Amen, so Deuteronomy chapter 30 again we're wrapping up this book as we've
been going through it chapter by chapter over the last several months and again
as I mentioned I'll mention again as I did last week if you recall kind of
these last few chapters and a consistent theme throughout the book of
Deuteronomy is these this concept of obedience and blessing
disobedience and cursing and you know it's almost at the point of
redundancy but again I think the reason why that is is because of the
fact that these are some of the parting words of Moses and the reason why he's
just hammering this in especially in these latter chapters is that
because there's a real need for us to understand and learn this concept that
obedience equals blessing and that disobedience brings the curse of God
upon our lives and again if you've been with us through these last few
sermons this is something that he's really driven in and is continuing to
do with the last few moments he has with the nation of Israel after he's led
them out of the wilderness and spent so many decades with them wandering with
them trying to teach them instruct them now he's ready to pass off the
scene and again he's just reiterating the same thing just hammering this this
need for them to learn to obey the voice of the Lord their God and it
says there in verse one and it shall come to pass and all these things
are come upon thee the blessings and the curse which I have set before thee and
thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations whither the Lord thy God
hath driven thee and now and shalt return unto the Lord thy God and shall
obey his voice according all the command of this day so again the
reason why he's emphasizing this need to obey is because you can see from
Moses' words he already knows what's going to happen God already knows that
when they get into the promised land they're gonna get you know you know fat
and sassy they're gonna get in there and they're gonna start in taking
over this land dwelling in houses they didn't build dwelling you know eating of
all of yards and vineyards they didn't plant and it's going to go to their
heads they're gonna forget the Lord their God and he's already reminding
them of a promise that they're going to need you know many generations
later that they when they are in that in fact in that land when God does in
fact bring the curse upon them that they need to turn to the Lord their
God and to remember him and call to mind all these things among the
nations whether the Lord thy God hath driven thee and it says in verse 2 and
shalt return to the Lord thy God and shall obey his voice according to all
that I command in this day thou and thy children with all thine heart
and with all thy soul that then the Lord thy God will turn thy
captivity and have compassion upon thee and will return and gather thee from
all the nations whether the Lord thy God has scattered thee again this
isn't something I really want to spend a lot of time on in this sermon
because there's there's other things here but notice here that when God
brings the nation of Israel into the land when they believe on the Lord when
they turn to Lord thy God with all their heart that's when God has
compassion upon them and gives them and gathers them from all nations
you know which which should you know in that concept ring it rings through
truth through all scriptures that should remind us of the fact that you
know the the false state of the nation of Israel that is not God's chosen
people over there today those people are not believing on the Lord the Lord God
they're not believing in the Lord Jesus Christ they don't have the Father and
they don't have the Son you know that was not God's doing 1948 was not a
miracle that was the working of man and and others but again I don't want
to park it on that that topic that's something that's been preached you
know quite a bit here in this church but I think what we can really what I
really want to drive in tonight or get us to understand is that God
desires to forgive people it's God's desire that he would be able to
forgive the disobedient that he would be able to restore those that are
experiencing his wrath and his punishment that are on the receiving end
of his chastening you know it's not God's desire to just you know chasten
people and to punish them I mean but obviously that's what God does I mean
God you know he gives them fair warning throughout all of these
scriptures leading up to this they can't say that they they weren't warned
but we see here that God desires to restore and have compassion and gather
them and he wants to forgive them you see that especially there in verse 3
where it says then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity and have
compassion upon thee that's God's desire he will return and gather thee
from all nations whether the Lord thy God hath scattered thee it's not
that God just wanted to scatter them among all nations and then forget
about them and leave them in their sad state he actually wants to bring them
back into the land and can have compassion on them and restore them that
is his desire okay now moving on here in verse 4 it says if any of thine be
driven out unto the uttermost parts of heaven from thence will the Lord thy
God gather thee and from thence will he fetch thee the Lord thy God will
bring thee into the land which the Lord thy fathers possessed and thou shalt
possess it and he will do thee good and multiply thee above thy fathers so
God's desire again is to restore them to restore that to forgive them and
restore the disobedient and he even says he'll go so far as the outmost
parts of heaven to grit to retrieve them he will bring them and he will go
and fetch them and he will bring them into the good land that he had
