The sermon 'With All Your Heart and All Your Soul' by Scott Brown centers on Deuteronomy 26, focusing on the Israelites' instructions upon entering the Promised Land. Key topics include the offering of first fruits and the distribution of the poor tithe in the third year, both tied to combating covetousness and fostering gratitude. The sermon highlights the importance of historical confessions, drawing parallels between Old Testament practices and New Testament principles, particularly the fulfillment of the law in Christ as the first fruits. Emphasizing total dedication to God, the sermon underscores the covenantal relationship between God and His people, urging a life of obedience and proclamation of faith. It concludes with a call for believers to make a confession and an oath, drawing inspiration from historical examples like John Calvin's Geneva, to live wholly for God and His laws.

The sermon text for this morning is Deuteronomy 26 through the end of the chapter. And it shall be, when you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it, that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground, which you shall bring from your land that the Lord your God has given you, and put it in a basket, and go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide. And you shall go to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the country which the Lord swore to our fathers to give to us. Then the priest shall take the basket out of your hand, and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God. And you shall answer and say before the Lord your God, My father was a Syrian, about to perish, and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there, few in number.

And there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us. Then we cried out to the Lord God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror, and with signs and wonders. He has brought us to this place, and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.

And now, Behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O Lord, have given me. Then you shall set it before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God. So you shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given to you, and your house, you and the Levite and the stranger who is among you. When you have finished laying aside all the tithe of your increase in the third year, the year of tithing, and have given it to the Levite, the Stranger, the Fatholess, and the Widow, so that they may eat within your gates and be filled. Then you shall say before the Lord your God, I have removed the holy tithe from my house, and also have given them to the Levite, the stranger, the followless, and the widow, according to all your commandments which you have commanded me.

I have not transgressed your commandments, nor have I forgotten them. I have not eaten any of it when in mourning, nor have I removed any of it for an unclean use, nor given any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God, and have done according to all that you have commanded me. Look down from your holy habitation from heaven and bless your people Israel and the land which you have given us just as you swore to our fathers a land flowing with milk and honey. This day the Lord your God commands you to observe these statutes and judgments.

Therefore you shall be careful to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. Today You have proclaimed the LORD to be your God, and that you will walk in His ways and keep His statutes and His commandments and His judgments, and that you will obey His voice. Also today the LORD has proclaimed you to be his special people, just as he promised you, that you should keep all his commandments, and that he will set you high above all nations, which he has made, in praise, in name, and in honor, and that you may be a holy people to the Lord your God, just as He has spoken. Let us pray. Lord God, do please bless the preaching day and help us to understand your word to be sanctified by your word, which is truth.

Do please be with those preaching and teaching. Lord, help all the elders to be true servants of yours that would equip your people to serve and honor and glorify you. Thank you, oh God. As we come to chapter 26 in Deuteronomy, we find ourselves now right at the very end of Moses' second sermon. As you have been tracking with us, Moses delivers three sermons in Deuteronomy.

Chapters 1 through 5 is the first. 6 through 26 is the second. And now here we are at the very, very end of it. This passage of Scripture before us is wide and it's deep. It's as deep as the lowest depths of hell as it prefigures The Lord Jesus Christ going and taking captivity captive, reaching into the lowest hell and taking for Himself first fruits and taking them to heaven.

It's as low as the depths of hell and as high as heaven. There are so many things here that I shutter to be able to try to capture them. They're wonderful and very amazing. And you might guess that Moses would end this sermon with an exposition of the tenth commandment. I believe he does speak of the tenth commandment in these last verses.

There are three sections in it, and you can see it in your outline if you have one. And what we find here is that Moses is urging the people to engage in certain observances once they go into the land. There are certain ways that you live when you go into the land. Christians live differently than the rest that are in whatever land they happen to be living. And these observances are to be continual reminders of the goodness and the glory and the grace of God.

And so, the first is the celebration of the first fruits to make them a thankful people in the land in which they live. And then there's the celebration of the portai in the third year, so that they would be a gracious and kind people toward those who are struggling. And then finally, the chapter ends with an oath in verses 16 through 19. So the people of God are to be a confessional people who drive a stake deep in the ground and say we are the people of God. We're a holy people, a peculiar people who serve God and God alone.

