Tests of Faith
Deuteronomy: Remember and Rehearse • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction
Introduction
When I was in High School, study guides were a life saver. . .
Key Point: By remembering our salvation, sanctification, and satisfaction in Jesus, we can pass the test and enjoy our promised rest.
This section is a continuation of the first commandment: you shall have no other gods before me. . . you shall not fashion an idol of anything to bow down to it or serve it.
God tests us for our good.
Tonight, we will observe two tests that God put Israel through to strengthen their faith and dependence upon him. . . and God will put us, as well, through these tests as we journey to our promised rest.
1. Test of Abundance
1. Test of Abundance
The Danger: Conceit.
10 “And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, 12 then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 13 It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. 14 You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you— 15 for the Lord your God in your midst is a jealous God—lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.
The Solution: Don’t forget your Salvation.
When Israel entered the promised land of prosperity. . . in chapter 8, Moses again called them to remember where they came from and who provided for them while they were in the wilderness.
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. 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. 6 So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him.
The solution: Don’t forget your satisfaction.
Man does not live by bread alone, but every word from the mouth of God.
God is the one who provided for and sustained Israel in the wilderness. . . their clothes did not wear out. . . they always had enough food. . . because the word of God’s promises sustained them.
When Israel would finally enter the abundant promised land God called Israel to remember their poverty in the wilderness, that it was God who provided for them and sustained them, so that they would know their true satisfaction comes not from the fruit of the land, but from the gracious and mighty hand of God.
Application
Don’t boast like you have not received all you have.
7 For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?
Stop “aura farming!”
Remember the good God who has given us everything we have.
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
God’s Word should be our delight.
2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Remember where you came from.
Ephesians 2:1: Dead in sin. . . Ezekiel 16:6: Wallowing in your own blood.
When we remember our humble roots, it will allow us to grow the abundant fruit of gratitude to the Lord for all he has given us. This will keep us from being conceited and worshipping the gods of self and pleasure.
By remembering our salvation and satisfaction in the Lord, we can pass the test of abundance.
2. Test of Faithfulness
2. Test of Faithfulness
The Danger: Compromise.
1 “When the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and mightier than you, 2 and when the Lord your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them. 3 You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, 4 for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly. 5 But thus shall you deal with them: you shall break down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and chop down their Asherim and burn their carved images with fire.
Israel was to show no mercy to the people of the land, but to utterly destroy them so they would not fall into worshipping their false gods.
Speak once more to why God is doing this to these nations and this is not unjust.
Why must Israel drive out the Canaanites?. . . because God chose Israel to be his holy and set apart people.
6 “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, 10 and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. 11 You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today.
Thus, The Solution to compromise: Don’t forget your sanctification.
As God’s holy people, he strictly commanded Israel not to toy or play with sin and temptation.
16 And you shall consume all the peoples that the Lord your God will give over to you. Your eye shall not pity them, neither shall you serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you.
25 The carved images of their gods you shall burn with fire. You shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, lest you be ensnared by it, for it is an abomination to the Lord your God. 26 And you shall not bring an abominable thing into your house and become devoted to destruction like it. You shall utterly detest and abhor it, for it is devoted to destruction.
Israel must not be attracted by the attractiveness of the idols (silver and gold). . . lust of the eyes.
If Israel doubted their strength and ability to overcome the people of the land, Moses called them to look to the Lord and remember how he delivered them from Egypt.
17 “If you say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I. How can I dispossess them?’ 18 you shall not be afraid of them but you shall remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, 19 the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, by which the Lord your God brought you out. So will the Lord your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. 20 Moreover, the Lord your God will send hornets among them, until those who are left and hide themselves from you are destroyed. 21 You shall not be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God. 22 The Lord your God will clear away these nations before you little by little. You may not make an end of them at once, lest the wild beasts grow too numerous for you. 23 But the Lord your God will give them over to you and throw them into great confusion, until they are destroyed. 24 And he will give their kings into your hand, and you shall make their name perish from under heaven. No one shall be able to stand against you until you have destroyed them.
The great and awesome God is in Israel’s midst, he will fight for them and deliver them from these people because Israel is God’s chosen possession to be his holy people.
God’s victory may not come soon (v. 22). . . but it will eventually come!
Application
Like Israel, we must remember that in Christ, we are called to be a holy and set apart people. . . . being God’s children, we must imitate him and be holy as he is holy.
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
As Israel was called to utterly destroy the pagan nations, which represented sin and idolatry, we also must wage war against sin and temptation and not be allured by its attractiveness.
13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
Like Israel, we must look to God to give us victory over sin and temptation, who are mightier foes than we are.
13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
So, by remembering our sanctification, we can pass the test of faithfulness.
Response
Response
In response tonight, did Israel pass these tests?
Unfortunately, they did not. . . and the sad reality tonight is that we have not passed these tests either according to God’s standard.
We may have made an 85 or even some of us have made a 95. . . however, God’s passing grade is only a 100.
To pass God’s tests, we must make a perfect grade. . . we can’t miss one question. . . and the Bible has made clear that we have all drastically missed the mark.
Romans 3:23. . .
Yet, even though we have failed each of these tests, Jesus, the true Israel passed them all!
In Christ, we have Salvation.
Matthew 4:5-7. . . Jesus did not give into conceit and pride in throwing himself off the temple for God’s angels to catch him.
In Jesus’ submission to the Father, he gave up his life as a ransom for our sin. . . so that we could be redeemed from our pride and conceit.
In Christ, we have Sanctification.
Matthew 4:8-10. . . Jesus did not compromise when being tempted to worship Satan.
Jesus will give us victory over sin and temptation
Jesus will finish our salvation and fully sanctify us.
In Christ, we have Satisfaction.
Matthew 4:3-4. . . Jesus found his satisfaction in the Word of God.
Jesus is the bread of life.
Jesus is the living water.
It is only through repentance and faith in Christ that we can pass God’s test and enter our promised rest. . .
Are you “in Christ” tonight?
By relying, remembering, and resting in our salvation, sanctification, and satisfaction we have in Christ we will not fall into the temptations to worship the false gods of our day.
