We shall now return to that chapter in Deuteronomy chapter 3. And tonight, we want to choose verse 24 for our text. So Deuteronomy 3, verse 24, which reads, O Lord God, thou hast begun to show thy servant thy greatness and thy mighty hand. For what God is there in heaven or in earth that can do according to thy works? and according to thy might. The title I'd like to give to the sermon tonight is, Looking Back and Ahead. Looking Back and Ahead. Deuteronomy means second law. or repetition of the law. And this is what's happening here in this book. In some real sense, Moses is reading the law to them because they're about to enter into the promised land that is the second generation of those who came out of Egypt. They are now about to go forth and to do what the first generation didn't do. They're about to go into the promised land. And in chapters one to four in the book of Deuteronomy, Moses reviews God's past dealings with the people. And he does this in order that they might be encouraged, that they would go forward, that they would march in faith, believing in the Lord their God. They had been a wandering and nomadic people. But as they would go into the promised land, and as they would divide the land up, they would become an agricultural people. And therefore, it was necessary that Moses might bring the teachings of the law to bear upon this new and fresh generation that was about to go into the promised land. Well, here we are, friends. We're at almost the end of another year, and how quickly time does fly. It's not that long ago that we were contemplating entering into 2024, and now here we are on the last Lord's Day evening of this year. And in the will of God, we will see a new year, 2025. And it's customary at this time of year to reminisce and to be nostalgic and to take stock and maybe to look back and to look forward. Well, this is what we seek to do this evening as we look at this verse in context. This is an old book, as you know, but this old book has much to say to us in the 21st century. Obviously, friends, we will all acknowledge that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and therefore every book in the Bible is relevant. It has a message for us, and that's true of this book here that is before us. But do we know that this book is quoted nearly 100 times in the New Testament? We might not realize it, but it is a much-quoted book, and therefore it is valuable for us to consider it and to study it. And interesting, Christ quoted more from this book than any other Old Testament book. We could think of his times when he was tempted by the devil that are recorded for us. It is written, it is written, it is written. He's referring here to the book of Deuteronomy. And therefore, we might not be too familiar with this book, but it does have an important message for us, for our day, and for our generation. Well, I have three brief things that I wish to highlight from this text and from the context for our edification this evening. First of all, we should look back with gratitude. It's always good to stop, to think, to ponder, to look back at what has happened to us at the close of a year. Moses spoke these words as his life was coming to an end. Moses was not going to go into the Promised Land. He was forbidden because he did not honor God on one occasion. He was to speak to the rock. Instead, he smashed the rock. He struck it with his rod, and therefore he didn't glorify God. And because of that, he would see it. He would go up in a mountain and he would be able to see it, but he would not cross into it. and he was told that his life was about to end. And therefore, this is Moses, in some sense, looking back at his own life. But these words are apt and appropriate for us as we stand on the threshold of a new year, and as we look forward to the beginning of a new year. And what do we do? Well, surely, friends, we would recall God's faithfulness and his goodness to us. Every day of our lives, God is gracious. Not every single person in the world experiences God's saving grace. That's what he reserves for his people, and he is sovereign in these matters. But nevertheless, every single individual will know something of God's grace. We might call it common grace, but in one sense it's not common because it has come from God, and nothing is common that comes from God. But we use that term to distinguish it from saving grace. But all of us, regardless of our spiritual condition and our spiritual state this evening, we have to testify that the Lord has been good. He has been gracious. He has given us life. He has given us health. He has given us strength. He has kept us on the way. He has provided for us. We have lacked nothing. God has been faithful to us, and therefore, this is us. a cause for us to delight in what God has done. And because God has been faithful and God has been good to us in the year that's passed, we can look forward to this year that lies ahead, knowing that the same God will still be with us, that God will still uphold us, provide for us, and if we be his people, we can be sure that the Lord will work out his plans and his purposes for our lives. He will not overlook anything. He can be trusted. And this is what Moses was going to impress upon the