1 00:00:00,520 --> 00:00:06,320 By show of hands, how many were here in November of 2022 when we 2 00:00:06,320 --> 00:00:09,800 replanted Heritage Church into First Baptist Church? 3 00:00:11,200 --> 00:00:17,320 That's crazy how few of you remember November of 2022 we 4 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:19,520 replanted Heritage Church into First Baptist. 5 00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:24,000 Uniting 2 bodies and bringing those two bodies together was 6 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:27,120 not the end. It was an end, but it was a 7 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:31,240 means to an end. There was a future orientation 8 00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:34,400 toward the replant, a future directedness that we're living 9 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:37,280 and walking in even now, and there's still a future 10 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:40,720 directedness. So the whole process, if you 11 00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:43,000 were here, acknowledged the past, it was significant. 12 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:45,720 The past was significant. The history of First Baptist was 13 00:00:45,720 --> 00:00:47,960 significant to all of the things that brought us to that point. 14 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:49,840 The history of heritage was significant. 15 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:52,480 All of the things that brought us to that point, the shared 16 00:00:52,480 --> 00:00:54,680 history we had administering to downtown. 17 00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:58,680 But the vision and strategy focused on the future. 18 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:01,080 And I went back and I'll read it for you. 19 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:03,720 The defining vision that the pastors recorded in the opening 20 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:06,480 lines of the vision document that we presented to our 21 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:08,520 churches four years ago said this. 22 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:12,880 The heart behind the replant is to pave the way for a renewed 23 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:16,480 vision for our churches, one committed to the glorification 24 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:18,760 of God and the love and the edification of His Saints. 25 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:21,920 God will be glorified and His people encouraged by a 26 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:24,880 commitment to the expository preaching of the Word, through a 27 00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:27,480 renewed commitment to love and serve one another, beginning 28 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:30,880 first with the new faces among us and overflowing into our 29 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:33,760 shared local community. Through this replant, the people 30 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:36,040 of our city will be afforded something that neither church 31 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:40,600 could offer on its own, and the Heritage pastors said this to 32 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:42,960 our congregation. We aim to lead this replant into 33 00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:47,560 new vision, new strategic focus, new passion for the gospel, new 34 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:50,320 hunger for the preaching of the Word, new love for the downtown 35 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:54,000 community, and a new excitement about seeing people come to 36 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:58,480 faith in Jesus Christ. And that still gets me excited. 37 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:03,640 This whole process was led by the vision, vision that we 38 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:07,360 believe was was revealed by God, His purposes revealed to us for 39 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:10,360 these congregations coming together even as we prayed the 40 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:14,600 final words of Psalm 90 over ourselves over and over again. 41 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:18,920 It says let the favor of our God be upon us and establish the 42 00:02:18,920 --> 00:02:21,440 work of our hands. Yes, establish the work of our 43 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:25,600 hands. And has He done that abundantly, 44 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:27,640 more than we could have ever asked or imagined. 45 00:02:27,640 --> 00:02:30,120 He's answered our prayers. He's so faithful and good. 46 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:32,240 He's given us not only salvation, He's given us a 47 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:34,360 shared identity. We learned about that shared 48 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:36,880 identity in Ephesians. He's given us a place. 49 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:40,040 He's given us a people. He's given us a mission. 50 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:44,040 And if you go back to Deuteronomy, open your Bibles to 51 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:46,800 Deuteronomy. It's likewise a book written to 52 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:52,400 people who are standing before a threshold of something new of 53 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:55,320 significance. And they, they have a, a leader, 54 00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:58,160 Moses, who's acknowledging the significance of what came before 55 00:02:58,320 --> 00:02:59,520 and all the history that came before. 56 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:02,120 You're going to see as we go through this, this is 3 sermons 57 00:03:02,120 --> 00:03:05,520 of Moses and the first one is 3 chapters and it's dedicated to 58 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:08,360 the past because he's saying the past is important. 59 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:13,200 The past is significant, but it's a future orientated book 60 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:17,320 and it's about the future vision and mission of God's people and 61 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:20,480 what's going to happen after they cross the threshold and 62 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:24,600 enter into the promised land. Christopher Wright explains the 63 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:27,360 significance of Deuteronomy through this lens of future 64 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:29,920 directedness. He says the constant future 65 00:03:29,920 --> 00:03:32,640 orientation of the book virtually guarantees that 66 00:03:32,640 --> 00:03:36,680 ongoing relevance and address to later generations and centuries. 67 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:40,160 So you can say how does it what does it matter that 400 years 68 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:44,200 ago this this tiny people Israel, I guess not tiny. 69 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:46,600 There are millions of people at this point, but these this 70 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:51,840 country Israel, this budding nation Israel would be freed 71 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:53,960 from slavery under Egypt and Pharaoh. 72 00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:57,080 And why is it significant that Moses would would mention that 73 00:03:57,080 --> 00:04:02,960 52 times throughout the course of this book Numbers 2651 says 74 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:08,200 for context, 600,000 men were under the age of 20 as they were 75 00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:09,840 wandering through the wilderness. 