The Old Testament Road

Amen, and even in these rough times it ought to be well with our souls because of the one we serve. Reading this morning is taken from Deuteronomy says be careful to follow every command. I am giving you today. So that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. Remember how the Lord your God LED you all the way in the wilderness these 40 years. Do humble and test you in order that what you what was in your heart or whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you causing you to hunger and then feeding you with Mana which neither you nor your ancestors had known that teach you that man does not live on bread alone. But on every word that comes from the mouth of God. From the very first it's always been that we live by God's command what comes from his mouth and I will take a look at some of those first of the Bible and we'll see the choice that each and every one of us have to make we choose whether or not to live by God's commands and so keep that in mind as we as we move forward. A couple of prayer requests actually their praises and I guess request. We have a couple of babies that have entered our world that we can be excited about the proud about Emily and Austin had a little baby Paisley and Josh and Mel Stevens had a baby named Madison Madison Rose. So we need to be in prayer for those young ones and their parents that they would truly desire to raise them as followers of Jesus Christ. Okay. Let's go to prayer. Racist Father in Heaven how we thank you for your love and your goodness to us day by day. We can see how you have provided for us. Our needs and are on our desires father. You are Great and Mighty God and we just praise you and thank you for your goodness your love. We thank you that we can come before you and lay our burdens at your feet. Then we can pray for others and know that that is a desire of your heart to touch lives for Jesus Christ. And so father we pray for the people of our community that don't know you are think that they know you and really have not chosen to serve you. Father we pray for their hearts and their lives to be changed that your spirit would be working in them to help them. To desire to come and do you truly as their lord and savior? We pray that you would make us a part of that operation that we would truly be a witness and a testimony to your great love for a world in need and father. We Rejoice that you have brought young lives into this world. We thank you for bringing Paisley in and Madison in this world. And we pray that your presence would be upon those two children that

there would be a desire not only for them to change but for their parents. To want to raise them to love and know you as Lord and Savior and so father we pray for them as well that they would have a desire to walk with you and to commune with you in this life and trust in you as Lord and Savior we pray for your health and strength to be given to them and your guidance in all these ways. Lord we do want to remember the unspoken request that each person here has that there are lives would be truly given over to you so that you can work and guide them in their desires whatever they had may lead to Father we pray for your Mighty hand. And Lord we want you to be with us as we worship you that as we sing these songs that are brought before us that we would recognize that you are the mighty one. And that praising you brings joy and understanding to our hearts and father is we open the word that you would truly be the guy in wisdom and understanding as we research it. Bless us. Oh Lord as we continue on in Jesus name. Amen.

What's the internet for song You might want to tap your toe or something? I don't know.

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build my life all this to all I want

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Oh to be used to become so weird.