Now here in this passage, God gives certain rituals, if you want to call them, or observances, and God has always given his people observances. For example, we understand the observances that he's given us in this era of the New Testament. He's given us the observance of the Lord's Supper. He's given us the observance of baptism, the giving of tithes, the observance of the Sabbath. These are all things that help center us.

They help us center our schedule in the keeping of the Sabbath. They help us center our economic life as we give generously to the Lord. They help us center our lives on the gospel as we celebrate the Lord's table here in our church every week. And so God gives these rituals or observances to help his people. And here in this passage, you see two observances that he gives his people in the land.

So you need to understand the way this chapter is structured. And this morning, my son came in to our house, and he sat next to me, and he did what he does from time to time. I'm always grateful for this question. And he said, OK, Papa, what is the main thing? What is the irreducible?

He didn't use the word irreducible. He said, what is the main thing that is in this passage for us today. And I was dumbstruck because I've been struggling with this and beating my head against the wall about it. But as he asked the question, I answered him that this passage is about the total dedication of your life. Everything that you are, everything that you have to the Lord and making a covenant before God and He making a covenant with you Because this covenant that that God brings is a two-way covenant God comes and delivers his covenant man responds and God comes back around and dedicates himself to his people.

So this passage is about so many things. It's about coveting, it's about the dedication of your whole life, it's about the observances that you ought to have in your life, the regular rhythmic lifestyle that God gives his people so that they would be found, you know, constantly being built up and edified by the things that God has given them. So the passage is so vast and I struggle to get my arms around it, but let's move forward here. Let's say that at least the first two sections are about covetousness, and that Moses is finally dealing with the 10th commandment. Now, you can say that he dealt with the 10th commandment in the previous chapter, which I do believe that he did in dealing with false weights and measures and the covetous heart that's scheming to try to trade and get more than what they have given for.

And so this 10th commandment, you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything or anything that is your neighbor's. He just sums it up and finally after naming all these pretty, you know, big ticket items, he says, or just anything. And so here in this second speech, you know, Moses is coming to explain this commandment and much, much more. Now, let's just sort of calibrate ourselves for a moment. The purpose of this second speech that Moses began in chapter 5 had a purpose.

Moses declares that purpose with crystal clarity in chapter 5 verse 1. Please turn in your Bibles there because I want us to somehow be able to see the sweep of Moses logic in this whole thing Because what Moses actually does is he ends where he begins. So I'm trying now to help us see the sweep of this entire sermon that we have been in for months here now. But in 5.1, Moses declares the purpose of the speech. And Moses called all Israel and said to them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing today.

Now notice what he says, the purpose is that you may learn them. That's one that you may learn them Number two and be careful to observe them The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today. All of us who are alive, the Lord talked with you face to the face in the mountain, in the midst of the fire. I stood between the Lord and you at that time to declare to you the word of the Lord, but you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up to the mountain. And he said, I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." So this speech is all about God's delivering power of His people, how He brings His people out of bondage.

He saves them, He gives them His laws, and then He gathers them together as He has during this probably three or four or five hour speech. And he's trying to center all of Israel around his laws. And so that they would hear them, so that they would learn them, and be careful to obey them. So we know from the structure this, Moses gives the Ten Commandments first. He does this after saying, do not add or subtract from these laws.

And then he delivers the Ten Commandments in summary form. And then for the rest of the sermon, he does exposition on them. He explains them. He gives the sense. He gives the spiritual meaning and the practical application.

And he does exactly what the Lord Jesus Christ does in the Sermon on the Mount as he explains what it meant to commit adultery, what it meant to commit murder. And Moses is doing the same thing by giving the heart and soul, the very spirit and the essence of the law throughout this sermon. It's a brilliant and beautiful sermon as he delivers it in summary form and then takes it on one point at a time. And we've seen him do this over and over. What we learned from this whole sermon is that the Ten Commandments, the statutes and the judgments of God are far, far more than just a set of rules.

