A Consuming Fire: Choose Life

Scripture

Deuteronomy 30:11–20 ESV

“For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. 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?’ 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?’ But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. 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. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, 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. 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, 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.”

Prayer of Illumination

Holy God, as we come to Your Word, open our hearts and minds by the power of Your Holy Spirit. You are a consuming fire—burn away anything that keeps us from fully following You. Help us hear Your voice clearly today and give us the courage to choose the path of life.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Introduction

Have you ever missed your exit on the highway? You’re driving along… everything seems fine… and suddenly the sign flashes by. “Oh no… that was my exit.”

For a moment you think, “Maybe I can still make it.” But you know you can’t. You can’t stop. You can’t back up. You can’t cross the median.

You just keep driving until the next exit miles down the road. And sometimes that one missed turn adds twenty minutes to the trip.

Life can feel like that sometimes. One decision… one direction… one moment… and suddenly you realize you’re not where you intended to be.

The direction of our lives is shaped by the decisions we make. Every decision puts us on a path… and every path leads somewhere.

And in Deuteronomy 30, Moses reminds the people of a simple but powerful truth: every person must choose which path their life will follow.

There Are Two Ways Before Us

There are two ways before the Israelites.

In today’s text, the Israelites are presented with two ways: life and prosperity, or death and destruction. And the truth is… the same choice sits before every one of us today.

If they love the Lord and walk in His commands, they will experience life and blessing in the land. But if they turn away from God and follow other gods, their sin will bring destruction and they will lose the blessings God intended for them.

c. God is very clear with the Israelites about where their choices will lead. They understand that the decision before them is not small—it will shape their lives for a long time.

i. In Deuteronomy 28, God explains in even greater detail the consequences of their choices, clearly showing the blessings that come with obedience and the consequences that follow disobedience.

d. But this choice did not begin with Israel.

i. In the Garden at the fall, humanity gained the knowledge of good and evil. We now understand the difference between right and wrong, and the choice of which path to take is placed before us. Yet the crafty devil made evil appear good, and through Adam and Eve’s disobedience, sin entered the world.

God Has Made the Right Path Clear

God’s Word and His love are very near.

a. And God pleads with them to choose life. He wants what is best for His people, knowing that disobedience will lead to consequences He never desired for them.

b. God makes it clear that what He is asking of the Israelites is not difficult. They do not need to reach up to heaven or cross the sea in order to obey His commands.

c. When Moses brought the law down from the mountain, God revealed His Word and gave His people everything they needed to choose the right path—they were simply called to obey it.

Deuteronomy 30:14 ESV

But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.

If It Was a Snake….

Think about how often we lose something that is actually right in front of us. You look everywhere for your phone… and then realize it was in your hand the whole time.

God is saying to Israel, “You don’t have to go searching for the path of life. I have already placed it right in front of you.”

Romans 10:8 ESV

But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim)

c. The law didn’t justify them but it did bless them and give them an opportunity to fellowship with God.

God is saying, “You don’t need to search for the right path! I have set it right in front of you! I have made the choice obvious for you. So please choose life!”

Ultimately, that path of life is found in a Person—Jesus Christ—who later said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

d. God’s Word teaches us the path of life so we can make the best decisions.

Psalm 16:11 ESV

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

The path God sets before us leads to true life. Psalm 16 tells us that in God’s presence there is fullness of joy — a satisfaction and joy that the world simply cannot give us.

Yet They Still Choose the Wrong Path

Yet the Israelites still chose the wrong path. Their rebellion brought judgment, and many never experienced the blessings God intended for them.

Like someone who missed their exit and keeps driving farther away from where they intended to go, they stayed on the wrong path too long. And eventually the consequences caught up with them.

We Choose the Wrong Path Too

Unfortunately, we too often choose the wrong path.

a. We may not think we have. After all, we are here on a Sunday morning, worshiping God. Surely this is a sign that we are on the right path.

Have we loved God with our whole heart?

Have we loved our neighbor as ourselves?

Have we sought God’s justice in the world—not only by caring for others, but by sharing His Word with those who are walking on the wrong path?

b. The truth is, sometimes while you are on the path, it is hard to know if you are on the right one.

Sometimes we drift spiritually. Not because we suddenly reject God…but because we slowly replace Him with other priorities.

Work becomes our identity.

Comfort becomes our goal.

Entertainment fills our time.

And before long, our hearts slowly drift away from the Lord.

It’s a little like using your GPS.

