“Moses Commands Obedience”

Deuteronomy 4:1–2 (ESV)

“And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.

INTRO:

Good Evening, I am so happy to see all of you. I hope that the Holiday season was truly a blessing and time of rest. I hope you got to spend quality time with your family and were able to reflect on the birth of your savior.

I am so thankful and happy to see you all here tonight. I love hanging out with you guys, but I truly love opening up God’s Word with you to see what our Lord has to say to us…

One thing that I cherish about God is that he does not just save us and then remain silent… he saves and speaks to us… and wants us to hear from him… we serve a God who saves and speaks to us…

I was reminded of Psalm 23:1-3

Psalm 23:1–3 (ESV)

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness

for his name’s sake.

WANT… its a verb and an action that means = “To be inadequate in amount or degree”

In other words, Psalm 23 is saying… the Lord is my shepherd, I will not lack in anything. All that I need can be found in my savior and shepherd - the Lord. I need not turn to anyone or anything else…. the Lord is sufficient, he is not lacking, he is not inadequate, and there is no need for me to want anything for my shepherd and savior has granted me everything…

I get excited about opening up God’s Word with you this evening because we get to hear from our Shepherd… our Lord who is not lacking and who has everything we could possibly need…

Please pray with me as we prepare our hearts to read and take in God’s Word…

PRAYER

O, LORD, my God… would you graciously open our eyes and hearts to your Word… would you open our hears to not simply just hear your words but to listen to your Words… Father, would you fill us with your Spirit this evening and grant us the blessing of understanding your Word and Truth… Lord you are good, you are God, and your name deserves praise, glory, and adoration for all that you have done… we love you Lord… it is in your Son Jesus name that I pray these things… Amen…

TRANSITION - READ PASSAGE

Deuteronomy 4:1–2 (ESV)

“And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and DO them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.

CONTEXT:

CONTEXT gives us a CLEAR Picture of the CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING the STORY…

Deuteronomy:

AUTHOR: Many traditional views attribute the authorship of Deuteronomy to Moses, however, authorship is not stated in the book.

Details: Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Bible and the final book in the Torah. In the previous books, Israel had been lead out of Egypt and stayed at Mount Sinai for year… The Israelites then entered into a covenant with the Lord… where the Lord would be there God… and they would be the Lord’s chosen people… The Israelites struggled and sinned… causing the Exodus generation to be disqualified from entering the promise land… Deuteronomy opens up with Moses standing before this new generation… where he is explaining and expounding upon the importance of following and keeping the law of the Lord…

DATE: Many Scholars believe that the book of Deuteronomy was written around 1405 B.C.

POINT #1: When the LORD speaks… We must LISTEN

POINT #2: We must be ready to receive what the LORD is TEACHING us

POINT #3: KEEPING the LORD’s commandments will COST You Something