Starting a new series way back in the Old Testament in the Book of Genesis and we're going to be looking at the life of King today. The series is called the Old Testament road kind of like the New Testament road, but looking at it from the Old Testament of you and where they came from, you know, and it doesn't really change. How we come to God if you think about it a little bit both of the Old Testament Road in the New Testament Road require us to have a faith in God. We have a repo curse of that faith in God and the New Testament as we put our trust in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour because of his willingness to come to this earth to live a perfect life in to die for us, but it doesn't change the fact that it requires a faith in the Living God. And so we come to this section. We look through the scriptures. We're going to be looking at it from that point of view. What does it require of us as people to know God and we're going to take a look at the struggles lawn from the very second generation of people on the face of the Earth. We're going to get the sinful man life of pain least as he went through those early and how that came about bought two. Service. I I thought wow it would be great for you to have this song and I thought my son Gabriel had the song the song somewhere and I thought for sure we had the recording and I even wrote him and asked if we could use it and then we begin looking we couldn't find it. But the song was you gotta You Gotta Serve Somebody you going to serve somebody and one of that the theme of the song You Can the devil are you can choose the Lord but you're going to serve one of them. You're going to serve one of them and so as we take a look at the life of Kane and his choices. He had a choice to make and so do you we all have that choice to make we're required to make that choice in this life as to whether we're going to serve God or serve man, and that's what Moses was saying in that text this morning, you know, you have have to serve somebody. And does so we'll take a look at that. We're going to be in Genesis for will start off with that the recognition he idea here and the first 5 verses of Genesis 4. Adam made love to his wife Eve and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said with the help of the Lord. I have brought forth a man. Later, she gave birth to his brother Abel. No, hable cap blocks and can't work the soil in the course of time Kane brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord and Abel also brought an offering bad fortunes from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord will looked with favor on a table and his offering but on Cain and his offering you did not look with favor. So can you was very angry and his face was down caps. You know, it's kind of interesting that it goes through this God. is revealed increation. It's the Old Testament thing and when you think back to Adam and Eve certainly they understood God's creation. They were involved in the in the unstained part of creation and then moved on and you can certainly be sure that they passed on that sense of God's creation to their sons Cain and Abel benchley staff and we don't know how many other children they might have had they lived over 900 years or at least Adam dad. So they probably produced a few more than what they had certain women. Anyway, that idea of creation is out there and it's reveal to us in the end. Then we get to the New Testament and the New Testament. It says that we are without fault because the creation truly Beals God to us will take a look at Romans chapter. 20 it says poor since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities. His eternal power and is doing night divine nature have been clearly seen being understood from what has been made so that people are without excuse. And if we take a look around at creation we can begin with just taking a look at one another you're an incredibly fantastic be and originally you were created to last forever. Isn't that amazing?

And scientists take a look at what the what was created they say I don't understand why doesn't continue the last well, of course, it doesn't because of the factor of sim and that has sustained life all of life, but you are an incredible be and if you just take a look at yourself you say how could this possibly be? Well, it's by the hand of God. It's by the hand of God you were created, but then we can take a look out of that. We look at our universe and the glory of the heavens. We take a beauty of the mountains that surround us and the rivers and all that. God has created and we ought to say wow.

Something special happen, and that was God's creation. When was God's creation ought to bring all to our locks? Okay it on to bring Audrey our lives and if you take a look at at Cain and Abel's life and what their parents and told them you have to say they knew God. The new got there was no question that God was there you will see that they actually did because God can verses with Kane in this situation. Think about that a little bit creation should draw us to understanding the Living God. It should be the beginning of that and there is no one on the face of the Earth that has any excuse about not knowing there's a God because of his wonderful creation through us. Okay. Well, let's take a look at that passage a little closely and see what it says. You know, one of the things that talks about his parenting you see in there. You see that Eve recognizes that God is involved in her life. Remember? She's the one that began the process of that person right? Well did it did it lead her away from God and by the text what we see here know it did not she did not get let away from God in that respect. She knew she had since she knew she was going to die eventually because of that sin, but it didn't take her away from recognizing that God was involved in her life. That baby came because God brought it forth and we can chat about any baby. That is born those two new ones that were born here. We're boring because God brought it forth and allowed it to happen. He breathed life into those two little children. And he breathed life into Kane and ultimately able. He breathed life into him in parenting is our responsibility. It's a responsibility of parents to pass that on to our children. And I'm sure that Adam and Eve on the idea of God's creation and the beauty of it and is working their lives and in all these things. So think about that a little bit that these kids had a first-class education in godliness. Because their parents believed in God, I mean they walk with him. They can't but believe in God, right? So they believe in God and it was passed on to their children. Okay, and we are supposed to be doing the same thing. Moses preparing the people to enter into the land in Deuteronomy chapter 4 and verse 9. He says these things only be careful and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live teach them to your children and to their children after them you and I are responsible for the children that come along and the grandchildren that come along. We are called to help them know God. It's so important to their lawns that we passed that on. This is one of God's Great calls to mankind that we don't let its way that God is recognized by those who come after us. Great responsibility that we have as parents for the Lord and that I believe is what Adam and Eve were doing with their children. Okay. So, how did it work out? How did it work out? Well, the children knew that they were responsible to bring sacrifices to the Living God. Thank you. Okay. You enough we don't have to teach our children to bring sacrifices, but we do teach them to bring their lives before the Living God and give themselves over to God to help. Them walk with God through this life. Okay, so they were called to work and then to bring a portion of their labors to the Living God. We do that in terms of offering and stuff like that and service in the church. And those sort of things labor was put in the heart of man the Living God if we jump back a chapter to chapter 3 and condemnation of Adam and Eve for the moment for sinning. He says these words by the sweat of your brow. You will eat your food and field you return to the ground since from at you were taking for dust you are and dust you will return and to dust you will return So Adam and Eve get a job go out and do it. Can you show this to be a farmer and able chose to be a Shepherd both of a good job worthwhile and they were call to perform these jobs and then an offering to the Living God and so they both of them brought an offering to God and that's recognizing their God is their right. Okay, so these people both of them Adam and Cain and Abel both know that God existed and that they were to serve him. Well something went wrong there. Bamberg teen brings the

