tribes to the north. They were always together. Those people were always together. The Levites were always around the tabernacle, right? And the priests were always around the tabernacle. When they go to the promised land, they disperse.
[2:28] Right? They go into different regions. They move about. They're no longer camping in a tight group. They're living in a land.
[2:39] Right? They're secure. That changes everything. Because you're not just hanging out. Now you're living your life. And so that's kind of the basis that we get for Deuteronomy chapter 12.
[2:53] Is you're going into a land where things are going to be so different. You're not going to all be moving at the same time. You're not all going to see the pillar of clouds by day or the pillar of fire by night.
[3:04] And everybody goes, oh, it's time to get up and go. And everybody sits on the journey at the same time. You're not going to be camped right next to the same people all the time. You're going to be living over here. They're going to be living over there.
[3:15] They're going to be living up here. Some are going to be living down here. Especially if you look at the size of the land mass. It's a pretty good area that they were to be living in. Now they didn't live in all of it because they didn't take all of it captive.
[3:28] They didn't do everything God commanded them to do. But still, they were dispersed. Right? Things were different. And this is where we see this in Deuteronomy chapter 12.
[3:39] I'm going to read the entire chapter. So just stay with me. And I hope that you'll see it in some clarity as we make our way through it. Moses says, These are the statutes and the judgments which you shall carefully observe in the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess as long as you live on the earth.
[3:56] You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations whom you dispossess serve their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. You shall tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and burn their ashram with fire.
[4:10] And you shall cut down the engraved images of their gods and obliterate their name from that place. You shall not act like this toward the Lord your God. But you shall seek the Lord at the place which the Lord your God would choose from all your tribes to establish his name.
[4:25] Therefore his dwelling. And there you shall come. There you shall bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the contribution of your hand, your votive offering, your free will offering, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock.
[4:38] There also you and your households shall eat before the Lord your God and rejoice in all your undertakings. And in which the Lord your God has blessed you. You shall not do at all what we are doing here today.
[4:49] Every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes. For you have not as yet come to the resting place and the inheritance which the Lord your God is giving you. When you cross the Jordan and live in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to inherit.
[5:02] And he gives you rest from all your enemies around you so that you live in security. Then it shall come about that the place in which the Lord your God would choose for his name to dwell.
[5:13] There you shall bring all that I command you. Your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, and the contribution of your hand. And all your choice votive offerings which you will vow to the Lord.
[5:23] And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God. You and your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates. Since he has no portion or inheritance with you.
[5:34] Be careful that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every cultic place you see. But in the place which the Lord chooses in one of your tribes. There you shall offer your burnt offerings. And there you shall do all that I command you.
[5:47] However, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your gates. Whatever you desire according to the blessing of the Lord your God which he has given you. The unclean and the clean may eat of it. As of the gazelle and the deer.
[5:58] Only you shall not eat the blood. You are to pour it out on the ground like water. You are not allowed to eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or new wine or oil. Or the firstborn of your herd or flock or any of your votive offerings.
[6:10] Which you vow. Or your free will offerings or the contribution of your hand. But you shall eat them before the Lord your God in the place which the Lord your God would choose. You and your son and daughter and your male and female servants and the Levite who is within your gate.
[6:25] You shall rejoice before the Lord your God in all your undertakings. Be careful that you do not forsake the Levite as long as you live in your land. When the Lord your God extends your border as he has promised you.
[6:37] And you say I will eat meat because you desire to eat meat. Then you may eat meat whatever you desire. If the place which the Lord your God chooses to put his name is too far from you. Then you may slaughter of your herd and flock which the Lord has given you.
[6:50] As I commanded you. And you may eat within your gates whatever you desire. Just as a gazelle or a deer is eaten. So you will eat it. The unclean and the clean alike may eat of it.
[7:02] Only be sure not to eat the blood for the blood is the life. And you shall not eat the life with the flesh. You shall not eat it. You shall pour it out on the ground like water. You shall not eat it so that it may be well with you and your sons after you.
[7:15] For you will be doing what is right in the sight of the Lord. Only your holy things which you may have in your votive offerings. You shall take and go to the place which the Lord chooses.
[7:27] And you shall offer your burnt offerings in the flesh and the blood. On the altar of the Lord your God. And the blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of the Lord your God. And you shall eat the flesh.
[7:38] Be careful to listen to all the words which I command you. So that it may be well with you and your sons after you forever. For you will be doing what is right and right in the sight of the Lord your God.