people, the second generation, in order that they might realize that they were not to be like the first generation. The first generation saw the mighty works of the Lord in Egypt. Egypt was in one sense the most powerful nation in the world at that time. And the Lord with his mighty axe, with the plagues that he brought upon them, and then ultimately to destroy their army in the Red Sea when they tried to cross after the people of Israel had crossed on dry land, they were all drowned. And Egypt never recovered. It never became the force that it once was. And the Lord showed his power, his might, his majesty, and his care and his concern for his people. And the first generation saw that. And they went into the wilderness. They got the law on Mount Sinai. And then when the time was when they were supposed to go in and take possession of the land, they became fearful. They sent in spies, 12 spies, one from each of the tribes. And 10 spies brought back an evil report. And Joshua and Caleb were the only ones that brought back a good report. And they would stir the people up to go in. And what was the reason why they thought the people should go in and possess the land? It was that the Lord was with them, and they were able to look back. and see what God had done to the Egyptians, and that same God was with them, and therefore they were to have faith, and although there may have been cities with walls, and there may have been giants, and things may well have been difficult for them, they would have to fight, but they had the ace, as it were. God was with them. But the people were frightened. They had no faith. And well, we know they didn't enter in. And when they tried to, they were quickly defeated. And then God pronounced the judgment upon them. You will not go in until all the fighting men have died. They will die in the wilderness. and it will be the second generation that will go in to the promised land. Well, Moses has got the second generation before him, and he is encouraging them to see what God has done in their day and in their generation. And what did we read there? We read of the two mighty kings of the Amorites. and how they were defeated by Moses and by the people. Why? Because God was with them. And therefore, Moses is saying, remember what has happened. Look at that mighty fighting. Look at that victories. Look at what we have been able to achieve through the Lord our God. And that's to encourage us to go into the land and to take full possession of it. because as he has done to Og and to Sion, the kings of the Amorites, so he's going to do for the other seven Canaanite nations. They will go in and ultimately they will divide the land. They will be victorious. And as the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe Manasseh received their inheritance, When they took over the land that did belong to Sion and to Og, so the other tribes, when they actually go and cross the Jordan and enter into the promised land, they will be able to defeat their enemies because God was going to be with them. And therefore, friends, it's exactly the same for us. We are not fighting any physical battles. We don't have spears or swords or guns or bullets. But nevertheless, we have a fight. It's a fight of faith. And we are to take up that cross and we are to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, just as we did in the year that's just passed. And what did we find when we did it? We found that the Lord Jesus Christ was with us and we overcame things that when we looked upon them with our own strength, we were overwhelmed. But when we stepped out in faith, we found that God indeed was faithful and he was with us and we were able to overcome these difficulties, these trials, these temptations. and is going to be exactly the same in this new year that lies before us. If we have faith in Him, we can be victorious. If we have faith in Him, we can overcome our sins. We can overcome our shortcomings, our difficulties. We can know what it is to have a victorious Christian life. This is what is for us. This is what we are to have. This is what we are to possess. We are therefore to look back with gratitude and to count our blessings and to see that this great God who has watched over us in this year that's about to finish and other years in the past, he will go before us. As it says in Psalm 40, we sing it very often, but maybe we don't ponder the words as much as we should. But Psalm 40, verse 5, many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done. And how true that is. And thy thoughts which are to us, us word. You see, one of the problems with the former generation is they forgot. Oh, how we need to have our memories quickened. We forget. We forget what God has done. We forget how good God has been to us. We have faced a trial. We have prayed about it. We have sought the Lord. And by grace, we have overcome that trial, and we've made progress. But we forget about these things. We don't recall the blessings of the Lord as we should. This was the case with the old generation. Who needed more evidence that God was for them than the old generation? Who did such wonderful things for them in Egypt? The terrible plagues that beset Egypt, and Israel was spared, and they come out