Cross The Jordan and Take Possession - Godly Love, Fear, and Obedience

Thank You

Prayer Request

Sermon

Or ever been afraid to let God really bless you? - A reluctance, maybe about what it might mean, or what might be required of you if he does pour out his blessing on you or this church? What time, money, or energy it might cost you? Remember we talked about our values?? Well, we are going to talk about some people today who had some problems with just that very thing.

THIS WORD IS WRITTEN TO THE ISRAELITES (GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE) – MOSES IS COMMONLY ACCEPTED AS THE AUTHOR OF DEUTERONOMY.

DO YOU REMEMBER THE SLAVES FREED FROM EGYPT, WITH THE HELP OF MOSES AND HIS BROTHER AARON? WITH ALL THE PLAGUES, THE PARTING OF THE RED SEA?

SO, THE PEOPLE THAT THIS WORD IS FOR IS ACTUALLY MADE UP OF MOSTLY THE SECOND GENERATION OF THOSE ISRAELITES- BECAUSE THEY ENDED UP WANDERING IN THE DESERT FOR 40 YEARS. (DEUT. 1:26—46 & JOSHUA 5:6) “THE SECOND GENERATION OF MEN WHO WERE NOW OF MILITARY AGE & THOSE WHO WERE CHILDREN (TOO YOUNG TO BE OF MILITARY AGE AT THE TIME THEY WERE FREE FROM EGYPT- AND ARE TOO OLD (50) TO SERVE NOW) ARE RECEIVING THIS MESSAGE.

GOD LOVES HIS PEOPLE AND HE IS ABOUT TO BLESS THEM WITH THE LAND HE HAS PROMISED THEM- BUT THE LAND THEY ARE ABOUT TO ENTER IS NOT LIKE EGYPT OR THE WILDERNESS (THE LAND IN WHICH THEY HAD LIVED)

SO, GOD IS GIVING THEM THE CLEAR PRINCIPLES REQUIRED FOR LIVING IN THIS NEW LAND…THAT HE IS GIVING TO THEM

SCRIPTURE

Deuteronomy 10:12- 11:32

12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,

13 and to keep the Lord’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?

14 Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it.

15 Yet the Lord set His affection on your fathers, to love them, and He chose their descendants after them, you over all the other peoples, as it is this day.

16 So circumcise your heart, and do not stiffen your neck any longer.

17 For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who does not show partiality, nor take a bribe.

18 He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the stranger by giving him food and clothing.

19 So show your love for the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

20 You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him, and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name.

21 He is your glory and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen.

22 Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons in all, and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven.

Chapter 11

1 “You shall therefore love the Lord your God, and always keep His directive, His statutes, His ordinances, and His commandments.

2 Know this day that I am not speaking with your sons who have not known and who have not seen the discipline of the Lord your God—His greatness, His mighty hand, His outstretched arm,

3 and His signs and His works which He did in the midst of Egypt to Pharaoh the king of Egypt and to all his land;

4 and what He did to Egypt’s army, to its horses and its chariots, when He made the water of the Red Sea engulf them while they were pursuing you, and the Lord completely eliminated them;

5 and what He did to you in the wilderness, until you came to this place;

6 and what He did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben, when the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, their tents, and every living thing that followed them, among all Israel—

7 but your own eyes have seen all the great work of the Lord which He did.

8 “You shall therefore keep every commandment which I am commanding you today, so that you may be strong and go in and take possession of the land into which you are about to cross to possess it;

9 and so that you may prolong your days on the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give to them and to their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.

10 For the land, into which you are entering to possess it, is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, where you used to sow your seed and water it by your foot like a vegetable garden.

11 But the land into which you are about to cross to possess it, a land of hills and valleys, drinks water from the rain of heaven,

12 a land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it, from the beginning even to the end of the year.

13 “And it shall come about, if you listen obediently to my commandments which I am commanding you today, to love the Lord your God and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul,

14 that He will provide rain for your land in its season, the early and late rain, so that you may gather your grain, your new wine, and your oil.

15 He will also provide grass in your field for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied. 16 Beware that your hearts are not easily deceived, and that you do not turn away and serve other gods, and worship them.

17 Otherwise, the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and He will shut up the sky so that there will be no rain, and the ground will not yield its produce; then you will quickly perish from the good land which the Lord is giving you.

18 “You shall therefore take these words of mine to heart and to soul; and you shall tie them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets on your forehead.

19 You shall also teach them to your sons, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up.

20 And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,

21 so that your days and the days of your sons may be increased on the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth.

22 For if you are careful to keep all of this commandment which I am commanding you to do, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and cling to Him,

23 then the Lord will dispossess all these nations from you, and you will dispossess nations greater and mightier than you.

24 Every place on which the sole of your foot steps shall be yours; your border will be from the wilderness to Lebanon, and from the river, the river Euphrates, as far as the western sea.

25 No one will be able to stand against you; the Lord your God will instill the dread of you and the fear of you in all the land on which you set foot, just as He has spoken to you.

26 “See, I am placing before you today a blessing and a curse: 27 the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I am commanding you today;

28 and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today, by following other gods which you have not known.

