1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:02,280 You guard your soul. How do we guard our soul? 2 00:00:02,800 --> 00:00:06,640 The first way that we're given is by submitting it to the word. 3 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:11,280 Obedience to his revealed will is submitting your heart and 4 00:00:11,280 --> 00:00:14,640 your soul to the word. And so that this passage at the 5 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:16,840 end of a sermon, it's appropriate and the end of most 6 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:19,120 messages are Ted talks or sermons or whatever you listen 7 00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:20,520 to. They have what's called a, a 8 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:25,440 peroration, which is an intense emotional appeal where you're 9 00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:29,840 trying to get people's hearts to do the thing to, to be obedient 10 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:33,760 to God's will. And we hear these in in Joshua 11 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:36,120 and in the prophets. And I want to point out Joshua 12 00:00:36,120 --> 00:00:39,600 has one I'll read in a minute a very famous and strong paration. 13 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:43,800 Where does he get his words? His mentor is Moses. 14 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:46,800 Remember that he, Moses is dying. 15 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:48,960 He's handing it over in this very passage to Joshua. 16 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:51,880 And you say, where does Joshua get words like, As for me and my 17 00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:54,800 house, we will serve the Lord. That's he gets it from right 18 00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:56,880 here. His model is Moses. 19 00:00:56,880 --> 00:01:00,200 This is Moses's peroration, that these words are similar to 20 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:03,840 Joshua's in 2415 where he says, choose this day whom you will 21 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:06,400 serve, whether the gods your father served in the region 22 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:08,840 beyond the river or the gods of the Amorite, and whose land you 23 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:11,720 dwell. But As for me in my house, we 24 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:14,600 will serve the Lord. We will serve Yahweh. 25 00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:18,920 And we confess as a church that God rules and reigns in our 26 00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:22,320 hearts and in our lives through an open Bible. 27 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:26,320 And so he's telling you, open God's Word and study it. 28 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:29,160 Guard your soul by submitting yourself to the Word. 29 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:32,280 And when it says something wholeheartedly, do it. 30 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:36,160 Resolve to do it. And remember, this is what you 31 00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:39,160 signed up for. It will cost you everything to 32 00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:43,560 follow the Lord. Moses says plainly in verse 29, 33 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:48,320 If you search for God with your whole heart and your whole soul, 34 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:51,640 you will find Him. If you seek after Him with any 35 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:53,760 less, you will seek and you will never find. 36 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:56,400 You seek after God with all of your heart and with all of your 37 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:59,120 soul. Deuteronomy 439 Know therefore 38 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:03,320 today lay it on your heart. The Lord God is in heaven, there 39 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:07,320 is no other. Therefore keep His statutes and 40 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:10,880 His rules. And as you go into verse 2, he 41 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:13,120 begins to say this, this is what I'm talking about. 42 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:15,160 What does it mean? He goes into detail about what 43 00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:17,880 it means to keep the statutes and to guard your hearts. 44 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:20,240 Verse 2, he says you shall not add to the word that I command 45 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:23,080 you, nor shall you take from it that you may keep the 46 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:25,400 commandments of the Lord that I command you. 47 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:27,960 And he he says in verse 5, there's a hind eye it as he says 48 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:31,840 the statutes and the rules. It's it's two ideas that are 49 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:34,000 expressing 1 concept. This is the revealed will of 50 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:37,320 God. God has made his will known and 51 00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:40,440 you keep it. That's what it means to call him 52 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:43,840 Lord. Whatever he reveals, we obey. 53 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:47,560 And so essentially what God is saying is I've said what I've 54 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:50,600 said, I've said what I said. Don't add to it. 55 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:54,160 And so put a burden on the people that I never meant to be 56 00:02:54,160 --> 00:02:56,960 there. Set burdens on the people that 57 00:02:57,080 --> 00:03:00,240 they never, I never intended and neither take away from it and 58 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:01,840 remove my obligations from the people. 59 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:03,960 That's where we're errors on both sides. 60 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:05,960 And we're very quick to be like Augustine. 61 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:08,200 When we see something that we don't like, you know, we might 62 00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:10,080 confess. Yeah, I want to follow the will 63 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:12,000 of God. I want to be free from my sexual 64 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:14,080 temptation. And then Augustine said, Lord, 65 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:19,080 make me chaste, but not yet. We take away the obligations 66 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:22,440 that we don't see fit. And you know, the, the problem 67 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:26,840 is not with Israel hearing the word, but Israel doing the word. 68 00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:29,840 And when we come into counseling situations, we've been trained 69 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:32,920 in our, in our counseling to say, you know what, what's this, 70 00:03:32,920 --> 00:03:36,800 this problem in your life? Is it primarily because of a 71 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:40,200 problem with hearing the word or is it primarily a problem of, of 72 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:43,080 doing the word? And that's, that's a very 73 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:45,240 important question to ask. Is it is your knowledge of God 74 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:46,560 deficient? Do you need to hear? 75 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:48,840 Is the problem that you're, you're Bible ignorant? 