It's far, far more than, don't stab your brother and murder him. It's far more than that. It's more wonderful, it's more broad. It applies to so many areas that you would need a lifetime to learn how to apply them. But these commandments, these ten commandments, they're founded on eternal principles, on principles that families and individuals build and nations build their lives upon and they reflect upon.

If you read the law code of our own nation, you'll find all of these laws spoken of, the heart and the soul of them. Last week we talked about the laws of trading of weights and measures and how John Quincy Adams went straight to the Bible to see the principle for standards of law. So Moses is doing this. He's taking the law, and these are not wooden interpretations of the law at all. They're spiritual interpretations to help us understand the genuine meaning that resides in the heart of God that he wishes to deliver to his people.

So the spirit of the law never, ever passes away. The moral law can never pass away. Jesus said that it would never pass away. And so here we find Moses is doing what the Lord Jesus did, taking us to the heart and the soul of the law, so that we can understand that The law is not just about observances, but it's about something far greater. It's about something that pierces to the heart, so that when you see something happening, an opportunity, then you can look back to the law of God and think of how it might apply to that very situation, because it doesn't just apply to one situation.

It applies, every single law applies to maybe dozens or thousands of situations that you might encounter in your life. So Moses is doing that in these chapters that go from chapter 5 to chapter 26. In the first commandment, you shall have no other gods before me. Moses does exposition on this commandment from chapter 6 to chapter 11. It's an attack against nonexistent gods that capture the heart.

Then the second commandment regarding no images is about worshiping God the right way. Moses does exposition on this in Deuteronomy 12 and 13. And then the third commandment, thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. The minimal meaning of this commandment is just to refrain from swearing using God's name, but really this commandment is about pretending to honor God, but not really, And therefore misrepresenting Christ. He does exposition on this commandment in Deuteronomy 14, 1-21.

And then the fourth commandment, keeping the Sabbath day holy. He does exposition on that from 1421 to 1617. Jesus says he is Lord of the Sabbath. And what Moses said here, the Lord Jesus was speaking because he is the Lord of the Sabbath. And then the fifth commandment, honor your father and your mother, which brings a foundation of order and love in home life, and really in all of society, because honor in a home is something that has implications on out.

And the Fifth Commandment is exposed in Deuteronomy 16 through Chapter 18, Verse 22. The Sixth Commandment, Thou Shalt Not Murder, is all about man bearing the image of God. It condemns the pro-death culture that we live in the midst of today that is sweeping the world. I read a couple of weeks ago that last year, 2% of the deaths in the Netherlands were by euthanasia. We live in a world of a culture of death.

But this commandment was exposited by Moses in Deuteronomy 19 through Deuteronomy 22 verse 8. And then the seventh commandment, thou shalt not commit adultery, speaks of the character of God in faithfulness and purity, the protection of marriage. And Moses deals with this in Deuteronomy 22, verse 9, through 23, 14. And then the eighth commandment, thou shalt not steal, which speaks of God as our provider and the principle of ownership of property, Moses does exposition on this in chapter 23, verse 15 to 24, seven. And Moses, he goes on to do, if anyone wants to know the details on this, I can give them to you.

But here what we find in chapter 26 is now Moses has come to the end and perhaps it is true that he's dealing with covetousness in these first two laws or these first two observances and then he finally winds it up. Okay, so that's an introduction to the text I'm sorry for taking so long, but I want us to understand the spiritual Meaning of all of these laws that we're just not talking about wooden Interpretations that you do as a robot they have spirit and life in them. But Jesus said the words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. And every one of these words is a life-giving spiritual force for us. And the Spirit of God comes and enlivens them for us.

So when we read Moses, we are reading, we are beholding the Lord Jesus face to face. And all of his glorious principles are there. Okay, let's speak of this first celebration of the first fruits in verses 1 through 11. Verse 1, and it shall be when you come into the land. So now we understand what he's talking about.

These are particular things they do when they get in the land. They can't do them right this moment. They will do them later. Moses already began to speak this way in the very last phrases of chapter 25. Now he continues on, you know, in this same way.