29 “And it shall come about, when the Lord your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, that you shall place the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.

30 Are they not across the Jordan, west of the road toward the sunset, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah, opposite Gilgal, beside the oaks of Moreh?

31 For you are about to cross the Jordan to go in to take possession of the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall possess it and live in it,

32 and you shall be careful to do all the statutes and the judgments which I am placing before you today.

SERMON mini EXEGESIS

1) IN CHAPTER 10-CHAPTER 11:1 ,IS A REMINDER OF THEIR PAST AND THEIR NEED TO BE COMMITTED TO GOD – (WHICH THEY HAVE NOT BEEN CONSISTENT IN THE PAST AND ENDED UP WANDERING IN THE DESERT FOR 40 YEARS)

BIG NOTE; DO NOT MISS IT- THIS IS FOR THEIR GOOD!!! (Deut. 10:13)

It all begins with A LOVING GOD!

THAT LOVES THEM AND US LIKE NONE OTHER, AND THEY/WE SHOULD BE COMPELLED TO LOVE AND KEEP HIS REQUIREMENTS, DECREES, LAWS AND COMMANDMENTS.

2.) (VS 2-7) THIS MESSAGE (REALLY THE WHOLE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY) HAS SO MUCH TO DO WITH NOT REPEATING THE MISTAKES OF YOUR PAST- BUT ALSO REMEMBERING THE MIGHTY WORKS AND FAITHFULNESS OF THEIR/OUR GOD AND HOW HE HAD PRESERVED THEM.

OLDER GENERATION HAD WITNESSED THE WORKS - THEY HOLD THE LEGACY. SAW IT WITH THEIR OWN EYES (DEUT. 11:7)

3. PRINCIPLES OF OCCUPANCY

(VERSE 8) KEEP EVERY COMMANDMENT

(VERSE9) WHY????? SO THAT YOU MAY BE MAY BE STRONG AND GO IN TO TAKE POSSESSION OF THE LAND INTO WHICH YOU ARE ABOUT TO CROSS TO POSSES IT; AND SO THAT YOU MAY PROLONG YOUR DAYS ON THE LAND WHICH THE LORD SWORE TO YOUR FATHERS TO GIVE TO THEM TO THEIR DESCENDANTS, A LAND FLOWING WITH MILK AND HONEY.

ALSO...

THIS LAND IS DIFFERENT (VS10)

WATERED BY FOOT VERSUS WATERED BY GOD (VS10-13)

BEWARE OF GETTING EVERYTHING YOU NEED

FORGET GOD WHEN YOU DON’T NEED HIM

BECOME OUR OWN god

HAVE TO BE SCRIBES, STORY HOLDERS, AND SHARERS, TELL YOUR TESTIMONIES, REMINDERS, AND BE TEACHERS

NO LONERS, BUT ALWAYS NEEDED AND BELONG IN COMMUNITY

4. THE PROMISE AND PREDICTION (VERSE 23-25)

THEN....

23 then the LORD will dispossess all these nations from you, and you will dispossess nations greater and mightier than you. 24 Every place on which the sole of your foot steps shall be yours; your border will be from the wilderness to Lebanon, and from the river, the river Euphrates, as far as the western sea. 25 No one will be able to stand against you; the LORD your God will instill the dread of you and the fear of you in all the land on which you set foot, just as He has spoken to you.

5. THE CHOICE: BLESSING OR CURSE (VS.26-30)

New American Standard Bible Chapter 11

26 “See, I am placing before you today a blessing and a curse: 27 the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I am commanding you today; 28 and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today, by following other gods which you have not known.

6. THEIR PURPOSE- IF THEY CHOSE TO CROSS THE JORDAN

New American Standard Bible Chapter 11

31 For you are about to cross the Jordan to go in to take possession of the land which the LORD your God is giving you, and you shall possess it and live in it, 32 and you shall be careful to do all the statutes and the judgments which I am placing before you today.

-So, I started this out by asking you:

If you had ever been afraid to let God really bless you? - So is there some barrier you need to cross so that you can take possession of something God is trying to bless you with - maybe that barrier is some fear of the responsibility? ?? But do you trust God? Is He going before you? Do you trust His Word and His promises? what about what you have seen Him him do in the past- or have you asked those who have seen Him work in the past?

Or do you have a reluctance because of what doing so might mean for you? Or what might be required of you personally? Basically a fear of what it might cost you?? We talked about our values do they line up?

Maybe you are just now realizing that they don’t? - Well get it fixed, settled it up with God. You have self-awareness, now seek forgiveness, and get a new plan.

*_Asking as a church, what if God really pours down His blessing here… on this church? Are you all ready for the amount of time, money, energy, and effort that is going to be required of you as leadership, members, and lovers of this community? __*

If you are not sure, maybe its past time to get sure… go to God in prayer alone and collectively and get it settled. Be in community- this church is a body of believers and it will take everyone becoming, belonging, and being committed to taking possession of the work and leadership that will be required to cross the Jordan and possess the Land of Milk and Honey (so to speak) that God has waiting for you all; if you chose to love Him and keep his commandments. (Love God, and Love People)

3. Closing Prayer /Altar is Always Open