76 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:51,600 Or is the problem that you, you've heard it, but you, you 77 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:53,480 just can't get yourself to do it? 78 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:56,760 Is it hearing or doing and you come to Israel here. 79 00:03:57,160 --> 00:04:00,560 Truly the problem is hearing the this generation has passed away. 80 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:03,280 We're making God's word known to the next generation and he's 81 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:05,120 saying you're going to hear and therefore do it in our 82 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:09,200 generation, in our context, the issue is not primarily one of of 83 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:10,920 hearing. We've heard, we know the the 84 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:13,840 issue is doing. The issue is doing the word. 85 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:15,760 We have to set our hearts to doing it. 86 00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:17,880 The revelation of God is not deficient. 87 00:04:18,079 --> 00:04:21,200 Your heart is deficient. We have to submit your heart and 88 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:26,160 your will to the word of God. The Pharisees were were guilty 89 00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:29,960 of violating this verse. They loved to add to God's word. 90 00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:34,680 You know those 633 some some requirements or laws. 91 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:37,800 That's not enough. My people need to be extra holy 92 00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:39,560 right? They need to go above and beyond 93 00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:43,280 to be more sanctified and God says don't add to my word and 94 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:46,160 and neither. I think that's actually what 95 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:49,040 Ecclesiastes is saying when he says don't be overly righteous 96 00:04:49,480 --> 00:04:51,040 right? Don't go beyond what God has 97 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:54,720 written and in the same way, don't take away because God's 98 00:04:54,720 --> 00:04:56,640 word is supposed to cost you something, right? 99 00:04:56,640 --> 00:04:58,720 Don't make me make me chase the Lord, but not yet. 100 00:04:58,720 --> 00:05:01,800 No, don't take away from his revelation. 101 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:04,560 If if you, you guard your soul by not adding to God's word, for 102 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:07,000 that would be legalism. And you guard your soul by not 103 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:10,800 subtracting from it, for that would be selective obedience. 104 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:14,240 And this, this concept is so important that if you Fast 105 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:16,480 forward all the way to the final verses of the Bible, this is how 106 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:19,640 the Bible ends in Revelation 22. What does he say? 107 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:23,720 Don't take away anybody who takes away from my Word. 108 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:26,760 I will take away hit from His inheritance in the tree of life 109 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:28,720 and anybody who adds to it. I'll add to him the plagues that 110 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:31,760 are written of in this book. Surely the Lord is coming soon. 111 00:05:31,840 --> 00:05:33,760 Amen. Come Lord Jesus, and that's how 112 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:35,880 it ends. So you hear the warning and the 113 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:40,120 severity of it. God has said what He said and 114 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:43,640 moving on from that, a second way we can guard our soul is by 115 00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:48,280 not being a forgetful hearer. You can look down to verse 9. 116 00:05:48,280 --> 00:05:50,520 Skip down to verse 9 and look with me at this verse. 117 00:05:51,760 --> 00:05:54,560 That's where he says, only take care and keep your soul 118 00:05:54,560 --> 00:05:57,840 diligently, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, 119 00:05:57,840 --> 00:06:00,720 unless they depart from your heart all the days of your life. 120 00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:03,440 And so he's saying, don't we don't add to God's word. 121 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:07,120 We don't subtract from God's Word, neither do we forget it. 122 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:10,640 We have to remember it. And so here's the illustration 123 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:12,040 you can put in your head to remember it. 124 00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:16,800 Moses carved God's revelation into stone, but that doesn't 125 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:18,360 connect it to the hearts of the people. 126 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:20,880 And so they they have the revelation and now they have to 127 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:23,520 carve the revelation into their own hearts. 128 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:26,200 They have to meditate on it. They have to read it, they have 129 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:27,720 to study it. The same could be said for you. 130 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:30,960 God has written in His Word, His revelation. 131 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:34,000 Now you have to take that word and write it into your heart. 132 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:37,280 And that's why every time, if you ever come to me for 133 00:06:37,280 --> 00:06:40,000 discipleship, for counseling, I hope this is true for you and 134 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:41,400 your relationships. You're not going to leave with 135 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:44,680 some obligation without some obligation to say here's your 136 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:47,280 homework. Read these verses, meditate on 137 00:06:47,280 --> 00:06:49,880 these verses, journal these verses, memorize these verses 138 00:06:49,880 --> 00:06:52,960 because we're we're taking it off the page and writing it onto 139 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:57,360 our hearts so that we can keep them and not forget them. 140 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:01,880 Another way we could use the language of of Moses. 141 00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:04,640 Here is James 122. How does James say it? 142 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:09,840 But be doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving 143 00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:11,800 yourselves. If you hear it and don't do it, 144 00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:14,080 you're deceived. The one who looks into the 145 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:17,120 perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer 146 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:21,400 who forgets, but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his 147 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:25,280 doing. Deuteronomy 46 Keep them and do 148 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:28,840 them. Deuteronomy 49 lest you forget, 149 00:07:29,480 --> 00:07:32,920 this is Moses way of saying, but be doers of the word. 150 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:36,400 Don't be a forgetful hearer and not hearers only. 151 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:41,400 Verse 9 continues, only take care and keep your soul 152 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:43,440 diligently. I want to emphasize that word 153 00:07:43,440 --> 00:07:45,720 diligently. There's there's an effort 154 00:07:45,720 --> 00:07:48,240 required in this, but I also want to emphasize the word only 155 00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:51,920 only the word only is the word rock in Hebrew and it's 156 00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:53,480 restrictive in the sense of meaning. 