Strength in Obedience
Notes
Transcript
Good morning.
A few years ago our family took a trip up to Lake Almanor. On the drive home we came around a bend and suddenly there was—Mt. Lassen. Bright, clear, and stunning.
And so Pam wanted me to pull over and take a photograph…
But..I was not too excited about stopping on the shoulder of the highway, so I hesitated..
she asked again… I did what any reasonable husband would do — I sped up.
About then about ten seconds I look my rearview mirror… blue lights flashing..
We got pulled over. While I was talking with the officer, Pam casually rolled down her window, took out her phone, and took a picture.
She got her photo — and I got a ticket..
There it is... the most expensive photo of Mt Lassen…
We’re continuing our series through Deuteronomy — Starting Well…
this morning we looking at Strength in Obedience…
and some times we can hear that voice or that nudge ..… and we can do what I did and ignore it…but there are consequences..
Deuteronomy is a practical book.
In fact, it is one of the most quoted books in the New Testament —
The word “Deuteronomy” means second law — It is the re-teaching and expansion of what God had already given Israel in the book of Exodus.
The difference is that Deuteronomy focuses less on the letter of the law and more on the heart behind the law...
The book of DEUTERONOMY IS MOSES FINAL WORDS TO ISRAEL.. its a series of sermons..
Israel had just come through the wilderness.
They had tried to handle life on their own terms, and it hadn’t gone well. —after 4O YEARS OF WONDERING.. they now stood on the edge of the Promised Land ..at a critical moment…
Here Moses prepares a new generation to live faithfully in what God was about to give them…
What we find in the text is Moses highlights over and over — the importance of obedience..
TODAY THE WORD Obedience is a word often misunderstood…
We tend to associate obedience with restriction —with restraints…
but in Scripture, obedience is the pathway to freedom, life, and joy.
John Stott said it beautifully:
“Christian obedience is not the obedience of slaves or soldiers, but the obedience of lovers who know, love, and trust the One who commands.”
— John Stott
OBEDIENCE IS ABOUT faith and trust…it comes out of are relationship..with God.
out this relationship comes blessing .. and provision..
Obedience is knowing that God has our best interest at heart… in all circumstances..
I’m facts..
Obedience is a central message in the gospel..
Jesus’ In the Great Commission didn’t say,
Go and…into all the world and …
“teach them to believe everything I’ve commanded,”
…. but, to obey everything I’ve commanded.”
Obedience is an invitation into the grace of God… to experience his freedom the way God intended..
How do we live in onedience?
1. Obedience is a Life style.
1. Obedience is a Life style.
When I was a freshman in college, I was. 19 and eager to learn, I went to a upperclassman ..who I respected and asked him a question
“What is the most important lesson you’ve learned during
your time at Bible college?”
He responded, “I’ve learned to never get bitter only better.”
That’s good advice—advice that has stayed with me—
In our text, Moses is speaking to the next generation, giving them advise… on how to step into God’s promises and live faithfully in the Promised Land.
He wants them to avoid the pitfalls that his generation experienced.
Moses begins with a non-negotiable: The Word of God
In chapter 8.1..
1 “The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers.
Moses begins with the Word of God. He tells Israel that God’s law should be a priority in their lives.
He emphasizes the importance of following the whole Law.
The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do
This is a crucial point because we all have a natural tendency to cherry-pick what we like and what we don’t like.
We might commit our lives to the Lord, but only give Him access to certain areas—certain “rooms” of our hearts—while keeping other parts locked away.
These hidden areas can become pockets of disobedience:
Where
unforgiveness
envy
greed
pride
sexual sin
can Harbor..
The danger of partial obedience is that it allows us to justify our sin.
God isn’t looking for selective obedience—He wants our whole hearts.
Remember King Saul.
God gave King Saul very clear instructions through Samuel:
defeat the Amalekites and destroy everything — no leftovers, no spoils, no exceptions.
Saul went out, won the battle, and then made his own adjustments.
He spared their king, and he kept the best sheep and cattle.
In his mind, it made perfect sense — why waste good animals?
When Samuel arrived at Saul’s camp, Saul met him with a big smile and said, “I have obeyed the Lord!”
But before Samuel could answer, he could hear sheep bleating and cattle lowing in the background. He looked at Saul and asked, “Then what is this sound I hear?”