rings of sacrifice brings his sacrifice, but it is part of the fruits of his labor. He probably took a look and saw well, this is a real nice to me to decide for me. Oh, this is not so good. I'll set that side for God and he had this bachelor of less useful provision and brought it to the Lord art wasn't totally given to God. Where is it? We read about Abel. He brought the very best of his he took the first newborn lamb. Any sacrifice the best portions left of the Living God and God said, yeah.

Ante and the cane he said it's not acceptable. Somehow can't do that. His offering wasn't acceptable. We have to choose and like I said each and every one of us has to choose how we're going to serve God. Are we going to give him our best or not Deuteronomy? 10:12 says and now Israel, what does the Lord ask of you? But the fear the lord your God to walk in obedience to him to love him to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. God wants us to give ourselves over to him. And we got we have to ask ourselves have I truly given my life over to God in the way that he would desire me to give it to him? You know, we're all called to make those decisions. Cain and Abel were called to make that decision and gave a partial giving to God Abel gave a great giving to God. Okay. So what's the response? What's the response to this call that we have Genesis 4:6 through 8. He says then the Lord said it came. Okay. Just talking to King. Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast if you do what is rough you will you not be accepted? But if you do not want to do it. What is Right San is crouching at the door. It desires to have you but you must rule over it said to his brother Abel. Let's go out into the field. And while they were in the field can a brother Abel and killed him? You know. We are over and over again is read through scripture where you reach those points were people are called to give themselves over to God and make that choice. You know, they did it with Moses before they went into the land. Okay, you're going to either choose to follow God or not. They chose to follow God and then later on Joshua who led them into the land and remember they saw a lot of incredible things when they went in the land. Remember they marched around the city of Jericho for seven days, and then they wash the walls fall down and they went in and they took their plunder didn't have to do anything but March around the city and then they saw the hand of God moved. Did they know God certainly? They understood God. I understood who he was. And then they have that battle where they were going against five different nations. And the battle was going well, but time was running out. And so Joshua says Lord, would you make the sun stand still so we can win this Victory today? God made the sun stand still imagine that the sun Stood Still and they saw a great victory. They understood God, but they did did they know him and where were they willing to serve him? And that's when Joshua comes to the end of his Reign and he talks to them and he says these words of Joshua 24:15, but if serving the lord seems undesirable to you then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve with of the Gods of your in your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates for the gods of the amorites in whose land you were living but as for me and my household we will serve the Lord. So it's a challenge and we have a challenge. To take a look at or lime. Am I truly? choosing to serve God in my life

and so they had to choose and they said okay, we will serve the Lord how many generations did that last? generate one generation before they begin Falling Away. It's the need to pass on those things to other people. It's there is an interaction here between And God, that's the way I am by the way not Kayne.

They have an interaction. He's talking with God God actually comes down and and has a word with him. Imagine that how many people would say if God were just to come down and tell me what to do. I would do it. Would you would they?