And so the offering that God is instructing them to give is just an illustration of the new life that they have now in this promised land. And it speaks of a major change in their lives. They've been nomads for 40 years. And now they're farmers. And out of this agrarian life, they bring the produce of the ground.

And they've never done that before and now they're going to do something completely new. You know what a blessing it is from time to time when God gives you just like a complete change and focus of life and this is what's happening with them now. There's a whole new land, a whole new way of living, a whole new way of working. God has fed them by His own hand with manna from heaven and all kinds of other provisions, water and honey from the rock and all kinds of things and just marvelously providing for them. And now they are going to be provided for through their labors in this new promised land.

And the emphasis in this first section is gratitude for God's gifts, the fruit of their labors, blessing God for actually material things. We're not just spiritual beings. We're not just give thanks for just spiritual things, but there are actual physical things that God calls us to be thankful. Are you thankful for all the physical blessings that are around you? Here Moses is directing them to the physical blessings that they'll have in the land.

Think of the array of physical blessings that God has graced your life with. Even if you're the poorest person in this church, you are dressed in finery, at least compared to historically. But we were actually in this air conditioned building where it's not 100 degrees and we're comfortable. You know, we're just surrounded by many physical blessings. Well, now the people are going to the land and they're commanded to give thanks for physical blessings.

And it's all wrapped up in this matter of first fruits. And notice the sequence of events here. You bring a basket, you take a basket, and you take the text that says, some of the first of all the produce of the ground. In other words, an amount was not specified. You take some of it.

And you take the first fruit, it's the very best of it. You know, it's like this. It's like when you go through the food line. The very first food is the best food. There's the most of it.

It's the first fruits. And so you find people clamoring to get to the first fruits. And they do that because it's logical, because that's where the most and the best appear. Moses is saying, take from the most and the best, OK? Because the last fruits aren't quite in the same realm of quality as the first fruit.

So he's saying take some of it, it doesn't say how much. One of the commentators said that in Israel the rich would bring their baskets of silver and gold. And the poor would bring baskets of willows and bark. And so whatever it was you had, whether you're rich or poor, you bring the very best of what you have. That's the idea.

Everybody has something that rises to the top, the first, and by implication, the best. Now, this is where I think we begin to grasp that Moses is speaking of the 10th commandment, of covetousness, because going in and giving of The first and the best is something that puts a drain plug on your greed. It governs your grabbiness. It gets to your desire to grasp for yourself and hoard it unto yourself, but rather to bring it to the Lord. And so this is an observance that staves off covetousness.

It reminds you of your covetous heart and then calls you to release something that's really sweet and really good. And it's consistent with what we read in Hebrews chapter 13, verse 5. Let your conduct be without covetousness. Be content with such things as you have. For He has said, I will never leave you or forsake you, so that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper.

I will not fear what man can do to me." And so here is a wonderful commandment that takes us into this beautiful world of contentment and trusting in God and not having fear of what man can do to you. Paul said to the Romans that covetousness was one of the signs of depravity. In Romans 1 verse 29 he says that the unconverted being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness. It's a sign of depravity and human fallenness. The Lord Jesus himself said, take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of things one possesses.

He says that in Luke chapter 12, verse 11 through 15. And so here we find this observance that breaks the chains of covetousness, that puts a drain plug on greed, that puts something on your hand so that you're not grabbing everything for yourself that you give. And so this here, this commandment, you know, promotes love for people because covetousness gets in the way of love for a neighbor. It protects us from sin, it heals our secret sins that corrode our souls when we find ourselves secretly in our hearts coveting. And it sets us free from a debilitating mistrust, lack of security in the world, and it helps us to see that God is our provider.

So here Moses is going to speak of the time in Egypt and the rescue from there. But this is a picture of rescue. It's a rescue from covetousness. It's a rescue from hoarding everything. Notice there's a place that they go.

They go to the place where God has chosen. This must mean the tabernacle. I take it to be the tabernacle that they take these first fruit offerings straight to the tabernacle. And it just reminds us that God has always had places for his people to gather and to worship. And in these days there was the tabernacle.