promised them that's what God's desire is and again it's interesting that you
know God doesn't say well you can come into the land and then we'll talk he
says I'll even go to the farthest parts of heaven and bring you back and
here's what I want us to understand because again the nation of Israel we
can liken you know unto our own selves you know we can learn we can apply this
personally in our own lives a lot of things that happen under them you
know we can like it onto our own personal walk with the Lord I mean
the nation of Israel is kind of a picture of the Christian life if you
think about it you know you're brought out of the bondage of sin in Egypt
you know you're baptized and you before first of all you have the you know
the Passover and the blood is applied you're saved and you're baptized you
know then there's that learning process in the wilderness you grow as a
Christian you go in the promised land you live a victorious Christian life but
it's possible that we as Christians you know we can end up like the
nation of Israel or even after we've you know done all these things we've
you know we've grown we've walked with the Lord we're saved that we
might begin to wander you know our hearts might grow cold and it might be
that God has to start to chasing us in our lives and here's what I want us
to understand is that no matter how far we get away from God it's always his
desire that we would return if we're his children there's there's always a
way back and a lot of and I think this is important because a lot of
people they get they get up to a point in their Christian life where
they just think well I've committed so much sin you know I've done so I made
such a mess out of my life that I might as well just you know I as much
as I think I'd like to go back and serve the Lord I'm just sure he wants
nothing to do with me now you know there's no point in me going back to
church you know I'm just I'm just gonna keep living this sinful life it's
not you know it's I know it's gonna be miserable and it's not really what I
want but they just have this this you know this guilt and this this
misunderstanding that they think that God won't forgive them that God's not
waiting for them to come back with open arms and that therefore they just
continue to go down this path of sin and disobedience and continue to endure
the chastening hand of God but what we're seeing here in these first few
verses the fact that God's desire is to have compassion that's God's desire is
to forgive and it doesn't matter how far away from God we've gotten from them
or from him rather that he wants us to come back that God is willing to
receive us unto himself no matter how distant we've become whether it's you
know the utmost parts of heaven and what's interesting is that and if you
would turn with Psalm 103 Psalm 103 is that God often he goes if you notice
the way he speaks in those verses there verses four and five is that he's going
to find them where they are and bring them back he you know he's not just
waiting for them to return in another onion of themselves of course
they have their part to do with you know having to to repent and to you
know seek the Lord and things like that but God goes and finds them where
they're at you know and often I think that's way it is in a lot of
Christians lives and we might find ourselves in some backslidden state and
think that you know God's just done with us but even then God will come and
begin to work in our lives and to minister to us and to try and bring us
back into the fold to bring us back into walking the walking with him and
living for him and to come back from that the Bible says in Psalm 86 you're
going to Psalm 103 for thou Lord art good and ready to forgive that's one
of the great things about God is it's just his readiness to forgive that he is
plenteous and mercy unto all them that call upon thee you know you're not
going to exhaust God's patience you're not going to exhaust God's willingness
to show mercy and compassion and to and to forgive it says thou O Lord are
a God full of compassion and gracious long-suffering plenteous and
mercy and truth that is the you know that is the nature of the Lord they
know them thank God for that because I'm sure every Christian is going to need
that to some degree or another in their life they're going to need to you know
call upon those attributes of the Lord they're going to need to know that God
is long-suffering and that God is plenteous and mercy and truth you know
we're probably all going to you know make mistakes and mess up some more
than others but we have to understand that no matter how far or how bad you
know we might make I'm not saying we should you know but if we do no
matter how much of a mess we make you know God is willing and able to
forgive and God wants to that he's very long-suffering it says there in
Psalm 103 look at verse 6 the Lord executed righteousness and judgment for
all that are oppressed excuse me he made known his ways unto Moses his
acts under the children of Israel verse 8 the Lord is merciful and
gracious slow to anger and plenteous in mercy he will not always chide
neither will he keep his anger forever verse 10 he is high above the earth or
excuse me he hath not dealt with us after our sins nor rewarded us
according to our iniquities for as the heaven is high above the earth so
great is his mercy toward them that fear him as far as the East is from
the West so if you removed our transgressions from us like as a father
pitieth his children so the Lord pitieth them that fear him for he
knoweth our frame and remembereth that we are dust as for man his days are as a
are as grass as a flower of the field so he flourishes for the wind