76 00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:12,720 If you remember that story, which leads us to infer that 77 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:15,320 this is millions of people are wandering through the desert 78 00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:18,279 that God providing manna and, and water out of a rock. 79 00:04:19,519 --> 00:04:22,079 And they're at the very threshold of the promised land 80 00:04:22,079 --> 00:04:24,840 and they're in a place called Kadish Barnea. 81 00:04:24,840 --> 00:04:27,840 And what God's people are doing is they're letting go of what is 82 00:04:27,840 --> 00:04:30,560 behind and they're taking hold of what lies ahead. 83 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:33,920 The New Testament says that the we, we cling to what lies ahead 84 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:36,280 and let go from what came behind. 85 00:04:36,280 --> 00:04:38,440 God and his people are future directed. 86 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:42,280 We are future oriented. And so getting to the promised 87 00:04:42,280 --> 00:04:43,920 land was not only an end, it was an end. 88 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:46,600 It's the fulfillment of of a lot of promises, as you'll see, but 89 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:50,200 it's also a means to an end. It's fulfillment of promise made 90 00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:52,760 to Abraham, but it's also the start of a ministry, a ministry 91 00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:55,960 that begins now and continue that continues through us. 92 00:04:55,960 --> 00:04:58,880 This is this is our mission. The same mission for them is, is 93 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:01,560 the mission of heritage church and God. 94 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:04,520 And Deuteronomy is focused on what he's going to do in and 95 00:05:04,520 --> 00:05:07,480 through this people right again says this book presents, 96 00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:11,720 therefore, a God of sovereign worldwide purpose and a people 97 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:14,880 with a sharp spiritual mandate and moral agenda. 98 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:18,160 The combination forge is a dynamic factor in the biblical 99 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:21,080 concept of the mission of those who claim to be the people of 100 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:23,520 God in quotes. So Deuteronomy is saying, who 101 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:27,160 are the people of God to be? What kind of people are God's 102 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:28,760 people? What will the life and 103 00:05:28,760 --> 00:05:30,880 ministries of the people of God look like? 104 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:33,680 And by implication, what kind of people are we to be? 105 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:35,760 What kind of person are you to be? 106 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:38,320 And what will the life and ministries of the people of God 107 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:42,240 look like today? And answer that read with me 108 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:46,240 Deuteronomy chapter one, verse one, and we'll read through the 109 00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:49,480 1st 8 verses as our text this this morning. 110 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:54,760 Deuteronomy 11. These are the words that Moses 111 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:58,000 spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan, in the wilderness, in 112 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:02,560 the Araba opposite Saf, between Paran and Toefl, Laban, Hezeroth 113 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:05,440 and Dizahab. It is 11 days journey from Horeb 114 00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:07,800 by way of Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnia. 115 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:10,480 In the 40th year. On the first day of the 11th 116 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:14,120 month, Moses spoke to the people of Israel according to all that 117 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:16,680 the Lord had given him in commandment to them. 118 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:19,760 After he had defeated Sion, the king of the Amorites, who lived 119 00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:22,920 in Heshbon, and OG, the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth 120 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:26,440 and in Adriai beyond the Jordan in the land of Moab. 121 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:30,880 Moses undertook to explain this law, saying, The Lord our God 122 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:33,440 has said to us in Horeb, You've stayed long enough at this 123 00:06:33,440 --> 00:06:36,280 mountain, turn and take your journey and go to the Hill 124 00:06:36,280 --> 00:06:38,720 Country of the Amorites, and to all their neighbors in the 125 00:06:38,760 --> 00:06:41,320 Araba, in the Hill Country, and in the lowland, and then in 126 00:06:41,320 --> 00:06:44,280 Negev and by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites in 127 00:06:44,280 --> 00:06:46,520 Lebanon as far as the great river Euphrates. 128 00:06:47,320 --> 00:06:49,000 See, I have set the land before you. 129 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:52,720 Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore to your 130 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:56,840 father's, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob to give them and to 131 00:06:56,840 --> 00:07:00,840 their offspring after them. So paving the way for 132 00:07:01,240 --> 00:07:03,480 Deuteronomy ahead of us, the book's going to answer 2 133 00:07:03,480 --> 00:07:06,920 questions that we're, it's going to answer 2 questions. 134 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:09,080 What is, what kind of relationship does God have with 135 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:11,760 his people? And how are God's people to 136 00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:14,120 live? What is their life and ministry 137 00:07:14,320 --> 00:07:17,400 going to look like? So what kind of relationship 138 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:19,320 does God have with his people? This gets to the heart of the 139 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:21,680 book. The the grand theme of 140 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:25,160 Deuteronomy is the theme of covenant and specifically 141 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:28,440 covenant renewal. So, so important. 142 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:31,920 They are renewing their covenant and right again says the feel 143 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:34,080 the pulse of Deuteronomy and you'll feel the pulse of the 144 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:36,720 whole Old Testament. If you can understand this book, 145 00:07:37,080 --> 00:07:40,640 the whole Testament is going to unfold like a flower before you. 146 00:07:40,680 --> 00:07:44,200 It's critical, and we're going to look as we go and answer 147 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:47,400 these two questions there you're going to see seven major themes 148 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:49,200 that we're going to look ahead and see in the book of 149 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:50,880 Deuteronomy. The 1st 4 themes are going to be 150 00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:53,720 attached to the first question, the last three to the second. 151 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:58,080 And as you go, the main theme again is covenant. 