The Word (Part 5): God’s Instructions For Us
The Word • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 7 viewsWe have a serious problem with a streak of rebellion that runs in our hearts. We are in desperate need of God to show us how to walk with Him and give us the correction we need. This message explores these realities and helps us to see why we need to embrace God’s Instruction For Us.
Notes
Transcript
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
2 Timothy 3:16–17 (ESV)
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Illustration: The Sin within.
The rebellious boy in the Hospital illustration…
We have a rebellious spirit within us that needs the Lord’s Correction. Our God doesn’t just want to establish and point out where we fall short. If He did, there would be no need for atonement and reconciliation in Jesus.
God wants us to have the life that He has made us for and that we ruined in our rebellious spirit. We need Him to help us and point us in the right direction.
We need not only His instructions against us that directs us towards repentance (Last week), but we need His instructions for us to help us walk with Him.
11 “For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 14 But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. 15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. 16 If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 17 But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, 20 loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
God’s Instructions For Us Are…
God’s Instructions For Us Are…
1) …Not Impossible for Us (v.11-14)
1) …Not Impossible for Us (v.11-14)
11 “For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 14 But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.
It’s not too hard…neither is it far off.
Devoting ourselves to listening to God and obeying Him is not beyond us.
It’s actually what were originally made for.
We try to make it hard, but it’s really not.
We try to over complicate it, but it’s generally far more simple to do what God instructs us to do and walk in His correction than it is to ignore Him and walk in our complicated, busy, and frustrating lives.
I appreciate Alan so much…
God’s Word is pretty straight forward on most issues we face.
Most of the time, grey areas arise because we don’t just listen to God’s Word and obey it.
We try to get God to say what we want Him to say instead of letting His Word be the only and final instruction to us.
If we will let it be in our mouth and on our hearts we will be able to follow His instruction. (v.14)
Understand it, Memorize it, and apply it.
2) …Life to Us (v.15-18)
2) …Life to Us (v.15-18)
15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. 16 If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 17 But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess.
Once again, we there is no middle ground!
Life and death…good and evil.
IF…THEN
IF you obey…THEN you shall live and be blessed
IF you turn your heart away and not hear…THEN you shall surely perish
Obedience is a natural outflow of our Love for God.
If you say you love God, but you don’t seek His instruction and obey Him…you are a liar.
John 14:15 “15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
You cannot claim to love God because you make Jesus your religious preference…You can only love God by embracing Jesus as your LORD and obeying His Instructions for us.
Obedience = Loving the LORD, Walking in His Ways, and Keeping His commandments, statutes, and rules.
We don’t do so out of obligation, but out of admiration and adoration.
We do so because we want to please Him and glorify Him.
If you only obey out of obligation you’ll be miserable and you will fail because your heart is not in alignment with His, but if you love Him, adore Him, admire Him, then you can’t help but obey Him.
When you understand that Jesus is your life, then you embrace His correction because His instructions are life to you.
3) …Actively Calling Us to Choose (v.19-20)
3) …Actively Calling Us to Choose (v.19-20)
19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, 20 loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
You can’t be neutral and in the middle. You’re either all in or all out.
God is so great and so worthy that anything less than full surrender is falling short of His glory.
We are called upon to embrace His instructions for us and to choose life!
This is why we want to THINK…LIVE…AND CARE…BIBLICALLY!
Choosing Life means
Loving the LORD
Obeying His voice
Holding fast to Him
…for He is your life and length of days
CLOSING
CLOSING
Each and every day we have a choice…to embrace the Life we have in Christ by embracing His instructions for Us and embracing His correction of our lives, or we can neglect His Word and deny His Instructions for us and His correction for our lives.
If our hearts turn away and we will not hear, but are drawn away to take hold of and be shaped by false worldviews and fruitless pursuits, then we are turning to death and embracing the very things Jesus died to save us from…
But if we will not write off the Lord’s commands and embrace them, walk in them, keep them, and hold fast to Him then we will experience the fullness of life that He gives us.
The choice is set before you this morning and every morning…choose life that you might live loving the Lord your God, obeying His voice and holding fast to Him, for He is your life…what will you choose?AA
