* God commanded 10% (tithe) of crops or animals to go to the Lord at a certain place.

* They would bring the tithe to Jerusalem (or wherever the tabernacle was) and eat of it there as a feast to the Lord.

* The leftovers would go to the Levites, who would then tithe to the priests.

* But if they lived too far to haul that much produce they could sell it and bring the money, buying themselves a meal and then giving the rest of the money to the Levites.

* Here’s the cool part - going to “town” and having a meal was normal.

* What made this meal special was their mindset in why they were doing it.

* This meal was “for the Lord.”

* Think about ministry - What makes a minister is where he’s placed or how he’s paid. It’s about his mindset as he has in the thing he does.

* A man in a boardroom with a knack for making a deal who’s out to make money is a businessman.

* A man in a boardroom with a knack for making a deal who’s out to bring God glory is a minister.

* It’s all about the mindset.

* All Scripture points to Jesus - even the weird stuff.

* Luke 24:25-27 - Road to Emmaus - Christ was the fulfillment of all Scripture.

* So when you see crazy stuff try to see how it points to Jesus.

* What about the animals that have a split hoof and chew the cud being clean?

* ** Split Hoof - animals like this had a natural separator in their feet.

* When they walked they separated out wheat from chaff.

* This was valuable as the Israelites were farmers.

* God is a separator - In Creation God separated things before He filled things.

* Matthew 10:34 says that Jesus is a divider - He separates light from dark and wheat from chaff.

* ** Chewing the Cud - animals chew the food to soften it and then swallow it so that the stomach acid breaks it down even further.

* Then it comes back up so they can chew it more and then back into the stomach to break it down.

* This process allows the animal to get all the nutrients out of the food slowly.

* Ultimately, the animal is able to live off the nutrients from this food.

* Likewise, we are to eat Jesus - we chew on His Word and then meditate on it.

* This process take the nutrients of God’s Word and feeds our life - makes us strong.

* Hebrews 5:13-14 - solid food is harder to digest but you get more life out of it.

* ** Putting both together - when God’s Word gets inside us it divides us - separates the evil from the good, convicts us of the bad and encourages us in the good.

* ** NOTE - They were not allowed to eat an animal who had one but not both.

* Chewing the cud but not splitting the hoof is like meditating on God’s Word but not letting it divide us, thus affecting the way we live.

* Splitting the hoof but not chewing the cud is like separating from the world but not mixing into it like we’re supposed to.

* Or being about division and not reconciliation (like Peter with the sword).

* Moses is encouraging the people to not let their love for God grow cold.

* The people would soon forget God if they didn’t have a system of reminding themselves of His goodness.

* What were they to do?

* In Dest 6:7-9 we see we are to TALK about God’s commands (vs 7):

* 1) when we’re at home.

* 2) when we’re at work.

* 3) when we’re going to bed.

* 4) when we wake up.

* We are to then LIVE by them (vs 8):

* 1) when we’re “doing things.”

* 2) when we’re “thinking things.”

* That establishes a foundation for the command in Deut 11.

* To keep our love from growing cold, we are to:

* 1) Meditate - think deeply on God’s Word.

* 2) Educate - tell others, especially our kids, about God.

* 3) Deliberate - talk about God’s Word with others inviting feedback.

* Moses broke the first set of tablets in a fit of rage when the people worshipped the idol.

* Now God gave him a new set.

* Only this time He commanded Moses to make a wooden chest in which to hold them.

* So now Moses can’t break the law because they’re protected in a chest.

* Psalms 119:11 says that if we hide God’s Word in our hearts we won’t sin against God.

* Why? Because they are hidden in our chest, which is where our hearts are!

* When God’s Word is in your heart they are safe there, but so are you!

* His Word protects you as your protect His Word.

* In Deut 7 Moses tells parents to educate their kids about God and His Word.

* This sets the foundation for spiritual discovery.

* In vs 20 he advises what to do when a maturing child asks the question, “What’s the meaning of all this?”

* The response is to give their testimony - to share their story of what God did for them.

