1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:05,360 Quote that you've heard before says this trust only in movement 2 00:00:06,080 --> 00:00:08,800 because life happens at the level of action. 3 00:00:09,880 --> 00:00:15,040 That's Alfred Adler. Trust only in movement because 4 00:00:15,640 --> 00:00:18,360 there's this biblical principle that these words are reflecting 5 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:22,400 that our true character is revealed by our actions and only 6 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:24,400 by our actions. We trust only in movement 7 00:00:24,400 --> 00:00:28,320 because words are deceptive. We can say the right things and 8 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:30,280 deceive ourselves and deceive others. 9 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:34,320 Our intentions can also be deceptive, James says. 10 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:36,160 If your words and your intentions are right, but they 11 00:00:36,160 --> 00:00:39,560 never to the move to the point of doing the word, you're 12 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:44,800 deceived. So we want to be doers of the 13 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:46,600 word. The Irish singer Siobhan Miller 14 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:49,040 says. It's not the fight you dream of, 15 00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:53,160 but those you really fight. It's not what you've been given, 16 00:00:53,160 --> 00:00:55,160 but what you do with what you've got. 17 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:58,840 We're we're all prone in our mind's eye and our imaginations. 18 00:00:58,840 --> 00:01:01,240 We do lots of incredible things in our dreams. 19 00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:05,400 We're always the the hero of our stories and do incredible things 20 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:09,120 in our imaginations. But Jesus Christ was a man of 21 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:13,360 action and he's building a church full of men and women who 22 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:16,400 are courageous, who are brave, who are willing to shoulder 23 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:21,440 responsibility, who are to be men and women of action to get 24 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:23,640 their hands dirty. And Jesus didn't dream about 25 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:26,320 being the savior of the world. He took on flesh and he saved 26 00:01:26,320 --> 00:01:29,440 the world. And so he is our model. 27 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:31,440 And so his life is, is many things. 28 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:34,400 But what I, what I want to say today is not least of all, his 29 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:37,640 life is an inspiration. His life is inspiring. 30 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:41,800 And so you should be inspired to lay down your life for the 31 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:45,120 church and to deal with the consequences of the sins of 32 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:47,600 other people, because that's what our Savior did. 33 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:50,160 He laid down his life for the church, and he dealt with the 34 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:54,120 sins of his people. And so life happens at the level 35 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:55,560 of action. Your actions reveal your 36 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:57,720 priorities, your commitments, and your character. 37 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:00,680 James says so himself. James 217. 38 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:05,680 Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is what it's dead. 39 00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:08,720 It's nothing, it's vanity. The apostle John first. 40 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:12,920 John 318 Little children, let us not love in Word or talk, but in 41 00:02:12,920 --> 00:02:18,040 deed and truth, Jesus Christ. Matthew 716 You will know them 42 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:20,480 by their good intentions and their well wishing. 43 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:24,680 Oh no, you will know them by their positive thoughts and 44 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:27,960 regard. You will know them by their 45 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:31,520 fruit and only by their fruit. This is the only way that we can 46 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:34,840 test the world. And so he says, show me your 47 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:37,000 bank statement and I'll show you what you love. 48 00:02:37,880 --> 00:02:40,840 Show me a lot of your time and I'll show you what you serve. 49 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:43,960 Show me what you do with the gifts that God has given you, 50 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:46,240 your affinities and your spiritual giftings, and I'll 51 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:48,360 show you whose Kingdom you're building. 52 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:51,560 Turn in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 11. 53 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:53,400 There's a verb that dominates the passage. 54 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:57,600 The word is do. We are to be doers of the word 55 00:02:57,600 --> 00:02:59,800 and it's not going to begin with this exhausting requirement. 56 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:01,240 If you need to do more, you need to do more. 57 00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:03,360 You need to do more. That's not our God and that's 58 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:05,800 not our Bible. As a matter of fact, it like 59 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:08,960 that's what Pharaoh did to the Israelites. 60 00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:11,160 You need to do more. We need more building projects. 61 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:14,000 We need more bricks. Our God begins with an 62 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:18,440 exhaustive list of what has been done by God on our behalf. 63 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:22,560 That's where the passage starts. Doing is the verb that describes 64 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:26,680 God and the goal of Moses in this passage is to inspire you 65 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:29,480 with the love and sacrifice of God on your behalf. 66 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:32,600 That's my question for you to consider today is does Jesus 67 00:03:32,600 --> 00:03:36,600 Christ inspire you? Does your Savior inspire you? 68 00:03:36,600 --> 00:03:41,800 Does God inspire you? I looked up inspiration today of 69 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:44,640 the formal definition in the dictionary and I found 70 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:46,440 Deuteronomy 11. Listen to this definition. 71 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:50,760 Something or someone that fills you with motivation, enthusiasm, 72 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:53,840 and confidence, encouraging a person to feel hopeful and 73 00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:57,160 creative and eager to act. That's exactly right. 74 00:03:57,480 --> 00:03:59,000 That's exactly what this passage is about. 75 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:01,680 Our God is inspiring. His work is inspiring. 76 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:04,560 He doesn't love us in Word and in talk, but in deed and in 77 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:07,320 truth. Look at Deuteronomy 11/3, his 78 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:11,760 signs and his deeds that he did in Egypt verse 4, and what he 79 00:04:11,760 --> 00:04:16,320 did in the army of Egypt verse 5, what he did to you in the 80 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:20,600 wilderness verse 6, what he did to Dathan and a Byram verse 7, 81 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:23,640 emphatically summarizing all of this, for your eyes have seen 82 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:26,440 all the great work of the Lord that he did. 83 00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:30,520 It begins with a an exhaustive list of his actions. 84 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:32,680 And what's your response? That's the very next verse. 