Saul quickly offered his explanation — “We kept the best animals to sacrifice to the Lord.”
In other words, Saul wanted to obey God, but only up to the point where it still made sense to him.
That’s when Samuel spoke those famous words: “To obey is better than sacrifice.”
Saul’s problem wasn’t that he did something obviously wicked.
His problem was that he picked and chose which parts of God’s commands to follow.
selective obedience is still disobedience —
You see…God cares more about our hearts than our sacrifices.
Moses doesn’t beat around the bush. He says to the new generation: “Be careful to do the whole commandment.”
Not some of it. Not just the parts you like. The whole thing.
Why? SO THAT THEY CAN live and thrive in the land..
1 “The whole commandment that I command you today you about shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers.
OBEDIENCE WAS FOR THEIR BENEFITS..
When Moses says so you may Live — he is not talking figuratively — it is talking literary… about staying from things that might endanger their lives… ..diseases and sickness.. and foreign worship…thing that would harm them..
Moses reminds Israel that God plan is for His people -to live and to multiply..
Go thrive in the land…that He was giving theme..
God want a us to thrive where he plants us…
This happen with the word of God..
God’s Word isn’t just ink on a page—it’s the living word and the active word.
The writer of Hebrews tells us..
12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
in other words..
God’s Word doesn’t just give information—it produces transformation.
The word goes deep, into the places we try to hide. It convicts us, corrects us, and points us to righteousness.
The power is not in our ability to quote it, to explain it, or even to understand it fully.
The power is God Himself, working through His Word to change our hearts.
as Romans 12 says..
we are not be conformed to this but transformed be renewing if our minds..
..
through the word..
So what do we learn about obedience?
1. Obedience is a Life style..
2. Obedience is Dependence
2. Obedience is Dependence
Years ago I learned about organizational systems in leadership.
I had never thought about the world through the lens of systems and interconnection before.
For example, think about a bus system—routes, schedules, and drivers all working together.
But if one bus breaks down, it throws off the whole system.
The human body is the same way. When one part fails, it affects your health in all kinds of ways.
Life works like that. Everything is interdependent.
In counseling, there is family systems theory—how relationships work, how they influence one another, and how breakdown in one area affects the whole.
It’s an interesting subject, but it points to something deeper: we are built for connection.
The Bible says we are one body, and our lives impact each other. And together we are created to depend on God.
Moses makes this point in Deuteronomy. He calls Israel to remember who they are connected to:
Come to each other throughout Covernant..
Deuteronomy 8:2–5(ESV)
2 And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.
3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
4 Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years.
5 Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you.
Moses says remember How God sustained you in the Wilderness…
is is wonder thought..
God is present ..
Even in their disobedience God was still walking with and working in them…
One of the problems with disobedience is presuming on the grace of God…
If you back up.. to Deuteronomy chapter One… something really interesting..
right
After Israel refused to enter the land the first time-
Moses Tells them the consequences of their sin …and that is only Joshua, Caleb, and the younger generation would enter the promised..
Their next response..
Is to fix the problem…
they first say sorry to Moses..
They GO UP against the Amorites — with out Gods blessing..
Moses warned them but they still went..
Moses brings this up.
Deuteronomy 1:43 (ESV)
43 So I spoke to you, and you would not listen; but you rebelled against the command of the Lord and presumptuously went up into the hill country.
If was obedience on their terms…
Israel presumed on Gods grace and mercy… and they were defeated…
This what Paul teaches in Romans .. about the abundance of grace in NT...
Paul says that Grace is greater thank our Sin..
Romans 5.20 .
Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,
This Is the Hymn Marvolous grace.. grace that is greater than all our sin..
If is true that..There is no sin that is beyond ability to save or deliver..
But grace is not be presumed upon…
Is is not a licience for sin..
Paul writes..
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
Grace doesn’t mean “sin without consequences.”
It means God changes your our hearts so we want to stop sinning.
—The desire to please God is more than than the desire of the fleas h..the things we crave..
During the 40 years in wilderness God humbled Israel.
He allowed them to experience hunger and discomfort.
Moses says God humbled them.
The word Humbled carries the idea of being pressed down —
A few years ago..we bought one of those mattresses that comes in a box. You open it up and it fills up with the air ..
That is the picture of humility.
means to compress..