passeth over it and it is gone and the place thereof shall know it
no more but the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon
them that fear him and his righteousness unto children's children such as keep
his covenant and to those that remember his commandments to do them so
again here we see you know God's compassion is is being expressed we see
that God's these attributes of God's long-suffering and his mercy and his
goodness you know it's his merciful and gracious he's slow to anger his
plenteous mercies he will not always chide neither will he keep his
anger forever right these these attributes of God's compassion are being
expressed and the Indian likens and unto a man towards his son right God you
know is we see that he tempers his chastening due to the frailty of man you
know look there in verse uh verses 14 for he knoweth our frame he rememberth
that we are dust you know if God will just let loose it wouldn't take
very much to for God to just crush us for God to just wipe us out in God
you know often I believe in our lives shows grace and mercy and and he
holds back and remembers that we are but dust but what I want us to
understand all this is this is not to be taken as a license to just go sin
you just say well I know all these things about God I know that God is
compassionate I know that God is long-suffering I know that God will
pity me and have mercy upon me and after all I'm just human you know I'm
just a man I'm just you know I'm just flesh and blood I'm just dust you
know what I can't help it you know I'm gonna do these sinful things and I
know God will forgive me you know we've got to read the language here and and
pick up on the fact that you know we don't want to be guilty of you know
sinning presumptuously I'm just saying well I'm gonna do this sin now
and then I'll ask for forgiveness later that's that's a that's a bad
attitude to have but God's mercy is actually reserved for the repentant
those that are turning towards the Lord if you would look at verse verse 11 he
says for as the heaven is high above the earth so great is his mercy toward
them that fear him that's the key of verse right there part of that verse so
great is his mercy towards them that fear him you know if we want God's
mercy in our life you know if we find ourselves in some backslidden state
you know we're gonna have to learn to fear God we're gonna have to
actually get out of that that that state of being backslidden and start
to fear God again you know it's that we can't just continue going in our sin
and just saying you know I'm just gonna continue to live a backslidden life
and just continually ask God to forgive me and I'm sure things will turn out
fine no they won't but the promise is is that if we learn to fear him
and if we will repent if we'll turn from those sins if we'll get that out
of our life that mercy is there that if we confess our sins he is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness that's what that's the you know the important
caveat that we have to remember here it's not just this license that
well God's just you know this merciful God that's gonna just you know be okay
with my sinful life no God is if you want that mercy and that grace you have
to learn to fear the Lord your God it's reserved for those that are
repentant and he says the same thing there in verses 11 verse 17 but
the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them
that fear him verse 18 to those that remember his commandments and and to do
them you know those that will actually live for the Lord those that
want to get their life cleaned up and start living for God and get back on
the right path that option is always there and no matter how far down
the wrong way they've gone you know if anytime like the prodigal son if
they want to come to their senses you know and realize that they're
eating on the husks of this world and they're gonna fill their their
their belly with the filth of this world you know God's God's at home the
father's at home looking for them to return but they're the ones that are
gonna have to leave the pigsty behind and come back to the Lord so God's
mercy is reserved for those that want to repent the repentant you know you
have to notice that in our text back there in Deuteronomy chapter 2 all
these merciful attributes that that they go through that Moses expresses
there about how God's gonna turn other captivity and have compassion upon
them and gather them from all the nations you know that all comes after
verse 2 and it says in verse 2 of Deuteronomy 30 and thou and shalt return
unto the Lord thy God and shall obey his voice according to all that I
command thee this day thou and thy children with all thine heart and with
all thy soul that then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity you know
that that's something we need to learn to apply in a personal level and
and even as a nation you know this nation we can we can get up and sing God
bless America all we want but until this nation is ready to turn from its
sinful ways you know from the sins of abortion and fornication and the
drunkenness and the adultery and the idolatry and the covetousness and
the oppression of the poor and everything that this country is guilty
of you know you can you can sing God bless America to your blue in the
face you know and it's not gonna make it and it's not gonna make a
difference God wants to see people that are ready to return unto the Lord
their God and do what obey his voice and to remember to do his
commandments and not just pay lip service to him and we have to
understand well what's the purpose of it you know what's the purpose of
God's being so willing to forgive and God's so willing to to to receive
those that are willing to you know repent what's the point of it and so