157 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:57,120 If you're going to forget everything else, don't forget 158 00:07:57,120 --> 00:08:01,360 this. Don't forget Sinai, don't forget 159 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:04,560 Horeb, don't forget where you made a covenant with your God. 160 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:07,360 Don't forget where he was there in the fire and in the smoke and 161 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:10,120 you were terrified and he revealed himself to you in a in 162 00:08:10,120 --> 00:08:13,040 a mighty way. Don't forget your covenant. 163 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:16,600 And the great warning to Israel here is the warning of 164 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:19,320 forgetfulness. Disobedience is letting the 165 00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:22,680 thing slip from your heart. And don't forget that 166 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:27,200 disobedience is forgetfulness. And so to kind of counter their 167 00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:31,440 forgetful nature, he reminds them in verses 10 to 13 of this 168 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:35,640 unforgettable experience, How could you forget Mount Sinai? 169 00:08:36,919 --> 00:08:38,600 That's what he's saying. Some of them were were still 170 00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:40,440 alive. They're there. 171 00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:41,679 They've they've heard the stories. 172 00:08:41,679 --> 00:08:44,440 How can you forget this experience with a massive 173 00:08:44,600 --> 00:08:47,080 consuming fire, It says, reaching to the heart of heaven 174 00:08:47,080 --> 00:08:50,360 and lightnings and Thunder. It goes on. 175 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:53,880 And he says, and death to any man or animal who approached the 176 00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:54,960 mountain. Read with me about this 177 00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:56,040 experience. What do you want you to 178 00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:58,040 remember? Beginning in verse 10? 179 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:00,640 How could you forget? It says how on the day that you 180 00:09:00,640 --> 00:09:03,680 stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, the Lord said to me, 181 00:09:03,680 --> 00:09:07,360 Gather the people, that I may let them hear my words, so that 182 00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:09,560 they may learn to fear me all the days they live on the earth, 183 00:09:09,560 --> 00:09:11,080 and that they may teach their children. 184 00:09:11,560 --> 00:09:14,240 And you came, and you stood at the foot of the mountain, while 185 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:17,640 the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, wrapped in 186 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:20,800 darkness, cloud, and gloom. And the Lord spoke to you out of 187 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:23,120 the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words, 188 00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:25,800 but he saw no form. There was only a voice. 189 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:28,600 And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded to 190 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:31,040 you perform. That is, the 10 commandments. 191 00:09:31,040 --> 00:09:33,520 And he wrote them on 2 tablets of stone. 192 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:35,960 Some would say, by the way, there's 2 tablets of stone 193 00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:38,920 because there's the first five commandments, our obligations to 194 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:40,600 God. Second five commandments, 195 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:43,040 because of our obligations to one another. 196 00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:46,520 Some would say the Ten Commandments, there's 2 copies, 197 00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:50,520 one for God and one for us. But whatever it is, I want you 198 00:09:50,520 --> 00:09:55,120 to remember Moses has the the testimony of that he's carrying 199 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:59,600 the physical evidence of this was when God spoke, He gave us 200 00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:03,080 this tangible remembrance. And I want you to think back 201 00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:06,080 too, because we are forgetful hearers when God reveals himself 202 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:07,880 to us. There have been times in your 203 00:10:07,880 --> 00:10:11,680 life where God has revealed himself to you and there are 204 00:10:11,680 --> 00:10:16,000 times when his Providence was unexplainable by any other means 205 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:21,680 than you saying God reigns. He's been so near to you and 206 00:10:21,680 --> 00:10:24,840 he's been so real to you. And when things go hard and 207 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:27,800 things get, you know, we, we slip on and we haven't had a 208 00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:30,000 miraculous experience like that or an experience like that in a 209 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:32,480 while. We forget and we forget those 210 00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:33,480 times. He was so faithful. 211 00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:36,480 And so my command to you too, is, is remember, remember his 212 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:38,480 faithfulness to you. Remember his Providence when you 213 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:41,080 knew there was a God in heaven, when he saved you when he was so 214 00:10:41,280 --> 00:10:44,680 tangible and real. And they're carrying that in the 215 00:10:44,680 --> 00:10:46,720 10 commandments that promised to him. 216 00:10:47,880 --> 00:10:50,880 So he's saying, keep your eyes on the goal, lest you become a 217 00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:53,520 forgetful here. Keep your eyes lest you forget. 218 00:10:53,520 --> 00:10:56,600 When I was a barista in three years, one of the few things I 219 00:10:56,600 --> 00:10:59,320 learned during that time at the gathering place was if you're if 220 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:01,920 you're carrying a cup of coffee and you're looking at the cup of 221 00:11:01,920 --> 00:11:03,800 coffee, you're going to spill it everywhere. 222 00:11:04,960 --> 00:11:06,880 But if you're carrying an over full cup of coffee and you're 223 00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:09,560 looking at where you're going, you will never spill it. 224 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:12,200 And it's a silly illustration, but it's, it's, it's what he 225 00:11:12,200 --> 00:11:13,800 say. You're keeping your eye on the 226 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:16,720 goal. You're seeking God and his will 227 00:11:16,840 --> 00:11:19,000 and his righteousness. You're not looking at yourself. 228 00:11:19,160 --> 00:11:21,440 You're focused on him. And when you're focused on him, 229 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:26,000 it will spare you from all kinds of heartache and consequences of 230 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:27,160 sin. It doesn't mean life's going to 231 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:29,040 be easy, but it means you're going to be spared from a lot of 232 00:11:29,040 --> 00:11:34,080 unnecessary sanctification. There's two ways to get to 233 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:36,200 heaven. I like to say when you get to 234 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:37,520 the end of Deuteronomy, we'll see this. 235 00:11:37,520 --> 00:11:40,760 There's the easy way you cooperate with the will of God, 236 00:11:40,760 --> 00:11:44,840 or there's the hard way where He has to bring His rod. 237 00:11:44,880 --> 00:11:48,440 I prefer, I would recommend keeping your eyes on Him, 238 00:11:48,440 --> 00:11:52,160 submitting yourself to His will. You'll spare yourself from all 239 00:11:52,160 --> 00:11:54,920 kinds of heartache and disaster. Here's the ask of you, verse 240 00:11:54,920 --> 00:11:57,280 one. Study God's revealed will. 241 00:11:58,800 --> 00:12:00,520 Verse 2. Keep the commandments. 