Hear, Learn, Observe… & Live | Sunday, September 6, 2020

Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I teach you to observe, that you may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers is giving you. (Deuteronomy 4:1)

And Moses called all Israel, and said to them: "Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing today, that you may learn them and be careful to observe them." (Deuteronomy 5:1)

God's statutes and judgments are not ancient relics—they are the path to a flourishing life, and they point us to Christ.

Chaos at Such a Time as This

This is our 26th Sunday gathering for church online. We are living at a moment in our nation's history that feels chaotic—because it is chaotic. I knew this would be a year of chaos before it began, and I said so. Now, twenty-six weeks in, COVID-19 and the shutdowns are about five headlines down the news page. The latest chaos involves protests, riots, looting, fires, and shootings, and the political rhetoric on both sides is only just beginning. In all likelihood that rhetoric will generate even more chaos as we move toward November and beyond.

I'm not saying these things to add stress or to frighten you, but there's still more of 2020 ahead. It's as if we've gone through the beginning rapids of a whitewater rafting run and haven't even hit the hairy stuff yet.

The apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:15–16:

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

We need to be circumspect—aware, not ignorant; wise, not foolish—so that we can make the most of the opportunities God is giving us for His name's sake and His kingdom at such a time as this.

No Trial Is Unprecedented

At times like this we foolishly imagine these evil days are unique, as if we're the only ones to ever suffer chaos. We're not. That may not be encouraging, but it's worth acknowledging that "no trial has overtaken you except such as is common to man." In trying and tempting times, God is faithful and will not allow you to be tested beyond what you are able. Those words come from 1 Corinthians 10:13.

They may also sound familiar because they resemble a non-biblical saying Christians sometimes repeat: "God won't give you more than you can handle." That's not really biblical, but 1 Corinthians 10:13 is close—God will not allow you to be tested beyond what you are able to bear, and He will give you the sustaining power to overcome it. May the testing of your faith produce endurance, steadfastness, perseverance, and patience, so that on the other side of 2020 we come out more mature and more complete. That is my hope and prayer for you and for me.

Listen, Observe, and Live

We are in Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Bible, at the end of chapter 4 and about to enter chapter 5. I've called this series Statutes and Judgments. Moses, who gives this message 3,400 years ago, was in some respects a preacher just like me—he starts on a thought, gets sidetracked, talks about something else, and has to bring it back. That's basically been the whole fourth chapter.

We began this series back on June 28th, eleven weeks ago, and I've gotten a little sidetracked too. We haven't even reached the actual statutes and judgments, which are in chapter 5. But we're almost there, and there are important and good truths along the way—important because they help us know how to live this life in a right and godly way. And to live in a right and godly way is to live an abundant and prosperous life.

Let me say what I am not saying. Living according to the law of God will not save you from sin, but it will save you from a whole lot of pain, suffering, and brokenness in this life. Jesus is the only way to abundant, eternal life, and ultimately the law of God points you toward Him. But the statutes and judgments of God lead you into a prosperous, flourishing life of blessing here and now.

Three Words: Hear, Observe, Live

Rewind to Deuteronomy 4:1. There are three words to focus on. The first is listen—the Hebrew word shema. We'll talk more about it in chapter 6, but it doesn't only mean listen; it means hear, regard, care for, obey, understand, and heed.

The second word is observe. Moses says, "listen to the words that I teach you to observe." This isn't an ancient Near Eastern literature class. He taught these things so the people would apply them and work them into their lives.

The third word is live: to be preserved, to live well, to prosper, to continue safely, and to flourish. So let me ask you a question—do you want to flourish and prosper in life? If you're not answering yes, you're either not paying attention (remember the first word, listen) or you're being stubborn.

Obedience Brings Blessing

Observing and obeying God's commands brings blessing. We see it here in Deuteronomy, and in Joshua 1:7–8:

Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you... This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Notice "observe to do" used twice—the very words translated listen and observe in Deuteronomy 4:1. The result of listening, observing, and doing is a prosperous way and good success. Again, I'm not speaking of eternal salvation, but of temporal blessing.