that they can serve him again you know God wants to restore Israel here he
wants to he's giving him this promise that look if you get out of sorts with
me if you find yourself scattered in other nations you know there's a way
back and I'm gonna bring you back but it's not just so that you can be
safe again and so that you can learn to live for me and then you can
serve me and be and bring glory to him so that's why the Lord you know
he's so willing to just deliver them and to show this compassion is so that
they might serve him once again look there in Deuteronomy chapter 30 verse 6
and the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart and the heart of thy
scene to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul
that thou mayest live and the Lord thy God will put all these curses upon
thine enemies and on them that hate thee which persecuted thee in verse 8
and thou shall return and obey the voice of the Lord thy God and do all
his commandments which I command thee this day he's not just you shall
return and take it easy and just go back about your merry way no you're
gonna return and you're gonna obey my voice you're gonna do what I said and
you're gonna keep my commandments that's what God wants for them so we
have to see again this that you see again this theme that's just been
throughout all the book of Deuteronomy and just something that
he's just hammering at here in these latter chapters that blessing is
always contingent upon obedience you know if we want God's blessing in our
life it has to come through obedience we can't just live however we want and
think that God's gonna be okay with it because he's not and think that our
life is going to be blessed if we're just gonna go do those things which
are not pleasing to him it says there in verse 9 and the Lord thy God
will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand in the fruit of
thy body in the fruit of thy cattle in the fruit of thy land for good
for the Lord will again rejoice over thee for good as he rejoiced over thy
fathers so again we see that's the God's desire for his people that's what
God wants for his children to bless them so that he can rejoice over them
you know that's something we should want for ourselves I mean what that's
something that we should desire in our lives is that God would rejoice
over us and it says in verse 10 again here's the caveat if thou shalt
hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God to keep his commandments and his
statutes which are written in the book of this law or excuse me written in
this book of the law that's the prerequisite the
willingness to obey the willingness to keep these commandments to keep these
statutes which are written then the blessing comes then God will rejoice
over us when we do those things which are pleasing to him and really
the best time to remember all this is when things are going well the best
time to have all that you know to understand this is not when you find
yourself scattered among the heathen this is you know when you're being
chastened of God that's that's not I mean it's great if you know of course
those things to come back to mind and get your life right but ideally you
would remember all this before that even happens and if you remember look
at there in verse 1 and he says and it shall come to pass and all these
things are come upon thee the blessing and the curse we want to
remember all this when we're being blessed it's a man things are going
well God's rejoicing over this we're being fruitful in our in our land
and in our in our in our cattle you know we're everything's going really
well let's not lose this and let's remember you know the fountain from
which all blessings flow which is you know every good and perfect gift
descended from above from the father of lights and we should remember that
while things are good and that's the danger of prosperity often isn't it and
I think that's the danger that we you know for sure that we saw Israel
fall into and we can even see that in our own country then when things when a
nation is blessed and they have abundance of things they tend to forget
the Lord their God so again we should remember this when all these things
come upon us even the blessing is upon us but you know if often it's not the
case and we have to go through that chasing you know to some degree or
another whether as an individual or a nation no matter how but we have to
remember that no matter how far from God we are he will forgive us that
there's always a way back you know if you're still here sucking air you know
God still has a plan for you I don't care if you're face down you know
you're God's child you're saying you're out just living a wicked life
if God hasn't you know taken you home there's still work for you to do
and you could still turn your life around and do it God is still willing
to forgive us no matter how far from him we get as his children the
Bible says in 1st Timothy this is a faithful saying and if you would turn
over Romans chapter 2 Romans chapter 2 he said this is a faithful saying and
worthy of all the expectation that Christ Jesus came the world to save
sinners of whom I am chief he said how be it for this cause I obtain
mercy that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering
for a pattern to them which should believe hereafter believe on him to
life everlasting while saying look I'm a pattern to other people and if you
have to call you know when Paul said he was the chiefest of sinners you know
obviously that might be a bit of an exaggeration who can really know that
but no doubt when before Paul got saved he was a very wicked man I mean
he was doing some terrible things but God saved him and showed him mercy why