152 00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:05,040 The theme of covenant #1 and we said that Moses makes much of 153 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:07,920 his history, again, 3 chapters of history, and the rest is just 154 00:08:07,920 --> 00:08:10,360 focused on the future and what God's doing. 155 00:08:10,360 --> 00:08:13,560 But he does go back and he makes much of their history. 156 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:17,200 And as he does this, I want you to see history isn't where he 157 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:21,680 ends, but interesting is where he starts his retelling of the 158 00:08:21,680 --> 00:08:24,960 history of Israel. He doesn't go all the way back 159 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:28,360 and doesn't start in the the garden with Adam, and he doesn't 160 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:30,680 start with Abraham and the Abrahamic covenant. 161 00:08:30,680 --> 00:08:34,120 He starts in verse one saying these are the words that Moses 162 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:37,240 spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness. 163 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:42,360 Verse 2 it is 11 days journey from Horeb by way of Mount Cyr 164 00:08:42,360 --> 00:08:46,720 to Kadesh Barnea. Horeb is Deuteronomy's name for 165 00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:49,800 Sinai and this is the later name for Sinai. 166 00:08:49,800 --> 00:08:52,880 This is the mountain where God thundered and there was darkness 167 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:56,720 and peals of Thunder and smoke and, and he said, if if anybody 168 00:08:56,720 --> 00:08:59,440 comes near this mountain, if an animal comes near this mountain, 169 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:02,760 kill it because I'm holy. Moses alone can approach. 170 00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:05,800 So it uses Sinai one time in the book, but it's poetic. 171 00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:09,000 It uses horeb. It starts at Mount Sinai with 172 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:12,080 the covenant with Moses and his people 400 years prior. 173 00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:13,640 This is where he gave the 10 commandments. 174 00:09:13,880 --> 00:09:15,800 Verse 2 says this is where the journey began. 175 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:18,600 Verse 6 says this is where God first spoke to them. 176 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:22,800 That's where he starts history. So God has redeemed his people 177 00:09:22,800 --> 00:09:24,720 from slavery. If you come back next week, he 178 00:09:24,720 --> 00:09:27,800 kind of rehearses this RJ is going to be preaching and he'll 179 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:30,480 he'll go through some of this beautiful, wonderful story. 180 00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:34,480 He offers terms of the covenant. So you say when all of the the 181 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:38,240 punishment comes on Israel, you have to remember they swore 182 00:09:38,240 --> 00:09:40,400 themselves to God. God presented the terms and they 183 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:45,280 said, yes, we want, we, we love this, we want to be your people. 184 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:48,400 Exodus 24 Moses came up and told the people all the words of the 185 00:09:48,400 --> 00:09:51,200 Lord and all the rules, and all the people answered with one 186 00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:55,200 voice and said, all the words that the Lord has spoken we will 187 00:09:55,200 --> 00:09:58,640 do. They swore themselves to the 188 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:02,160 Lord their God, and they were careful to do his commandments 189 00:10:02,920 --> 00:10:06,600 for a few minutes until they came to Kadesh Barnia. 190 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:10,960 They come to Kadesh Barnia, and the people grumble. 191 00:10:10,960 --> 00:10:13,760 And the story goes that the people ran out of water in the 192 00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:15,400 wilderness. And so they grumble and they 193 00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:19,200 quarrel with Moses and they say, would that we have perished when 194 00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:20,880 her brothers had perished before the Lord. 195 00:10:20,880 --> 00:10:24,640 And why have you made us come up from Egypt to bring us into this 196 00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:28,440 evil place, grumbling and complaining. 197 00:10:28,440 --> 00:10:32,040 And then Moses sends out 10 spies to spy on the promised 198 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:34,320 land from that place. And they don't trust God and 199 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:36,320 they're afraid. And the they come back with the 200 00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:38,120 report. These people are huge and their 201 00:10:38,120 --> 00:10:41,160 cities are fortified, and they're afraid and they don't 202 00:10:41,160 --> 00:10:43,960 trust God. And God and his frustration 203 00:10:43,960 --> 00:10:47,480 says, how long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? 204 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:51,160 And he swears in his wrath. As Hebrew says, your children 205 00:10:51,160 --> 00:10:53,800 shall be shepherds in the wilderness for 40 years and 206 00:10:53,800 --> 00:10:56,800 shall suffer for your faithlessness until the last of 207 00:10:56,800 --> 00:10:58,760 your dead bodies lies in this wilderness. 208 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:01,200 And the sobering words that come after. 209 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:05,720 And you shall know my displeasure that at Kadesh 210 00:11:05,760 --> 00:11:10,040 Barnea, that's Kadesh Barnea. It's where Israel was faithless. 211 00:11:10,040 --> 00:11:13,640 It's where Israel disqualified themselves from inheriting the 212 00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:15,760 promised land for another generation. 213 00:11:16,960 --> 00:11:19,280 And I can hear Paul's words, Paul Speaking of Israel in 214 00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:23,080 Romans 3 when he says, but does their faithlessness nullify the 215 00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:26,120 faithfulness of God? And what's the answer? 216 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:29,600 By no means does their faithlessness same in the 217 00:11:29,600 --> 00:11:31,640 church. I know a lot of Christians 218 00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:33,800 who've done a lot of good, but I also know a lot of Christians 219 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:36,120 who've done a lot of bad, and sometimes it's the same person. 220 00:11:36,440 --> 00:11:38,120 And you say, how can they be so stupid? 221 00:11:38,880 --> 00:11:42,400 How could they do this? Does their faithlessness nullify 222 00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:45,560 the faithfulness of God? By no means. 223 00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:49,240 Deuteronomy starts with God bringing his people back to 224 00:11:49,240 --> 00:11:51,520 Kadesh Barnia. This is covenant renewal. 225 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:54,240 He brings them back to their place of faithlessness as he 226 00:11:54,240 --> 00:11:58,280 often does and he's showing you God's people are a covenant 227 00:11:58,360 --> 00:12:00,760 people. If he makes a covenant with you, 228 00:12:00,880 --> 00:12:03,640 your faithlessness does not nullify his covenants. 229 00:12:04,240 --> 00:12:06,320 You can't break them. You don't have the power to do 230 00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:08,360 it. He's a faithful God. 231 00:12:08,360 --> 00:12:12,400 So he shows the the futility of what's happened in verse 2. 232 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:14,600 He says it by the way, it was an 11 day journey. 