[7:48] When the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations. Which you are going in to dispossess. And you dispossess them and dwell in their land. Beware that you are not ensnared to follow them.
[7:59] After they are destroyed before you. And that you do not inquire after their gods. Saying how do these nations serve their gods that also may do likewise. You shall not behave thus toward the Lord your God.
[8:11] For every, listen to this. For every abominable act which the Lord hates. They have done for their gods. For they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.
[8:23] Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to nor take away from it. So just in case we thought the Canaanites were all innocent people.
[8:34] Who were just being dispossessed to their land. There is a reminder that every abominable act. Which the Lord God hates. They have done as an action of worship.
[8:46] Okay. Deuteronomy chapter 12. Here we see the centralized worship of God's people. The centralized worship of God's people. I have verse 5 underlined in my scripture.
[9:00] As a reminder that God has always been a God. Who has openly declared there is but one way. Right? That is not something that is new with Christ. There is one way to come before the Father.
[9:11] There is one way. There is only one way. There is not a multitude of ways. Not a multiple of places. There is only one way. There is only one door. There is only one gate to the sheep fold as Jesus said.
[9:21] He is that door. There is only one way to properly come before God. In worship and adoration. And to be accepted by him. Man is not free. Nor has he ever been free.
[9:32] To worship the Lord God however he so chooses. And here in this passage we find out that man is not free to worship. Wherever he chooses. At least for the nation of Israel. When they were going into the promised land.
[9:44] Now this is the thing that really Jesus was confronting with the woman at the well. The Samaritan woman at the well. Remember that? When he meets the woman at the well. And it says he had to pass through Samaria.
[9:55] Which is a really full meaning in the life of Christ. Because it said he had to pass through Samaria. Most Jewish people. Most Jewish males especially.
[10:06] Would have to cross the Jordan River. And go through Decapolis. To not pass through Samaria. They just didn't want to pass through Samaria. Jesus had to pass through Samaria. And the reason he did. Is because he had a woman he had to meet at the well at midday.
[10:18] And he met her. Right? And you remember the question she asked him. You people say that Jerusalem is a proper place to worship. But we say that Mount Gerizim is a proper place to worship.
[10:29] And so the confrontation started on the place. Right? And I love how Jesus answered that. The day is coming and has already come. And those who worship will not worship in Jerusalem nor in Mount Gerizim.
[10:39] But will worship in spirit and truth. See there's something totally different that has happened here. Is that we see the coming of the Holy Spirit. God tabernacling with us there in John 15.
[10:50] John 15 where the Father and the Son and the Spirit come and tabernacle with us. And therefore we have this ability to worship wherever we're at. But don't let that reality remove us from this truth.
[11:04] And the application we have of this. Okay? And by that I mean don't think that you can be a Lone Ranger Christian. And worship on your own. And you don't need the church. Just to put it bluntly. Because that is a great danger.
[11:17] Because we see this even here in Deuteronomy 12. The centralized worship of God's people. And why it is so important. I'll make my way through them quickly.
[11:28] But I have five for you from this passage. Okay? We'll try not to get too deep. And we definitely won't be too long. Number one. We see that centralized worship is important. Because it is a matter of concern.
[11:39] It is a matter of concern. Moses says that when you go into the promised land. And when you go into that place. And God brings you within the borders of where he has told you. And even when he extends your border.
[11:52] Moses says that you shall not do what we are doing here today. Every man doing what is right in his own eyes. The concern was.
[12:03] Is that their worship would be sincere and uniform. He says no longer can you just do what is right in your own eyes.
[12:13] No man has the right to choose how he worships. Where he worships. When he worships. Right? He says God is calling you to live in a covenant relationship with him.
[12:25] And the reason this is important. When he goes into the promised land. Because he reminds them. And he tells them. When you go in. Be sure that you tear down all of their altars. And all of their ashram.
[12:36] Those are like what we would call totem poles. Right? Be sure you tear down all of these things. These symbols. And completely remove it. Because everybody was worshiping under the shade trees.
[12:47] And on the hilltops. And in the valleys. Every man was building his own little altar. And his own little god. And his own little place of worship. He says you don't have the right to do that. You don't have the right to say.
[12:58] I get to choose how I worship. Because God has declared to you what is acceptable worship. Right? He says God has declared to you what he requires of you. And corporate gathering.
[13:11] Or the centralized gathering of God's people. Was absolutely important as a matter of concern. To ensure that the worship being extended by the people of Israel.