as a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life
everlasting as an example to the rest of us you know that God is
willing to save the sinner that God is willing to forgive you know those that
are you know repentant for what they've done so again no matter how far we are
from God he will forgive us but that's not to say that we know we won't suffer
the consequences of sin you know we can't go out and just so all these
wild oats and then and then just pray that God you know that the harvest
isn't going to come come do we're still gonna have to reap that harvest
and you know there's still gonna be consequences it's just that now we can
go about sowing good seed and wait for that harvest to come in so we will
still suffer since consequences we should never take this as well I can just go
out and live however I want and just be a wicked individual then when I you
know I've had my fill of the pleasures of sin for this seat for a
season then I'll get right with God and live for him as that when I get
older and everything will be fine no there will be things that will follow
you the rest of your life there's mistakes that you can make there's
sins that you can commit the consequences of which you're gonna have to live
with yeah the sins forgiven it's forgotten but the consequences that
come with it they don't go away often they can stay with you your entire
life so it'd be better to remember God's goodness you know and when the
blessings are here if you remember to remember that and experience his
blessings then define ourselves in need of his mercy I mean wouldn't it be
better to just find out to say well I understand I can read the Bible here
we could even look to the example of other people that we might know and say
well look at the mistakes they made I don't need to go and do that I could
see how that turns out and then we can look at other individuals you know who
are living a very blessed life we can read about all the good things that
God wants to do for us and we can make that decision without having to go
and experience it for ourselves we can say well let me just live a life
that God can bless you know I'm glad that God's merciful and long-suffering
and willing to you know receive me if I go astray but that's not just
because that's an option doesn't mean you have to go take advantage of it you
know that in fact I'd be get again because even though that option is there
there's gonna be a lot of other baggage that comes along with that he
says in Romans chapter 2 where you are verse 3 and thinkest thou this old
man that judges them that which do it such things and do it's the same that
thou shalt escape the judgment of God or despises thou the riches of his
goodness and forbearance and long-suffering not knowing that what
the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance you know it'd be better just
read about how merciful and long-suffering and compassionate God is
and understand that that's him and how good he is that he's you know
willing to just reach the you know the the you know the utmost parts of
heaven to bring back those that are turned unto him once again to just
understand that and know that and say wow God's good and then just go ahead
and live an obedient life in the light of that fact in the light of the
scriptures that make sense rather than saying well let me see if that's true
let me go see how far away from God I can get and then and then I'll go
experience his goodness in that way then I'll go experience the mercy and
compassion and all that no you can just read about it and say wow God is
good let me just go ahead and be obedient now let me just go ahead and
praise him for that now because here's the thing you know Israel they're
being warned here in the book of Deuteronomy I mean just over and
over and over and over again Moses is saying obey obey obey blessings
cursings blessings cursings just ad nauseum and we're reading it you know
we're hearing the preaching of it and we read it for ourselves so we
like they you know we've kind of been warned we've been warned and we
like they have no excuse and he says here if you would go back to
Deuteronomy chapter 30 go back to Deuteronomy chapter 30 pick it up in
verse 11 he said for this is the command which I command thee this day
it is not hidden from me and saying look you know you know who I am God
saying look I'm warning you right now this is how I am yes you know I I'm
very merciful and long-suffering and compassionate and you can find about
you can you can learn that about me through in the blessings that I'll
bring upon the obedient or you can learn about it when you get tired of
your sin and decide to come back and then you can see how merciful I am
however in the meantime you will suffer the
chastening hand of God so he's saying look it's not hidden from thee neither
is it far off it is not in heaven that thou should say who shall go up
for us to heaven and bring it unto us that we may hear it and do it
neither is it beyond the sea that thou should say who shall go over the sea
for us and bring it unto us that we may hear it and do it but the word is
very nigh thee in thy mouth and in thy heart that thou mayest do it God's saying
look I'm not hiding in the shadows I'm not my will for you is not this
mysterious thing I've made it very plain what I expect for my people and
the consequences that come with obedience and disobedience he's made it
he's laid it all out there and it's interesting there it wasn't it wasn't
just near them it wasn't just nigh them but it was actually in their mouth
the Bible says and in their heart you know they read it they they they
heard it and they understood it and we're in the same we're in that same
boat today you know this made them accountable we've heard these things you