In our day God gathers his people together in collections of people that is called the local church. And it's always wrong for God's people to neglect coming to the places that he has established, where worship and praise and fellowship and generosity are demonstrated there. It says here to go to the priest. So you see what's happening. There's this basket, And then there's the place.

And then while in the place, the one offering goes to the priest. And then he declares something to the priest. And he makes a confession. And the confession has to do with the history of his life. And he's instructed to say, my father was a Syrian about to perish, and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there, few in number, and there he became a great nation, great, mighty, and populous.

But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us. Then we cried out to the Lord our God, the Lord God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand with an outstretched arm with great terror and signs and wonder. So this person is coming into the tabernacle and is now going to testify for the redeeming power of God, how the danger of his history was recounted, how the frailty of his family life was so, you know, gripping to him. We were about to perish.

He's telling the history of his life and sort of the meager poor state that his family came from and how God lifted him out of it and then delivered him with his mighty hand. And so here what we find is the person offering is to tell his life story and to speak of the calamities and the dangers and the toils and the snares that have happened to him. You know, if your family is like right on the edge of perishing, you're not alone. That's this man's family. That's Father Abraham's family.

That's my family. Because I'm a son of Abraham. And this family history is my family history, but we need to recognize that when we're on the ropes, when we're at the end of it, we're not at the end. Because God, God is greater, God is deeper and wider than what we might think is the end of it. So he says that they were about to perish.

You might look back in your family history and have all kinds of regrets at the dangers and the difficulties you had. But here, there's a place for looking back at the hardships and just rejoicing before God. Because this is an offering of thanksgiving that's given here. And you know, here we have this scene that is supposed to be played before the priest So the worshiper admits his pitiful position in life and that God God had raised raised him up and he recounts all of the very difficult things. So he's recounting history, he's remembering history.

History is important to Christians. Christians need to remember. Christians need to ask. And this confession that is made is really kind of a historical confession because it harkens back to specific historical moments that really form the foundation of faith. And they give you a sense of what the future holds as well.

You know, this confession has its basis in history. It's very much like the Apostles' Creed. The Apostles' Creed is also a Creed that is couched in historical pinpoints. Here's how the Apostles' Creed reads. I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who is conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried.

He descended into hell. The third day rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence, he shall come and judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of the saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.

Amen." Now that's a historical confession that takes rich doctrine and hangs it on real history. So that's one of the beautiful things about this confession that is made. And so Moses connects the observance of the first fruits with thankfulness for deliverance from bondage, the bondage of Egypt. And of course, you know Egypt symbolizes bondage of sin, the abuses of the devil, how you do not want to live under the government of Pharaoh, but you do want to live under the government of Jesus Christ the King. And so then in verse 11, after recounting this, there is rejoicing in Emile.

So you shall rejoice in every good thing that God has given you to you and your house, you and the Levite and a stranger who is among you." So God is commanding us to rejoice in these things. Now, in this whole observance of the first fruits is something more. As we've learned in going through these laws, We always have to ask ourselves the question, is it ceremonial law or is it moral law? This is ceremonial law. This is fulfilled in Christ.

Because we know that the whole principle of the first fruits is spoken of actually in detail in the New Testament. The Lord Jesus Christ himself is the first fruit in 1st Corinthians 15 verse 20 we read, but now Christ has risen from the dead and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. So Christ is the first fruits, the very best, coming out of the grave after dealing with sin. And then he is the first one of many. It says, for since by man came death, by man came the resurrection from the dead.

For as in Adam all die, Even so in Christ shall be made alive, that each one in his own order Christ the first fruits Afterward those who are Christ's at his coming then comes the end So the New Testament makes Christ the first fruit and this typology carries forward. We understand more of it now. What did this mean when the worshiper came in with his basket? It meant that he was celebrating the salvation of God. It began in Christ as he was the firstfruits.

But we also know that we are firstfruits as well. That because he was the first, He takes us with us as His firstfruits as well. And so in Romans 8.23, we read not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves, grown within ourselves, eagerly awaiting for the adoption, the redemption of the body. So the spirit of God is also cast in this terminology of firstfruits. In 1st Corinthians 16, we read that Paul is speaking of the household of Stephanus, the first fruits of Achaia.