233 00:12:14,960 --> 00:12:16,960 He, he puts that time reference in there. 234 00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:20,160 So you know, it was an 11 day journey from Mount Sinai to 235 00:12:20,160 --> 00:12:22,280 Kadesh Barnia. How long did it take him to get 236 00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:25,400 there? 40 years, so he shows the 237 00:12:25,400 --> 00:12:27,880 futility of a Moses puts that in there intentionally. 238 00:12:27,960 --> 00:12:30,760 I want you to know, I mean, he's teaching you sin leads to 239 00:12:30,760 --> 00:12:32,720 futility. We saw it in the garden. 240 00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:36,240 Romans says that all creation has been subject to futility 241 00:12:36,320 --> 00:12:39,240 because of sin. It's a time waster. 242 00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:43,720 It wastes resources, it's ugly, it brings ugly consequences that 243 00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:46,600 you never intend. It forfeits blessing. 244 00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:50,840 He shows it wastes time. And so God brings them to the 245 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:54,800 exact place of their failure 40 years later to allow Israel to 246 00:12:54,800 --> 00:12:56,800 renew the covenant again. This is what He does. 247 00:12:56,800 --> 00:12:59,800 This is what He does to His disciples when they fail in John 248 00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:04,000 21, He comes back and he says, as many times as you denied me 249 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:05,720 before, men, it's the same amount of times you're going to 250 00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:07,320 swear your love and allegiance to me again. 251 00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:10,600 And He makes these promises. We can't by our faithlessness 252 00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:14,160 nullify the faithfulness of God. And the people, as we get to 253 00:13:14,160 --> 00:13:18,480 chapter 26, are going to swear allegiance again, Chapter 2616 254 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:21,160 and 17, they're going to say, this day, the Lord your God 255 00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:23,200 commands you to do these statutes and rules, and you 256 00:13:23,200 --> 00:13:26,120 shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and 257 00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:28,800 with all your soul. You have declared today that the 258 00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:31,680 Lord is your God, and you will walk in his ways and keep his 259 00:13:31,680 --> 00:13:36,360 statutes and commandments and rules and obey his voice, and 260 00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:40,080 then they'll confess themselves. And Moses says in Deuteronomy 261 00:13:40,080 --> 00:13:43,480 27, this day you have become the people of the Lord your God. 262 00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:47,560 You've become the people again. So what's what's happening is 263 00:13:47,560 --> 00:13:50,560 the, the very geography of them standing on the threshold of the 264 00:13:50,560 --> 00:13:53,840 promised land is reflecting what's happening theologically. 265 00:13:54,520 --> 00:13:57,800 It's a, a physical picture. This is why McConville says 266 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:01,120 Israel is between the wilderness and Canaan, between the promise 267 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:04,560 and its appropriation. And so if you know anything 268 00:14:04,560 --> 00:14:08,240 about the, the geography of, of Israel, you've got think about 269 00:14:08,240 --> 00:14:12,000 how to do it backwards from you. If you've got them in the, in 270 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:16,840 the southwest, this is where Egypt was and they come out of 271 00:14:16,840 --> 00:14:20,320 slavery and then somehow they're standing on the east Bank of the 272 00:14:20,320 --> 00:14:22,680 Jordan River. And so they, they walk around 273 00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:25,720 and they come to the east of the Jordan River, which is where 274 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:28,280 Jesus is baptized. And so they're, they're right 275 00:14:28,280 --> 00:14:32,200 there on, on the, the boundary. They're so close and it says 276 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:33,960 they're camped across from Jericho. 277 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:36,680 And you know that story where they walk around the walls? 278 00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:38,440 I mean, they're, they're right there. 279 00:14:38,440 --> 00:14:41,000 If you were to go on the Mount of Olives where Jesus was 280 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:44,000 betrayed by Judas and where he ascended into glory and you were 281 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:47,600 to look down, you would see the road that leads to Jericho. 282 00:14:47,600 --> 00:14:51,160 It's only 15 miles. I mean, they are right there. 283 00:14:53,080 --> 00:14:55,600 Which brings us to the second key theme of Deuteronomy. 284 00:14:56,120 --> 00:15:00,080 It's the theme of the land. It's the theme of the promised 285 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:02,320 land. And so when God made his 286 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:05,800 covenant with Abraham, he famously pointed to this land 287 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:07,560 and, and, and promised him this land. 288 00:15:07,560 --> 00:15:10,000 And, you know, he promised him the land. 289 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:12,160 And so we came up with, with the, you know, clever term, the 290 00:15:12,160 --> 00:15:15,280 promised land. That's what we call it, the land 291 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:17,520 flowing with milk and honey, with resources. 292 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:22,280 And so when, if you're going to create a nation, you're going to 293 00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:24,840 need three things. You're going to need a people, 294 00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:27,760 you're going to need a body of laws and you're going to need 295 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:30,320 land. That's what God chose for 296 00:15:30,320 --> 00:15:34,120 himself, a people, Israel, and he preserved them and he's 297 00:15:34,120 --> 00:15:38,640 multiplied them and he, he has a people and then he needs a body 298 00:15:38,640 --> 00:15:40,800 of laws. And he's given them this body of 299 00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:44,200 laws and Exodus and Leviticus over over a year. 300 00:15:44,200 --> 00:15:47,480 They sat at Sinai for a year receiving this, setting them 301 00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:48,800 apart from all the other nations. 302 00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:50,840 And so now what do they need? What are they missing? 303 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:55,120 They need land. And likewise, God promised the 304 00:15:55,120 --> 00:15:57,360 patriarchs the same thing He first came to Abraham. 305 00:15:57,360 --> 00:15:58,720 He says, I'm going to give you offspring. 306 00:15:58,960 --> 00:16:01,160 He says, look up and if you can Number the Stars in the sky, 307 00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:02,920 then you'll be able to number the offspring that I'm going to 308 00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:04,480 give you. And look at the sand on the 309 00:16:04,480 --> 00:16:05,960 seashores. And if you can number the grains 310 00:16:05,960 --> 00:16:08,560 of sand on the sea, you'll be able to number the grains of 311 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:10,960 say, or your offspring that I'm going to bring after you. 312 00:16:11,880 --> 00:16:14,120 And then he says, I'm going to bring you blessing on top of it. 313 00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:15,960 And through you all the nations of the earth are going to be 314 00:16:15,960 --> 00:16:17,160 blessed. And I'm going to give you my 315 00:16:17,160 --> 00:16:19,360 presence. I'm going to be with you. 316 00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:20,800 And I'm going to keep you wherever you go. 317 00:16:20,800 --> 00:16:23,120 Joshua one, I'm with you and I will keep you the Great 318 00:16:23,120 --> 00:16:24,200 Commission. I'm behold. 