Keep & Do, Trust & Obey | Sunday, February 14, 2021

Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers. And He will love you and bless you and multiply you... You shall be blessed above all peoples. (Deuteronomy 7:12–14)

At every transition point stand giants we must face—and a God who calls us to continual trust and obedience.

An Anniversary and a Transition Point

Happy Valentine's Day, and welcome to our broadcast for February 14th, 2021. February 14th is a bit of an anniversary for me, and it's fitting that it lands on a Sunday. Twenty-two years ago today, on Sunday, February 14th, 1999, I stood before a group of people for the first time—a group of junior highers—to teach through the Scriptures. I had taught some small Bible studies before, but that was the first Sunday morning service I ever taught. I got up and taught out of Paul's letter to the Galatians.

Now, 22 years later, I can't begin to express how grateful I am that my first message in Galatians 1 was not recorded—certainly not recorded like this one is. When I stood to teach that day, I could never have imagined that I'd eventually be the senior pastor of that same church, or that I would be preaching to you over a thing called YouTube.

Think about it. Twenty-two years ago there was no social media. MySpace didn't begin until around 2002. There was no Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, or TikTok. Google was hardly a thing. AOL was still a big deal—remember all those AOL CDs in the mail? We weren't even really sending text messages yet. And the major fear dominating the news that year was Y2K. Some of you may still have a generator and food rations rotting in your garage from that whole debacle.

Numbering Our Days

For some people, anniversaries are just another date on a calendar. But I think they are helpful waypoints. It's wise to look back from an anniversary and to look forward. Moses, the preacher giving the message we've been studying in Deuteronomy, is thought to have also written Psalm 90:

The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years... So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

A long-ish life averages between 70 and 80 years, and it is wise to keep a good accounting of the time we've lived and the time we have left. Thinking back over the last 22 years, I was reminded that certain points are inflection or transition points. The move from 1999 to 2000 was one of those. There was fear that computers couldn't make the transition and everything would shut off—but Y2K turned out to be a Y2 dud.

Moving from 2019 into 2020 was another major transition. Interestingly, the chaos of 2020—COVID and politics—is more like what people expected might happen with Y2K. We're still in the weirdness of it, at another inflection point. What will life be like three or five years from now? None of us can definitively answer that. I'm not a prophet. But I'm praying for good outcomes, and I'm sure you are too.

Israel at the Border of Blessing

Thirty-four hundred years ago, Moses stood before the children of Israel at a critical transition. They had spent 40 years in the wilderness and were now preparing to enter the promised land. There was a mixture of excitement and fear, anticipation and dread. The beautiful promised land lay just across the Jordan, but it wasn't entirely clear what would befall them as they crossed.

Thirty-eight years before, Israel had sent 12 spies into the land. They reported a great and beautiful land overflowing with abundance, just as God had promised—but also fortified cities, entrenched tribal groups, and even giants. At that report, the people were dispirited, discouraged, and demoralized. That's nothing new. At every point of transition, there are factors that can discourage us from taking the ground God wants us to take.

But faith requires that we move forward. We started studying Deuteronomy about a year ago with a series called "Bordering Blessing," and that's where Israel is again—at the same place they were 38 years earlier. The giants are still in the land. The fortified cities, the entrenched tribes—none of it has disappeared. Their parents died in the wilderness and never tasted the fruit of the blessing because they lacked faith and would not obey the voice of the Lord. Faith and obedience are key at this transition point.

A Life of Continual Trust and Obedience

Once you've trusted the Lord and obeyed Him once, that doesn't mean you never have to do it again. You don't tick it off the box and say, "I'm done with that." The life of the child of God is to be one of continual trust and obedience. For Israel 3,400 years ago and for us today, that is true. The life that experiences God's presence and tastes His blessing is the life lived in continual trust in God and obedience to His word.

The book of Deuteronomy defines God's covenant with Israel. It lays out the history of their relationship and establishes the terms going forward. God is clear: here are the stipulations of our covenant. If you know them, keep them, and do them, then I will continue in covenant relationship with you, be merciful, show you my love, and bless you above all peoples. But the requirement was their trust and obedience.