In Romans chapter 16 we read about Eponaetus, the first fruits of Achaia to Christ. So here we find Christ as the first fruits and then we his sons also are our firstfruits. And so this typology is fulfilled in Christ. Christ is our high priest. He led the way in the offering and now we as firstfruits of God are offering ourselves to God as first fruits, which the Apostle Paul spoke of in Romans chapter 12, where he said, I beseech thee therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. This whole life that God has given us has a purpose. We present our whole lives to God. Remember at the beginning I said I think the whole theme of this is giving your whole life, everything on the altar. You're a first fruit, you're an offering.

Your whole life is an offering and you present yourself as an offering to God. So here is this first observance, this first celebration of first fruits that happens in the land that brings the children of Israel to tell the story of their bondage and also the release from bondage, but that they themselves are the first fruits to be offered to God for salvation. So that's the first law. And again, just to remind, before we leave this one, Moses is also doing a number on covetousness at the same time. That there would be a way for the people to recognize how important it is to bring their best first to God.

And then, that that means your entire life. Okay? So, number two. The celebration of the poor tithe in the third year. In 12 through 15, when you have finished laying aside the tithe of your increase in the third year, the year of tithing, and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your gates and be filled.

Then you shall say before the Lord your God." And then we have another confession that's coming. There are all these amazing, wonderful confessions in this chapter. So from our previous studies in Deuteronomy, we remember that there are three tithes at least. It's hard to understand everything about the tithe for me, but I think we can safely say that there's the first tithe for the Lord's work, And then there's the second tithe for rejoicing in the Lord celebrated in the family. And then the third was the poor tithe gathered every third year.

Ten percent gathered every third year except the Sabbath year, the seventh year. And then the purpose of this was to allow the people to take care of one another. It was locally administered and it's interesting here again we find what is the basic element of charity in God's economy and that is the family. It comes out of the family and it provides for various kinds of needs, the fatherless, the widow, the poor, There are all kinds of needs that it's meant to be meeting. And again here God uses this basic element of charity of the family to feed the hungry.

We understand this whole theme is all over scripture. You find it in the days of Abraham where God says to Abraham, in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Now what does that mean? I think it means a lot. I believe that it also includes the generosity of the children of Abraham.

That they give money away. They don't hoard it all to themselves. And so in you all, The families of the earth shall be blessed, all the nations shall be blessed as well." And you find this theme during this patriarchal period. You also find it, of course, in early Israel at this time, in Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy 14 explains this in more detail. You find it in the time of the prophets and the ministry of Christ.

There's this theme of generosity toward the poor and kindness toward the poor. And the Lord Jesus said, freely you have received, freely give. The apostle Paul said that Jesus Christ was poor, yet making many rich. And of course, he was speaking of spiritual blessings, but I don't believe he was speaking only of spiritual blessings. Because spiritual blessings take tangible form, as hearts of people are moved in compassion.

And so if you go to Deuteronomy chapter 14, verse 20 to 29, you see how this is spoken of, at the end of every third year you shall bring out the tithe of your produce of that year and store it up within your gates and the Levite because he has no portion nor inheritance with you and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates may come and eat and be satisfied that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do." So this tithe really had a double positive effect. It was a blessing to the poor, but it was also a blessing to the giver. Because there's this promise that he commands this, that he may bless you in all the work of your hand. The implication is, if your hands are not tight clenched, then He will bless you. He'll bless the work of your hands if you give away.

And of course we understand how televangelists have so abused this, you know, send me $50, you'll get $5, 000 back. And this is a distortion of the whole principle. But the principle in scripture is so clear that if you unclench your fist, God has a way of doing something miraculous with the labor and the produce of your hands. And so here we find this tithe that is being given. And then Moses commands that there would be a declaration and a self-examination.

So the tithe was removed from the house. You see that I have removed the tithe from my house. This is what the tither is supposed to say. I've removed it from my house, and I have given them to the Levite and the stranger and the fatherless." So he's declaring what he has done. And in contrast to Ananias and Sapphira, who declared falsely about what they had done, here we find a true declaration of the gift.