85 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:34,520 He begins to pour out what we are to do. 86 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:37,080 Deuteronomy 11/8. You shall therefore keep the 87 00:04:37,080 --> 00:04:40,080 whole commandment that I command to you today to say it this way. 88 00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:46,280 He did, therefore I do. He did, therefore you do and 89 00:04:46,280 --> 00:04:49,080 verse 32, as you go down to the final verse of the whole 90 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:52,920 chapter, it summarizes the entire chapter saying you shall 91 00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:56,160 be careful to do all the statutes and the rule that I'm 92 00:04:56,160 --> 00:04:59,920 setting before you today. So it's not confusing to figure 93 00:04:59,920 --> 00:05:02,240 out what this passage is about. You're going to see over and 94 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:04,040 over. There's a cycle that you have to 95 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:05,040 do. You have to do. 96 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:08,800 The word is ASA. That's the verb in the Hebrew, 97 00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:12,960 what it means to give effect, to to do, to be a mover. 98 00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:16,600 And Moses doesn't want you just to will yourself to go and do 99 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:19,240 great things of God. He wants you to be inspired by 100 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:21,120 God. And out of the fountain of 101 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:24,720 inspiration will come all of the giving of yourself to the 102 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:28,080 Kingdom of God. So the result is works and fruit 103 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:31,720 and obedience and service, but it begins by sitting at Moses's 104 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:37,040 feet and being inspired, I don't know, to set it up by saying 105 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:39,760 Deuteronomy. So far we've seen these cycles. 106 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:42,160 He likes to kind of communicate in these cycles. 107 00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:45,280 And Deuteronomy 11 is, is like that as well as a cycle. 108 00:05:45,280 --> 00:05:49,200 I want you to see four times as you go through this chapter is 109 00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:51,360 it's very simple. He's going to give a commandment 110 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:55,200 and then he's going to give an illustration of that commandment 111 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:57,160 four times. And he's going to give another 112 00:05:57,160 --> 00:05:59,120 commandment that really is the same, but he says it just a 113 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:01,600 little bit differently and he's going to illustrate it just a 114 00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:04,200 little bit differently. And over and over in the cycle 115 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:08,480 begins here in verse one with a commandment we'll call the first 116 00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:11,880 cycle. Consider God even more 117 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:14,320 specifically, consider God in history. 118 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:17,120 And the first commandment that he gives in the cycle is he says 119 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:19,000 verse one. You shall therefore love the 120 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:23,120 Lord your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules 121 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:26,880 and his commandments always. So he says, you got to you got 122 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:30,640 to be active, you got to do things and at first blush we 123 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:31,840 say, well, that's legalistic, right? 124 00:06:31,840 --> 00:06:34,720 I'm supposed to just do that's what Christianity requires is 125 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:37,560 just to pour out. And before we think that you 126 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:41,440 look at the first illustration that follows and verses 2 to 7. 127 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:44,200 Moses actually gives 2 illustrations with this command. 128 00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:48,360 1 positive example, one negative example, as he asked you to stop 129 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:51,160 and consider God. Look at verses two to seven with 130 00:06:51,160 --> 00:06:53,960 me. Let's read it, he says, and 131 00:06:53,960 --> 00:06:57,240 consider today, since I'm not speaking to your children whom 132 00:06:57,280 --> 00:07:00,480 have not known or seen it, consider the discipline of the 133 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:03,840 Lord your God, His greatness, His mighty hand, his 134 00:07:03,840 --> 00:07:07,360 outstretched arm, His signs and his deeds that he did in Egypt 135 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:09,960 to Pharaoh the king of Egypt, into all his land. 136 00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:12,640 And what he did to the army of Egypt, to their horses and their 137 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:15,800 Chariots, How he made the water of the Red Sea flow over them as 138 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:19,640 they pursued after you, And how the Lord destroyed them to this 139 00:07:19,640 --> 00:07:21,280 day. And what He did to you in the 140 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:23,880 wilderness until you came to this place, And what he did to 141 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:27,720 Dathan and a Byram, the sons of Eliab, son of Reuben, how the 142 00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:30,520 earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up with their 143 00:07:30,520 --> 00:07:33,080 households, their tents, and every living thing that followed 144 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:36,360 them in the midst of all Israel. For your eyes have seen all the 145 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:40,720 great work that the Lord did. So he draws your eyes into these 146 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:43,600 illustrations by asking you to consider a couple things. 147 00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:48,640 He says, consider God, consider his greatness, consider his 148 00:07:48,640 --> 00:07:53,880 glory, consider his discipline. So how does he stir you up to 149 00:07:53,880 --> 00:07:55,720 obedience? Does he just say will yourself 150 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:58,880 to do more? He says consider what God has 151 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:02,240 done five times in this context. He reminds you of what God has 152 00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:04,080 done in history. He goes down. 153 00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:07,000 The first one, we said there's kind of two illustrations. 154 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:09,640 The first one's positive. He says remember what he did to 155 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:12,800 care for you in the wilderness. Consider the wilderness. 156 00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:14,600 Consider God. What did he do to Pharaoh? 157 00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:18,280 Verse 3, His signs and his deeds that he did in Egypt to Pharaoh, 158 00:08:18,280 --> 00:08:19,720 the king of Egypt and all his land. 159 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:22,400 Remember the plagues, remember what happened to the first born, 160 00:08:22,400 --> 00:08:25,600 Remember the darkness, remember the the deliverance. 161 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:29,000 What did he do to the army of Egypt? 162 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:30,760 He goes again their horses and their Chariots. 163 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:33,280 Verse 4, what he did to their horses, how he made the water of 164 00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:35,640 the Red Sea flow over them as they pursued after you. 165 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:38,520 How the Lord your God has destroyed them to this day. 166 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:40,520 And he goes on and he goes and it's personal. 167 00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:43,919 He goes to verse 5 and what he did to you in the wilderness. 168 00:08:43,919 --> 00:08:46,200 He didn't do this for some other people, right? 169 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:49,520 2000 years ago, 3500 years ago, He did these things, but He does 170 00:08:49,520 --> 00:08:51,360 things for you. I want you to consider yourself. 171 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:53,280 Has God ever done anything for you? 172 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:57,600 This is personal. God has moved on your behalf. 173 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:00,320 Consider yourself. And in showing the great and 174 00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:02,880 awesome nature of God, He also reminds them of what He does 175 00:09:03,080 --> 00:09:05,800 negatively to those who do not obey His word. 176 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:09,520 He brings judgement to those in rebellion. 177 00:09:09,520 --> 00:09:11,000 Verse 6 is a negative illustration. 