Separated and Set Apart

That trust and obedience would be seen in Israel's complete separation from the foreigners around them and their total consecration to God.

You shall make no covenant with them nor show them mercy. Nor shall you make marriages with them... For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. (Deuteronomy 7:2, 6)

The whole of Deuteronomy is filled with strong language like this. Moses keeps driving the point because of the very real danger of Israel departing from their trust and obedience. There was no danger of God being unfaithful to His promise—but the entire Old Testament is a repetitive story of Israel's unfaithfulness and disobedience. If you keep and do these judgments, the Lord will maintain His covenant and blessing. But if you do not, you will reap the consequences. Your blessings will turn to curses.

Standing Before a Holy God Without Mercy

...the anger of the Lord will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly. (Deuteronomy 7:4)

This is heavy language. The same anger of the Lord that would expel Israel's enemies before them would turn against Israel if they were unfaithful. It's a sobering, frightening image of God. And it's worth noting that this is what it looks like to live before a perfectly holy and righteous God without mercy. That's what the Old Testament is—a picture of standing before a perfect, holy God and having no mercy.

Thankfully, that's not our experience. We are blessed under the New Covenant to be found in Christ, and in Christ we receive grace upon grace and mercy in abundance. But the Old Testament pictures life before that all-consuming fire God who, without mercy and grace, will consume His adversaries. Thank God we have mercy in Christ.

God had spoken to Abraham centuries before: "Walk before Me and be blameless" (Genesis 17:1). That was His call to Israel—keep my judgments and do them, and you'll be blessed; disobey, and you'll experience a curse. Can you see now why they had to be so serious about separating from the people around them?

Also you shall destroy all the peoples whom the Lord your God delivers over to you; your eye shall have no pity on them... You shall not be terrified of them; for the Lord your God, the great and awesome God, is among you. (Deuteronomy 7:16, 21)

The passage continues: God will drive them out little by little, deliver their kings into Israel's hand, and Israel is to burn their carved images and not covet the silver or gold on them, lest they be snared by it. Whether the strong destruction language here is hyperbolic or not—and I think there's evidence it may be—it is clear that God is very serious about the holiness of His people. He expected total faith, faithfulness, and obedience.

Blessing Dependent on Obedience

Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land. (Deuteronomy 8:1)

God's blessing upon Israel was completely dependent on their faith, faithfulness, and obedience. They would not experience His presence and blessing if they did not remain faithful. Look at the repeated emphasis:

You shall remember the Lord your God. (8:2) > Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. (8:6) > Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments... (8:11) > Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the Lord your God, and follow other gods... you shall surely perish... because you would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord your God. (8:19–20)

Israel's disobedience and unfaithfulness would invite God's displeasure and wrath. This is exactly what you see throughout the rest of the Old Testament, from Deuteronomy through Malachi. If they remained in that place of trust and obedience, they would experience God's presence and blessing. If they departed, the curses of the command would come upon them.

How Much Better the New Covenant Is

At this point, I hope you realize just how much better the New Covenant is than the Old. That really is one of the points of the Old Testament story—it should make us constantly desire a new and better covenant that doesn't depend upon our faithfulness and obedience as the Old did. The New Covenant doesn't nullify the importance of faith and obedience, but the motivation is different. In Christ, our faith, faithfulness, and obedience are a response to God's lavish love and grace.

Another thing becomes clear as we study Deuteronomy: it lays a foundation for understanding the rest of the Old Testament, especially the prophets. For years we went through the New Testament epistles, using Acts as an outline. Now I want us, in the coming months and years, to go through some Old Testament books, especially the prophets. But it's hard to understand Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Micah, and Zephaniah without grasping Deuteronomy.

The prophets were basically preachers who understood the blessings of obedience and the judgments of disobedience from this book. They would look at the sinful condition of their nation and call the people to repent and turn back to God, lest they invite His wrath.

From Deuteronomy to Christ

Although we no longer live under this Deuteronomic system, it is still true that there are blessings for those who follow the truths and principles of God's law. We can look at our nation and the nations around us and say we are living in a way that, according to Scripture, is displeasing to God—and if we continue, we will experience the curses of disobedience. But whereas the Old Testament prophets said, "Repent and turn back to God," we should say, "Repent and turn to Christ for forgiveness and grace."