And so this declaration is to be made. And then he says, I've not transgressed your commandments, nor have I forgotten them. And then Moses gives three ways that this transgression might happen. First of all, in verse 14, I've not eaten any of it when in mourning. Number two, nor have I removed it for any unclean use, I was misusing it, nor have I given it for the dead.

And then the summary statement right after that, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God and have done according to all that you've command me. This is a declaration that is also self-examination, because the devil works in our hearts in these matters. And so these three ways that the gift might be polluted, I believe really are just declarations of saying, I've done this properly. I've given all I was supposed to, and I've given all I said I would to the right thing. I think that's what he's saying.

Different commentators say it differently, so I'm not sure. But I think the whole thrust of it, I've given my gift in a proper way, not for wrong things or diversionary matters. So consider that, you know, because of this self-examination, this declaration that's supposed to be given, that Moses is going to the heart of the matter, and that the only gifts acceptable to God are the ones given out of a heart of purity. It's like the widow's mite. She didn't give very much, but it was a lot because it was a generous gift from the heart that reflected true generosity.

While The rich were giving a lot, but actually not very much, because their hearts were different. And then there is a prayer in verse 15, and this is very interesting. Look down from your holy habitation from heaven and bless your people Israel and the land which you have given us just as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey." So here is this prayer. It's kind of a final prayer after the giving of this tithe. And it's kind of like lifting up holy hands in the congregation to dedicate this tithe.

It was interesting, I was listening to someone speaking about this law last week, and I believe it might have been Joe Moorcraft who was saying, he was talking about churches where there's such a guilt about the giving of tithes for asking of tithes and offerings that all kinds of strange things are done. And he didn't speak about this thing, but if you're aware of the history of the seeker sensitive movement, the pastors were instructed that when people are in the congregation, you want to make sure that they don't say anything, sing anything, or give anything. You want to make sure that no one, you know, we don't want no pressure to give, you know. But what Moorcraft was saying is that, you know, sometimes there are, you know, applications of this for like, for instance, there might be a box in the back because people are afraid to, you know, you know, proactively, publicly call, you know, call for, you know, tithes and offerings to come forward. He says, well, this is actually different than that, because it's very public.

It's brought there, and there's a public declaration. And what he's saying is we should be so afraid to collect offerings. That was kind of the net of it. But here again, we bump into the whole matter of covetousness. Covetousness desires what someone else has, so would not give properly in order to become something that someone else might be by keeping what is actually the Lord's.

So the focus of this commandment is perhaps on the coveting heart and giving is just the opposite of coveting. So now Moses has completed, I believe he's completed the exposition of the law at this point. And then in verse 16 there is a covenant oath that is given. This again is another observance. It's a liturgy.

It's a covenant between God and man that is declared here. And in this covenant oath is the heart of the Christian life, a heart of obedience. That you would be his and his alone. That's really the sort of the pulsating message of this whole covenant that's here. That there wouldn't be any divided affections.

That people would proclaim themselves decidedly, exclusively, as a set apart people for God. And it's like what Joshua, what the people said in the days of Joshua, all that you've commanded, we will do. It's like that, that comes up from the heart. And so here is the conclusion of the speech. And so Moses is calling for a certain kind of people here.

And in verse 16, we see that these are an obedient people. This day the Lord your God commands you to observe these statutes and judgments. Therefore you shall be careful to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. Does that remind you of Deuteronomy 5.1 through 5? It's very, very similar.

Moses now is ending where he began, and it's an amazingly carefully structured sermon where the summary is coming now to bring everything together in a confession. And you shall observe them And notice the words, with all your heart and with all your soul. You know what that means? It means that law and grace are inseparable. That God gives His law, and He calls for love for it from the heart.

And that's biblical Christianity. Those who would observe the law from the heart, not to be declared righteous by any law keeping, but only by the blood of Jesus. But these things define the heart of Christianity. With all your heart and with all your soul. That's why I titled this sermon by those words right there.