178 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:14,160 Remember what he did to Dathan and a Byram, how the ground 179 00:09:14,160 --> 00:09:19,040 opened up to swallow them whole. That's inspiring in another way, 180 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:21,840 isn't it? I had a bunch of the engineering 181 00:09:21,840 --> 00:09:24,840 departments at OSU was from the Middle East, and they have a 182 00:09:24,840 --> 00:09:27,760 saying there in Arabic. If you're very sad, If you're 183 00:09:27,760 --> 00:09:30,800 extremely, overwhelmingly sad, they have a saying that they 184 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:34,200 would say, I hope that the ground opens up and swallows me 185 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:36,520 whole. And so you can use that on the 186 00:09:36,520 --> 00:09:38,160 day that you get sad. But that's literally what 187 00:09:38,160 --> 00:09:43,840 happened because these people were publicly disowning Moses 188 00:09:43,840 --> 00:09:46,520 and God and grumbling. And So what does God do except 189 00:09:46,520 --> 00:09:48,880 open up the ground and swallow them? 190 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:51,920 To which we say our God is good, but he's not safe. 191 00:09:53,240 --> 00:09:55,440 So there's no confusion regarding the point. 192 00:09:55,440 --> 00:09:58,000 Moses says again in verse 7, Your eyes have seen all the 193 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:00,720 great work of the Lord that he did. 194 00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:04,200 Or God does not just well wish. He's not like a deist God who 195 00:10:04,200 --> 00:10:06,800 kind of winds up the universe and then takes his hands off. 196 00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:09,120 He's a God that is a God of action. 197 00:10:09,120 --> 00:10:11,920 He is sovereign. He exercises his sovereignty 198 00:10:11,920 --> 00:10:15,120 through Providence. Our God is a God of Providence 199 00:10:15,240 --> 00:10:17,640 in action. He establishes righteousness and 200 00:10:17,640 --> 00:10:20,800 justice on the earth. He displays His Majesty and his 201 00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:25,240 glory continually for you to see and to be inspired by and so be 202 00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:28,200 inspired. This first cycle is meant to to 203 00:10:28,320 --> 00:10:31,600 move you to action, to draw inspiration for Christian 204 00:10:31,600 --> 00:10:34,320 service by reflecting on what God has already done. 205 00:10:35,160 --> 00:10:38,760 The first cycle is consider God's second cycle, I want you 206 00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:41,480 to see begins in verse 8. We could say, consider his 207 00:10:41,480 --> 00:10:44,640 blessings. Consider God's blessings, the 208 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:47,640 commandment that comes first, as he says, you shall therefore 209 00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:50,560 keep the whole commandment that I command you today that you may 210 00:10:50,560 --> 00:10:53,480 be strong and go in and take possession of the land that 211 00:10:53,480 --> 00:10:56,240 you're going over to possess. So Moses first says you shall 212 00:10:56,240 --> 00:10:58,320 love the Lord and keep his commandments. 213 00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:00,840 And now he reinforces that and he says, now keep his whole 214 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:03,320 commandment. Every word that proceeds from 215 00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:05,240 the mouth of God you are to take. 216 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:08,880 And it's interesting in verse 8 and applicable that he says 217 00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:11,640 their strength is tied to their obedience. 218 00:11:12,320 --> 00:11:15,480 The strength of Israel and their success in the land is tied to 219 00:11:15,560 --> 00:11:17,240 how well they keep this commandment. 220 00:11:18,280 --> 00:11:22,520 And so he says it's it's in part we have to clarify this strength 221 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:25,520 to possess the land comes in part from obedience to the law 222 00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:27,800 of God. And so many blessings attend to 223 00:11:28,200 --> 00:11:31,360 keeping these commandments. Jesus says this himself and John 224 00:11:31,360 --> 00:11:36,720 1421 whoever has my commandments and keeps them, it's not enough 225 00:11:36,720 --> 00:11:39,520 to know them. Whoever has them and keeps them, 226 00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:42,680 He it is who loves me, and I will love Him, and here's the 227 00:11:42,680 --> 00:11:46,000 promise, and I will manifest myself to Him. 228 00:11:46,800 --> 00:11:50,120 So what a wonderful promise. This is what God says. 229 00:11:50,120 --> 00:11:53,800 If you keep his commandments, all of these blessings are going 230 00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:54,840 to come on you. You're going to be like a 231 00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:57,280 watered garden and your bones are going to be strong and 232 00:11:57,280 --> 00:12:00,160 you're going to establish the foundation of many generations 233 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:02,840 and Jesus Christ is going to manifest himself to you. 234 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:09,880 But if you don't, then he says many pangs and sorrows and much 235 00:12:09,880 --> 00:12:13,400 discipline is going to come. Your strength will be sapped. 236 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:19,840 So John 1317, Jesus says if you know these things, blessed are 237 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:24,320 you if you do them. So the requirement in the second 238 00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:26,880 cycle is to keep the whole commandment and the 239 00:12:26,880 --> 00:12:28,480 illustration. There's always a commandment, 240 00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:30,920 there's always an illustration. The illustration that comes in 241 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:34,720 the second cycle is going to be a comparison between the land 242 00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:37,960 that Egypt possessed in the land that Israel is now going to 243 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:41,120 possess, the promised land. There's this great comparison 244 00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:44,040 and I started circling this week as I went through. 245 00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:47,360 I like to identify the keywords that kind of is Moses's way or 246 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:48,800 the Bible authors way of pointing you to what's 247 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:52,920 important. The word land is used 14 times. 248 00:12:52,920 --> 00:12:54,800 It's like all these circles are in my Bible. 249 00:12:54,800 --> 00:12:59,520 He keeps talking about the land, the land, the land. 14 * 7 times 250 00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:03,320 in this cycle he mentions land. And the other word you're going 251 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:07,240 to see over and over again 10 times is their association with 252 00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:09,840 it, to possess it. There's this land and you're 253 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:12,560 going to possess it. And it's makes sense because 254 00:13:12,560 --> 00:13:13,760 they're right there. They're looking at it. 255 00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:16,600 And he says it's yours. This land flowing with milk and 256 00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:18,160 honey, it's going to belong to you. 257 00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:22,400 But first verse 23 says they have to dispossess it. 258 00:13:22,880 --> 00:13:24,880 They have to take the people who are there and to move them out, 259 00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:28,800 which is why they need strength and moral courage and the Lord's 260 00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:31,280 help. Verse 10 begins the comparison. 261 00:13:31,280 --> 00:13:33,760 Read verses 11:50 with me this next cycle. 262 00:13:36,680 --> 00:13:39,360 This is for the land that you are entering to take possession 263 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:41,480 of. It is not like the land of Egypt 264 00:13:41,640 --> 00:13:43,640 from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and 265 00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:45,960 irrigated it like a garden of vegetables. 266 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:48,640 But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of 267 00:13:48,640 --> 00:13:51,920 hills and valleys which drinks water by the rain from heaven, a 268 00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:54,400 land that the Lord your God cares for. 269 00:13:54,680 --> 00:13:57,040 The eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it, from the 270 00:13:57,040 --> 00:14:00,000 beginning of the year to the end of the year. 271 00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:03,720 So the the Hebrew of verse 10 reads literally this way. 272 00:14:03,720 --> 00:14:07,440 This is how the NASB translates it, where you used to sow your 273 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:09,200 seed and water it with your foot. 274 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:12,760 And what he's saying by that, what that means is he's he's 275 00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:15,920 drawing attention literally to the irrigation methods and 276 00:14:15,920 --> 00:14:18,720 practices of Egypt where they would use their feet to to dig 277 00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:22,800 these canals. And he's saying you used to have 278 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:25,440 to put tremendous effort into irrigating your crops. 