You're a God is talking to it. It's a game. You know, he says why are you angry? You know you didn't do what was right and your ways let's do what is right, you know bring me an offering worthwhile show your heart to me. And I will accept you no problem. Sikh that forgiveness And turn your ways around. Speaking directly to it. We have another example of that found that before they enter the land. There's this more by kitten they lack and he's watched the Israelites destroy the amorites and he's afraid and he wants to bring a curse on them. And so he calls this guy named Balaam who is evidently pretty good at bringing curses on other people and he says I want you to go and I want you to curse these people going so well phelim says, okay, but I have to do what God tells me to do. And So It Goes Up On A Hillside the offers makes this big offering and then God comes to it And God says but God met with him and Balaam said I have prepared seven altars and on each alter. I have offered a bowl in a ram and the Lord put a word in velen mouth and said go back to balak and give him the word. Well, the word was to bless Israel instead of cursing him. Did this three times. Noticed that Balaam is Walking with the Lord and the Lord actually sends an angel later on to a block is Pathway to make sure that they'll m is is going the right way as a talking donkey and everything else in it. Okay, so he does what the Lord tells him to but then he has a choice to make. Okay, he knows God is talk to him. But he's giving this Choice. What are you going to do? Well, rather than going to serve with the people that are serving the Living God chooses to go back home to his own place and live there. In a few chapters later Israelites go against the people that he's living with and he dies in the account. It shows the wrong pathway, even though he knew got talked with God believed in God.

But he didn't follow God. You didn't follow God. you don't sometimes wear that way if I go around the city knock on his door and said you believe in God almost every one of them would say

are you following him? Well, I try to be good.

But it's not really following God. It's not doing what he wants. Even if God comes to us. We still have that choice that we have to make the follow him. So here's the challenge that God gives the king. He said, you know do the right thing and you'll be accepted if you don't do the right thing watch out the challenge. Back the numbers again. It says numbers 32:23, but if you fail to do this you will be sending against the Lord and you may be sure that your sin will find you out. You see if you don't follow me. Send is going to find you out and it's going to follow your path.

But he fails he fails to do that. He decides mud way is better than God's way and I'm going to live my life the way I want to no matter what the consequences think about that.

Think about the consequence that he was going down on him. And so he takes his brother out into the out into the field and he murder scene.

Well, we aren't much different. Remember back the Romans Romans 1:20 where it says creation reveals the hand of God and creation. We should know there's a God and we should seek him out and worshipping will verse 21 says for although they knew God they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him. But their thinking became futile and their foolish Hearts were darkened in other words. Just knowing god just knowing is there doesn't make any difference. It's trusting him. It's choosing to do what he desires us to do. And so when we choose the wrong way. You Gotta Serve Somebody are you serving God are you serving the devil see you one way or the other two the devil's job is to turn you away from God

And your job is to keep that from happening by serving the lord.

So he's rejected Genesis 4 9 through 12. It says then the Lord said to Cain. Where is your brother Abel? I don't know. He replied am I My Brother's Keeper? The Lord said what have you done? Listen, your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground now you were under a curse and driven from the ground which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand when you work the ground, it will no longer yield as props to you. You will be a Restless Wanderer on the Earth. When we choose to go our own way to follow our half away from God's path. You know God rejects us. This is a pretty Hardy rejection. But then he had a lot of things that maybe you are as the rest of our world doesn't have he actually was speaking with God and God was talking to him trying to direct his path. But the rest of the world is same way. We all have a responsibility every last one of us. God gives us that sense that in our lives if you remember last week, we looked at the de Prophet Hosea. Remember Hosea is the prophet that God came down and said I want you to marry a prostitute and so he had to go out to find a prostitute to a particular bronze to marry her and several children by her and then she left him and went back to prostitution. God said go back and get her so I went back and got her again. And it was a picture of Israel of God calling is serve me. Every once in awhile, they had a king that really wanted to serve God and they served him. But then they fell apart fell away from God and went another way and that's like that prostitute who chooses to serve the world rather than to serve the god that they wanted to know Hosea 4:6 as my people other words goes who know me?