319 00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:25,400 I'm with you to the ends of the age. 320 00:16:25,400 --> 00:16:27,920 Isaac, I'm with you. I will keep you wherever you go. 321 00:16:27,920 --> 00:16:29,480 I'm going to give you my presence. 322 00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:33,000 And then finally he says I'm going to give you land. 323 00:16:34,040 --> 00:16:37,720 And he reassures Abraham, he reassures Isaac, he reassures 324 00:16:37,720 --> 00:16:38,680 Jacob. As a matter of fact, he 325 00:16:38,680 --> 00:16:41,200 reassures Jacob that he's going to have land when he's at the 326 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:45,240 absolute low point in his life, when he's the most disobedient. 327 00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:47,960 He's made shipwreck of his life. He's made shipwreck of his 328 00:16:47,960 --> 00:16:49,160 family. He's made shipwreck of his 329 00:16:49,160 --> 00:16:51,320 faith. He puts his head on a rock for a 330 00:16:51,320 --> 00:16:54,000 pillow in the middle of the middle of the wilderness, and 331 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:58,160 God comes to him and says these covenant promises are for you 332 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:01,240 and for your offspring. Does our faithlessness nullify 333 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:04,160 the faithfulness of God? Absolutely not. 334 00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:07,359 And so look at what Moses is doing in these opening verses, 335 00:17:07,839 --> 00:17:10,119 in this in the midst of faithlessness regarding 336 00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:12,720 offspring. Look down to verse 10, skipping 337 00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:15,400 ahead a little past our text. He says the Lord your God has 338 00:17:15,400 --> 00:17:18,200 multiplied you, and behold, you are today as numerous as the 339 00:17:18,200 --> 00:17:20,440 stars of heaven. What's he doing with those 340 00:17:20,440 --> 00:17:24,760 words? I am faithful to my covenant. 341 00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:27,560 Look around you. There are millions of you. 342 00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:31,840 You are innumerable. And regarding His presence, did 343 00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:33,400 He ever leave them in the wilderness? 344 00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:38,080 He was with them, He provided for them, He protected them, He 345 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:41,080 led them as a pillar of cloud by day and as a pillar of fire by 346 00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:43,640 night. He was with them the whole time. 347 00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:46,400 What about His blessing? As you go through these verses, 348 00:17:46,400 --> 00:17:50,840 you see His blessing. Is there verses 3 to 4 read with 349 00:17:50,840 --> 00:17:52,280 me? In the 40th year, on the first 350 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:55,640 day of the 11th month, Moses spoke to the people of Israel 351 00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:58,200 according to all that the Lord had given in commandment to 352 00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:01,920 them, after he had defeated Scion, the king of the Amorites, 353 00:18:01,920 --> 00:18:05,120 and lived in Heshbon, and OG, the king of Bashan, who lived in 354 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:09,760 Ashtaroth in Adriai. These defeats of the kings are 355 00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:12,400 blessing. They're coming into the promised 356 00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:13,800 land. It's already happening. 357 00:18:14,120 --> 00:18:16,040 These kings are falling before them. 358 00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:21,240 And so even the Reuben and Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh, 359 00:18:21,600 --> 00:18:24,320 their land was on the Transjordan on the east side. 360 00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:25,720 They've already got their inheritance. 361 00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:28,840 The kings have already been taken out of the way in Moab, 362 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:31,720 and the whole section of the book of number of the Book of 363 00:18:31,720 --> 00:18:35,520 Numbers up until this point is one of progress and victory and 364 00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:38,200 blessing. So God is faithful. 365 00:18:38,200 --> 00:18:42,200 His blessing is coming. Spoils of war are being made. 366 00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:44,360 And what's the very last promise of God to Abraham? 367 00:18:44,360 --> 00:18:46,800 The only promise that Israel is missing at this point? 368 00:18:48,120 --> 00:18:50,520 It's land. Look at verse 8. 369 00:18:51,720 --> 00:18:56,360 See, I have set the land before you go in and take possession of 370 00:18:56,360 --> 00:18:59,560 the land that the Lord swore to your father's, to Abraham, to 371 00:18:59,560 --> 00:19:03,720 Isaac, and to Jacob to give them and their offspring after them. 372 00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:07,440 Does our faithless, does our faithlessness nullify the 373 00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:11,560 faithfulness of God? I want to mention briefly 1/3 374 00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:14,760 theme of Deuteronomy. You're going to see which is the 375 00:19:14,760 --> 00:19:17,280 theme of the law. If you're taking notes. 376 00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:18,800 The third theme we'll see is the law. 377 00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:23,560 The phrase this law is used 17 times as you go throughout the 378 00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:25,840 book. It's it's that definitive body 379 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:28,640 of laws that that God gave Israel, the code of laws that 380 00:19:28,640 --> 00:19:32,040 includes all the 600 some individual laws that came in 381 00:19:32,600 --> 00:19:36,840 Leviticus and Exodus and Deuteronomy represents the heart 382 00:19:36,840 --> 00:19:39,560 of it. And so he says the priests are 383 00:19:39,560 --> 00:19:42,960 to teach and to model it. Deuteronomy 33, the leaders of 384 00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:46,560 churches and the leaders of families are to teach the law 385 00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:50,480 and to model the law. So you can say this is what God 386 00:19:50,480 --> 00:19:52,160 looks like. This is the character of God. 387 00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:55,480 This is the heart of God as people are transformed into His 388 00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:57,360 image. The psalmist call people to 389 00:19:57,360 --> 00:20:02,280 praise according to this law. The prophets appeal to this law 390 00:20:02,280 --> 00:20:03,680 as they made the will of God known. 391 00:20:03,840 --> 00:20:07,960 Kings rule by it. As you look to Deuteronomy 17, 392 00:20:07,960 --> 00:20:11,280 he says that every king, when he sits on the throne, has to write 393 00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:14,520 his own copy of the book of the law so that he will never depart 394 00:20:14,520 --> 00:20:16,960 from it. You see that righteous citizens 395 00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:20,600 are called to live by it. His law, as my wife says all the 396 00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:25,480 time, is his love. He writes his his heart into his 397 00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:29,080 law so that when we fulfill and obey the law, we're obeying His 398 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:31,600 will on the earth. That's what his law is doing. 