279 00:14:25,840 --> 00:14:27,760 He said it used to be you'd have to use your feet, you'd have to 280 00:14:27,760 --> 00:14:30,400 work by the sweat of your brow to bring in irrigation from the 281 00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:32,120 Nile. And he says, not so in the land 282 00:14:32,280 --> 00:14:35,560 that I'm going to give you, God himself is going to bring rain 283 00:14:35,560 --> 00:14:38,160 from heaven because he has an eye for the land and he's going 284 00:14:38,160 --> 00:14:40,480 to bring it. He's drawing a comparison. 285 00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:45,160 This will be better, he says. And and with that comes a 286 00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:48,800 different mindset because he says, whereas before it used to 287 00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:51,680 be if you needed water, you would just by your own strength, 288 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:55,320 go and carve A cistern from the Nile and you would have it. 289 00:14:55,320 --> 00:14:57,600 Because you're coming into this new land where you're going to 290 00:14:57,600 --> 00:15:00,600 have to exercise faith because you can't just go out. 291 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:03,720 You're going to have to depend totally on God because he's the 292 00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:06,120 one that waters the earth. You see the difference? 293 00:15:06,760 --> 00:15:10,600 One is based on faith and so whereas in Egypt it was a land 294 00:15:10,600 --> 00:15:13,440 of desert and slavery and back breaking labor. 295 00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:16,240 He compares it to verse 9 where he says you're going to live 296 00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:19,240 long in a land that is watered by God himself. 297 00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:21,600 It's going to be flowing with milk and honey we've seen in 298 00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:24,560 previous chapters and iron and copper and wood. 299 00:15:25,520 --> 00:15:28,040 He says verse 12, it's a land that God cares for. 300 00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:30,800 The eyes of the Lord are on it from the beginning of the year 301 00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:34,560 to the end. So why are you inspired to obey? 302 00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:36,400 Why are you inspired to go and do? 303 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:40,600 Because of the gracious blessings of God that He's given 304 00:15:40,600 --> 00:15:41,480 you. Remember where you were. 305 00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:45,080 Remember where they're going. So many blessings. 306 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:49,640 Third cycle, we could call it. Consider the alternatives. 307 00:15:51,160 --> 00:15:53,880 The third third cycle begins in verse 13 with the command to 308 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:58,160 Israel that reads this way. Obey the commands to love and to 309 00:15:58,160 --> 00:16:01,200 serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your 310 00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:02,520 soul. We've heard this before. 311 00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:05,080 Love the good Lord your God with all your heart, with all your 312 00:16:05,080 --> 00:16:07,400 soul. The illustration now is this 313 00:16:07,400 --> 00:16:11,200 illustration of the fullness of God versus the emptiness of 314 00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:13,400 idols. He's making this comparison 315 00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:16,240 between the blessings of God, the fullness that God brings, 316 00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:18,800 and the emptiness and vanity of idols. 317 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:21,960 Read verses 14 to 17. You see the third cycle. 318 00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:26,280 He will give the rain for your land and its season, the early 319 00:16:26,280 --> 00:16:29,840 rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain and 320 00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:34,560 your wine and your oil, and He will give grass in your fields 321 00:16:34,560 --> 00:16:36,640 for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full. 322 00:16:37,120 --> 00:16:38,600 Take care lest your heart be deceived. 323 00:16:38,600 --> 00:16:41,880 And you turn aside either to serve other gods and worship 324 00:16:41,880 --> 00:16:44,000 them. Then the anger of the Lord will 325 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:46,720 be kindled against you, and He will shut up the heavens so that 326 00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:49,520 there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and 327 00:16:49,520 --> 00:16:52,960 you will perish quickly off the good land that the Lord your God 328 00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:55,840 is giving you. So the blessing of the land is 329 00:16:55,840 --> 00:16:58,640 conditional. They're given opportunity to 330 00:16:58,640 --> 00:17:01,920 possess the land, but it's contingent on verse 16. 331 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:05,920 It's contingent on their heart. Take care lest your heart be 332 00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:09,280 deceived and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship 333 00:17:09,280 --> 00:17:10,560 them. So here's the comparison. 334 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:12,800 He's setting himself up against Baal. 335 00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:17,680 Baal was the God of rain, and Baal is the God of harvest and 336 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:20,280 abundance. And this is where God is saying 337 00:17:20,920 --> 00:17:24,359 Baal doesn't bring rain, right? He, he is no thing. 338 00:17:24,359 --> 00:17:26,560 And he, he says he intentionally mentions rain and he 339 00:17:26,560 --> 00:17:28,880 intentionally mentions abundance because this is a polemic 340 00:17:29,040 --> 00:17:31,000 against the gods of the Canaanites. 341 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:34,160 He's saying, I bring rain. I know when you need it. 342 00:17:34,280 --> 00:17:36,240 I bring it in the early rain. I bring the late rain. 343 00:17:36,240 --> 00:17:37,840 It's not like we Yahweh brings this rain. 344 00:17:37,840 --> 00:17:39,720 But then we got to depend on bail for the rest of it. 345 00:17:39,880 --> 00:17:44,000 He says I'm the one who brings all of it, you can trust me to 346 00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:45,600 bring it. He puts himself against the 347 00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:48,040 rain, and then he puts himself against the fruitfulness in the 348 00:17:48,040 --> 00:17:50,360 harvest. And Moses says that these belong 349 00:17:50,360 --> 00:17:54,560 not to Baal, but Yahweh brings the grain and the wine and the 350 00:17:54,560 --> 00:17:57,880 oil, and not only that, He feeds you until you're full. 351 00:17:58,680 --> 00:18:01,840 So take care that your heart is not deceived. 352 00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:04,720 He already got at this in chapter 10 where he said you 353 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:08,800 think that it's your wealth or it's your power and your 354 00:18:08,800 --> 00:18:11,120 strength and your might that brings you financial blessing. 355 00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:14,520 Bring that into today's. Just to rehearse last week's 356 00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:17,080 sermon or the previous week's sermon is as you think that your 357 00:18:17,080 --> 00:18:21,080 stockbroker gave you the capacity to make wealth and you 358 00:18:21,080 --> 00:18:23,520 thought it was the power of the companies that you're investing 359 00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:24,920 in it. It was me. 360 00:18:25,280 --> 00:18:27,800 You thought it was the power of compound interest, but I created 361 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:29,280 that and I brought you with the knowledge. 362 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:31,760 And we think it's our degrees, but he gave you the degree. 363 00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:33,760 He gave you the opportunity for entrepreneurship. 364 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:36,800 He says those were gifts. Don't attribute them to somebody 365 00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:38,960 else. Those came from me. 366 00:18:39,160 --> 00:18:42,080 God says I provide what you need. 367 00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:44,480 He is the provider. That's what he's emphasizing 368 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:46,400 here. My mind goes straight back to 369 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:49,680 Abraham and Isaac when they're they're walking to Mount Moriah, 370 00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:53,680 defined as the the land favored with the vision of divine glory, 371 00:18:53,840 --> 00:18:57,000 the place where God is seen. And Abraham's going there with 372 00:18:57,040 --> 00:18:58,480 Isaac. Jewish tradition says there was 373 00:18:58,480 --> 00:19:00,560 clouds swirling, so they knew right where to go. 374 00:19:01,200 --> 00:19:04,560 And Isaac asked him, you know, here's the wood and, and 375 00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:06,760 everything we need the fire for the sacrifice, but where is the 376 00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:08,280 lamb that we're going to have to offer? 