Here's the reality: it's not only that Israel's disobedience invited God's wrath. That is true for all humanity. Even if you are not Jewish or part of the nation of Israel, our disobedience and unfaithfulness invite God's displeasure and ultimately His wrath. Paul writes in Romans that the wrath of God will be revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness and ungodliness of those who suppress the truth.

Only in Christ is God's wrath satisfied. Second Corinthians 5:21 says, "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." Jesus took the sin of the world upon Himself and absorbed all of God's wrath for sin, so we could find refuge in Him. We justly deserve God's punishment, but in Christ we receive grace and forgiveness, because Jesus took God's punishment in our place. This is the whole point of passages like Deuteronomy and the prophets—the law and the prophets point us to our need for Christ.

An Invitation to Trust in Christ

I want to speak to those of you who have never put your faith in Jesus Christ. God's wrath will one day be poured out upon all unrighteousness, just as it was upon the Hittites and Canaanites of old, and upon Israel when they departed from the Lord. We are not safe from that wrath if we stand upon our own good works. They will never save us. But Jesus, the one who knew no sin, stood in our place, took our sin upon Himself, and died on the cross, absorbing God's wrath so we could find shelter in Him. He is our refuge.

If you've been trying to relate to God based on your good works, that will never be enough. The only way to be righteous before God is to be clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ by putting your trust in Him. First, admit you are a sinner—you may be better than your neighbor, but you're being judged against the perfection of Christ, and none of us will ever stand up to that. Then put your trust in Jesus, believing He died in your place. Then confess your sins to God in prayer, asking Him to save you.

If you'd like to do that today, pray with me, wherever you are: Dear Jesus, I recognize that I am a sinner. I recognize my need for You. I don't live up to Your perfect standard. I thank You that You died in my place on the cross, that You took all of God's wrath upon You so that I could be forgiven and receive mercy. I pray that You would forgive me of my sin, help me to follow You by faith, and give me salvation and refuge. In Jesus' name, amen.

If you prayed that prayer today, we would very much like to know about it. There's a web address on the screen where you can let us know about your faith in Christ. We'd love to be in contact with you, and if you don't have a Bible, we'd love to send one to you.

Shining as Lights

We're living in challenging times, and it's my prayer that things change for the better. But even if they don't, God desires that we, as followers of Jesus, would shine as bright lights in a dark world. We do that as we follow the Lord by faith, walk in obedience to His word, and share the good news of the gospel.

So I want to encourage you—members of Cross Connection Church and any follower of Jesus—to share the good news with those you work with, live next door to, and are related to who don't yet know it. Those who are trying, by their own merits, to live a "good life" will never live perfectly according to God's law. God never intended us to be saved by keeping His law. He intended His law—books like Deuteronomy—to reveal how far we are from Him, so we would call out to Him for salvation in Jesus Christ.

I'm going to pray something that might make you uncomfortable: that God would push you out of your comfort zone this week and give you an opportunity to speak with someone about the gospel. I'm also going to pray for boldness, just as God has emboldened His people throughout the centuries by the empowering of His Spirit.

Closing Prayer

Father, we pray as we close that You would open doors of opportunity to Your church. I pray for my brothers and sisters that You would give us an opportunity—whether standing by the mailbox getting the mail, or at work, or wherever we might be. Lord, give us an opportunity to share the good news of who You are, and I pray for boldness. Pour out Your Spirit upon Your church and enable us to be lights shining in a dark place. Make it impossible for us not to shine with Your love and grace and truth through the gospel.

Father, we thank You for Your Word, which is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword—breathed and inspired by You, useful for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, so that we would be equipped for every good work. Equip us, Your people, to do the work of the ministry, the work of sharing the good news. Help us to trust in You and to walk in obedience to Your Word. We work out our salvation with fear and trembling as You work in us to will and to do Your good pleasure. Do that work in Your church, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen.

And now the Lord bless you and keep you. May He make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May He lift up His countenance upon you and give you His peace. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of His Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.