399 00:20:31,600 --> 00:20:33,520 He says, this is what I love. This is my righteous 400 00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:34,800 requirement. Live this way. 401 00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:37,400 You'll fulfill my will for my people on the earth. 402 00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:40,280 And so we do. That's how we embody His heart 403 00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:44,600 and His values on the earth. The word Deuteronomy means 404 00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:48,040 literally second law. We talk about the theme of the 405 00:20:48,040 --> 00:20:49,280 law. It's in the, it's in the name of 406 00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:51,280 the book. And you have to be careful 407 00:20:51,280 --> 00:20:54,360 because what he's what he's doing is not just simply 408 00:20:54,360 --> 00:20:56,640 rehearsing. Again, you could say, well, he 409 00:20:56,640 --> 00:20:57,800 preached the law to this generation. 410 00:20:57,800 --> 00:20:59,120 God gave the law to this generation. 411 00:20:59,160 --> 00:21:02,000 They all died except Moses and Joshua or Caleb and Joshua. 412 00:21:02,480 --> 00:21:04,040 And now he's just giving the law again. 413 00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:07,040 That's not what's happening. It's not a repetition. 414 00:21:07,160 --> 00:21:11,320 These are sermons on the law. This is law with rhetorical 415 00:21:11,320 --> 00:21:15,600 flourish in application. It's sermons about the law. 416 00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:18,360 If you look at verse 5, this is what it tells us. 417 00:21:18,360 --> 00:21:22,680 Beyond the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to explain 418 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:27,720 or expound this law. The word is BA R, and it means 419 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:30,920 making something absolutely clear or plain. 420 00:21:30,920 --> 00:21:32,920 It's not just bringing up legal material. 421 00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:35,280 Again, he's saying this is how you shall live. 422 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:38,840 This is the kind of person you are to be, especially with this 423 00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:42,000 future directedness as you engage in a worldwide 424 00:21:42,080 --> 00:21:45,800 international ministry. This is how you live. 425 00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:49,840 So Moses is preaching to a new generation. 426 00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:53,120 He brings them to the threshold of the promised land, and he 427 00:21:53,120 --> 00:21:56,920 pauses for perhaps as long as two months. 428 00:21:57,640 --> 00:22:00,360 And he's saying for them, you are not theologically ready to 429 00:22:00,360 --> 00:22:04,360 enter into this land yet. And he pauses and he gives them 430 00:22:04,360 --> 00:22:07,080 a series of sermons about the heart of the law. 431 00:22:07,080 --> 00:22:11,760 The word Torah, translated law is, is an umbrella word covering 432 00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:14,680 all these individual laws, but it also means instruction or 433 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:17,320 exhortation. So he says before you ever take 434 00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:19,920 hold of these promises, before you ever come into the blessings 435 00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:22,480 that I'm giving you, I'm preparing you theologically. 436 00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:24,560 You need to know how to live. You need to know this word. 437 00:22:24,560 --> 00:22:30,120 You need to know how to obey it, how to live it out. 4th theme. 438 00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:34,640 What kind of relationship does God have with his people? 439 00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:39,680 A relationship of love theme of Deuteronomy is love. 440 00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:41,920 And so as you come, we are a covenant people. 441 00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:44,240 They were a covenant people. We are a new covenant people. 442 00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:46,880 But that's not the only metaphor he uses to describe his people. 443 00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:52,600 He uses the relationship of a father with his children or a 444 00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:55,920 husband and his wife. Marriage, adoption is a metaphor 445 00:22:56,120 --> 00:22:57,920 that he uses. He's showing you this 446 00:22:57,920 --> 00:23:00,440 relationship that we have with God is like family. 447 00:23:01,440 --> 00:23:04,480 It's, it's, he's not an overlord, right? 448 00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:07,440 There's, there's this tender, sweet relationship here and it's 449 00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:10,440 characterized in one of the most famous verses in the Bible. 450 00:23:10,440 --> 00:23:12,960 We'll come to in a few weeks, Deuteronomy 65. 451 00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:16,400 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all 452 00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:18,240 your soul and with all your might. 453 00:23:19,520 --> 00:23:22,040 All these words I command you today shall be on your heart. 454 00:23:22,040 --> 00:23:26,600 And so with that you take hold of God and you hold fast to him. 455 00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:30,280 Chapter 4, verse 4, You who held fast to the Lord are still alive 456 00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:32,040 today. Chapter 10, verse 20, you shall 457 00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:35,000 fear the Lord your God, you shall serve him and hold fast to 458 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:36,960 him. And by his name shall you swear 459 00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:39,720 He is your praise. He is your God who has done for 460 00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:45,400 you great and terrifying things. And so more than just a 461 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:50,000 decision, this is an emotional, wholehearted laying hold of God. 462 00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:54,480 Moses says choose life, choose him and choose life. 463 00:23:55,440 --> 00:23:58,240 Love the Lord, obey his voice and hold fast to him. 464 00:23:58,240 --> 00:24:00,400 That's why we've called the whole series worship from the 465 00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:02,760 heart. Deuteronomy is worship from the 466 00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:04,480 heart. So the final themes, that's your 467 00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:07,040 first four. The final three themes answer 468 00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:09,040 the question, how shall we then live? 469 00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:11,880 What is to be our life in ministry? 470 00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:14,560 What are we to look like? How are God's people to live? 471 00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:17,160 And I'm so proud of Heritage Church because as I'm surveying 472 00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:20,280 the commentaries and reading all the introductory matter, it's 473 00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:23,680 our core values. Our core values are the last 474 00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:27,280 three themes. The 5th is the theme of 475 00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:30,560 theological education. There's an emphasis on 476 00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:32,560 instruction. That's why he pauses. 