victorious and triumphant over their enemies. They couldn't do it by themselves. They were not an army. They were not fighting men. They couldn't do it, yet God was with them, and they were able. But they forgot all about that when it came time to go into the promised land. And we are to remember what God has done. We are to use this time to think and to reminisce and to look back and to count our blessings and to name them one by one. And we will be surprised what the Lord has done. Psalm 78 is a long psalm, and it speaks about the history, the potted history of the people of Israel. And it says this about these people in the wilderness, in verse 11 of Psalm 78, and forgot his works and his wonders that he had showed them. Manna from heaven. quails, the water that came from the rock, many other wonderful displays of God's grace towards them and his mighty power, yet they forgot all about it. Maybe it's the same with ourselves. We don't have the same kind of problems, but we do have problems. We do seek the Lord, and miraculously, he answers our prayers, and we are brought through that trial, that difficulty. It may seem small to us. We never mention it, but at the time, it brought us down. It brought us to our knees, as most afflictions do. but we've passed through them. We have risen up above them. We have been victorious over them. And why is that? It is because the Lord has been with us. And therefore, we are to be encouraged and we are to use our memories that we might meditate upon what God has done Further on from that same psalm that I quoted, verse 42, they remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy. Have you forgotten when you had a health scare? Have you forgotten maybe when you were short? Have you forgotten when there was a relationship problem? Have you forgotten when there was an employment problem? Have you forgotten when there was a problem in the congregation or with another member of the congregation? Have you forgotten these things? At the time you were concerned about it, the Lord has brought you through. He has worked wonders. Let us never forget. In the book of Hebrews, it speaks about the people as they were on their wilderness journeys, and how they had a, or they developed, we might say, an evil heart of unbelief. Oh friends, we want to be delivered from an evil heart of unbelief. God is good, and God is good to his people, and therefore we are to face whatever lies before us in the strength and in the power of the Lord, knowing that that scripture is true, that he says to us, lo, I am with you until the end of the age. And therefore, we are to be reminded of his goodness. Secondly, he has shown his greatness. Thou hast begun to show thy servant thy greatness. There was another encouragement. It was God who had showed his greatness in many ways by keeping them all together for the 38 or 40 years that they were in the wilderness. What an amazing achievement to keep a people together in the wilderness, wandering for 40 years and bringing them back to the spot that they were 38 years ago. It was nothing but the mighty hand of God that was able to do that. And God had shown his greatness throughout their period in the wilderness. And by these recent victories that we have recorded for us in this chapter, God again was showing his greatness and he was showing that he was all out for his people. He was with them. And because of that, he would never leave them. He would never forsake them. And the promise that he had made to Abraham and to Isaac and to Jacob would ultimately be fulfilled. Nothing indeed could overthrow that promise that God had made to their forefathers. And therefore, This was another encouragement. Thou hast begun to show thy servant thy greatness. And indeed, these were great victories. And by these victories, they were reminded that there was no excuse for the unbelief of the first generation. Paraphrasing. What was the problem that the first generation found when they looked at the land and they went to spy it? Well, they saw well-armed cities with great defenses, bars, iron bars. They saw giants. They saw all of these things. They saw mighty people. And they were fearful, and they were frightened. In one sense, that was good, because they recognized that they themselves couldn't overpower their enemies. But they were not expected to go on their own strength. But that was the reason. That was the excuse. These places have got large walls, plenty of bars, plenty of iron, plenty of giants. Too much for us. Well, what do we find concerning the recent victories that the second generation knew? In verse 5, for instance, we're told, all these cities were fenced with high walls, gates, and bars. Besides unwalled towns, a great many. And what Moses is impressing upon them, upon the second generation, is, don't be like the first generation. Don't be like them. You will encounter opposition. You will encounter difficulties. But God is with you. And he showed it. These people, the first, were frightened of these things. Well, The second generation has overcome these things, and God will be with you. Therefore, stir yourselves up." And as a result, the land was given to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe Manasseh, a preview