[13:23] Was proper. That it was right. That it was what God had declared. Because they were going to be living among people who worshipped in various different ways.
[13:37] He declares to them that some of the worship that they would encounter. Even involved sacrificing your own children. To worship. And they absolutely thought it was right.
[13:51] And this is the tragedy when we read the book of Judges. When in those days there was no king in the land of Israel. And every man did what was right in his own eyes. And in case it's been a while since you've read it.
[14:02] Just go read the last six chapters of the book of Judges. And you scratch your head. And you go how in the world did they get that far off. Because we're not talking about the Hittites. Or the Jebusites. Or the Hibbites. Or any of the Canaanites there.
[14:12] We're talking about God's people. The land of Israel. You know we're talking about the wickedness that they're doing. And how did that happen? Well every man started doing what was right in his own eyes.
[14:25] And in order to safeguard that. As a concern to make sure that man does not just go however. And wherever. And in which manner he desires.
[14:36] That man does not just go what he wants to do. God calls his people to come together to one place. He says wherever God causes his name to dwell.
[14:48] Now first that first place is going to be Shiloh. That would be the first place. That's if you remember. Shiloh is where the first. The place the tabernacle.
[14:59] Later it would be Jerusalem. Shiloh is where they wrote Ichabod across the temple. Right. The glory of the Lord has departed. That's what Ichabod means. In the days of Samuel.
[15:11] First and second Samuel. First Samuel. Samuel was brought to Shiloh. And left there. And in those days. It was rare to hear a word from God. But Samuel heard a word from God. Remember that. And it was there where the priest fell over backwards.
[15:23] While sitting on his stool. Eli. And the sons of Eli went to battle. And they took the Ark of the Covenant with them. But that's the first place. Right. So God. He is telling them. God is going to show you where.
[15:34] You come there. To ensure. You're doing it right. It's a matter of concern. Why is the church. Right today.
[15:46] Why is the church important today. Because. Left to our own. We would all worship. The God we create. In our own mind.
[15:57] And we won't be challenged. We won't be. I get challenged by my conversations. With you guys. You get challenged in your conversations. With one another. Right. To make sure that we're on course.
[16:08] To make sure that we're on track. If I got to stand up. And preach to myself. Which I got to do that. For about seven weeks. You know. A couple years ago now. I don't want to ever do that again. Every Sunday when I left.
[16:21] You know. Well. Not Sundays. Because Sundays. Carrie was usually here with the kids. So I always had at least one person. And later on. Brother Pruitt. And Brother Jerry were here. And Brother Troy was here.
[16:32] So I had some people hold me accountable. But on Wednesdays in particular. I came down here. And I literally just preached to myself. And I was. You know. I left the church. By myself. And nobody either told me. I did it right.
[16:42] Or I did it wrong. And I'd go home. And Carrie would be like. I don't know about that. You know. Or she'd just say. You should have straightened up your office. Because when I looked behind you. Your desk was a mess. And I'm like. Well I'm sorry. Or I can't believe you left here.
[16:52] Now some of you are going to go back. And watch these YouTube videos. Right. I can't believe you left a mixed nuts container. On your bookshelf. While you were preaching. Some of you have caught that. Right. I eat mixed nuts. And yeah. They were there.
[17:03] Some of you are like. I'm going to go look. And I never thought anybody paid attention to that. Because somebody said. Hey pastor. I noticed on your bookshelf behind you. You had this book. I've read that book. That was great. And I got to thinking. Man. What else is on my shelf.
[17:14] Behind me. But what I'm saying is. There's just no really accountability. And it was kind of. You know. There was no sharpening. No iron sharpening iron. And no holding. You know.
[17:24] So the matter of concern. I needed to be around people. And we need to be around people. To ensure we're doing it right. To ensure that things are proper. We're worshiping as we should.
[17:36] So it's a matter of concern. Secondly. It's a matter of consistency. It's a matter of consistency. Because he says. When you bring. The firstborn of your flock. Or your herd.
[17:47] Or your votive offering. Or your free will offering. Or the things dedicated to the Lord. And the first fruits of your garden. It is consistency. Because if you know. I have to go there to worship.
[17:58] Then you know what it is. You're supposed to bring. God has declared it. In the book of numbers. Right. What every offering was to be. What every sacrifice was to be. And these things were to take place. And you knew this.
[18:09] If I'm going to worship. And if I have sinned. I bring this. If I'm rejoicing. I bring this. If I'm going to go have a. A celebratory meal. Or a meal of fellowship with God.