377 00:19:09,400 --> 00:19:13,160 And Abraham says God will himself provide the lamb. 378 00:19:13,880 --> 00:19:16,480 He's going to be the provider. And that the name of that place 379 00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:20,120 after God provided was God provides or the place where God 380 00:19:20,120 --> 00:19:23,880 provides or the place where God is seen, the land favored with 381 00:19:23,880 --> 00:19:28,400 the vision of divine glory. Jesus in the same way is is 382 00:19:28,720 --> 00:19:32,160 obsessed with you understanding that God is the one who provides 383 00:19:32,160 --> 00:19:35,000 for you. He says don't be anxious about 384 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:37,720 what you're going to put on and don't be anxious about what 385 00:19:37,720 --> 00:19:39,040 you're going to eat or what you're going to wear. 386 00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:42,680 What you're going to drink is, don't you know that God knows 387 00:19:42,680 --> 00:19:46,040 you need those things don't toil to accumulate wealth. 388 00:19:46,040 --> 00:19:49,440 The proverb says take what he provides for you, don't you? 389 00:19:49,880 --> 00:19:53,040 You think he knows that you need rain in the early and the latter 390 00:19:53,040 --> 00:19:54,400 rain so that you can have your crops. 391 00:19:54,400 --> 00:19:57,120 Do you? Is he, is he so ignorant that he 392 00:19:57,120 --> 00:19:59,600 doesn't know that or does he, does he not love you that you 393 00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:01,200 don't think he's going to provide those things? 394 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:03,520 Jesus says this, this is so important. 395 00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:07,120 If you would just seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, 396 00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:09,040 everything else would be added to you. 397 00:20:09,920 --> 00:20:14,000 If you would just focus on him, end up doing his will and 398 00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:16,280 serving him. You would have everything else. 399 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:19,960 That's what Moses is saying in his own words in Deuteronomy 11. 400 00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:22,840 Seek first the Kingdom and his righteousness, and all that's 401 00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:26,000 needed for life will be provided you by God in heaven. 402 00:20:26,440 --> 00:20:29,360 But he shows the other side of disobedience. 403 00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:33,760 What if you don't seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness? 404 00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:35,800 What if you do go after other gods? 405 00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:37,840 He says. In effect, if you want to 406 00:20:37,840 --> 00:20:41,400 worship them, then you can go and enjoy their benefits and it 407 00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:44,520 will lead only to emptiness. There is no benefit and He will 408 00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:47,320 not fill you with every good thing while you attribute His 409 00:20:47,320 --> 00:20:49,640 blessings and His praises to other gods. 410 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:51,720 Deuteronomy 4. Deuteronomy 5. 411 00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:54,120 Deuteronomy 6 repeated this refrain. 412 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:57,160 He is a jealous God. You want the benefits of your 413 00:20:57,160 --> 00:20:58,720 idols? Then go worship them, and you 414 00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:01,040 forfeit the benefits and the blessing of God. 415 00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:04,280 Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all 416 00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:07,000 these things will be added. Be doers of the Word and not 417 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:09,080 hearers and you will experience the blessing of God. 418 00:21:09,640 --> 00:21:13,080 Obey his commandments and you will be full in the promised 419 00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:15,840 land, but forsake his commandments and you will be 420 00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:19,760 empty. It's the third cycle and the 4th 421 00:21:19,760 --> 00:21:25,720 and finally cycle 4 he turns the he turns the focus on to us and 422 00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:30,480 he says, consider yourself. Consider yourself verse 18, the 423 00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:33,800 next commandment. You shall therefore lay up these 424 00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:36,960 words of mine in your heart and in your soul and he connects 425 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:38,840 this to verse 22. If you want to skip down with 426 00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:41,920 your eyes, He says for if you do, for if you'll be careful to 427 00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:44,760 do all this commandment that I command you, loving the Lord, 428 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:48,480 walking in all his ways and holding fast to him, then the 429 00:21:48,480 --> 00:21:51,800 Lord will drive out these nations to maybe you've noticed 430 00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:54,680 this already. A very little new is taught in 431 00:21:54,680 --> 00:21:57,360 Deuteronomy 11. This is a very repetitive book 432 00:21:57,360 --> 00:22:01,160 and I think that's on purpose. All good teachers know you. 433 00:22:01,160 --> 00:22:04,120 You review, you learn by review. If you read the seven Laws of 434 00:22:04,120 --> 00:22:07,360 teaching, the 7th and culminating law is the law of 435 00:22:07,360 --> 00:22:10,480 review because it reinforces the idea. 436 00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:12,240 It's how we remember. It's what life groups in this 437 00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:14,680 church are for, to review what we've learned. 438 00:22:14,920 --> 00:22:17,600 It allows relationships between truths to become clear. 439 00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:21,200 It allows for retention, which for the people of God, retaining 440 00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:23,960 what God has said can be a matter of life and death. 441 00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:28,440 And so we review. And the Jews thought it was 442 00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:31,400 worth reviewing as well. We call Deuteronomy 64 to 9:00. 443 00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:36,600 What do we call that passage? The Shema, the mouth of babes. 444 00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:39,520 Yes, thank you. The Shema here, O Israel, the 445 00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:44,200 Lord your God, the Lord is 1. We say that 64 to 9 is the 446 00:22:44,200 --> 00:22:46,120 Shema. But in the Jewish law, it's 3 447 00:22:46,120 --> 00:22:49,320 passages and their estimation. It's it's Deuteronomy 6, but 448 00:22:49,320 --> 00:22:52,000 it's also Deuteronomy 1113 to 21. 449 00:22:52,360 --> 00:22:55,360 So we're actually here in this cycle in a passage that every 450 00:22:55,360 --> 00:22:59,280 Jewish person reviews twice a day, the first thing you speak 451 00:22:59,920 --> 00:23:02,320 when you can speak, and the last thing you speak before you die. 452 00:23:02,320 --> 00:23:06,400 And they add to it Numbers 1537. So to this day, the repetition 453 00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:10,640 of this passage is a daily meditation for the life of a 454 00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:14,200 Jew. And the final command that comes 455 00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:17,120 here expresses the requirement of God for you. 456 00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:20,520 And in another way, a fourth way, He says, you shall 457 00:23:20,520 --> 00:23:23,200 therefore lay up these words of mine and in your heart and in 458 00:23:23,200 --> 00:23:24,880 your soul. So here we're going to rehearse 459 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:27,280 and review everything we learned in Deuteronomy 6. 