Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro:

The passage in front of us this morning has always been one of my favorites because I’m a guy that likes to be told what people expect.

I’m the guy that takes the directions seriously on the box of Kraft Mac & Cheese.

I’m the guy that wants to know what my next 2 turns are when someone is giving me driving directions.

So when our passage opens up with “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you...” my heart is immediately drawn to Moses’ leadership style!

In the book of Deuteronomy, the people were on the doorstep of the Promised Land, and Moses was reminding them once more of what it was the Lord expected of them as they took possession of Canaan.

They weren’t to be like the nations they were dispossessing, but if they were to stand out, they needed to know what that should look like.

PP: God’s good desire for his people is that we would pursue lives of godliness as an expression of our reverence, love, and worshipful devotion.

Body:

Again, our passage opens with Moses asking the people of Israel a question: “What does the Lord require of you?”

Helpful to know this

In fact, some of you may have wondered this before turning your life over to Christ, or perhaps you’ve had evangelistic conversations with others who want to know what they’ll have to do or change about their lives in order to become a Christian.

Here you had Israel on the doorstep of the Promised Land, still in the toddler stage as a nation, and God wanted to remind them what he was asking of them as his people.

First up > Fear the Lord your God

What are some things we fear?

The dark: so we sleep with a light on

A virus: so we take precautions

A car accident: so we buckle up

A break-in: so we lock our doors

Identity theft: so we monitor our credit

Falling into the Grand Canyon: so we keep our distance

Going to prison: so we obey the laws

What’s the point?

Fear causes us to act.

What are the different types of fear that we find in the Bible?

Traditional fear

Fear that produces wisdom

Fear that produces reverence/respect

Which type of fear do you think Moses was talking about?

Essentially it’s a combination of the second and third kinds of fear, wise living and reverence/respect.

Fundamental to what the Lord expected from his people was a reverence that resulted in godly living.

Fearing God was something YHWH required of Israel, but what about the church today?

Look, as Christians we don’t fear God’s wrath, or his judgment and condemnation, but we should most definitely possess a fear of the Lord that shows up in a reverence that produces godliness.

This fear of God begins with a right understanding of who he is.

Look down at verse 14 where Moses provides a reminder for us.

God’s character makes him worthy of our reverence and respect, worthy of our submission and obedience.

Remember, fear causes us to act, and the fear of God should be no different.

It’s not a fear of judgment or condemnation or hell, but it’s a fear that rightly frames our lives in light of the greatness and power and majesty of our God.

It’s this God before whom we live our lives, and we would do well to allow that thought to produce in us more godliness in every area.

P1: Fear the Lord through Godly Living (10:12b, 12c, 13-14)

Illustrate:

Back in March, a jewelry store in Beverly Hills was robbed at 2PM on a Tuesday.

A group of thieves showed up with sledge hammer and axes, smashed the storefront window, and made off with 3-5 million dollars worth of jewelry.

Los Angeles County has also seen a rash of freight train robberies this year with Union Pacific reporting an increase of 160% year-over-year in LA county.

There are many factors that contribute to stories like these, but a large part of it is a lack of fear among the criminals.

There’s no fear of consequences, and there’s been a societal breakdown that has even robbed our culture of a general respect for authority and one another.

Let’s look at what Moses says this fear should look like:

FIRST: Deut 10:12 “to walk in all his ways”

To walk in the ways of the Lord is to live in close fellowship with him

Consistent pattern of godliness in behavior

This is something God desires of his people.

SECOND: Deut 10:13 “keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord”

Keep = give attention to; carefully observe

Commandments = law (Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah)

Statutes = rules and regulations

Illustrate:

Dinner time is always an adventure at my house, and it usually involves some kind of negotiation between mom and dad and one of the twins about how much they have to eat.

Our typical response is: “All of it.”

But that doesn’t end the conversation because then they divide it and slide it to one side of the plate and ask us if they can just eat that much.

Our typical response: “No, all of it.”

Then they’ll wait a minute or two and come back with another approach: “How many bites do I have to eat?”

Again, our response: “All of it.”

Why do we make them eat it all?

Because we love them and know that’s what is best for them (we’re not feeding them anything that is going to hurt them; Deut 10:13), AND we want them to demonstrate their respect for us and our authority by eating all of their food.

Sometimes we go to the Lord and ask him how much of his commands he wants us to follow.

All of them.

Because (Deut 10:13) he has given us his commandments FOR OUR GOOD.

Maybe you’re struggling with this right now because what you’re hearing is: “God expects you to be perfect.”

You think, well that’s not me, so next...

But there’s a difference that is important for us to understand.

God’s desire for us to keep his commandments, to fear him by walking in all his ways, doesn’t change or go away when we sin.

He doesn’t wash his hands of us and move on as soon as we sin for the first time.

Instead, God desires that we would constantly pursue a reverential obedience that produces wise living.

So as you and I sit here tonight/this morning on the precipice of a new week, the Lord’s expectation for us this week begins with a healthy fear of God marked by godly living.

END P1

I referenced 1 John 5:3 where there’s a clear connection between our obedience to the Lord and our love for him.

That connection is found in Deuteronomy 10 as well.

Deuteronomy 10:12c “to love him”

Context of Deuteronomy:

This love is not in order that the Lord will love us, but because the Lord has loved us.

Just before this the Lord had reminded the Israelites of his unmerited love for them, and now he was calling on them to respond to that reciprocally.

How?

Not really any differently than how we demonstrate our fear of the Lord.

We love God because God first loved us, and we demonstrate that love in lives of godliness.

P2: Love the Lord through Godly Living (10:12c, 15)

John 21

Peter, do you love me?

Then do this...

There’s an old DC Talk song called “Luv is a Verb” that’s all about the song-writer’s realization that love requires action.

The testimony of Scripture is clear: Our love for the Lord is most clearly seen in our pursuit of godliness.

This is why in the Psalms David continually spoke of loving the commandments of the Lord.

This goes back to understanding the purpose for those commandments.

Deuteronomy 10:13 “which I am commanding you today for your good”

They were given for our good

We must pursue godliness as a demonstration of our love for Jesus.

If you love someone, you will want to cultivate a closer relationship with them, and central to that pursuit of the Lord is a love-fueled obedience of his commands.

Illustrate:

Going back to my kids and their dinner plates, my favorite is when they clean their plate and then thank their mamma.

She appreciates the words, but seeing them go back for 2nds and 3rds, each time with clean plates, is the greater expression of love for her.

In fact, Jesus himself even demonstrated his love for the Father through his obedience.