Never understand me anyway are destroyed from lack of knowledge because you have rejected knowledge. I also reject you as my priests because you ignored the law of your God. I also will ignore your children. You see the people of Israel were supposed to follow God and show the rest of the world what it means to have a God that watches over and cares for them. It's no different than you and I we are to reveal to the world would God is doing in our lives? And Kane was supposed to do that. I mean he had everything going for him and had parents that love the Lord he had an understanding of God is the creator. He had the blessing of God and his work in the land. He had all these things going for him. And yet he chose to reject the Living God. It is a pathway of sin that we choose. We don't have to choose it. But it is a choice that every person has to make am I going to follow that path or not? The people of Israel were called to follow that path in Jesus spoke to them and said, you need to change your ways. You need to be trusting in God and following him and the people would come and they would listen to him, but they wouldn't he did what he was saying and he says these words in John 8:44 you belong to your father the devil You want to hear your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning of holding to the truth for there is no truth in him when he lies. He speaks his native tongue free is a liar and the father of lies and ultimately these people followed Satan's commands and they Jesus Christ

Yeah the path of sent. It's a choice that we make they have the right to change their ways and stop making that choice and follow Jesus Christ. The Living God, but they chose not to. We have that same Choice. Everyone does.

You see the difference between the sinful man? And the righteous man. it's not that they don't send both of them send you and I are still Sinners but our sins have been taken away. Through the blood of Jesus Christ and their sins were taken away because of their heart and desire to follow the Living God.

And as it says in Hebrews Voice still cries out to us because he chose to serve God and he is alive and Glory today because he serve the Living God.

Sims purse comes upon those who choose not to follow the Living God will make those choices say God. I don't want to have anything to do with you or I don't want to follow you. I'm going to go my own way and there's consequences for that for 14. It game pretty strongly fruit right away since cursed Deuteronomy 11:23 through Deuteronomy. You'll see a number of times. It says there's blessings and curses and it goes through a number of them as it goes along 1128 is one of them the curse if you disobey the command of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I commend you today by following other gods, which you have not known. In other words don't follow Satan commands. All of God's commands follow his pathway.

and if we follow the world's commands we have this garment about is this

stink of sin on our lives in the Bible points to that didn't Psalm 109 vs. 18 and 19 that painful Garment of those who won Senate says he wore cursing as His Garment it entered into his body like water into his bones like oil. May it be like a cloak wrapped about him like a belt tied forever around him and certainly it is

as we're all given that choice am I going to follow the Living God and do what he's called me to do or am I going to make my own choices, which really aren't your choices at all, but it's just following the lead of the Fallen Angels Satan. Is desire to distort your life and to give you something that you should not want? We can either be able and say okay. I'm going to the right way or we can be like Cain. And say, you know, I want to live life my way. And I don't care what God says. I don't even care if he comes and talks to me. I'm not going to change my

pretty hard and harsh the God's judgment does come upon us. And unfortunately, it's an eternal judgment. You choose the wrong way. It's not a good in. Anyway, I think what it says to us because you've chosen to be here. You've chosen to come and worship the Living God and that's a good thing. That's a positive thing. But we have a lot of people around our community of powers chosen a different path. And it's your desire to walk with the Lord that can make a difference. It's your prayers for these people day by day. They can change their hearts and their lives and it's the actions that you have in our community that reveal that you're walking with the Living God. They can change their lives so that they don't have to be a cane in this world. And being able in this world as a trust in the Living God, but it's our responsibility as people that are chosen to walk with God to continue. That'd reveal him to our world. Let's pray. Grace's father how we thank you that. You have given us the power of your word. Your word is mighty and it shows the path that we need to walk over and over and over again, and this is just one of those episode but it is a powerful episode to tell us. We have a choice. And so did the people. That are dear to us each and every one of them have a choice and we can influence that choice in some way by living a life. That chooses to follow you. So give us strength give us energy that we would make those choices. With power and strength because we're trusting you and allowing your spirit to guide our path. Play the song Lord in Jesus name. Amen. Stayed up for the closing song.

as we speak

As we see failure as we speak.

Really bother me this be a week when we truly seek your face in all the moments.

For you are the strength of the power of our lives and in you we can do all things up for your honor and your glory. May you bless us in this old Living God In The Name of Jesus we ask amen