242 00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:03,440 Verse 6. Keep them and do them. 243 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:06,240 Verse 9. Keep your soul diligently. 244 00:12:06,720 --> 00:12:10,200 Verse 7, we get a new obligation. 245 00:12:10,200 --> 00:12:13,400 It's not just guard your own heart, guard the souls of your 246 00:12:13,400 --> 00:12:16,960 children. Verse 11, not just your soul, 247 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:20,920 not just your children's soul, the soul of your grandchildren, 248 00:12:21,440 --> 00:12:23,760 your children's children. This obligation is beyond you. 249 00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:27,240 And one of the questions that we've been asking as elders 250 00:12:27,240 --> 00:12:30,680 recently is we see the need for theological education of our 251 00:12:30,680 --> 00:12:31,920 children. It's everywhere in Scripture. 252 00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:34,040 We understand what we're diligently doing this, but what 253 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:37,000 is our requirement for the theological education of the 254 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:40,120 children in our community and the people in our community? 255 00:12:40,120 --> 00:12:41,800 That's a much harder, harder question. 256 00:12:42,560 --> 00:12:44,640 And Deuteronomy has has a lot to say about this. 257 00:12:44,640 --> 00:12:48,520 There's a remarkable and repeated emphasis on theological 258 00:12:48,520 --> 00:12:50,360 education to children. And it begins right here in 259 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:52,800 verse 9. This is the first time he talks 260 00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:54,160 about our children. And you're going to see in a 261 00:12:54,160 --> 00:12:57,400 minute we'll survey the book. And he says over and over and 262 00:12:57,400 --> 00:13:00,240 over, this isn't optional. You have an obligation to your 263 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:01,880 children and your children's children. 264 00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:03,400 Head of households, listen to this. 265 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:07,920 This is your responsibility. Mothers, listen to these verses 266 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:12,400 and Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy 6, six to seven, You are to teach 267 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:14,920 these things diligently to your children. 268 00:13:14,920 --> 00:13:18,440 There's that word again. Deuteronomy 620 to 25. 269 00:13:18,440 --> 00:13:20,880 As your children ask you questions, you were to provide 270 00:13:20,880 --> 00:13:24,560 answers. Deuteronomy 11, you were to 271 00:13:24,560 --> 00:13:27,360 instruct your children as you walk along the road and when you 272 00:13:27,360 --> 00:13:30,200 lie down and when you get up and you were to post the words of 273 00:13:30,200 --> 00:13:34,440 the Bible on the doorposts of your house and on your gates as 274 00:13:34,440 --> 00:13:36,240 you're going, you are to teach them. 275 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:38,160 Steve Clover, are you in the room? 276 00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:44,440 What's Deuteronomy 2929? The secret things belong to the 277 00:13:44,440 --> 00:13:45,240 Lord. That's right. 278 00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:47,720 We all will know that we love that verse because that's when 279 00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:49,280 we don't understand something. We're like, well, the secret 280 00:13:49,280 --> 00:13:50,920 things belong to the Lord. But what's the second-half of 281 00:13:50,920 --> 00:13:54,000 that verse? But the revealed things belong 282 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:56,520 to us and to our children forever. 283 00:13:57,120 --> 00:14:00,720 We teach this to our kids. Deuteronomy 3111 The law has to 284 00:14:00,720 --> 00:14:02,400 be read to the people. What does that mean? 285 00:14:02,400 --> 00:14:06,000 It clarifies that he says assemble the men and the women. 286 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:10,000 We are great at that, and the little ones and the sojourner 287 00:14:10,080 --> 00:14:13,160 within your towns, that all may hear and learn to fear the Lord 288 00:14:13,160 --> 00:14:16,120 your God and be careful to do all the words of the law. 289 00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:19,360 So he says you, when you gather, you get the men and you get the 290 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:21,760 women and you get the children and you get the vulnerable 291 00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:24,240 people and you all gather and you open up the Word and you 292 00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:26,120 preach it. But it makes this emphasis and 293 00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:29,920 it says that your children who have not known may hear it 294 00:14:29,920 --> 00:14:32,480 actually makes an emphasis here on our kids. 295 00:14:33,760 --> 00:14:35,960 What does it look like to guard the souls of your children? 296 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:37,800 Just practical things. If you've never thought through 297 00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:40,080 this, if you're new to this, if you don't know how to get 298 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:43,360 started, you, you could take a podcast, take something like the 299 00:14:43,360 --> 00:14:46,600 Bible Project and listen to it in your car while you're taking 300 00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:49,800 them to school. It's not you're, you're adding 301 00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:52,160 something to your, your routine that you're already doing at the 302 00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:53,720 dinner table while everybody's gathered. 303 00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:58,480 When you pray, just read a few verses out of a gospel and allow 304 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:01,160 your children to ask questions and and talk about it. 305 00:15:01,640 --> 00:15:03,880 Memorize a verse with your family. 306 00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:06,320 Find a verse that's prophetic for where your family is right 307 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:11,080 now and memorize it as a family. Sing catechism songs at bedtime 308 00:15:11,080 --> 00:15:13,440 so that they can know Westminster Shorter Catechism 309 00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:17,400 question #39 listen to them as you go to bed and as you pray. 310 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:19,160 Read a book like Pilgrim's Progress. 311 00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:22,080 Go to the bookstore. It's full of children's books 312 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:25,680 where there's adventure in action and fun and theology. 313 00:15:27,520 --> 00:15:30,880 These are not optional things. This is not optional. 314 00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:33,400 So I asked fathers, how are you setting the theological 315 00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:36,680 foundation for your children and mothers? 316 00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:40,200 How are you diligently training your children in the faith? 317 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:41,680 And he goes on. He doesn't just talk to the 318 00:15:41,680 --> 00:15:45,000 parents. Grandparents, how are you doing? 319 00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:49,000 A lot of you will remember they've passed away, which is 320 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:51,920 tragic, but many of you remember Jack and Gloria Brown. 321 00:15:52,760 --> 00:15:54,680 He used to be in this church and they would right here. 322 00:15:54,920 --> 00:15:58,520 Jack used to kiss my wife on the cheek every week and wink at me 323 00:15:59,920 --> 00:16:03,080 just to get her eyes out of me. Every Sunday I went into their 324 00:16:03,080 --> 00:16:04,920 house and they left an impression on me. 325 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:08,280 Went to their house one time and they had all the pillows, the 326 00:16:08,280 --> 00:16:11,480 blankets, all the couch cushions off the couch and they were on 327 00:16:11,480 --> 00:16:14,640 the floor re enacting Esther with their grandkids. 