know we've read these things we understand just as much as they do
who God is and what is expected of his people and you know that's why God
gives us his word you know that's why God hasn't hidden the Bible up in
heaven he hasn't hidden it you know in some cave somewhere across some ocean
we're not gonna have to you know charter somebody to go over and find it
for us and bring it back and remind us of what it says I mean we're
surrounded by the Word of God we have it in abundance why they got why
does God give us his word why does God has just preserved this book for us
to read ourselves and to know so that we can do it not because God knows we've
got time to kill and you could use some good reading God has given us a
great you know wonderful book to read and yeah we love the the poetry and the
literature of it that aspect of it but God has given it to us so that we
can actually do it that we can actually do these commandments that are
written in here that's why he's given it to us it says in Psalm 19 I'll
read to you the statue of the Lord's statutes of the Lord are right
rejoicing the heart the commandment of the Lord is pure and lightening the
eyes the fear of the Lord is clean and during forever the judgments of the
Lord are true and righteous all together more to be desired are they
than gold yea then much fine gold sweeter also than the honey and the
honeycomb moreover by them thy servant is warned look these the Word of God
is a great thing it's wonderful I mean look at the way he's describing
it you know he's saying the fear the Lord is clean he says the
commandments of the Lord are pure they're enlightening the eye they're
more desired than gold the much fine gold they're sweeter than honey in the
honeycomb and but you know the real the real reward the real value in the
Word of God moreover by them as thy servant warned and in keeping of them
is there is great reward so the reward comes not just from reading the
Word of God not just from having a copy of the Bible on the shelf at home but
actually picking it up and reading it because when we read it we're warned
and that's the reward of the Word of God so really you know the summation
here that Moses's instructions is that the Word of God can be a blessing or
it can be a curse you know it cuts both ways with the Bible that's kind
of what he's wrapping everything up you know after everything he said in
the book of Deuteronomy his kind of his last point because often you know
you got to think about the fact that people tend to remember the kind of
the last thing they hear you know that's something we try to emphasize as
preachers or practices preachers is that you know people are probably only
going to get one thing out of a sermon so you might as well just try to make
that sermon about one thing and close it with a strong statement
because people you know just human nature we tend to kind of remember the
last thing that we heard maybe one thing stands out with us so the parting
words of Moses or what it is he's trying to get across is pretty
important and that's really what he's getting trying to get across here is
that the Word of God can be a blessing to you or the Word of God can be a
curse to you it's a blessing it's a reward if you keep it and it's gonna be
a curse if you don't and like I said last week that's not like there's a
third option it's not like there's this gray area or this middle road
where you know it's gonna be neither it's gonna be one or the other in
our lives and we're you know we're in that same predicament as Israel if you
would go over to second Peter chapter 1 second Peter chapter 1 second Peter
chapter 1 beginning of verse 19 it says this we have also a more sure word
of prophecy were unto ye do well that ye take heed you know you know taking
heed to the Word of God would do us well you know it's gonna fix a lot of
problems in our life it's gonna keep a lot of problems out of our life it's
gonna teach us how to live a life that's gonna be blessed of God he says you do
well that you take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place unto the
day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts I always love that
illustration that he uses there as unto a light that shineth in a dark
place that's what he's saying this sure word of prophecy is he's likening
it unto a light in a dark place you know I wonder if we really treat it
like that you know I think it's a great illustration you know we imagine walking
in you when you go home tonight you know the sun's gone down since you
left and came to church you're gonna go back if you if the lights aren't on
and the first thing you're gonna do when you walk in the door is turn on
the lights I mean who's gonna go home tonight and stumble around the dark
for 15 or 20 minutes before they decide well I guess I'll make my way to
the light switch and turn that on I've stubbed my toe enough I've knocked
over enough you know planters or whatever I think it's time to turn the
lights on no the first thing you're gonna do is you're gonna go work you
know you're gonna hit that light switch because you want to see the
obstacles you want to see so you can you know not stub your toe and so on
and so forth but is that how we treat the Bible is that how we treat the
sure word of prophecy you know or are we stumbling around in the dark in life
you know well I'll get to it eventually I'll find out what it says about that
later you know I'll read that later I'll deal with I'll turn this switch on
later let me just stumble around in life for a little while let me just you
know fumble around in the darkness get hurt fall over let me fall down a flight
of stairs you know hurt myself get a rug burn and then maybe I'll go ahead