[18:20] A meal of thanksgiving. As it was called. Then I bring this. And there was this consistency. That you were doing. Exactly what God called you to do. And so was everyone else.
[18:32] No matter where you went. Across the nation of Israel. People were doing the same thing. Or they were supposed to be doing the same thing. The reason. There is centralized worship.
[18:43] And the centralized gathering of God's people. Is that therefore. Everything could be consistent. That we were keeping it right. We were keeping it true. We were keeping it real. I always think about what Paul says.
[18:54] When Paul writes to the churches. And Paul makes this declaration. And it's something that I've thought about. Time and time again. As it even pertains to our own setting.
[19:06] Paul says. I'm intent on one purpose. Right. I'm intent on one purpose. And Paul would raise up other leaders. And other pastors. And other shepherds.
[19:17] And deacons. And people. Everybody being intent on one purpose. And to be honest. Everybody was going to be on the same page. And there was going to be consistency. It would be just like. Going into a Sunday school room.
[19:29] On Sunday morning. And hearing something that was completely contrary. To what I preached this same morning. One of us is wrong. Or we're in disagreement. We're not very consistent. Right. And it's just this.
[19:40] This. So it would be hard to grow. In any kind of spiritual maturity there. It's hard to grow. In any type of. Of fellowship there. And this is exactly what he's saying. We want to be consistent.
[19:51] We want to grow. And we want to ensure. That you're always bringing. The required sacrifices. And at centralized location. Where you knew. What the priests were going to expect. When you came. Not only.
[20:02] You didn't get to choose. What you brought. You didn't get to choose. Where you worship. God declared to you. This is what is acceptable to me. Again. It is a gracious thing.
[20:13] For God to declare to us. What he expects. Because we don't have to hope so. If I have sinned. In this time.
[20:24] Okay. Put myself in this time. Before the cross. If I am a Jewish individual. Who has sinned. And that sin becomes known to me. And it wasn't a high handed sin. That is. I didn't intentionally look at God.
[20:35] And say. I don't care what you say. I'm going to do it anyway. It was a sin. Which I fell into. That was revealed to me. I wanted forgiveness. Of that sin. God in his grace and mercy.
[20:45] Had declared to me. What was expected. So I knew. When I went to the temple. With that offering. I would be forgiven. Consistency.
[20:58] And so when he says. There's only one way. To the father. Through Jesus Christ. We worship with consistency. And we know. We have a certainty. And a confidence. He accepts.
[21:09] That sacrifice. We don't come with a multitude. Of sacrifices. And offerings. And all these things. We come through one lamb. The lamb slain. Before the foundation. Of the world. But we know.
[21:20] As we come together. That this is what he accepts. Number three. Not only is it a matter of concern. A matter of consistency. Number three. It is a matter of connection. It is a matter of connection.
[21:31] Two million people. Go into the promised land. And they disperse. Right. In order to be fruitful. Multiply. Which is exactly what God commands man to do. Be fruitful. Multiply upon the face of the earth.
[21:42] Right. And they would grow. And the nation would grow. And grow. And grow. And I know we get lost. In all these names. And numbers. And everything that we read. In scripture. And the 42,000 plus.
[21:52] That came back with Ezra. And then we'll read later. On in the book of Ezra. Another number. And then there are some people. Who come back with Nehemiah. All these people matter to God. Their names matter to God. And they know who they are.
[22:03] But the reason God has these names recorded. And the reason he reminds us of these people. He connects people. People are not made to live in isolation.
[22:15] People are not made to live in disfellowship. Rather we are made to live in fellowship. And do you notice. When God declares there is a centralized place of worship.
[22:26] He says bring your sons. And your daughters. And your male. And your female servants. And the Levites who live within your gates. What is he saying? Bring every member of your household with you.
[22:38] And come. Why? Because then your sons. And your daughters. And your male. And your female servants. And the Levites living in your house. Would know. There are people who live on the other side of the country.
[22:50] That worship just like I do. They would see the connection they have. Keep in mind that. Much of what God declares to his people. Is dealing with the.
[23:01] What we would call the corporate body of God's people. Not just the individual. Right? Many of the truths throughout the Old Testament. They deal with the. The unity of the whole nation.
[23:13] The sin of the individual. Affects the multitude of the people. And the righteousness of the individual. Affects the multitude of the people. And they were always connected. And they were always.