328 00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:17,600 That's how it's done. Grandparents. 329 00:16:17,600 --> 00:16:20,760 They're on the floor playing, teaching the Bible to their kids 330 00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:22,800 as they play. It's wonderful. 331 00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:25,760 And I have to confess to you that the first verses that both 332 00:16:25,760 --> 00:16:29,080 of my daughter's memorized were not given by me or Jamie. 333 00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:32,360 The first verse that they ever memorized came from Gigi. 334 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:34,880 And if you want to know the verse, you can look down to 335 00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:38,840 Deuteronomy 429, the first verse they ever learned, almost 336 00:16:38,840 --> 00:16:41,280 verbatim, the words of Jeremiah 2913. 337 00:16:41,520 --> 00:16:44,360 You will seek the Lord your God and find Him when you search 338 00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:47,120 after Him with all your heart and with all your soul. 339 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:49,800 So hopefully that stays with them forever. 340 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:52,640 Thank you, Gigi, for doing that with my kids. 341 00:16:53,080 --> 00:16:58,080 That verse is communicating our whole hearted devotion, sincere 342 00:16:58,080 --> 00:17:01,880 worship, holy, with undivided loyalty. 343 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:05,040 We guard our hearts with the Word of God. 344 00:17:05,040 --> 00:17:07,119 And remember, if you're not seeking God with all of your 345 00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:10,160 heart and with all of your soul, you'll inevitably become 346 00:17:10,160 --> 00:17:12,960 distracted. You'll become complacent. 347 00:17:13,119 --> 00:17:16,760 You'll become comfortable. And when that happens, this is 348 00:17:16,760 --> 00:17:19,280 where we asked the second question that I want to answer 349 00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:21,880 today. What are we to guard our souls 350 00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:25,079 against? And the answer there is much 351 00:17:25,079 --> 00:17:26,800 simpler. You are guarding your heart 352 00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:29,720 against idols. You're guarding yourself from 353 00:17:29,920 --> 00:17:31,840 idolatry. And it's helpful to remember as 354 00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:34,560 as we begin to ask this question, that your heart is a 355 00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:37,320 garden. Think of Hosea 10/12 Sow 356 00:17:37,400 --> 00:17:39,000 righteousness, reap steadfast love. 357 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:41,960 Your heart is like a garden. And So what? 358 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:43,880 What happens to a garden if you neglect it? 359 00:17:44,640 --> 00:17:47,520 You have to be diligent about it or the weeds begin to creep up. 360 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:49,640 And the longer you let those weeds creep up without taking 361 00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:53,360 away, the, the bigger they get, the more of a nuisance they get. 362 00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:56,960 And I wrote here in my notes that there's more varieties of 363 00:17:57,040 --> 00:17:59,120 idols in our heart than there are varieties of weeds in the 364 00:17:59,120 --> 00:18:02,160 Oklahoma and spring. So remember that as you drive by 365 00:18:02,160 --> 00:18:04,000 an unkempt lawn. And it's true. 366 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:07,840 One of the most famous quotes in all of history. 367 00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:10,000 And we'll we'll quote it every time we come to a passage like 368 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:12,840 this on idolatry comes from Calvin where he says our heart 369 00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:15,920 is a factory for idols. There's so many. 370 00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:18,120 They don't always get revealed to us until things get hard, but 371 00:18:18,120 --> 00:18:21,080 we are continually finding things to worship. 372 00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:24,040 You can see it with me, read with me beginning in in verse 3 373 00:18:24,040 --> 00:18:28,160 of Deuteronomy 4. He says your eyes have seen what 374 00:18:28,160 --> 00:18:31,080 the Lord did at bail payor for the Lord your God destroyed from 375 00:18:31,080 --> 00:18:32,840 among you all the men who followed the bail of payor. 376 00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:35,400 Do you remember the story we read out of Numbers 25? 377 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:38,880 That disgusting story? But you who held fast to the 378 00:18:38,880 --> 00:18:41,040 Lord your God are all alive today. 379 00:18:41,360 --> 00:18:44,280 See, I have taught you statutes and rules as the Lord my God 380 00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:47,880 commanded me, that you should do them in the land you're entering 381 00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:51,040 and to take possession of it. So he he's drawing this 382 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:55,280 juxtaposition between true worship and life and false 383 00:18:55,280 --> 00:18:58,480 worship and death. And the the contrast is, is 384 00:18:58,480 --> 00:19:01,560 painted graphically because Moses is recalling what happened 385 00:19:01,560 --> 00:19:06,280 again a few weeks ago at Baal Payor where the Israelites 386 00:19:06,280 --> 00:19:10,160 engaged in sensual Pagan Canaanite rites. 387 00:19:11,040 --> 00:19:14,480 Were they engaged in sexual activity with Moabite women? 388 00:19:14,480 --> 00:19:17,360 And we say, how dense of a generation was that? 389 00:19:17,360 --> 00:19:19,800 How dense is our generation? How dense was that generation? 390 00:19:19,800 --> 00:19:23,000 When they're on the brink of the promised land, they've almost 391 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:24,920 served out the generation the 40 years. 392 00:19:24,920 --> 00:19:29,880 And in the weeks before they go, they go and they look to bail 393 00:19:29,880 --> 00:19:33,400 for his blessings and his protection and his benefits. 394 00:19:34,080 --> 00:19:38,960 And Numbers 25 recorded that God sent a plague on the idolaters 395 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:43,920 and 24,000 Israelites died. It's a horrible story. 396 00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:47,520 What did Paul just teach us in Ephesians 5 except sexual 397 00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:50,560 immorality and all impurity and covetousness must not even be 398 00:19:50,560 --> 00:19:54,840 named among you as is proper. And you see that here. 399 00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:59,120 Disobedience to the law brings destruction and death. 400 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:03,520 His application is choose life that you might be blessed. 401 00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:07,360 Hold fast to the covenant, be loyal and faithful to the 402 00:20:07,360 --> 00:20:09,360 covenant because he says all those who are faithful to the 403 00:20:09,360 --> 00:20:13,040 covenant are still alive and they are alive even to that day. 404 00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:17,560 Jesus again, Matthew 1917, if you would enter life, keep the 405 00:20:17,560 --> 00:20:20,760 commandments. This is why Moses says in verse 406 00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:22,520 6, the essence of wisdom. If you want to live 407 00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:24,200 successfully, if you want to live well, if you want to be 408 00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:28,040 blessed, the essence of wisdom is living according to God's 409 00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:30,640 will. Because if you don't guard your 410 00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:32,920 heart against idols, we think we know. 411 00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:35,080 I've gotten sanctified to the point that I could never fall 412 00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:37,440 into some kind of horrible idolatry or some kind of 413 00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:41,720 horrible sin. And we say, yes, absolutely you 414 00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:43,040 can. If you do not guard your heart, 415 00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:46,080 we are not exempt from the most terrible kinds of sin. 416 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:49,080 We have to be diligent. We have to guard our souls. 