* This is the best advice parents can get.

* Teach your kids God’s ways, then when they ask for the meaning give them your story!

* Meaning is best learned through story!

* If your kids don’t ask what it means it may be that you haven’t done the first part yet.

* It was time for the Israelites to finally take the Promised Land.

* God had to encourage them first. Why? vs 11 - Og was a monster!

* We don’t fight FOR victory, we fight FROM it.

* The land was already theirs, but they had to go out and get it.

* They had to walk in authority, and when they did they would have what God wanted them to have.

* But it was their choice.

* They originally backed out of the fight 38 years prior because they believed they had to fight FOR victory.

* Seeing it that way meant they could never win because the giants were too big.

* Testimony - when we first got fired from HGTV and we went on all the interviews…

* The first few were so hard because I was nervous and not walking in authority.

* The Israelites were on their way to the Promised Land.

* Along the way they would pass through lands they were not to touch and people they were not to fight.

* God gave them many commands, but here in this chapter we find two of them.

* On the way to your sweet spot:

* 1) Mind your business.

* Don’t meddle in stuff that’s not you.

* Paul told Timothy to act like a soldier.

* A true soldier doesn’t get involved in petty skirmishes.

* 2) Handle your business.

* Pay for what you eat and drink. Don’t look for handouts.

* God didn’t want the Israelites to be in debt to these people.

* Abraham paid for Rachel’s grave, David paid for the threshing floor of Aruna.

* They didn’t want to be in someone’s debt and “owe” that person.

* EX: Benjamin Netanyahu paying for his own food in the market.

* If you mind your business and handle your business you won’t need others to provide for you.

* All Israelites were promised to inherit land on the other side of the Jordan River.

* Two tribes fell in love with the land on the wrong side.

* They set their eyes on it and did the same thing Lot did - he chose for himself.

* vs 19 - “our lot has FALLEN to us…”

* Key - what you focus on will magnify in your mind and your desire for it will intensify until you get it, only for you to realize you should have never wanted it in the first place.

* Ex: magnifying glass with paper - it will burn the paper up.

* vs 16 - they lost their heart because they started dreaming about what they would do with the land.

* It’s the difference between lust and love.

* Lust says I want it now because it’s focused on the thing we want.

* Love says I’m willing to wait because it’s focused on God’s provision.

* Emotion is a very good thing and is meant to incite action.

* But emotion without wisdom leads to disaster.

* Emotion is never meant to lead.

* Emotion gets us moving and keeps us moving, but has to remain under the guidance of our spirit.

* Fast forward and we see the Israelites captured by the Assyrians and these two tribes were the first to be taken down.

* Research now shows how unexpressed emotions cause physical damage to our bodies.

* David said the same thing here in this verse.

* A clinical phsychologist said:

* “Habitual repression of emotion leaves a person in a situation of chronic stress, and chronic stress creates an unnatural biochemical milieu in the body.”

* A doctor who treated terminally ill cancer patients said this:

* “Not one of the many adults interviewed for this book could answer in the affirmative when asked the following: When, as a child, you felt sad, upset or angry, was there anyone you could talk to—even when he or she was the one who had triggered your negative emotions? In a quarter century of clinical practice, including a decade of palliative work, I have never heard anyone with cancer or with any chronic illness or condition say yes to that question.”

* What do we do?

* 1) Pour ourself out to God. Confess sin, don’t bottle up emotions.

* 2) Pour ourself out to a few others. James 5:16 - this is where healing comes in.

* These men woke up early in the morning with an agenda.

* They didn’t spend any time alone with God asking Him to speak to them.

* They executed their agenda flawlessly, only to be the people who crucified the Son of God.

* We do the same when we don’t give the first fruits of our day to God.

* Ask Him to speak.

* Imagine what God would’ve said to these folks if they did that?

* God is always speaking. The question is, “are we listening?”

* Don’t approach God with an agenda - approach Him with a heart to discover His agenda.

* That’s what the gospel of the Kingdom is - getting aligned with the king’s agenda (plan).