Listening to Him From the OT
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 7 viewsWe often draw encouragement from our reading, listening, and study of the New Testament; especially the gospels. Today, I'd like to look to, perhaps my favorite book of the Bible, Deuteronomy and the Law. We'll draw encouragement through learning a little about the nature of His commands, the opportunities these commands provide, and how following Him provides us the physical and spiritual growth we need as we walk with Him and interact with others.
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
1 All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers. 2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. 3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live. 4 Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years. 5 Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee. 6 Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him. 7 For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; 8 A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey; 9 A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass. 10 When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. 11 Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: 12 Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; 13 And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; 14 Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; 15 Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint; 16 Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end; 17 And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.
Today, I’d like to take a little time to remind ourselves from the OT Law the importance of “Listening to Him.”
I was talking to my evangelism professor and mentor one day and he asked me if I ever read Deut. 17:18.
Turn with me in your Bibles and we’ll look together:
18 “Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites.
This passage and my mentor’s passion for handwriting the scriptures changed my outlook on both reading the NT and understanding the Gospel.
Let’s take a brief look today at “Listening to Him from the OT” and learn about His Commands, His Opportunities, and how He Provides.”
The Lord Commands (1)
The Lord Commands (1)
Throughout the book of Deuteronomy, we see God’s commands.
The most popular and encompassing are found in Deut 5:6-21
If you turn there quickly, you’ll see these are the Ten Commandments that are found in Exodus 20:1-17.
His Commands Demonstrate His Holiness
His Commands Demonstrate His Holiness
God’s holiness is seen in His commands.
You see, as a holy God, it is His privilege and right to command His people to follow Him in the manner He dictates.
Take a look at Deut 5 again.
6 ‘I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
He says, “I am the Lord your God.” Not only is He the Lord your God, but the one who brought you out of Egypt.
7 ‘You shall have no other gods before Me.
He states His holiness by telling them that He is it; there is no other.
8 ‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
He tells them anything they make in the likeness of that which He made is idolatry.
We won’t look go through the rest of the commandments for the sake of time, but we see that His commands remind us of His holiness.
Friends, Jesus is God and He is holy
17 It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. 18 I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.”
Since Christ is holy, we need to be careful in how we present Him to others and address Him ourselves. He’s not a buddy we share a back slap with, but a loving God who bore the punishment of our sin.
His Commands Demand Our Obedience
His Commands Demand Our Obedience
Notice Deut 8:1 says “you must be careful to observe”
When used relating to the Law, Sabbath, or a covenant, he Hebrew word for “careful” can mean “keep,” “observe,” “celebrate,” or “perform” in the case of a vow.
The Israelites were not only to observe the law, but they were to “carefully” do so!
Listen with me as I read Lev 10:1-2
1 Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. 2 So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.
Friends, God’s commands are to be taken seriously, because He is holy.
As Christians we aren’t called to follow all the same laws as the Jewish people because Christ is the fulfillment of the law.
This does not mean that we can adopt an attitude of “I walked the aisle, I’m good!”
Listen to Matthew 28:18-20; especially 20.
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Friends, as believers, He’s commanded us to do what 18-19 says AND teach them to observe all He commanded.
His Commands Result in Kingdom Multiplication
His Commands Result in Kingdom Multiplication
8:1 reminded the Israelites that careful observation of His law would lead to multiplication. “that you may live and multiply”
16 in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess.
In doing these things, He reminds them that they’ll not only live, but multiply. And in multiplying, God was going to bless them in the promised land.
As a Christian, we can’t help but multiply when we are doing what He commands. Again look to the Great Commission in Matt 28
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Most often the biggest struggle in our KBC churches do not relate to power or personality, but a loss of a passion for obeying the Lord’s commands to us and obeying them. The Great Commission found in Matt 28 is a case in point.