417 00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:51,440 We have to protect ourselves with the word. 418 00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:54,840 Only take care and keep your soul diligently. 419 00:20:56,200 --> 00:21:00,040 The human heart's a factory for idols, which is why John ends 420 00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:02,560 his first epistle. How does first John end little 421 00:21:02,560 --> 00:21:07,560 children keep yourselves from idols, End of book, right. 422 00:21:07,600 --> 00:21:10,960 Little children keep yourselves from idols. 423 00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:14,280 And so in, in, in moments of comfort, you know, we believe 424 00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:15,600 that our souls are free of idols. 425 00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:19,600 And then hardship and trials come and then idolatry becomes 426 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:22,080 more tempting. Something, some terrible trying 427 00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:24,480 thing comes on us like infertility. 428 00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:29,120 And all of a sudden then all of the quasi magical practices of 429 00:21:29,120 --> 00:21:31,720 the pagans don't seem so far fetched, right? 430 00:21:31,720 --> 00:21:34,400 Then superstitions don't seem far fetched because we're 431 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:37,640 desperate and we want this so bad that we'll begin to seek it 432 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:40,320 however we can seek it. We can make an idol out of 433 00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:43,040 anything. We make idols out of comfort 434 00:21:44,280 --> 00:21:47,600 saying, Lord, I'll do anything for you so long as I remain 435 00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:49,520 comfortable. Or we make an idol out of 436 00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:52,920 safety, Lord, I'll do anything for you so long as it will keep 437 00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:54,920 me safe. When comfort and safety aren't 438 00:21:54,920 --> 00:21:56,840 bad things, but they're not priorities. 439 00:21:57,280 --> 00:21:59,640 And we hear it in our prayers. When people go out to the 440 00:21:59,640 --> 00:22:02,920 mission field and we forget and we neglect to pray that they 441 00:22:02,920 --> 00:22:06,000 push back darkness and the gospel would go forward and we 442 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:09,520 instead pray, Lord keep them safe, which is a great prayer. 443 00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:15,960 It's not the priority or money. How quickly we forget God when 444 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:19,960 he gives us a measure of wealth and we think that money is a 445 00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:23,320 gift and not a stewardship. Moses is going to teach us this 446 00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:26,040 in chapter 8. Beware lest you say in your 447 00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:28,760 heart my power and the might of my hand have gotten me this 448 00:22:28,760 --> 00:22:30,480 wealth. You shall remember the Lord your 449 00:22:30,480 --> 00:22:33,440 God, for it is he who gives you the power to gain wealth. 450 00:22:34,320 --> 00:22:38,120 Your money comes from God, power, success. 451 00:22:38,880 --> 00:22:42,160 I'll mention one more fame. Who doesn't want to be somebody? 452 00:22:43,280 --> 00:22:46,360 We don't want to be like Paul says in Thessalonians where we 453 00:22:46,360 --> 00:22:50,160 work quietly in obscurity and we work diligently with our hands 454 00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:51,840 to make our living. You know, we want to be 455 00:22:51,840 --> 00:22:54,120 somebody. We want people to know who we 456 00:22:54,120 --> 00:22:57,480 are. You go to to George Mueller, who 457 00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:00,800 was kind of forced to a hand to mouth existence as he was caring 458 00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:03,240 for all these orphans. And people would come to him and 459 00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:05,320 they would tempt him and they'd say, we will give you all the 460 00:23:05,320 --> 00:23:07,960 money you'll ever need if you would just put our name on the 461 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:12,200 on the front of your building. And we need to remember this 462 00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:16,600 principle because he said to everyone who who asked this God 463 00:23:16,600 --> 00:23:18,800 is the only patron of these orphans, right? 464 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:21,240 I'm not putting your name on this building and where your 465 00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:22,960 name is going to be associated with these orphans. 466 00:23:23,120 --> 00:23:26,600 God's name alone is going to be associated with these children. 467 00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:28,760 And so the same is true here. This will be my response if you 468 00:23:28,760 --> 00:23:30,960 ever come and say I'll do whatever you want as long as 469 00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:33,120 you'll put my name over the new building or over the Sunday 470 00:23:33,120 --> 00:23:34,800 school class. And I'll say God's the only 471 00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:38,280 patron of this church. God's the only patron of our 472 00:23:38,280 --> 00:23:39,920 children. You don't need fame. 473 00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:43,040 You don't need your name attached to the good thing that 474 00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:45,400 you do. What if you do something that's 475 00:23:45,400 --> 00:23:47,760 great for the Kingdom of God, but it condemns you to 476 00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:51,240 obscurity? That would be OK, and that would 477 00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:55,000 be good for your soul. Remember all of these idols that 478 00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:58,080 we're so tempted toward as we read Deuteronomy 1012 to 13. 479 00:23:58,120 --> 00:24:01,240 What does the Lord your God require of you summing up the 480 00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:04,200 whole book? To fear the Lord your God, to 481 00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:07,840 walk in His ways, to love Him, to serve him with all your heart 482 00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:11,000 and with all your soul and to keep the commandments and 483 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:13,720 students of the Lord which I'm commanding you today for your 484 00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:17,120 good. These and not idols are our 485 00:24:17,120 --> 00:24:18,280 focus. It's it's the job of the 486 00:24:18,280 --> 00:24:21,600 leaders. I, I lean on you leaders to keep 487 00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:26,120 these things in the eyes of the people and to be bold according 488 00:24:26,120 --> 00:24:29,200 to these and ask of or would be idols instead of idolizing 489 00:24:29,200 --> 00:24:31,440 comfort, say what can I do on behalf of the Lord which might 490 00:24:31,440 --> 00:24:35,240 make me and my family uncomfortable or asking of 491 00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:38,840 safety and the idol of safety. What might I do for the Lord to 492 00:24:38,840 --> 00:24:41,600 expand his Kingdom where I'm going to have to lean on him for 493 00:24:41,600 --> 00:24:45,320 his protection or idolizing fame? 494 00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:50,320 What can I do to make his name great, which might make my name 495 00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:53,760 nothing? And so against all the so-called 496 00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:57,080 gods of the ancient world, against the all the the gods of 497 00:24:57,080 --> 00:25:00,720 this world, all these gods are tangible that he's talking to 498 00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:02,520 them. The the idols made of wood. 499 00:25:03,360 --> 00:25:06,800 God says, when I spoke to you it I was not a piece of wood. 500 00:25:06,800 --> 00:25:08,800 I was not I spoke to you and there was no form. 501 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:12,920 It was light which casts no shadow, He says in verse 15, You 502 00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:15,600 can read it with me. Watch yourselves carefully. 