[23:24] Intertwined with one another. And then we move to the New Testament. And every promise in the New Testament. That is directed to the believer. Finds its basis. In a church.
[23:37] Just about every one of them. Not just about every one of them. I would dare say every one of them. Because. With the exception of a couple. Of letters.
[23:48] Every book in the Old Testament. I mean the New Testament that you read. Was written to a church. You have Luke. Writing to.
[24:00] Most excellent Theophilus. In the gospel of Luke. And in the book of Acts. Theophilus. To you O Theophilus. Evidently he lost his. Government position. Because of his faith in Christ. That's why that's. Oh most excellent Theophilus.
[24:12] In the gospel of Luke. And in Theophilus. In Acts. So that's an individual. But Theophilus is actually. Kind of a name. That some people. Kind of scratch their heads over. Because Theophilus. Literally means lover of God.
[24:23] Right. So. It may have been written. To the body of believers. More than just an individual. But it definitely has. Promises connected with it. That go to the corporate body. Not just for the individual.
[24:35] And then you have. The little book. Philemon. Or Philemon. However you want to say it. And some. You know. That was written to an individual. Yes. But also to the church. Which is in his house. Right. If you remember that.
[24:45] There's the connection there. To the church. And even the little letters. The first. Second. Third. John. And even Peter. Smaller. Always written to the church. All these promises. Find their fulfillment.
[24:57] In the corporate body. Because. There's this matter of connection. God redeems individual. Calls individual to himself. Saves the individual. Forgives the individual.
[25:07] And then immediately unites the individual. With others. Jesus. And that's the power of that. And. If you're a kid. In your household. And you're hearing all these.
[25:19] Requirements of God. And worship. And you're hearing all these. Requirements of acceptable worship. And then all of a sudden. You go. As a household. To the temple. To worship. And you start seeing. Everybody else to it.
[25:29] And you say. Well there must be more to it. Than just my crazy mom and dad. Right. Jesus himself. Went to the temple. With his parents. And he went a multitude of times.
[25:41] On a yearly. Journey. To Jerusalem. During the time of the Passover. And we see. It just. It connected. The people of God.
[25:53] It connected. The land of Israel today. Is still one of the most united people. I know we're just completely off track. And there's a lot of. This is not. Not biblical. Right. So we need.
[26:03] I don't want to say. Not biblical. It's extra biblical. So it's outside of the scripture. But. There's so much. National identity. Within the land of Israel. So much. Strength.
[26:14] Within the land. Of its people. But also. One of the requirements. In the land of Israel. Is that everybody. That graduates high school. Serves two years in the military. Everybody. Male and female. Why?
[26:26] Why? To remind them. That it's more than just them. Right. They're. United. Connected. And historically. They'll always be that way. Because God has declared it.
[26:38] Right. They're always going to be connected. And. And again. This. Is really the picture we have here. At the church. Is that we ought to be connected. And. Centralized. Worship. Reminds us. That we are connected to others.
[26:50] We're not. On our own. Here. Number four. It's a matter of conviction. It's a matter of conviction. Because he says. Whatever I command you.
[27:01] This is the last verse. Of that chapter. Whatever I command you. You shall be careful to do. You shall not add to. Nor take away from it. You shall not add to.
[27:11] Nor take away from it. Sounds a lot like the book of revelations. And it should. And here's the command. To be careful. That you do all. Of. This. That you fulfill. Not just the things. That are here in Deuteronomy.
[27:22] Chapter 12. But in everything. That's going to be recorded. In the entirety. Of. The Pentateuch. Or the requirement. Of the first five books. Of the Bible. To. To be one. Who is not adding to. Nor taking away from.
[27:33] And. And someone who's not leaving. Bits and pieces out. And again. I know this seems kind of repetitive. But really. It's a matter of conviction. That I'm going to go worship. Where other people go to worship. So that I make sure.
[27:44] I'm not adding to. Nor taking away. Because really. The only way to ensure that. Is to be held accountable. And the only way to be held accountable. Is to be around others. And since.
[27:55] I know the danger. And the tendency. Because. I mean. If we are absolutely honest. With ourselves. There. And this is. You know. Just us being 100% honest. There are bits and pieces of scripture.
[28:06] We would rather not be in there. And it may not be the same. For all of us. But each and every one of us. Can find something like. Well I wish that wasn't. And there may be. If left to myself. And left on my own. And worshiping on my own.