The Lord Gives Believers Opportunity (2-3)
The Lord Gives Believers Opportunity (2-3)
Opportunities are Tough at Times
Opportunities are Tough at Times
Christian, I know things are tough every now and then. Sometimes not as tough as we’d like to make it out to be.
Not as tough as being tested and humbled, on purpose, for 40 years.
The Lord led them forty years in the wilderness, sure they’d sinned, but God said He did it:
“to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.” Dt 8:2.
Verse 3 says, He “allowed you to hunger” and fed them bread which they had not known in order that they would learn that man doesn’t live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.
Friends, opportunities from the Lord might look difficult and that’s okay. He provides and uses those instances for His glory.
25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness—
Opportunities Help us Rely on Him
Opportunities Help us Rely on Him
Look at the beginning of Deut 8:2
“And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness Dt 8:2.
God tested them for forty years, but all the while He led them!
Church, are we completely relying on the Lord?
68 But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
As believers, we rely upon Him through His Word and the Holy Spirit.
Opportunities Bring us Back to His Word
Opportunities Bring us Back to His Word
Notice back in Deut 8:2 that God led them through the wilderness “to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.”
The old adage is true that “we don’t know how good we have it until it’s gone!”
They were being humbled and tested.
These were a “stiff-necked people.”
16 Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer.
Notice that God said (v.2) “to know what was in your heart.” He didn’t say, “I wanted to make sure all of you were circumcised, or reading your Bibles, or even baptized and whenever ya’ll get those things down, we’ll move on.”
Friends, oftentimes God provides us with opportunities to bring Him back to Himself but we miss them because we are too focused upon “getting our church tradition right” or perhaps the things of the world.
Is He calling you back to Him today? Have you veered off into sin and are need of repentance?
The Lord Provides (4)
The Lord Provides (4)
He Provides Physically
He Provides Physically
We read of how God took care of the people by feeding them manna. He also clothed them.
There is no way their clothing would have lasted 40 years in a desert environment.
Not only did their clothing and shoes last for 40 years, their feet didn’t swell.
I don’t know about you, but whenever I’m spending the day with my wife at the mall, my feet swell and hurt-and that’s just one day!
The Lord provided for them physically.
Friends, God provides for us physically now doesn’t He?
26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
Look at the reminder the Lord gives to the people about how the Lord took care of their clothing.
The Lord is gracious and provides for us.
He Provides Spiritually
He Provides Spiritually
“man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.”
One of things we struggle with is the fact that we have what I call “selective recognition.”
Selective Recognition happens when we only recognize the Lord for those things that we see as beneficial to us in a physical way.
We praise Him when:
We find some extra cash somewhere.
We get a snow day from school or work.
A family member or friend gets well after a hospital stay.
These things are great, we should recognize the Lord in them, but what about some of these:
When we are reading His Word and we are convicted of sin.
When we are reminded that a friend, family member, or stranger may not be saved and we are prompted to share the gospel.
When we’ve been reminded that all believers are called to make disciples as we go.
Friends, as I close; remember His commands:
He’s commanded us to repent of our sins and come to Him as Lord and Savior. Has there been a time in your life when you’ve repented of your sins and received Christ?
He’s commanded us to follow Him as a disciple. Can your life be defined as an active disciple or an out of action onlooker?
Friends, remember the opportunities we have in Christ.
You have an opportunity today to come to Christ for the first time. Is this the day that you are giving up on yourself and are coming to Christ?
You have the opportunity to share the Good News of the gospel. Are you actively sharing as you go?
And finally, friends, remember that He provides spiritually.
You may be here today and have never truly experienced a true spiritual relationship with God because you are not a child of His.
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.
You are only a child of His when you repent of your sins and place you faith and trust in Christ. Would you like to do this today? Myself and Bro. Brian will be up front during a time of invitation. Please come talk to one of us.
You may be here as a believer and simply need spiritual encouragement. Friends, read your Bible; the whole thing. Fellowship with others believers regularly. Share your faith daily and weekly. And encourage others to grow in Him.