of what would ultimately happen when they would all go into the promised land, and every tribe would get their due portion. Well friends, it's the same for us today. Maybe, maybe there are some here who are, in some sense, just like the Israelites. They're back at where they were this time last year. What were they like this time last year? They were still in a state of unbelief. They were still without Christ. They were still without saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And here we are, a year has passed, and they're back at exactly the same spot. It's like they're Israelites. The second generation, Now, at the time we're reading, we're at the exact same place as the first generation were 38 years ago. It's time to step out in faith. It's time, therefore, to embrace the Lord Jesus Christ as he is freely offered to us in the gospel. It's time to put an end to our unbelief. It's time to believe upon him. Because that's what the Apostle Paul said to the Philippian jailer when he asked the question, what must I do to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. and thou shalt be saved on thy house." In a very same way, that's what Moses is telling these people there. Believe in God, move forward, take the step, God has revealed himself as a great covenant-keeping God. He will fulfill his promise. He will take you through. You will be able to overcome all your enemies and all obstacles because God is with you. And thirdly, friends, notice here from this text, that this is just the beginning. Thou hast begun to show thy servant thy greatness. These two enemies, notable as they were, well, there was more enemies to be overcome. Jericho and such like, there was a lot of fighting that had to go on, and they would have to undertake this, and they would have to put on their armor, and they would have to take up their weapons, and they would have to fight. God was not going to do the fighting for them. They would have to do it, but God would be with them. And this was just the beginning. It was to encourage them to go forward. As someone has said, quote, the year is dying, but our God is living. The year is dying. It's almost over. But our God is living, and our God lives forever and forever. And the believer, we have just experienced the beginnings, just the beginnings of his greatness that he has for his people. We will never tire to say that the moment that we believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ, we are justified by faith. and we have peace with God, and you are as justified the moment that you believe as you will ever be. You'll never be more justified. It's impossible. But God has much more for the believer. Yes, we have eternal life, we have it in bad form, we know that. But yet there are many, many more blessings for God's people, and we will know some of them in this world, but friends, we will know the fullness of salvation in that world that is to come. and we are to look forward to that world, because this world, we are rapidly being taken away from it, and we will enter into the eternal world, and yes, we have some indication in the Word of God what that world is like, but we don't have all the information, we don't have all the details, but we trust in God. He will take us. And will he disappoint us? Has he ever disappointed anyone who's a true-hearted, genuine Christian with all their trials and difficulties and afflictions that has befallen them? Are they ever disappointed with what God has done? Here, friends, we have received the first fruits of our salvation. If we might use that expression, the first fruits As these people there did, they received the firstfruits of God's greatness, but as they would cross the Jordan, they would have more reason to rejoice and to celebrate, because God was going to reveal more of his greatness, and more of his love, and more of his mercy, and more of his grace to them. What's going to happen in this coming year, God willing? The minister has no idea. You have no idea. The movers and shakers of society, they have no idea either. They have an agenda, they have plans. Will they be fulfilled? Who knows? We have no idea. Some people are quite optimistic about America and what's happening there, a new president coming in. Well, who knows? Many people are a wee bit disappointed with their own country, with their government, and what's happening. What's it going to be like? We don't know, but God does. But what we do know as believers, that we can go forward into this year and whatever will lie before us, Our faith and our hope and our trust is rooted and grounded upon the eternal God, that God who does not change and cannot change, and who is all out. Yes, friends, all out for the good of his people and for his cause. And therefore, as we look back, and we've had our difficulties, we've had our trials, we've had our disappointments, But underneath it all, the Lord has been faithful to us. And as we go into the future, unknown to us, but known to God, we can look ahead with confidence, with faith, with assurance that God is for his people, and therefore, Our heart's desire and plea this evening would be that all of us here, and all who may well be listening by other means, that they would know what it is.