Rejection Brings Cursing

What happens when you don't listen, observe, and do? Deuteronomy 28:15–22 says it plainly:

But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God... that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country... The LORD will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly...

Cursed shall you be in Portland; cursed shall you be in Chicago, Seattle, D.C., and New York City. King Solomon, one of the wisest men who ever lived, wrote in Proverbs 14:34, "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people."

Rejection of God's commands always results in affliction, shame, and ultimately judgment. For a very long time our nation has been progressively rejecting God's commands. We should not be surprised if we experience affliction, cursing, and shame. In a sense these are the judgment of God's neglect: if you are apathetic and indifferent toward God, don't be surprised if He is apathetic and indifferent toward you. From what I see in the Scriptures, we are exactly where you'd expect us to be in the West if we neglected and rejected God and His word.

Choose Life

We read in Deuteronomy 4:44–45 and 5:1 that Moses set the law before Israel so that they would "learn them and be careful to observe them." Later, at the very end of his message in chapter 30, Moses says:

See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil... therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.

Life and blessing are yours for the choosing. The whole of the Old Testament after Deuteronomy is effectively the laboratory in which these truths are tested—Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Chronicles—the peer-reviewed research of these things being proven. And all the Old Testament prophets are men who came to call Israel back to hearing and observing God's statutes and judgments as they experienced the curses of rejecting His law.

So I say to you today: no, we are not Israel, and no, we are not living under the old covenant of the law. But the blessings of obedience are as real in 2020 as they were when Moses spoke them 3,400 years ago, as true as when Isaiah rehearsed them in eighth-century-BC Jerusalem, and as right as when Jeremiah preached them in the sixth century BC.

The Real Answer for America

The answer for America is not a new vaccine, a new president, a new stimulus package, defunding the police, or destroying capitalism. Those things might make you feel better, but they won't remove the shame, affliction, and reproach of sin. Only God can do that, through His word and by His Son Jesus.

You could get rid of COVID-19, end the riots, restore race relations, boom the stock market, and have businesses hiring and growing—and we would still end up with shame, affliction, and reproach from sin without the working of God. We would just be back, as Pastor Mark spoke about last week, at the old normal, headed toward another time of chaos, confusion, and crisis.

The One-Word Message: Repent

When faced with chaos, confusion, and crisis, the prophets of old always had a simple one-word message for Israel: repent. That's the same message John the Baptist gave at the start of Jesus' gospel ministry—"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 3). It's the message Jesus began His ministry with in Matthew 4. It's the message that launched the ministry of the church in Acts 2:38. And it's the same thing I would say to you today.

No, we will never perfectly walk in line with God's commands, but it ought to be our aim. When we fail, we need to repent and turn to God in faith, seeking His forgiving grace and transforming power. That's what we need at this time in our nation and our world—the forgiving grace and transforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that He would transform us by the renewing of our minds, so our lives display His good and perfect will.

The Law Reflects God's Character

That good and perfect will is seen, in part, in the statutes and judgments of God, because His commands are the representation of His nature and character. He calls us through His law to live according to His nature.

As we get into Deuteronomy 5, we'll look at the Ten Commandments specifically. I want to encourage you to read through them this week and try to memorize them—and in an upcoming message I'll show you a very simple way to do so. Why memorize them? So that we would hide God's word in our hearts that we might not sin against Him. "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul." It transforms and purifies us. That is what the church of God needs, and it is what our nation and our world need today—the transforming power of God's word through God's Son, Jesus Christ.

Closing Prayer

Father, I pray that You would do a work in our hearts and minds, that our hearts would be open to receive Your word like the good seed it is, that it would go deep and do a work of transformation in us to make us more like You. May the people we interact with who don't know You—who don't go to church, or who have walked away from You—see our good works and begin to glorify You, our Father in heaven.

God, I pray for Your church, our church. Bring forth an abundance of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives—love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, self-control—all that honors and glorifies You and represents You well in this world. Do that work in us as we take time to study these things from the Scriptures. Lord, make us more like You. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.