460 00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:29,880 This will sound so familiar. Read with me beginning in verse 461 00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:32,560 18. You shall bind them as a sign on 462 00:23:32,560 --> 00:23:34,240 your hand. There shall be as frontlets 463 00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:36,760 between your eyes. You shall teach them to your 464 00:23:36,760 --> 00:23:39,040 children, talking of them when you're sitting in your house, 465 00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:42,160 when you're walking by the way, when you lie down and when you 466 00:23:42,160 --> 00:23:43,720 rise. You shall write them on the 467 00:23:43,720 --> 00:23:46,600 doorposts of your house and on your gates, that your days and 468 00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:49,400 the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the 469 00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:52,400 Lord swore to your Father's to give them as long as the heavens 470 00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:55,160 are above the earth. And so we ask, how can we keep 471 00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:56,840 the commandment of God if we don't know them? 472 00:23:57,760 --> 00:23:59,640 You have to know it. And so he says again, he's 473 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:02,400 written these tablets, his law, onto the tablets. 474 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:04,280 We have to take it and write it on the tablet of our heart. 475 00:24:04,520 --> 00:24:06,600 He's written it on the pages of Scripture and now we have to 476 00:24:06,600 --> 00:24:08,560 write it onto our heart. How do you do it? 477 00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:12,400 He said you talk about it all the time as you are going take 478 00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:15,360 your children, teach them, sing to them, talk to them. 479 00:24:15,360 --> 00:24:17,520 He says write it on the doorpost of your house. 480 00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:19,400 That's your family. Write it on your heart. 481 00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:23,200 That's personally on your gates. We said that was society, the 482 00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:26,000 gates of businesses and the gates of your town showing that 483 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:27,920 the word of God is applicable everywhere. 484 00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:30,680 You have to know it if you're going to fulfill it. 485 00:24:31,360 --> 00:24:34,080 And it's a, it's a warning because when you get home today, 486 00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:37,160 if you're inspired and you, you're, you're worked up about 487 00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:39,800 these things, you're, you're going to get home and all the 488 00:24:39,800 --> 00:24:41,760 distractions are there. They haven't gone anywhere. 489 00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:44,160 They're waiting for you when you get home and when you're going 490 00:24:44,160 --> 00:24:46,960 to get home, there's still 24 hours in a day and that's it. 491 00:24:47,760 --> 00:24:52,680 And so, you have to ask, is my Savior inspiring enough to draw 492 00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:57,520 my attention and my efforts away from worthless things and on to 493 00:24:57,520 --> 00:25:01,120 serving His Kingdom and bringing about His glory? 494 00:25:02,280 --> 00:25:04,400 Listen to the. Illustration of this final point 495 00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:08,840 in this fourth cycle. He says you will be blessed in 496 00:25:08,840 --> 00:25:12,200 verse 21 as long as the heavens are above the earth. 497 00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:16,600 That is beautiful. He says, if if you look up and 498 00:25:16,600 --> 00:25:18,400 the heavens are there, if you look up and the Milky Way is 499 00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:21,920 there, he says then so true. The blessings that God affixes 500 00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:23,920 to obeying his commandments are still there. 501 00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:27,760 So he says, my word is eternal. My commandments are eternal. 502 00:25:27,760 --> 00:25:30,480 Here's the hope for you. So are the blessings that attend 503 00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:33,800 to you. If you obey those things, that 504 00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:36,960 is inspiration for you. It was supposed to inspire 505 00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:40,080 Israel. That was to be the source of 506 00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:42,480 their power and their ability to do things that were beyond their 507 00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:44,320 strength, he says. You're going to be girded with 508 00:25:44,320 --> 00:25:47,560 strength to dispossessed nations that you should have no power to 509 00:25:47,560 --> 00:25:49,480 dispossessed. They're stronger than you. 510 00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:52,600 They're more equipped. Than you, they're better looking 511 00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:54,520 than you and he says. But you're going to go and 512 00:25:54,520 --> 00:25:57,200 overtake them. And so Moses. 513 00:25:57,200 --> 00:26:00,680 Brings this subject to a head and he says of them, what are 514 00:26:00,680 --> 00:26:02,360 you going to do? Choose. 515 00:26:02,360 --> 00:26:03,960 Today. Choose. 516 00:26:03,960 --> 00:26:05,880 Today. What you're going to follow 517 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:09,240 verse 26, I'm setting before you a blessing and a curse. 518 00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:11,480 We'll look at this more in chapter 30. 519 00:26:11,760 --> 00:26:14,560 The blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God, 520 00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:18,000 which I command you today, and the curse if you do not obey the 521 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:21,080 commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way 522 00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:24,600 that I am commanding you today. So he says choose worship, 523 00:26:25,160 --> 00:26:29,720 choose action, choose service that it may go well with you. 524 00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:31,560 I want I want to rehearse all these commands. 525 00:26:31,560 --> 00:26:34,200 Let it pour over you again. This is the all the commands 526 00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:37,400 that he's given to you as we've gone through verse one love the 527 00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:39,680 Lord your God and keep his charge, his statutes and his 528 00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:41,880 rules and his commandments always. 529 00:26:42,120 --> 00:26:44,640 Verse 8 you shall therefore keep the whole commandment that I 530 00:26:44,640 --> 00:26:47,080 command to you today that you may be strong. 531 00:26:47,360 --> 00:26:50,560 Verse 13 obey the commandments to love and serve the Lord your 532 00:26:50,560 --> 00:26:52,280 God with all your heart and with all your soul. 533 00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:54,960 Verse 22, to do all the commandment that I command to 534 00:26:54,960 --> 00:26:58,640 you, to love the Lord your God, walk in all his ways, and hold 535 00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:00,760 fast to him. Then again, verse 32 sums it all 536 00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:02,120 up. The summary of the entire 537 00:27:02,120 --> 00:27:05,480 passage, one final call to action, draws it to conclusion. 538 00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:08,440 You shall therefore be careful to do all the statutes and rules 539 00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:09,920 that I'm setting before you today. 540 00:27:09,920 --> 00:27:12,680 Are you confused about what the passage is about you? 541 00:27:12,680 --> 00:27:14,480 Confused about what you're? Supposed to do when you leave 542 00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:16,880 this place. Trust only. 543 00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:20,120 In movement, life happens at the level of action. 544 00:27:20,120 --> 00:27:24,480 God's marshaling this whole chapter to inspire you that you 545 00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:27,400 may be filled with motivation and enthusiasm and confidence, 546 00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:31,360 that you may be encouraged and hopeful, creative and eager to 547 00:27:31,360 --> 00:27:33,680 act. So important. 548 00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:36,640 When we talk about doing the works of God and all the things 549 00:27:36,640 --> 00:27:38,840 that were called to accomplish and Protestant work ethic and 550 00:27:38,840 --> 00:27:41,120 all these things that we love and value, just to go back to 551 00:27:41,120 --> 00:27:43,920 Jesus and remember his words because the crowds ask him in 552 00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:46,680 John 6. Lord, what are we supposed to do 553 00:27:46,800 --> 00:27:50,280 to be doing the works of God very similar question. 554 00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:53,160 What are we to be doing in this world to be doing your works. 555 00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:56,400 John 628 to 29 and maybe you can think about how you would answer 556 00:27:56,400 --> 00:28:01,880 that question if somebody asked you helpful to set this up. 557 00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:06,400 Jamie and I once knew a lady who said I've been waiting for years 558 00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:09,080 for God to reveal to me what I'm supposed to do in this world. 