Sometimes you’re driving and the GPS quietly says, “Recalculating.”

You didn’t mean to get off the route. You didn’t wake up that morning planning to go the wrong way. You just missed a turn somewhere.

And suddenly the GPS is trying to guide you back to the right road.

In a similar way, the Holy Spirit works in our lives. When we begin drifting from the path that leads to life, He lovingly speaks to our hearts and calls us back to the right way.

That is why Lent is such an important season for the church.

Lent is a time to purposely slow down and examine the choices we have made.

It is a time to confess where we have wandered.

It is a time to ask God to search our hearts and reveal whether we are truly walking the path that leads to life.

God Guides Us Back to the Right Path

Thankfully, we do know where the paths of obedience and disobedience lead. And by the grace of God we can be shown the errors of our choices.

Christ, through the Bible, has revealed the path to salvation for us.

a. It gives us the wisdom we need to choose the right path.

b. Christ came to walk that path before us so that we could follow where He leads.

c. The point of Deuteronomy 30 is not to assume that we are on the right path. For Christians, it calls us to examine our hearts and make sure we truly are walking on the path God has set before us. We do this by listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit, who faithfully guides us each step of the way.

God alone can guide us step by step—but only if we trust Him and follow Him closely.

If our foot slips, we cry out to God and allow Him to pick us up from the wrong path and place us back on the right one.

Psalm 119:105 ESV

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Through His Word, Christ reveals the path of life and shows us where to walk.

b. We have to let God examine us and our choices. We cannot assume that we know best or that we always make the right choice.

Psalm 139:1 ESV

O Lord, you have searched me and known me!

c. Choices put us at the crossroads of life. We are the ones that have to make the decision which path to follow. And those decisions will have eternal consequences.

A Mind Renewed, A Life Redirected

The good news is that the poor choices we have made do not have to continue ruling our lives. We are never too far down the road for God to redirect us; He brings redemption to any and all.

Listen to Romans 12:1–2

Romans 12:1–2 ESV

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

In this passage, Paul shows us that there are two competing patterns for our lives. We can either be conformed—pressed into the mold of our old mistakes and the world's ways—or we can be transformed by a God who specializes in new beginnings.

This transformation isn't a one-time event that we can "miss" if we wander off; it is a continuous invitation. Because of God’s mercy, we can always choose to stop conforming to the past and start being renewed in the present. Every time we turn back to Him, He begins the work of shaping our lives into the masterpiece He desires for us.

And the beautiful thing about God’s grace is this: God doesn’t wait for us to fix everything before we come back to Him.

He meets us right where we are— right in the middle of the wrong road.

And when we turn back to Him, He begins leading us again on the path that leads to life.

Takeaway for the Week: Every day we stand at a crossroads—and every day God invites us to choose life.

Conclusion

Sometimes people think that once they’ve gone far enough down the wrong road, it’s too late to turn around. But every GPS has a simple word it says when you get off course: “Recalculating.”

That’s a picture of grace. God does not abandon us when we miss the turn—He begins guiding us back to the path that leads to life.

Sometimes life really is like missing that exit on the highway. One day you look up and realize you’ve been heading the wrong direction.

Maybe it happened slowly through a series of small choices. But suddenly you realize you are farther away from where God wants you to be.

The good news of the gospel is this: God always provides another way back through Christ. You are never too far down the road for Him to turn your life around.

And today the sign is still before us. The same God who spoke through Moses is still speaking today. Moses says in

Deuteronomy 30:19 ESV

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,

And thousands of years later, that same choice still stands before us today.

So today: Love the Lord. Obey His voice. Hold fast to Him.

Choose life.

Prayer Following Sermon

Gracious God, You have set before us life and death, blessing and curse. Thank You for speaking to us through Your Word today.

Give us the courage to choose life— to love You, walk in Your ways, and hold fast to You. Where we have wandered, lead us back. Where we have been hesitant, give us faith to follow.

Shape our hearts by Your Spirit so that our lives reflect Your will. May the choices we make this week honor You and lead us closer to the life You promise.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Blessing and Sending

Church, today God has placed life before us. As we leave this place, may we choose the path that leads to life in Him.

Go now in the grace and mercy of the Lord. Choose the way of life—love the Lord your God, walk in His ways, and hold fast to Him.

May the God who is a consuming fire purify your hearts, strengthen your faith, and guide your steps. And may the blessing of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be with you and remain with you always and give you peace.

Amen.