and turn the light switch on so I can see what I'm doing and we'd say
that's foolishness about the person who would go and do such a thing in
their house but spiritually that's how a lot of us live our life we say well
I'll turn that on later I'll look at that later I'll listen to the
preacher what he has to say later you know well later you know you might be
in a spiritual neck brace you know you might not even be able to make your
way over to the light switch anymore but I love that illustration you know I
remember I used to whenever I bring this up from time to time with you know
bus kids when I was running a bus route trying to you know teach them to
read the Bible I say you know if I took you kids out in the middle of the
woods on a dark night you know with no moon and a cloudy night just complete
I mean I don't know who's ever been probably everybody at some point or
another has been you know way out in the woods somewhere way away from the
city I mean there's dark and then there's dark you know me like so we're
just so dark you can't you literally can't see your hand in front of your
place in your face you know if I took you all to a place like that and said
here you all have one you know I'm not gonna drop you off you know I'm not
gonna tell you where you're at you have no clue where you are you just know
it's dark and it's gonna be dark for a long time and you all have one
flashlight to get home I mean that flashlight would suddenly become very
important wouldn't it I mean you if I say hey you can have a flashlight you
know or a your favorite candy bar you know if you were in that
predicament you'd pass up anything for that flashlight I want to see where
I'm going I got to find my way back you know what if I threw that light
he'd be stumbling around the dark trying to find it but that's and
that's why I love this illustration that hey this this sure word of prophecy is
a light that shines in a dark place and spiritually that's what this world is
it's a dark place where we can just fumble around run into things get hurt
spiritually but we have this light but the question is are we turning it
on are we going to the switch are we or moving that you know the switch
forward and looking at where we're going you know he says that his light
is a lamp unto my feet his word is a lamp unto my feet and a lamp light
unto my path the Bible is a spiritual light that we need to make sure that
we have on in our life he says it's a light that shineth in a dark place
until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts knowing this first
that no prophecy of the scriptures of any private interpretation for the
prophecy came not in old time but the will of man but holy men of God
spake as they are moved by the Holy Ghost so go ahead and turn back to
Deuteronomy chapter 30 so look you know there's a lot of we can we can be
worn by the things of God through the Bible we can be worn worn about the
things of God you know we can avoid the the the curse of God in our life
the chasting hand of God in our life if we'll read the book and we'll do
the things that are written in here if we'll keep them but if you know in
it but if we don't you know we're gonna we're gonna suffer the
consequences and that's what that's what Moses is driving in here look you
have two options in life you can be blessed or you can be cursed you
can have God's blessing in your life or you can have God's chasting in your life
it's up to you you decide what you want those are the two options you
know that's it there's no third option here where you can say I choose
neither it's one of the other that's what he says in verse 15 see I have
set before thee this day life and good and death and evil and what is it
that he's setting before them the commandments of God that's what this is
you know it's it's it's life and good it's also death and evil because it's
warning us it's making us accountable and he says on verse 16 and that I
command thee this day to love the Lord thy God to walk in his ways to
keep his commandments in his statutes and in judgments that thou mayest live
and multiply in the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land where
thou goest to possess it but if thine heart turn away so that thou
will not hear but shall be drawn away and worship other gods and serve them I
denounce unto you this day ye shall surely perish look just as much as the
promise of God's blessing is is there you know saying look God God will
for sure God is going to if you love him and walk in his ways and keep his
commandments and statutes thou mayest live you will multiply and the Lord
shall bless thee in the land where that thou goest to possess it he says
that's a promise of the Word of God it's the blessings there you can have it
he said but if you go the other way you know just as much as that is true
just as much as the blessing is a hundred percent guaranteed so is the
curse he says I you know ye shall surely perish if your hearts wander out
of the way and he says and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the
land whether thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it I call
heaven and earth to record against record this day against you that I have
before you life and death blessing and cursing therefore choose life that both
thou and thy seed may live that thou mayest love the Lord thy God and that
thou mayest obey his voice and that thou mayest cleave unto him for he is thy
life in the length of day of thy days that thou mayest dwellest in the
land of Egypt which land which Lord thy God sware into thy fathers to
Abraham to Isaac and to Jacob to give them so again he's saying look you
have two options here and this is really what this whole chapter is about
