The blessings of obedience
Notes
Transcript
Order of Service
Order of Service
Welcome
Welcome
Prayer
Prayer
Hymn -
Hymn -
Notices
Notices
Prayer Meeting - 7:30pm
Friday 7pm - Online
Sunday Morning 11am & 6pm
Tithes & Offerings - £
Main Prayer
Main Prayer
Hymn -
Hymn -
Reading
Reading
“And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. “The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. The Lord will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. And he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. The Lord will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. And the Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground, within the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. The Lord will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them, and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
Sermon
Sermon
Moses had just spoken these words...
“ ‘Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
Now he commences by outlining what the Blessings of Obedience will be
He follows this passage with the curses for disobedience - next time
Overtaken by Blessings (v1-2)
Overtaken by Blessings (v1-2)
“And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God.
Christian’s often use the words “Bless” and “Blessing but it is not always obvious what is meant.
In these verses “Blessing” means good gifts that spring from God’s Grace and Favour towards His people
A blessing is a good gift from God
When God blesses us he grants us good gifts
To be blessed is to receive and enjoy those gifts
Note:
“If you faithfullly obey”
“Being careful to do”
“The Lord your God” - Obedience arises out of an already existing relationship
The relationship is based on God’s Grace
never upon anything that Israel has done
The heart of obedience is Love for God
keeping his commandments is an expression of that love
The continuance of that relationship does not depend on obedience
which is why God chastises his disobedient children
when we are disobedient, the relationship does suffer is terms of knowing nearness of God and enjoying his love and receiving his blessing
the way we restore the relationship
is not by trying hard to do better
but repentance and a return in faith, that in turn will lead to renewed obedience
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
return...
“And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God.
“will set you high above all the nations of the earth”
This was not a promise which should make the people proud
nor was it intended just for their own sake
God would make Israel an example before all the nations
They would see that the LORD is the true God
That God’s commandments are wise and good
That is it right and good to acknowledge the LORD as God, to submit to him, worship him and obey him
Israel would be a light to the nations that would cause God to be praised and draw the nations to him
The nations would thus be blessed through Israel
Churches have a similar calling
Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
Blessed in every place and in every way (v3-6)
Blessed in every place and in every way (v3-6)
Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
A picture of God’s blessing coming upon every area of life
Cities prosper
fields yield abundant crops
Children are born and grow up health and strong
family life is blessed
Christians
Different as scattered across the nations
Equally, after conversion lives turned around are often far better
Israel were promised an earth inheritence, we have a heavenly inheritance
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
The God from whom all blessings flow (7-14)
The God from whom all blessings flow (7-14)
“The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. The Lord will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. And he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. The Lord will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. And the Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground, within the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. The Lord will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them, and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
“The LORD will establish you as a people holy to himself” (v9)
“The LORD will” or “he will” mentioned 7 times
All Israel’s hard work and careful obedience could not of itself bring the rain, but God could
Christian workers are recommended to remember the word’s of Paul...
1 Corinthians 3:6–7 “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.”
“And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you”
Afraid (reverence and awe) means to respect
They would respect Israel and feel a restraint on their own attitudes and actions
Godly people earn respect
Faithful and caring churches gain a good name in a community and further afield
There will always be some who speak against the Gospel and vilify Christians, but we are supposed to live down the false accusations and the reports such people give
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
Hymn -
Hymn -
Q&A
Q&A
Hymn -
Hymn -
Closing Prayer
Closing Prayer
Doxology
Doxology