503 00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:20,360 Why, since you saw no form on the day the Lord spoke to you 504 00:25:20,360 --> 00:25:24,480 out of the midst of the fire. God is a consuming fire, it 505 00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:25,880 says. He is immaterial. 506 00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:28,240 He is spirit. We worship Him in spirit and in 507 00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:29,640 truth. There's nothing that a little 508 00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:32,680 piece of wood or a piece of gold or a piece of plastic or a piece 509 00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:35,040 of silver can do. He says, I had no form. 510 00:25:36,920 --> 00:25:40,920 He does not share His glory with another Scripture says God says 511 00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:43,160 there's 10,000 things that are going to distract you and 512 00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:45,560 compete for his attention and his glory. 513 00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:49,480 Don't forget God and inevitably sink into the worship of idols. 514 00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:52,440 Keep the main thing, the main thing to say. 515 00:25:52,440 --> 00:25:54,600 What is the main thing brings us to the final question we're 516 00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:57,600 going to ask. Why do we guard our hearts? 517 00:25:59,160 --> 00:26:01,640 Why do we guard our hearts? He answers for the sake of our 518 00:26:01,640 --> 00:26:05,040 mission. What's the goal of the church? 519 00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:06,840 What's the goal of the people of God? 520 00:26:06,840 --> 00:26:10,040 Was it always been Isaiah 11/9? That the knowledge of the Lord 521 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:12,360 shall fill the earth as waters cover the sea? 522 00:26:13,160 --> 00:26:16,640 That's the mission. Habakkuk 214 For the for the 523 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:18,520 earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the 524 00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:20,280 Lord. As the waters cover the sea. 525 00:26:20,280 --> 00:26:23,760 We make the will of God known, His goodness and his greatness 526 00:26:23,880 --> 00:26:27,320 to all creations, so that all might bow the knee to him and 527 00:26:27,320 --> 00:26:30,680 fulfill his will. That's worth putting down your 528 00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:33,880 fame, right? That's worth your money, that's 529 00:26:33,880 --> 00:26:36,520 worth your power and your comfort and your safety. 530 00:26:36,520 --> 00:26:38,760 That's worthy of your undivided loyalty. 531 00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:41,440 The the knowledge of God might be known. 532 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:43,680 And, and how do we do it? Remember the great themes of 533 00:26:43,680 --> 00:26:45,520 Deuteronomy. How do we make the will of God 534 00:26:45,520 --> 00:26:47,240 known as the water covers the sea? 535 00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:50,720 He says it's theological education, the Bible and 536 00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:53,320 theology known to our children and our children's children. 537 00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:55,000 And we live it out and we teach it. 538 00:26:55,560 --> 00:26:58,120 And it's caring for the vulnerable so that we just, we 539 00:26:58,120 --> 00:27:00,640 say not only the words of God, but we display the ethics of God 540 00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:03,560 so that when people see us, we invite their comparison. 541 00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:06,040 As you'll soon see, we, we invite comparison. 542 00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:08,760 And when they compare, their righteousness and their justice 543 00:27:08,760 --> 00:27:11,240 fall short. And they want what we have 544 00:27:11,360 --> 00:27:13,680 because ours is divine and revealed. 545 00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:17,200 Theological education, caring for the vulnerable and advancing 546 00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:19,520 the gospel. That's what you were made to do. 547 00:27:19,520 --> 00:27:22,400 That's what you were born to do. Keep your eyes on that 548 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:25,320 Deuteronomy 46. You can read with me in the 549 00:27:25,320 --> 00:27:28,520 context of this mission. Keep them and do them for that 550 00:27:28,520 --> 00:27:30,160 will be your wisdom and your understanding. 551 00:27:30,160 --> 00:27:33,640 Here it is in the sight of all the people when they hear all 552 00:27:33,640 --> 00:27:36,520 these statutes, they'll say, surely this is a great nation 553 00:27:36,640 --> 00:27:38,480 and a wise and understanding people. 554 00:27:39,120 --> 00:27:43,080 The rabbi's would say of a verse one that it means study. 555 00:27:43,480 --> 00:27:45,800 We're, we're studying and writing this law on our heart 556 00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:49,480 and then we keep it and then we do it and we live out our faith. 557 00:27:50,200 --> 00:27:52,480 Deuteronomy 28 says the same thing as verse 6. 558 00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:54,880 If you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in 559 00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:58,040 his ways, all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are 560 00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:04,400 called by the name of the Lord. So Daniel Block says fans 561 00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:08,680 advertise their favorite sports teams by wearing hats and shirts 562 00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:10,920 and scarves and key chains and bumper stickers. 563 00:28:10,920 --> 00:28:13,280 And they do all of this to advertise their name. 564 00:28:13,280 --> 00:28:17,920 And he says, but the people of God advertise their God not with 565 00:28:18,440 --> 00:28:22,840 Christian evangelistic T-shirts or crosses or Hebrew tattoos, 566 00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:28,880 but with righteousness and obedience to the law of God. 567 00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:33,120 That's how you advertise the Lord right says the Old 568 00:28:33,120 --> 00:28:36,840 Testament law explicitly invites and even welcomes public 569 00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:40,600 inspection and comparison that Israel's law would be found 570 00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:43,880 superior and to in wisdom and injustice. 571 00:28:44,880 --> 00:28:46,600 We're going to look at this more deeply next week but you could 572 00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:49,720 say our society, the Western society is built on the 573 00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:53,400 foundation of God's law summarily comprehended in the 10 574 00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:57,000 commandments and so where does the where does the world want to 575 00:28:57,000 --> 00:29:02,800 live Do they want to live in the West where we we practice that 576 00:29:03,080 --> 00:29:06,200 your punishment must fit the crime and where everybody is 577 00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:08,240 equal dignity and worth because we're all made in the image of 578 00:29:08,240 --> 00:29:09,440 God. Do you want to live in a society 579 00:29:09,440 --> 00:29:13,880 like that, or do you want to go live in a Muslim society or in 580 00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:17,640 India in their caste system? You make a comparison, it 581 00:29:17,640 --> 00:29:21,040 invites a comparison. What's better, what's more 582 00:29:21,040 --> 00:29:25,040 righteous, what's more just? Meryl says these statutes would 583 00:29:25,040 --> 00:29:27,480 do more than merely provide guidelines for successful life 584 00:29:27,480 --> 00:29:29,640 in the land. By obeying them, God's people 585 00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:32,480 would also display before the nation's what it means to be the 586 00:29:32,480 --> 00:29:35,120 people of the Lord and have him in their midst. 