and you know a lot of the book of Deuteronomy is that you have two
things to choose you can have the blessings or you can have the curse
and if you're the blessing comes through obedience if you would just go
to one last place you're gonna go over to Matthew chapter 22 Matthew
chapter 22 and say well I want God's blessing you know I want to God to
bless me and to cause his face to shine upon me and to and to have the
goodness of God and to have his blessing upon my life that's what I want
I don't want to have to go and and suffer God's you know anger and his
cursing and his chastisement I don't want that in my life you know I want
to obey and here's the thing you know I think a lot of people
sometimes they want that they understand it but they just they don't
seem to want to obey they did they just can't bring themselves to do it they
just want to keep going back to their sin back to their old ways and you
scratch your head you go why is that why I mean people understand this they know
this isn't a mystery they've heard the preaching they've read it themselves
they know this is the way it is with God I mean didn't Israel know I mean
they had they knew for sure especially this generation I mean they saw their
parents what happened when they were faithless when they had when they
disobeyed they saw I mean they understood this is how God is but still
people they get it but still it just seems like why is it they still
disobey why do they still choose sin why do they still choose to go down the
wrong path and suffer the consequences full knowing what you know what ends
at the light of what lay at the end of that path why do they do that
it's because I believe that true obedience it begins with love you know
you're gonna obey God when you love God and I think that's really at the
heart of it all I mean God wants us to obey but he wants to do it from a
plate because we want to out of a place of love I mean if you really love
somebody you're gonna want to please them you're gonna want to do those
things that that that are gonna bring their blessing upon you right and
that's why if you recall the greatest commandment is to what to
love the Lord thy God and that's what Jesus said there in Matthew
chapter 22 look at verse 34 but when the Pharisees had heard that he had put
the Sadducees to silence they were gathered together then one of them
which was a lawyer asked him a question tempting him and saying master which is
the great commandment in the law Jesus said on him thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy
mind this is the first and great commandment you know there's a reason
why that's the first commandment that's the great command that's the
greatest and commandment in the Bible is to love the Lord thy God because if
you don't get that down you're probably not gonna get the rest of them you're
probably not gonna obey the rest because it's not going to come from a
place of love you know and we can keep it up for a little while maybe you
know just well I get you know I know that's what God says so I'm just gonna
do it and just drag yourself through life being obedient that's not gonna
last because it's not coming from if we love it we're gonna we're gonna say
I love serving the Lord I love obeying God I love his commandments
they're a delight unto me I love God I love the blessings that obedience
brings to my life and who wouldn't love that the problem is we lose focus you
know we get short-sighted spiritually and we just choose the easy
because serving God and living for God and being obedient isn't always the
easiest thing to do and we give into the flesh and so on so forth so
forth so really our struggle to obey when you boil it all down stems from
a lack of love often you know so the moment so how do we fix that how do we
fix that lack of love maybe we've grown cold I mean it says in the light you
know the Bible says in the latter days the love of many the iniquity
shall abound why because the love of many shall grow cold you know the
disobedience the iniquity the sinfulness gets worse what when there's
a lack of love when that grows cold so how do we fix that if that's enough
if that's us if that's going on in our heart in our life so you know my my love
I am being a little disobedient you know I'm not keeping the things that I
the way I should I'm not walking after Lord the way I know I should you
know I do feel like I don't love the Lord the way I should how do you
fix that well I think really the best thing to do is just to stop and
meditate on how much God loves you you know that might fix that we
realize that this love this relationship with God is not one-way street it's
like we love God and that's it you know I don't care how much you love God
you'll never love him as much as God loves you so that might be one way to
kind of fix that if that's a struggle that we're going through is to
stop and think about the great love wherewith he loved us so when we when
we meditate upon that you know that might rekindle the love in our own
hearts and help us to live a life of obedience and therefore experience the
blessing of God and not his curse let's go ahead and pray dear Lord again
thank you for the promises of the Word of God Lord that we can be blessed
and Lord thank you for the warnings in the Word of God that there is a
curse that awaits the disobedient Lord help us to be people that will obey
you and and know your blessing and Lord if our hearts have grown cold Lord I
pray that you would help us to remember how much you love us Lord that we
might learn to love you in return and to obey you so that you can rejoice
over us and Lord we just praise you and thank you keep us safe as we go
and we just again thank you for this time together in Christ's name amen