559 00:28:09,560 --> 00:28:11,560 She said I I just been I've been idle. 560 00:28:11,560 --> 00:28:14,160 I I want to do more, but he hasn't shown me what to do yet. 561 00:28:15,080 --> 00:28:19,160 And it was all we could do to say God has given every 562 00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:22,320 Christian in the world pouring themselves out is what is 563 00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:25,880 required to accomplish what God has for the Kingdom of God to be 564 00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:28,040 on the earth. That is the untold work of the 565 00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:30,920 billions of Christians. There is so much work to do. 566 00:28:31,120 --> 00:28:32,920 It's overwhelming and it's exhausting. 567 00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:35,640 But if they come and ask Jesus, what are we to be doing to do 568 00:28:35,640 --> 00:28:38,120 the works of God? And Jesus answers their question 569 00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:42,240 about works plural and an answer about the work singular that 570 00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:44,480 they are called to do. He says the work of God is this, 571 00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:46,560 to believe in the one whom he has sent. 572 00:28:47,240 --> 00:28:51,480 That is the first great work. What do you do to be doing the 573 00:28:51,480 --> 00:28:54,080 works of God? Believe in Jesus Christ. 574 00:28:54,520 --> 00:28:57,240 And once Jesus speaks those words, then he quotes Moses and 575 00:28:57,240 --> 00:28:59,920 he goes back and references him. He says truly, truly. 576 00:28:59,920 --> 00:29:03,480 I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from 577 00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:06,400 heaven, but my Father who gives you true bread from heaven. 578 00:29:06,400 --> 00:29:09,360 So who provided? Was it Moses that brought them 579 00:29:09,360 --> 00:29:11,800 manna? Moses. 580 00:29:11,800 --> 00:29:14,200 Provided nothing, he was the agent. 581 00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:16,720 God provided everything. He says. 582 00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:19,080 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives 583 00:29:19,080 --> 00:29:21,560 life to the world. They said to Jesus, Sir, give us 584 00:29:21,560 --> 00:29:24,680 this bread always. And Jesus said, I am the bread 585 00:29:24,680 --> 00:29:27,200 of life. Whoever comes to me shall never 586 00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:29,080 hunger. Whoever believes in me shall 587 00:29:29,080 --> 00:29:33,080 never thirst. Jesus Christ is so inspiring. 588 00:29:33,920 --> 00:29:36,200 Belief in Him is the great work singular? 589 00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:39,200 Here's the connection that unlocks for you all the great 590 00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:43,000 works, plural, that He has called for you to do in this 591 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:45,400 life. So we work because we're 592 00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:47,720 inspired. We are literally inspired. 593 00:29:47,720 --> 00:29:51,440 He has breathed into US new life by His Holy Spirit. 594 00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:54,720 We are inspired by His Holy Spirit, and then we are with 595 00:29:54,720 --> 00:29:58,680 that in passages like Deuteronomy 11 and John 6, 596 00:29:58,760 --> 00:30:03,680 inspired emotionally by the beauty of Jesus and by his word 597 00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:06,240 and by his great works. And so we say, God did great 598 00:30:06,240 --> 00:30:09,520 works in Christ. Now you do great works. 599 00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:12,360 Now we say. Now you go and do works, and 600 00:30:12,360 --> 00:30:14,200 Jesus says, and you will do these, and you will do greater 601 00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:17,800 works than I did. Truly, truly, I say. 602 00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:20,720 To you, John 1412, whoever believes in me will also do the 603 00:30:20,720 --> 00:30:24,520 works that I do, and greater works than these will he do. 604 00:30:24,520 --> 00:30:27,800 So God commands you to do heritage churches to be a church 605 00:30:27,800 --> 00:30:30,560 filled of filled with men and women of action. 606 00:30:31,640 --> 00:30:35,760 And so I, I read a document this week that talked about I'm going 607 00:30:35,760 --> 00:30:38,640 to butcher Tim Keller's should have just brought the verse when 608 00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:40,560 the butcher Tim Keller's saying, but basically says that there 609 00:30:40,560 --> 00:30:44,320 lies dormant and every Christian, this insatiable 610 00:30:44,320 --> 00:30:47,920 desire to go and serve. And so somebody asked him, he 611 00:30:47,920 --> 00:30:50,400 says, what do you do about these, these Christians that 612 00:30:50,640 --> 00:30:53,040 they, they seem to love God and their faith seems to be genuine, 613 00:30:53,040 --> 00:30:55,880 but they're not really serving. And he says there lies dormant 614 00:30:55,880 --> 00:30:58,440 in every Christian heart. It has to be awakened by 615 00:30:58,680 --> 00:31:01,160 Christian witness. It has to be awakened by 616 00:31:01,160 --> 00:31:02,520 preaching. But he says, doorman and 617 00:31:02,520 --> 00:31:06,320 everyone is this desire to serve and to love and to pour yourself 618 00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:07,840 out. And that's what I hope this is 619 00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:09,560 for you. That's what I want my words to 620 00:31:09,560 --> 00:31:12,720 accomplish on you. Now, if service is dormant in 621 00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:15,120 you and you are not serving the Lord with all your heart, soul, 622 00:31:15,120 --> 00:31:18,600 mind and strength, begin today. I'll give a whole list of things 623 00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:21,680 that you can do, but the the church needs you and the Kingdom 624 00:31:21,680 --> 00:31:25,160 of God needs to be expanded. And if that is you, I pray that 625 00:31:25,160 --> 00:31:27,480 you come and get involved because that was me. 626 00:31:28,120 --> 00:31:30,800 We had a church in Tulsa that I didn't want to go to church. 627 00:31:30,800 --> 00:31:32,160 I like to golf on Sunday morning. 628 00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:34,560 So that's what I did. But my wife came and she said 629 00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:36,440 you are the spiritual leader of this household. 630 00:31:36,640 --> 00:31:40,720 Why are we not in church? And so wives, if you, if you 631 00:31:40,720 --> 00:31:42,880 need to sometimes come and correct your husband's. 632 00:31:42,880 --> 00:31:45,400 And so we went to church. I was angry, I was embittered, I 633 00:31:45,400 --> 00:31:47,440 didn't want to go. And we've been going for a 634 00:31:47,440 --> 00:31:49,640 length of time. And then they encouraged us to 635 00:31:49,640 --> 00:31:52,120 go to a life group. I went begrudgingly and bitter. 636 00:31:52,120 --> 00:31:55,040 I didn't want to go. And then we went and they had a 637 00:31:55,040 --> 00:31:56,920 day of service. I showed up to church and 638 00:31:56,920 --> 00:31:58,360 they're like, everybody stay after. 639 00:31:58,480 --> 00:32:00,840 If you're not involved in the church, today is the day we want 640 00:32:00,840 --> 00:32:03,840 you to come and serve. And so of course, my wife said, 641 00:32:03,840 --> 00:32:06,600 well, we're, why don't we stay and just see what opportunities 642 00:32:06,600 --> 00:32:08,560 are available. And I'm a, I'm on the front row, 643 00:32:08,560 --> 00:32:12,680 like just upset, visibly upset. And finally they said, well, we 644 00:32:12,680 --> 00:32:15,600 could do so why don't you just greet and you can make coffee, 645 00:32:16,120 --> 00:32:17,840 can serve doughnuts. And I was like, we'll all do 646 00:32:17,840 --> 00:32:20,600 that. Which turned into leading a 647 00:32:20,600 --> 00:32:24,200 Bible study for the church that morning, which turned into 648 00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:27,000 seminary, which turned into pastoring a church. 649 00:32:27,920 --> 00:32:31,880 There lies dormant in our hearts the desire to serve. 650 00:32:32,040 --> 00:32:34,920 It has to be awakened. And so for me, it was awakened 651 00:32:34,920 --> 00:32:36,840 by that church as they called me to serve. 652 00:32:36,840 --> 00:32:40,440 I'm calling you, if you are not serving the Kingdom of God, 653 00:32:41,240 --> 00:32:43,840 serve. Today is the day to come and to 654 00:32:43,840 --> 00:32:45,920 serve, and I want to give. If you're wanting to do 655 00:32:45,920 --> 00:32:48,120 something but you're unsure of what to do, I want to give you 656 00:32:48,120 --> 00:32:50,840 just a few thoughts and needs in our community. 657 00:32:50,840 --> 00:32:53,840 And I I want to overwhelm those of you who do serve with the 658 00:32:53,840 --> 00:32:55,680 vast need. When Jesus says the harvest is 659 00:32:55,680 --> 00:32:58,760 plentiful but the laborers are few, you'll see now what we 660 00:32:58,760 --> 00:33:01,120 mean. We need jail chaplains. 661 00:33:01,920 --> 00:33:03,320 Men. And women at the Park County 662 00:33:03,320 --> 00:33:04,960 Safety Center. Why? 663 00:33:04,960 --> 00:33:08,440 Because there are services every Thursday and every Sunday where 664 00:33:08,440 --> 00:33:12,760 these incarcerated individuals are asking for services and they 665 00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:16,040 cannot have them because there are no preachers, men and women. 666 00:33:16,360 --> 00:33:19,520 And so there are there's there's a the harvest is plentiful. 