[28:17] And choosing how I worshiped. And choosing what I did on my own. I think I would just kind of. Skim over that part. This is why. I decided many years ago. That I would just preach. Through scripture. And preach through big books of scripture.
[28:29] Because I know me. And I know me. And the me. In me. I mean. I'm just. I'm just going to be transparent with you. Okay. And when I first started preaching. I would have preached. Matthew chapter 7.
[28:40] Verses 1 through 5. As one message. And then probably Matthew 7. Verses 7 through 11. And then Matthew 7.
[28:51] 12. I would have left out that verse 6. Do not cast your pearls before swine. Or throw what is holy to the dogs. I would have. Why? Because that's difficult.
[29:04] That's not an easy passage. It makes people look at you kind of crazy. When you say. You know. Be careful who you share the gospel with. I mean. That's not what I mean by that. But I mean. You know. You need to come across that way. Or you know. Not everybody is ready to be receptive.
[29:15] But each of us are like that. There are portions of scripture. That if we are not convicted enough. To put ourselves in worship settings. With others that would hold us accountable.
[29:26] We would leave off those parts. And just. Honest evaluation is. Is that's why most people. Don't. Centralize worship.
[29:39] Because. It's a lot easier. To worship. In isolation. And choose what is important. And what is not. And. And. That's dangerous. It's a matter of conviction.
[29:51] And here's the last one. Fifth and finally. We will be done. This one's. This one's a good one. And this one's an easy one. Number five. It's a matter of celebration. It's a matter of celebration.
[30:03] Because when you come to rejoice. Come with your sons. And your daughters. And your male. And your female. And your servants. And the Levites. Who's dwelling within your gates. And come before the Lord. And rejoice.
[30:14] It is one thing. To be happy. In isolation. It's a whole nother thing. To celebrate. With the corporate body. Of God's people. This is why we are commanding.
[30:26] In scripture. To mourn. With those who mourn. And to rejoice. With those who rejoice. Because those things. Done in isolation. Have a little bit of sway. But when you do those things.
[30:36] In union. In unity. With God's people. It is powerful. When you can celebrate. Together. And you rejoice. Together. And when one has a cause.
[30:48] For celebration. And we can come. As brothers and sisters. In Christ. And truly celebrate. That together. It has so much more impact. Because not only then.
[30:59] Is it a testimony. To our own souls. It's a testimony. To those around us. Right? It's a testimony. To those watching. And waiting. Martin Lloyd-Jones. Used to say. One of the greatest. One of the greatest.
[31:10] Evangelistic tools. That God has. On the face of the earth. Is the corporate gathering. Of the saints of God. As the people of God. And people looking on. And seeing how they rejoice together.
[31:21] How they celebrate together. How they mourn together. How they weep together. How they do life together. And when people come into that fold. And they see that. He convicts them. And says.
[31:31] You need this. We're reminded of that. Because we don't celebrate. On our own. Right? We celebrate together. And we rejoice together.
[31:43] And this is a matter of celebration. Not all things is whole hum and drum. When we come into the presence of God. We come before his throne. With joy and thanksgiving. And celebration. Right? Much.
[31:53] Much. Much. Worship. Is celebratory worship. And it is so much more powerful. Celebrating in the corporate body. Than is celebrating as an individual. Now I can rejoice.
[32:05] And sometimes I rejoice a lot louder. And dance a lot crazier. On my own. But I have been moved more. By the calm. Peaceful. Celebrations.
[32:17] Of the body of God's people. Than I ever have. In isolation. Because. Centralized worship. Is a matter of celebration.
[32:28] We get to rejoice together. And. My friend. That's what all of eternity. Is going to be about. Gathered around his throne. Casting our crowns together.
[32:40] Declaring together. Declaring together. The worthiness of the lamb. Singing together. Of his greatness. In a multitude of languages. In a multitude of nationalities.
[32:52] The corporate coming together. Of worship. Of worship. And celebration. And it is a beautiful thing. When God says. This is where you worship.
[33:03] God. And he gathers his people. In one location. To remind them. Of who he is. And who they are. Let's pray. Lord. Again. We thank you so much. For this evening.
[33:15] We thank you for your word. We pray that the truth of it. Lord. Would move us. On a daily basis. To draw us closer to you. Lord. To move us. Into greater fellowship. With you. And with those around us.
[33:26] That you may be glorified. And honored through it. And we ask it in Jesus name. Amen. Amen.
[34:30] Amen. Amen.
[35:30] Amen. Amen.
[36:30] Amen. Amen.
[37:30] Amen.