477 00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:35,680 Daniel Block says this book provides the theological base 478 00:24:35,680 --> 00:24:38,160 for virtually the entire Old Testament. 479 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:42,480 Verse 5, he came to expound the law, came to make it clear and 480 00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:44,840 plain. And so Moses is is doing more 481 00:24:44,840 --> 00:24:47,480 than giving information. He's teaching and persuading. 482 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:51,040 These are sermons, and the teaching has to be pondered and 483 00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:53,240 it has to be studied and it has to be taught. 484 00:24:53,800 --> 00:24:56,480 Wright says that Deuteronomy bends every rhetorical, 485 00:24:56,480 --> 00:24:59,840 literary, emotional and moral skill to the task of equipping 486 00:24:59,840 --> 00:25:03,200 and motivating God's people to live for the purposes of God in 487 00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:08,520 each generation. So again, Moses makes them wait. 488 00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:11,560 He says you have to be formed and instructed before you go in. 489 00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:13,960 And so there's frequent descriptions of him teaching the 490 00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:17,240 law, Chapter 4, verse 1, chapter 4, verse five. 491 00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:20,160 You see him being patient to teach on the mountain. 492 00:25:20,160 --> 00:25:22,520 And all the Israelites have to learn from this teaching. 493 00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:25,920 And there's an important word for parents and future parents 494 00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:28,800 that says you have to teach your children this law. 495 00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:31,560 Not just teach your children, but diligently teach your 496 00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:34,000 children as you walk along the way and when you lie down and 497 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:37,480 when you get up. Always be teaching this to your 498 00:25:37,480 --> 00:25:39,080 children. And Moses says that this book, 499 00:25:39,080 --> 00:25:42,440 he commands that this book in chapter 31 has to be read before 500 00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:45,720 the entire nation publicly every seven years. 501 00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:50,000 And Moses urges Israel to obey the laws because he says this 502 00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:53,480 will be the proof of your wisdom and discernment before other 503 00:25:53,480 --> 00:25:57,080 people. The word Torah comes from the 504 00:25:57,520 --> 00:26:00,440 Hebrew Hifil verb, which means to teach. 505 00:26:01,320 --> 00:26:05,000 So the Deuteronomy could be literally called the book of 506 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:08,440 instruction, and that's how we're going to approach it. 507 00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:10,160 This is a book for our instruction. 508 00:26:10,160 --> 00:26:14,360 It have modeled our core value here, one of our 5 core values. 509 00:26:14,360 --> 00:26:16,760 The first core value is theological education. 510 00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:19,120 And that's what Moses is modeling for us. 511 00:26:19,120 --> 00:26:22,200 It's exposition, instruction of our children and the public 512 00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:25,240 ministry of the word is what he prioritizes. 513 00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:30,400 And the 6th theme is caring for the vulnerable. 514 00:26:31,560 --> 00:26:34,520 Some commentaries use the phrasing of social justice. 515 00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:39,960 There is a monumental emphasis in this book on charity and 516 00:26:39,960 --> 00:26:43,800 benevolence, the triad of dependence, the orphan, the 517 00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:46,240 widow and the sojourner. Deuteronomy 1018 to 19. 518 00:26:46,240 --> 00:26:49,760 One of my favorite verses in the Bible gives you a theology of 519 00:26:49,760 --> 00:26:52,720 God and then says he executes justice for the fatherless and 520 00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:55,120 the widow and he loves the sojourner, giving him food and 521 00:26:55,120 --> 00:26:57,480 clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, 522 00:26:57,480 --> 00:26:59,760 for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. 523 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:02,880 And he revisits all those laws about gleaning and he's like, 524 00:27:02,880 --> 00:27:05,320 don't your business is not all about money. 525 00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:07,600 That's not the point of of everything. 526 00:27:07,600 --> 00:27:08,840 It's not just money and more money. 527 00:27:08,840 --> 00:27:10,360 He says, remember those gleaning laws. 528 00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:13,720 He says don't mow your fields to the very edge because the poor 529 00:27:13,720 --> 00:27:17,280 need to come and and take of it. This is what Jesus disciples are 530 00:27:17,280 --> 00:27:20,400 doing and he says don't go over your olive trees again and 531 00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:22,360 again, but leave some on there for the poor. 532 00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:24,800 And the same with the grapes of your vineyard. 533 00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:31,960 And he says to them as well, there's going to be a poor tax. 534 00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:35,080 You can work this into your own financial budget that he says 535 00:27:35,080 --> 00:27:36,960 you're going to bring 10% into the storehouse. 536 00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:39,720 This is the the government and keeps the whole system Levitical 537 00:27:39,720 --> 00:27:44,280 system going. You bring your 10% into, to into 538 00:27:44,280 --> 00:27:46,080 the sanctuary. But he says also every 3rd year, 539 00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:48,440 I want you to bring another 10% of your income. 540 00:27:48,680 --> 00:27:51,920 And this is going to be for the poor, for the fatherless, for 541 00:27:51,920 --> 00:27:55,320 the sojourner. And so this is how you have a 542 00:27:55,320 --> 00:27:57,920 covenantal provision for the vulnerable and for the poor. 543 00:27:57,920 --> 00:28:00,880 It's a structured safety net for those who have fallen through 544 00:28:01,080 --> 00:28:03,240 the economic and social safety Nets of their culture. 545 00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:05,000 He says don't, don't ignore the poor. 546 00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:07,840 He attaches social justice to his character. 547 00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:11,800 He says, I am impartial. I love the orphan and the widow 548 00:28:11,880 --> 00:28:13,840 and the sojourner. Love them therefore. 549 00:28:14,280 --> 00:28:16,760 And he takes that social justice and he attack. 550 00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:18,440 He attaches it to their experience. 551 00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:22,560 He says you were vulnerable, you were sojourners like 40 years 552 00:28:22,560 --> 00:28:24,600 ago. You just came out of it 52 553 00:28:24,600 --> 00:28:27,160 times, He reminds them. You were vulnerable. 554 00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:30,480 Now care for the vulnerable. And so we have the core value 555 00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:32,440 here at Heritage ministering to the vulnerable. 556 00:28:33,120 --> 00:28:34,880 For this reason, Scripture makes much of it. 557 00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:40,520 And the final theme, the book of deuteronomy #7 missional 558 00:28:40,520 --> 00:28:45,640 awareness, we say it at Heritage Church, advancing the gospel. 