God pressed them ..
to reveal what was in their hearts…
In order to fill them…
He then
fed them with manna — food from heaven —
Manna was super natural…you you can’t bake it or manufacture it it’s God’s food…
So in a Very Literal Way,, God fed them on something supernatural. Moses …compares Manna go the Word of God..
And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
The wilderness stripped away the things people normally rely on and forced them to lean on God alone.
When Jesus began His ministry, He too went into the wilderness for forty days.
Satan tempted Him with food and power,
In order that he would depend on the natural things....
but Jesus quoted Moses:
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
So obedience means we don’t settle for the status quo. ..obedience is the choice to depend on God and his word...
obedience more than reading of studing Gods word…it’s following it..
Oswald Chambers once said:
“We learn more by five minutes’ obedience than by ten years’ study.” Oswald Chambers
So what do we learn about obedience?
1. Obedience is a Life style..
2. Obedience is Dependence
3. Obedience is about Provision.
3. Obedience is about Provision.
God had been good to us…the blessing in community and the blessing of provison..
Our leadership team is going through budgets..
we so grateful for your faithfulness.
What is provision or providence ?
Providence comes from Latin and Greek terms meaning “foresight” or “making provision beforehand.”’
In theology, is the big picture of God plan… God forsight in creation and sustaining the world he created —and he direct it towards an appointed destiny….
But it also speaks of God knowing and meeting our needs in the present….
He meets needs our needs in salvation..
For forgiveness and restoration…
He meets our need for Healing
For provison..
One of the ways we can see God providence is by looking back and remembering what God has done…
But..
God’s providence is ongoing…
His providence reaches back wards and reaches forward..
Moses..
6 So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him.
7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills,
8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey,
9 a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper.
10 And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.
There figure provison.,
But is conditional on obedience..
Moses says Keep walking…in God’s commands..
..
When you think about it you can live from different places
— We can allow Our Emotions —to dictate how we feel and we respond to others..
— We can things like fear and anxiety — and worry…
Moses says we are to be those who wall by Faith..led by what God Word says..…
God word (His Laws) should go before us..
Keep his word..
walk with God and he will provide.. he will suply your needs..
Moses says..
For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land…and of brooks of water…fountains..and springs… fruitful land…
That is provison..
hudson Taylor once said
Depend on it! God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.
James Hudson Taylor
Walking with God is a living a life of Faith..
George Müller, the pastor from Bristol, England, who lived this out…
he believed God could supply every need through prayer and faith.
In 1832 he and his wife Mary started an orphanage to care for abandoned and needy children.
Over the course of his ministry Müller built five homes that cared for nearly 18,000 children.
What made Müller remarkable is that he never fundraised and never asked for money.
He simply prayed and trusted that God would provide.
I have a book in my library that records those answers—every gift, large and small, noted as a testimony to God’s faithfulness.
One well-known story tells of a morning when the orphanage had run out of food.
There was nothing for breakfast. Müller gathered the children and prayed, thanking God for what He would provide.
Shortly after, a local baker knocked on the door saying God had laid it on his heart to bake bread for the orphans.
Moments later a milkman arrived—his wagon had broken down outside, and the milk would spoil unless the children used it. Breakfast arrived—just in time. And it came through dependence.
conclusion
conclusion
This morning I want to challenge you to trust God
Regardless of our circumstances…
To trust God for provison..
Paul tells us in Philippians 4 that he has learned to be content in every circumstance.
Whether in abundance or in need, whether well-fed or hungry,
Paul discovered the secret of facing all things through Christ.
When the Philippian church sacrificially supported him, Paul didn’t point to their generosity as his security — he pointed to God as the true provider behind it all:
Philippians 4:19 (ESV)
“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
Paul learned that obedience and trust belong together — they are two sides of the same coin.
That’s what Moses wanted for the next generation as they stood on the edge of the Promised Land:
To trust God and follow his word..
And the same is true for us today.
Faith isn’t instant — it’s learned. It’s
formed.
It’s tested. And in the process, God shows Himself faithful.
So the invitation remains the same:
Hear God’s Word. Practice God’s Word. Trust God’s provision.
I never for get a missionary who say God provison over and over in his life saying.,
God had won my trust!
Take comfort..
The God who calls you is the God who sustains you.
And He will supply every need according to His riches in Christ Jesus.
Amen..
Let’s close..
