2019-06-30 Deut 7.7-11
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7 “The Lord had his heart set on you and chose you, not because you were more numerous than all peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples.
8 But because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your fathers, he brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed you from the place of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
9 Know that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps his gracious covenant loyalty for a thousand generations with those who love him and keep his commands.
10 But he directly pays back and destroys those who hate him. He will not hesitate to pay back directly the one who hates him.
11 So keep the command—the statutes and ordinances—that I am giving you to follow today.
I. You need a bigger God and a smaller you.
I. You need a bigger God and a smaller you.
7 “The Lord had his heart set on you and chose you, not because you were more numerous than all peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples.
8 But because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your fathers, he brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed you from the place of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
A. God’s first focus is not your self esteem.
A. God’s first focus is not your self esteem.
7 “The Lord had his heart set on you and chose you, not because you were more numerous than all peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples.
8 But because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your fathers, he brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed you from the place of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
Illus: It does not take long to see the sentimental psyco-babble that we have replaced genuine Christianity with.
Instead of embracing a genuine belief in the one true God, we have instead turned to a self-help religion which favors your self esteem over God’s glory.
In other words, much of what passes for church these days is you worship, not God worship.
At the center of all of this is a misunderstanding of the Love of God.
We have such an inflated sense of who we are that we begin to view God as if he is some dejected lover who will only find fulfillment if we love him back.
In this view God tolerates our sin so that he can love us. “Why would God judge me, when he loves me. God loves us for who we are, sins and all.”
That is not who God is. That is not how God’s love works.
God’s first focus is his glory, and He receives glory through our redemption from sin.
As we begin today let us not forget the shocking reality of what Scripture says.
10 as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one.
11 There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away; all alike have become worthless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one.
B. We are loved because God is love and God is faithful.
B. We are loved because God is love and God is faithful.
7 “The Lord had his heart set on you and chose you, not because you were more numerous than all peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples.
8 But because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your fathers, he brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed you from the place of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
Illus: I am thankful that God’s love is not conditional on my actions.
Often when I want good behaviour out of my kids I will bribe them.
Ok… you can get some of MY ice cream if you do this.
That is not love or benevolence, that is manipulation.
Jesus is not manipulative. What sent him to the cross was not based on the response of men.
Jesus would have died on the cross whether or not you would respond in faith.
What sent Jesus to the cross is his obedience to the Father, and his inherent character of love.
The cross points more to the character of God and less to the value of men.
9 “As the Father has loved me, I have also loved you. Remain in my love.
10 If you keep my commands you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.
II. God will always be faithful.
II. God will always be faithful.
9 Know that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps his gracious covenant loyalty for a thousand generations with those who love him and keep his commands.
10 But he directly pays back and destroys those who hate him. He will not hesitate to pay back directly the one who hates him.
A. God is faithful in His great plan of love to His people.
A. God is faithful in His great plan of love to His people.
8 But because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your fathers, he brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed you from the place of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
9 Know that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps his gracious covenant loyalty for a thousand generations with those who love him and keep his commands.
9 Know that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps his gracious covenant loyalty for a thousand generations with those who love him and keep his commands.
Illus: Regularly at weddings I try to give a short sermon to the bride and groom.
Part of my sermon is explaining what love looks like withing the marital relationship.
For most young couples walking into marriage they are still riding high on the hormones and infatuations of emotions. Love is very much a feeling to be enjoyed.
My message for them is that love is not really love until it no longer feels like love.
When you choose to love, often when the person does not deserve it , you display what love really is.
The love of God is clearly seen in a people who don’t deserve love. God acted in love on the cross. In this he acted based on who he was and what he promised, not based on whether we deserve it.
28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
29 For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
30 And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.
B. God is faithful in justice to those who reject Him.
B. God is faithful in justice to those who reject Him.
Illus: God is faithful to himself.
We spend much time talking about how God is love, and God is faithful in love.
God is also holy and just. God is faithful in being holy and just.
That means that the guilty, and those who do not embrace God’s love by their own choice, will face God’s justice, His punishment.
In fact on the cross we see the full picture of that Justice as God pored what we deserve in wrath onto Jesus Christ. Jesus in love embraced all of our punishment.
That also means That Jesus will be faithful to himself in in justice for those who do not embrace him by faith.
There will be a day when Jesus will poor out His wrath on any that do not embrace his love and forgiveness.
41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom all who cause sin and those guilty of lawlessness.
42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Let anyone who has ears listen.
III. How will you respond?
III. How will you respond?
A. The fear and right understanding of who God is will radically shape who you are.
A. The fear and right understanding of who God is will radically shape who you are.
Illus: We don’t change God, God changes us.
I want you to walk away understanding the depth of who God is in both love and justice.
The greater you know God, the more you will be changed.
Our unconditional love for our fellow man is a result of God’s unconditional love of us.
Our pursuit of holiness, is a result of the Holiness of God.
Our evangelism is not just grown from an understanding of God’s love, but also an understanding of His justice.
Today will you embrace God for who He is, embrace His character, his love, his justice, and walk away changed.
27 The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning people away from the snares of death.
9 “As the Father has loved me, I have also loved you. Remain in my love.
10 If you keep my commands you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.