587 00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:39,200 The wisdom of God has to be seen in your life, not only in us as 588 00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:43,360 a church, you as an individual, or I guess even us as a nation 589 00:29:43,360 --> 00:29:44,440 as we embody these things, but you. 590 00:29:44,440 --> 00:29:47,960 And as an individual, you are inviting inspection and 591 00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:49,800 comparison. And people need to look at your 592 00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:51,760 marriage and say that's better than mine. 593 00:29:51,760 --> 00:29:56,000 What do you have that I don't? And the opposite is also true. 594 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:58,960 Paul says, because if they look at your life and they see your 595 00:29:58,960 --> 00:30:02,080 angry response to stimuli and they see your greed and your 596 00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:04,320 idolatry, and they're going to say, I want nothing to do with 597 00:30:04,320 --> 00:30:05,880 God. Paul says they're going to say 598 00:30:06,080 --> 00:30:08,480 the name of God is going to be blasphemed among the Gentiles 599 00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:09,720 and it's going to be because of you. 600 00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:14,240 We're inviting as a people inspection in comparison. 601 00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:18,120 So we want to say, I want nothing to do no, I want nothing 602 00:30:18,120 --> 00:30:21,320 more than to do the will of God. That's that's what's at stake. 603 00:30:22,040 --> 00:30:26,720 The world's watching. One more point I want to make is 604 00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:28,960 that we see in the the 10 commandments, we'll look at this 605 00:30:28,960 --> 00:30:33,200 next week that there are certain rights and obligations that 606 00:30:33,200 --> 00:30:35,560 Yahweh has as our creator and our Redeemer. 607 00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:39,240 One of them is the right to proper representation. 608 00:30:39,840 --> 00:30:43,160 God has an innate right to proper representation. 609 00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:46,880 Israel bears His name. You are a Christian and you bear 610 00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:49,040 God's name. He has a right to you 611 00:30:49,040 --> 00:30:51,880 representing Him well. He has given you His glory. 612 00:30:54,720 --> 00:30:57,240 Christian is from the word Christianos in Greece, which 613 00:30:57,360 --> 00:30:59,800 Greek which literally means follower of Christ. 614 00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:02,240 If you take His name, you reveal His glory. 615 00:31:02,440 --> 00:31:04,520 Take His commandments, keep His commandments. 616 00:31:04,640 --> 00:31:07,320 Do not forget them. Verse 39 No. 617 00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:09,560 Therefore today lay it on your heart. 618 00:31:09,720 --> 00:31:11,800 The Lord God is in heaven, there is no other. 619 00:31:12,560 --> 00:31:15,840 Therefore keep His commandments and His statutes. 620 00:31:16,360 --> 00:31:20,040 So you don't have to be a Bible scholar to understand what this 621 00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:23,040 passage means. This is so simple the children 622 00:31:23,200 --> 00:31:25,720 can understand it. Listen to verse one, he says 623 00:31:25,720 --> 00:31:28,520 study the statutes and the rules that I'm teaching you. 624 00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:30,760 Verse 2, keep the commandments of the Lord your God. 625 00:31:30,760 --> 00:31:32,560 I'm commanding you. Verse five, I've taught you 626 00:31:32,760 --> 00:31:35,720 statutes enrolled so that you should do them in the land that 627 00:31:35,720 --> 00:31:37,880 you are entering. Verse 6, keep them and do them, 628 00:31:37,880 --> 00:31:41,400 for that will be your wisdom. Verse 9, take care and keep your 629 00:31:41,400 --> 00:31:44,480 soul diligently. Verse 14, that you might do them 630 00:31:44,480 --> 00:31:46,760 in the land that you're going to possess, and you go all the way 631 00:31:46,760 --> 00:31:48,880 down to verse 40. He ends this whole section. 632 00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:51,440 He ends his sermon with this great command. 633 00:31:51,880 --> 00:31:54,520 Therefore you shall keep his statutes and his commandments, 634 00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:57,840 which I command you today, that it may go well with you and your 635 00:31:57,840 --> 00:32:01,040 children after you, that you may prolong your days in the land 636 00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:03,960 that the Lord your God is giving you for all time. 637 00:32:04,920 --> 00:32:08,080 I end with this last thought because the author of Hebrews in 638 00:32:08,080 --> 00:32:12,120 chapter 12, verses 28 to 29, he's meditating on this exact 639 00:32:12,120 --> 00:32:14,800 passage, these very verses. This is where it says the Lord 640 00:32:14,800 --> 00:32:17,800 God is a consuming fire. He's jealous, not in a petty 641 00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:21,760 sense, but in that it's his right that he received glory 642 00:32:21,880 --> 00:32:23,520 from us. And as the author of Hebrews is 643 00:32:23,520 --> 00:32:26,400 meditating on this, he gives us one final application as he 644 00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:30,520 records these words. Therefore, let us be grateful. 645 00:32:31,280 --> 00:32:34,720 Let us be grateful for receiving a Kingdom that cannot be shaken. 646 00:32:35,160 --> 00:32:38,080 And let us offer to God acceptable worship with 647 00:32:38,080 --> 00:32:42,080 reverence and with awe. For our God is a consuming fire. 648 00:32:42,480 --> 00:32:47,160 Please pray with me. Lord, we, we don't even know 649 00:32:47,160 --> 00:32:50,440 what this means that you're jealous. 650 00:32:51,360 --> 00:32:52,440 Now. We're jealous for so many 651 00:32:52,440 --> 00:32:54,800 things. Lord, may we be jealous and 652 00:32:54,800 --> 00:32:57,720 zealous for your glory. And Lord, we know it's not 653 00:32:57,720 --> 00:32:59,480 written in this passage. It's not the emphasis. 654 00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:03,640 We, we remember that there is so much grace when we fall short. 655 00:33:03,640 --> 00:33:06,280 But Lord, may we live according to this. 656 00:33:06,280 --> 00:33:08,040 You've made it so clear in your revelation. 657 00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:10,120 We want to, we've heard it, we want to do it. 658 00:33:10,120 --> 00:33:13,560 You've said keep the commands, study them, take them off of the 659 00:33:13,560 --> 00:33:16,760 page and write it on our hearts. Lord, we know that this is only 660 00:33:16,760 --> 00:33:18,160 something we can do by your Spirit. 661 00:33:18,160 --> 00:33:20,560 Give us resolve, give us determination. 662 00:33:20,560 --> 00:33:24,640 Give us the willpower to do this, to not just hear the 663 00:33:24,640 --> 00:33:26,400 words, but to to write it on our heart. 664 00:33:26,400 --> 00:33:28,120 Not only our hearts, our children's hearts. 665 00:33:28,120 --> 00:33:30,920 Not only that, but that we would take responsibility for our 666 00:33:30,920 --> 00:33:34,080 children's children that your name might be made great on the 667 00:33:34,120 --> 00:33:35,280 earth. God, we love you. 668 00:33:35,680 --> 00:33:39,320 We thank you that you've spoken. The ears of your servants are 669 00:33:39,320 --> 00:33:41,760 listening. Lord in Christ's name, Amen. 670 00:33:44,040 --> 00:33:46,120 Thanks for listening. To learn more about Heritage 671 00:33:46,120 --> 00:33:49,160 Church or if you'd like to respond to this sermon, visit 672 00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:53,320 our website at www.heritage Shawnee dot. 673 00:33:53,320 --> 00:33:53,640 Org.