559 00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:49,200 The whole book of Deuteronomy is bent toward global missions. 560 00:28:49,200 --> 00:28:51,880 And some will will trace this thread and say I've, some will 561 00:28:51,880 --> 00:28:57,160 argue this is the key theme of the book, this global awareness. 562 00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:00,080 And so why was Israel elect at all? 563 00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:03,440 Israel was elect to be ministers to the nations. 564 00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:05,680 You can see it in their loyalty amidst the cultural change. 565 00:29:05,680 --> 00:29:07,720 That's the very definition of what a missionary does. 566 00:29:07,880 --> 00:29:11,160 They cross cultural, geographic, linguistic, and religious 567 00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:13,720 boundaries for the sake of the gospel. 568 00:29:14,120 --> 00:29:16,800 That's what they're doing. And it's Israel is for the 569 00:29:16,800 --> 00:29:18,280 nations. The covenant with Abraham was 570 00:29:18,280 --> 00:29:20,600 that all the families of the earth might be blessed. 571 00:29:21,200 --> 00:29:22,880 All the families of the earth might be blessed. 572 00:29:22,880 --> 00:29:25,080 And you see it starting here. They're getting a headquarters 573 00:29:25,080 --> 00:29:28,200 and a home base and the land and their mission's going to to 574 00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:30,520 extend to us and to the ends of the world. 575 00:29:30,520 --> 00:29:34,320 And you see in Deuteronomy, the nations share a dual role, just 576 00:29:34,320 --> 00:29:37,120 like they do today. On the one hand, nations are to 577 00:29:37,520 --> 00:29:39,640 their way of life is to be avoided and their worldviews to 578 00:29:39,640 --> 00:29:41,480 be avoided and their philosophy is to be avoided. 579 00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:43,960 But on the other hand, they are witnesses to the glory of what 580 00:29:43,960 --> 00:29:47,240 God is doing in his church and they are the the mission field 581 00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:49,760 that we're going out to win. They're worshippers that have 582 00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:52,640 filled the world and now we want them to be worshippers of Yahweh 583 00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:56,280 and his glory. And Deuteronomy is future 584 00:29:56,280 --> 00:29:59,360 focused. And so while Moses first sermon 585 00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:02,840 is is looking to the past and what's happened to get them 586 00:30:02,840 --> 00:30:06,160 where they are, the whole book is predominantly future focused. 587 00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:08,120 The land is just a means to an end. 588 00:30:08,120 --> 00:30:10,360 You can hear it in the vocabulary, verse 6, when you 589 00:30:10,360 --> 00:30:12,760 come into the land, this is all you're going to do. 590 00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:15,920 Chapter 7, when you come into the land, this is all you're 591 00:30:15,920 --> 00:30:18,120 going to do. It's anticipating ministry. 592 00:30:18,640 --> 00:30:21,000 He says that you might live as you do it, that you might 593 00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:23,120 multiply as you do it. And you know, by their 594 00:30:23,120 --> 00:30:26,240 proclamation, their holiness of life, they're going to be the 595 00:30:26,240 --> 00:30:29,080 vehicle they were meant to be the vehicle of salvation to the 596 00:30:29,080 --> 00:30:31,480 world. That was the mission that God 597 00:30:31,480 --> 00:30:33,880 was giving them salvation to the nations. 598 00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:37,520 So these are the themes that we're going to work out over the 599 00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:40,240 next eight months. We'll spend 8 months in the book 600 00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:42,240 of Deuteronomy. And strangely, we're going to 601 00:30:42,240 --> 00:30:45,360 hear sermons and preach sermons on Moses sermons. 602 00:30:46,160 --> 00:30:48,920 So his three sermons we'll go through and in detail. 603 00:30:48,920 --> 00:30:53,280 And just like with New Testament sermons, the book of Deuteronomy 604 00:30:53,280 --> 00:30:57,160 comes with tremendous urgency. And I hope that as we go through 605 00:30:57,160 --> 00:31:00,160 that, you will get a sense and feel that sense of urgency 606 00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:02,880 toward future directedness and vision and mission. 607 00:31:02,880 --> 00:31:06,800 And you're going to hear these five verbs repeated over and 608 00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:10,520 over and over. Fear Yahweh your God, walk in 609 00:31:10,520 --> 00:31:15,080 his ways, Love Yahweh your God, serve Yahweh your God with your 610 00:31:15,080 --> 00:31:18,480 whole being and keep his commandments and his decrees. 611 00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:21,440 Chapter 1010 to 13. How are you to live? 612 00:31:22,840 --> 00:31:25,280 And now what does the Lord your God require of you but to fear 613 00:31:25,280 --> 00:31:28,720 the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to 614 00:31:28,720 --> 00:31:30,720 serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your 615 00:31:30,720 --> 00:31:32,960 soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the 616 00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:35,680 Lord which I am commanding you today for your good. 617 00:31:36,400 --> 00:31:38,600 I'm very powerfully and rhetorically Moses asked them. 618 00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:41,520 He says, I call heaven and earth to witness against you today 619 00:31:41,520 --> 00:31:44,560 that I've set before you both life and death, blessing and 620 00:31:44,560 --> 00:31:47,320 curse. And which one are you going to 621 00:31:47,320 --> 00:31:52,360 choose? And Moses says choose life that 622 00:31:52,360 --> 00:31:54,760 you and your offspring may live. What does it mean? 623 00:31:54,760 --> 00:31:57,920 Loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding 624 00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:00,720 fast to him. Church, pray with me, Lord, this 625 00:32:00,720 --> 00:32:04,360 is our prayer. It's my prayer for this 626 00:32:04,360 --> 00:32:08,400 congregation that again you would get purge out of us all of 627 00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:11,360 the deceitfulness and the hardness of heart and help us to 628 00:32:11,360 --> 00:32:14,600 choose life. You define what that means that 629 00:32:14,600 --> 00:32:18,000 we love you that we obey your voice that we hold fast to you 630 00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:20,480 that we fear and walk and love and serve and keep all your 631 00:32:20,480 --> 00:32:23,040 commandments and remember that it isn't your commandments are 632 00:32:23,040 --> 00:32:24,840 not burdensome for those who love you. 633 00:32:25,680 --> 00:32:28,560 So God, you are working on our heart and teaching us to live in 634 00:32:28,560 --> 00:32:31,440 a way that is used to be completely foreign to us, a way 635 00:32:31,440 --> 00:32:34,280 of righteousness where we we love to do these things. 636 00:32:34,280 --> 00:32:37,200 Make us people that love theological education, that love 637 00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:39,680 ministering to the vulnerable, that have a heart for the 638 00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:42,720 nation's because that's your heart so that every tribe and 639 00:32:42,720 --> 00:32:46,160 tongue will come and see you and declare your glory. 640 00:32:46,480 --> 00:32:48,680 Teach us this book, Lord, again, bless our time. 641 00:32:49,800 --> 00:32:51,800 We love you. Lord, we ask this in Christ's 642 00:32:51,800 --> 00:32:52,520 name. Amen. 643 00:32:54,400 --> 00:32:56,640 Thanks for listening. To learn more about Heritage 644 00:32:56,640 --> 00:32:59,640 Church or if you'd like to respond to this sermon, visit 645 00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:04,040 our website at www.heritageshawnee.org.