Messages
Deuteronomy 5 |
| Posted by Administrator (charlie) on Feb 16 2009 |
- Introduction
How often do we need to remind ourselves to do something? Our family has a running joke that we like to do. Either
We even use reminders in churches for instance, when we ordain someone to the ministry, we usually have a service that reminds the new ordinand about his responsibilities and that reminds the church of their responsibility to the newly ordained preacher.
- Describing the Biblical Text
A reminder is exactly what we have here in this text.
Moses is reminding the people of the commands of God as they approach the Promised Land.
Moses is recounting the content of the Ten Commandments with an updated context as the people are approaching the promise of God to be revealed in them.
Moses also recounted to the people the mystical circumstances
- Narrate the Contextual application
As the people are reminded of the law, it is to prepare them for the lives to follow.
There is much work to be done in terms of them entering into the conquest and settlement phase of their history.
Why would a reminder of the Law be important?
It is important because they are going to be the people of God.
They are going to be the testimony of God in a land that He will give them to possess.
- Life Application (thesis)
Are we ready to be that testimony of God right here?
Are we as adept at understanding the word of God as we need to be?
We put a pastor in the pulpit for a reason and that is to fulfill what we find in Ephesians
Without that the body would fail to grow and the people would stagnate.
The pastor/teacher’s job is to equip the saints.
He does this through the preaching and teaching of God’s word.
The people of God need regular reminders of God’s word.
- SO WHAT!! (Outline)
In light of this fact, we will see 3 reasons necessitating these reminders.
The first of these reasons is that the word of God is timeless.
That word timeless gets thrown around a lot.
We see it in great sports moments.
People thought it was a timeless moment when Dale Earnhardt won the Daytona 500. But truthfully, it was just another car race and he was just another driver.
Some people thought it was a timeless moment when the Duke blue devils won the 1992 NCAA championship but they were just players on a team with another coach on the bench.
In reality, there was nothing timeless about the moment.
Some people are expecting the Super bowl tonight to be a timeless moment. But in reality is will just be two teams playing another football game. The real tragedy is that there are thousands of people claiming to be followers of Christ all over the country who will forsake the assembling of themselves to open God’s word tonight because of a football game.
But you know what, God’s word is timeless.
The apostle Peter quoting Isaiah 40 wrote this, “All flesh is like grass, And all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls off, But the word of the Lord endures forever.”
God spoke to the people at
The Ten Commandments became a new covenant with the people.
Look at verse 3.
Moses is reminding the people of
He is affirming that the word shared those hundreds of years before though was as valid for the patriarchs as the word that was just given some 38 years before at
This Bible that I preach is still the word of God today just like it was when it was preached here 38 years ago.
This word has not changed and it is still God’s word for today.
Without this book we cannot be equipped to the work of ministry and without this book, God’s sheep cannot learn to reproduce more sheep.
The fact that this book is timeless should also encourage us to know that if God could do a work in the past, He can do a work now.
If he can give us a vital ministry in 1988 or 1997, he can give us vitality in ministry now because just like His word doesn’t change, neither does he change.
He is a loving merciful God who has called His people to be about His work.
The admonition of the apostle Paul to work out your salvation with fear and trembling was a call to the work of God and His gospel.
It was call to work in the body of Christ with grumbling and without dissention.
How can the lost come to Christ if they see the church in an uproar.
God is faithful and His word is faithful but are we?
The next reason we see is this:
Whereas the word of God is timeless, the work of God is for today.
We minister in a different context than we did even 10 years ago
One of our members was telling me just this week that we are not in a neighborhood that is as conducive to reaching people as it was a number of years ago.
But what that really means is that we have to change the way we think about doing ministry.
Context is very important.
I want you to look at verse 12
This is the reiteration of keeping the Sabbath but it is different from the way it was given on
The difference was in the context of keeping the Sabbath.
Here they are to keep it because God delivered them from
The activity of God became a factor in their current context.
Ministry works much the same way.
Once the Babylonian Captivity was over, God didn’t send any more prophets to ward the people of Idolatry.
He then needed to ward them about social justice and selfishness because Idolatry passed from the scene with the Mede-Persian Empire’s conquering of
Yet God did continue to speak to His people
He did continue to remind them of His word and His expectations of them.
Even in context, the word of God should be prompting us to the work of God.
What is our context?
What are we seeing God do here?
If you can’t answer that question try this question.
What is God doing in my life right now?
I will say this.
What we see God doing in His church is not a reflection of anything other than what He is doing in our lives.
If our lives are not fruitful for God thenour church will not be either.
That is why the people of God were given the law.
They were instructed to honor God by faithfulness where they were.
Next week we will see how that translates to our love for God.
Now for our third reason, the wisdom of God is a testimony.
When people see us being obedient and then they see the Lord at work in the life of the church or in this case, the Israelites, it is a testimony to His faithfulness.
But God can only be seen as faithful when we are faithful to Him.
But if we look at this text, we see a people overwhelmed in the Holy presence of God.
Most of us would shudder to think of what it would be to be overwhelmed by God.
I want that
I want to know that feeling of an imminent explosion of holiness because I am so overwhelmed in the presence of God.
I want to hear the shouts and I want to see the miracles.
I want to experience the presence of God in my life like I never have before.
They heard His voice out of the smoke and were so overwhelmed by it they told Moses go get the lowdown and bring us the news.
We can’t take it.
I wonder if we at LABC could take it.
I wonder if we would want it.
2000 years ago a transaction took place on a cross that purchased the salvation of God’s people.
If we want to know the presence of God, we have to know the person of His son Jesus
All have sinned
Wages of sin is death
But as many as received Him
Today may be the only chance you get.
Last changed: Mar 23 2009 at 2:38 PM
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