If you notice at the top of your outline, there's the title, With All Your Heart and With All Your Soul. Even though there's so many, there's this vast array of issues that are cast forth, the bringing of first fruits and all the implications of the gospel and putting a drain plug on greed, and then the giving of tithes and offerings. There's far more. It's all wrapped up into a greater package, and that is that it's the heart of Christianity. And then in verse 17, not just an obedient people from the heart, but a proclaiming people.

Today you have proclaimed the Lord to be your God, and that you will walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments and His judgments, that you will obey His voice. So this is a people who make a proclamation to walk in His ways. We will walk in the ways of the Lord. That's the kind of people God desires to be in the land. And then a peculiar people, verse 18, also today the Lord has proclaimed you to be his special people just as he promised you that you should keep all his commandments.

So there's a peculiar, strange people, and they're strange because they keep the commandments. That's what makes them strange and different. They are governed by something other than just their own passions or the flock and the morass of humanity, running whichever way the wind might be blowing, not God's people. They run in the way of His commandments, And that makes them different. That makes them Christians in the land.

Those who despise the commandments of God are not Christians. They cannot be. So they are peculiar people, just as He promised that you should keep all His commandments. So do you notice, I want you to know something very distinctly here in verse 18. First of all, there's a people who are proclaimed to be a special people.

And then God says in verse 19, and He will set you high above the nations which He has made in praise, in name, and in honor, that you may be a holy people to the Lord your God, just as he has spoken. So here we find God, God taking a people for himself that would serve him, a peculiar people. There's nothing more encouraging than when God takes an oath to own you. To own you in your variations of your life, your days of disobedience of the Lord, and yet He has claimed you for His own. And He says, I will set you high above all nations, that you would be a holy people.

Now, God is so kind to take such sinners and make them His holy people. This is an amazing thing. This is a miracle that God would do this. And here God declares that He will do this with His people, and He will make them His own, and He will bless them, and they will be His and his alone. In Matthew 10 we read, everyone who shall confess my name before men I will also confess him before my Father in heaven.

So here God is confessing the names of his children. And it's a beautiful and wonderful thing. So here we find a sort of a confession and an oath in this last section coming to the end of this great sermon that has taken us on such a journey into so many different areas of life. We've learned so much about life haven't we? It's been amazing to see how deep and how broad the laws of God are and how they penetrate into so many things that we never dreamed before but that God desires His Word to penetrate into every single aspect of our lives, everything.

And that Whenever there's a decision that we look heavenward and we ask him, oh Lord, what does your law say to me? How would your spirit reveal to me what I ought to do because of this? And that is the heart of a Christian. This week we're reading a book by Stephen Lawson called The Expository Genius of John Calvin. Our interns and our elder discipleship group is studying this book.

In the book, Lawson says that when Calvin came to Geneva, he wrote a confession and an oath. And the oath was to keep the confession. And as a result of it, what they desired to do was take that confession and that oath and take it to the streets, to the 10, 000 people that were living at that time in Geneva. And they went to the streets with the confession and the oath. And it wasn't too long before they were run out of town.

But three years later they were invited back. And they continued on. By that time the population of Geneva had swollen to 20, 000 people and there was a reformation in process. But the reformation came because there were people who had a confession and an oath And they cared nothing for the pleasing comments and opinions of man. But they cared only for God and the word of His grace.

And that's the kind of people that Moses is speaking of in this speech. And he's calling to all of us to make a confession and to take an oath, like this oath, that we would serve the Lord our God with all of our hearts and that we would care nothing for anything else but God. And I pray that God would send us out of here today with a confession and an oath to the 10, 000 people that live in a circle of this place now and that we would seek those who would be worshipers, who would worship him in spirit and in truth who would abandon their idolatries? Who would who would abandon their bankrupt laws that are destroying them and to receive the laws of God and? The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ Which is able to save them?

From Egypt as God did with his people here in this text. Would you pray with me? Oh Lord, we thank you for this amazing sermon that we've just gone through. How wonderful it has been for us now. I pray that you would put great resolve in our hearts for a confession and an oath for your glory.

Amen. Thanks for watching!