667 00:33:19,760 --> 00:33:22,520 We need church planters and Allen Gamble prison and for 668 00:33:22,520 --> 00:33:25,400 future church plants, the the need is there and we need 669 00:33:25,400 --> 00:33:27,640 laborers. We need men and women to help 670 00:33:27,640 --> 00:33:31,240 Chris plant a church in Utah. And so if you want to come and 671 00:33:31,240 --> 00:33:34,160 be his azer and his help mate, he needs people to go with him 672 00:33:34,360 --> 00:33:36,680 so he can have a sustainable church and that it can succeed 673 00:33:36,680 --> 00:33:38,840 when he plants it in a few years. 674 00:33:39,320 --> 00:33:42,680 We need court appointed special advocates as Christ was an 675 00:33:42,680 --> 00:33:46,360 advocate for us. We need men and women to be 676 00:33:46,360 --> 00:33:50,400 advocates for children in our community. 5 hour a month is the 677 00:33:50,400 --> 00:33:52,320 only commitment. It's it's high end on the 678 00:33:52,320 --> 00:33:54,960 training. 5 hours a month. And you can be an advocate to a 679 00:33:54,960 --> 00:33:57,000 child as Christ was an advocate to you. 680 00:33:57,480 --> 00:33:59,560 We are. We were told last week that some 681 00:33:59,560 --> 00:34:04,400 130 Casa workers are needed. The harvest is plentiful. 682 00:34:04,960 --> 00:34:07,360 Every child needs an advocate. We're in a mental health crisis 683 00:34:07,360 --> 00:34:10,280 and the doors open from our culture to this church as we 684 00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:12,239 are. We have people calling saying do 685 00:34:12,239 --> 00:34:14,000 you have any Christian counselors? 686 00:34:14,400 --> 00:34:16,080 And our counselors are overloaded and they're 687 00:34:16,080 --> 00:34:18,120 overwhelmed. And so we need help. 688 00:34:18,639 --> 00:34:20,800 We need laborers. Safe families is needing more 689 00:34:20,800 --> 00:34:24,520 workers to temporarily host kids and to get our families back on 690 00:34:24,520 --> 00:34:27,560 their feet in the community. We we have care portal needs. 691 00:34:27,560 --> 00:34:31,480 I think we meet some 93% of the needs, but so few churches and 692 00:34:31,480 --> 00:34:33,520 so few people are are doing these requests. 693 00:34:33,600 --> 00:34:36,800 I would have everyone in this church on that platform, if 694 00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:39,040 nothing else than to see the needs and to be able to pray for 695 00:34:39,040 --> 00:34:42,040 the needs in your community. If you never met a request. 696 00:34:42,520 --> 00:34:44,639 We need a Foster and adoptive parents. 697 00:34:45,520 --> 00:34:48,800 Jacob would tell you that two weeks ago we had six DHS workers 698 00:34:48,800 --> 00:34:51,760 leave in one week, 1 block from this church. 699 00:34:51,760 --> 00:34:56,440 Children were sleeping in the DHS office every night was it's 700 00:34:56,440 --> 00:35:00,320 overwhelming the need. We have 93 foster homes to 701 00:35:00,320 --> 00:35:01,440 recruit. And if you're saying this is 702 00:35:01,440 --> 00:35:03,960 above me, right? I'm I'm new to this Christian 703 00:35:03,960 --> 00:35:05,120 thing. I'm not ready to take in 704 00:35:05,120 --> 00:35:07,120 children in your home. Then come to the church and 705 00:35:07,120 --> 00:35:10,560 serve at this church. Hand out Donuts, make coffee, 706 00:35:10,760 --> 00:35:13,040 meet people. The library team needs help. 707 00:35:13,040 --> 00:35:14,600 The Justice and Mercy team needs help. 708 00:35:14,800 --> 00:35:18,000 There's so many ways that you can come and serve. 709 00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:20,360 Just come and talk and get involved. 710 00:35:21,960 --> 00:35:23,880 Because I believe that if if. All the churches and all the 711 00:35:23,880 --> 00:35:26,280 people in Park County were zealous for the things of God. 712 00:35:26,280 --> 00:35:29,120 These needs would be met. It's so much bigger than even 713 00:35:29,120 --> 00:35:31,040 this church. It's it's our community, it's 714 00:35:31,040 --> 00:35:33,440 all of us coming together that it's you. 715 00:35:33,440 --> 00:35:37,280 Jesus said the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are 716 00:35:37,280 --> 00:35:39,440 few. For those who are faithful to 717 00:35:39,440 --> 00:35:43,200 obey the commandments and who imitate Christ, who serves as 718 00:35:43,200 --> 00:35:46,280 his hands and his feet. Jesus says greater works than 719 00:35:46,280 --> 00:35:48,400 these, he will do greater works than mine. 720 00:35:48,480 --> 00:35:52,480 Will you do as the church? I want you to listen to how 721 00:35:52,480 --> 00:35:56,560 Princeton's BB Warfield put it in a sermon on Philippians 2 is 722 00:35:56,560 --> 00:35:58,320 called Imitating the Incarnation. 723 00:35:59,600 --> 00:36:02,280 Warfield says he was. Led by his love for others into 724 00:36:02,280 --> 00:36:05,400 the world to forget himself in the needs of others. 725 00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:08,760 Self sacrifice means not indifference to our times and 726 00:36:08,760 --> 00:36:11,080 our fellows. It means absorption in them. 727 00:36:11,640 --> 00:36:13,760 It means forgetfulness of self and others. 728 00:36:14,240 --> 00:36:16,800 It means entering into every man's hopes and fears, their 729 00:36:16,800 --> 00:36:19,600 longings and despairs. It means many sightedness of 730 00:36:19,600 --> 00:36:23,440 spirit, multiform activity, multiplicity of sympathies. 731 00:36:23,680 --> 00:36:25,320 It means richness of development. 732 00:36:25,640 --> 00:36:29,040 It means not that we should live one life, but live 1000 lives, 733 00:36:29,200 --> 00:36:32,880 binding ourselves to 1000 souls by the filament of so loving a 734 00:36:32,880 --> 00:36:35,920 sympathy that their lives become ours. 735 00:36:36,600 --> 00:36:39,200 So we say Jesus. Christ laid down his life for 736 00:36:39,200 --> 00:36:41,480 us. We now lay down. 737 00:36:41,480 --> 00:36:46,120 Our lives for him. And so one of my greatest goals 738 00:36:46,120 --> 00:36:49,040 as your pastor, one of the greatest goals of your pastors 739 00:36:49,280 --> 00:36:52,720 is to kind of create a an ecosystem of health where you 740 00:36:52,720 --> 00:36:55,520 can, you're equipped to do whatever you need to do where 741 00:36:55,520 --> 00:36:58,040 the resources are here and available in this body. 742 00:36:58,040 --> 00:37:00,320 So however God would call you to serve, however you need to be 743 00:37:00,320 --> 00:37:02,240 equipped. This is what the library is that 744 00:37:02,240 --> 00:37:04,680 you can go up there and there are volumes on whatever ministry 745 00:37:04,680 --> 00:37:07,720 you need to create this ecosystem where you can flourish 746 00:37:07,880 --> 00:37:09,800 and what God has called you to do. 747 00:37:09,880 --> 00:37:13,840 So I want to invite the worship team up as we sing our our final 748 00:37:13,840 --> 00:37:14,920 song. And here's what I want you to 749 00:37:14,920 --> 00:37:18,640 reflect on why you're singing. If you need to respond. 750 00:37:18,640 --> 00:37:22,120 To this message by trusting in Jesus Christ as the first and 751 00:37:22,120 --> 00:37:25,080 great work that I invite you to come to the green room. 752 00:37:25,080 --> 00:37:27,320 As a matter of fact, counselors, we're going to go ahead and go. 753 00:37:27,320 --> 00:37:28,600 Let's go now into the green room. 754 00:37:28,600 --> 00:37:30,960 If you need to trust in Christ for salvation, come now. 755 00:37:31,240 --> 00:37:34,440 Even as you sing, as you consider God and his blessings, 756 00:37:34,800 --> 00:37:36,600 come and consider Christ and believe. 757 00:37:37,280 --> 00:37:40,080 And if you've been on the sidelines of this church, if you 758 00:37:40,080 --> 00:37:42,360 have not been serving, then today is the day. 759 00:37:42,360 --> 00:37:44,320 Come and ask. Come and talk to a counselor. 760 00:37:44,520 --> 00:37:46,440 Come and talk to one of the pastors, and we will tell you 761 00:37:46,720 --> 00:37:49,200 how you can serve. We will help you to get plugged 762 00:37:49,200 --> 00:37:52,560 in according to your gifts. Pray with me. 763 00:37:52,560 --> 00:37:55,160 And then we'll consider and meditate together as we respond. 764 00:37:55,160 --> 00:37:57,840 Lord God. You are so. 765 00:37:57,840 --> 00:38:00,320 Inspiring. Jesus Christ. 766 00:38:00,320 --> 00:38:03,520 You are so inspiring that you've taught us what it means to give 767 00:38:03,520 --> 00:38:05,920 up your life, what it means to love other people, what it means 768 00:38:05,920 --> 00:38:09,440 to to suffer for the sins of other people and to come 769 00:38:09,440 --> 00:38:11,720 alongside them and to bring Shalom and to bring healing. 770 00:38:11,720 --> 00:38:14,680 May we participate in this ministry of reconciliation. 771 00:38:14,680 --> 00:38:18,200 Give us the courage to put off our our laziness, to put aside 772 00:38:18,200 --> 00:38:20,160 our indifferent, our indifference, our apathy. 773 00:38:20,160 --> 00:38:23,560 Lord, which I believe is the greatest of the sins, pride and 774 00:38:23,560 --> 00:38:27,520 apathy and God restore to us a desire and a burden for other 775 00:38:27,520 --> 00:38:30,400 people. May we serve, but not out of our 776 00:38:30,400 --> 00:38:33,240 own strength, Lord, but the strength that you give, being 777 00:38:33,240 --> 00:38:35,520 inspired by you. Thank you for your word, for 778 00:38:35,520 --> 00:38:36,880 Deuteronomy. We love you. 779 00:38:36,880 --> 00:38:38,800 We ask all this in Christ's name, Amen. 780 00:38:40,480 --> 00:38:42,680 Thanks for listening. To learn more about Heritage 781 00:38:42,680 --> 00:38:45,680 Church or if you'd like to respond to this sermon, visit 782 00:38:45,680 --> 00:38:50,040 our website at www.heritageshawnee.org.