TODAY’S READING IN THE ONE YEAR BIBLE:
MARCH 25- Deuteronomy 4:1-49; Luke 6:39-7:10; Psalm 68:1-18; Proverbs 11:28
DON’T FORGET THE PRIVILEGES OF GOD’S GRACE
The opening speech of Moses concludes with the injunction to remember the privileges of God’s grace in their history. God had pledged Himself to be in a ‘covenant relationship’ with them. He would be their God and they would be His people.
DON’T FORGET HIS DELIVERANCES AND HIS DISCIPLINE
He heard their cry and delivered them from their bondage. He called them to be a royal priesthood and a holy nation. Their failures were matched with His discipline and promise. Because of His love for them He would teach them of His holiness and through them create the infrastructure for His plan of salvation that would be a blessing to all the nations.
DON’T FORGET HIS PROVEN FAITHFULNESS TO HIS PROMISE
Israel’s history is a Divine One, and thereby unique among all the nations. Its history is inexplicable without reference to the God of glory, Yahweh, who called Abram, promising him a Seed and a Land. This foreshadows the promise of the King and the Kingdom; the Messiah as the promised Seed and a Holy Place, a Land that will be filled with the Light of the Holiest of All.
The scope of these promises continues to enlarge as history unfolds. The Seed of the woman that crushes the serpents head, destroys the work of the devil (sin), defeats the enemy of death is also the Seed of Abraham that will bless all the nations of the earth with His gospel. The little tabernacle in the wilderness will enlarge into a larger temple. The Seed will come as the Lamb and Priest. The veil will be torn as He enters the true tabernacle in heaven. The light of His glory will spread to include the court of the Gentiles, thus birthing a new temple, the church. The church as a habitation for God by the Holy Spirit will be the expression of the body of Christ on earth. It will function as the people of the New Covenant, manifesting the fullness of Him that fills all in all. At the consummation of the age, the head of the church, Jesus Christ will return as Judge and King, appearing a second time for salvation, without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. And the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of His glory as the waters cover the sea! Behold He makes all things new!
DON’T FORGET: THE UNIQUENESS OF ISRAEL IS A TESTIMONY TO THE EXISTENCE OF GOD.
MOSES CHALLENGES HIS HEARERS TO CONSIDER THREE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS:
“Indeed, ask now concerning the former days which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and inquire from one end of the heavens to the other.
1. Has anything been done like this great thing, or has anything been heard like it?
2. Has any people heard the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire, as you have heard it, and survived?
3. Or has a god tried to go to take for himself a nation from within another nation by trials, by signs and wonders and by war and by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm and by great terrors, as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
The answers to these three questions remain the same throughout human history. No.
DON’T FORGET THE PRIVILEGE OF GOD’S SELF-REVELATION
· [v.35] "To you it was shown that you might know that the Lord, He is God; there is no other besides Him.
· [v. 36] "Out of the heavens He let you hear His voice to discipline you;
· and on earth He let you see His great fire, and you heard His words from the midst of the fire.
· [v. 37] "Because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them. And He personally brought you from Egypt by His great power, [38] driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in and to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is today.
· [v.39] "Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.
DON’T FORGET HIS LAW
The truth is that we do forget. This is not just a weakness of the mind; it is the propensity of the heart. It is the result of sin and it is a wrong done to God.
Memory is a non-moral faculty of the soul. There is a consciousness that will outlive the data machine, the gray matter of the brain that will be buried with our bodies. The spiritual memory must be trained, exercised and used. One of the greatest forces for good is to discipline ourselves to keep certain facts in mind. Some things are worth forgetting. Others we must not fail to remember. Be renewed in the “spirit of your mind (Ephesians 4:23).
In His mercy, God calls us to remember Him. The Book of Deuteronomy, the Second Law, is a Repetition of the First Law, and a Renewing of the initial covenant commitment. We need to continually revisit the Word of God by hearing it, reading it, studying, memorizing, meditating and celebrating it in psalms, hymns, spiritual songs and vigorous discussion.
Deut. 4:23 "So watch yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which He made with you, and make for yourselves a graven image in the form of anything against which the Lord your God has commanded you.
Moses reminds the Israelites that central to their history is God’s self revelation.
He is Holy. this means that all of His attributes are in a category of perfection all its own. He is all powerful, all knowing and everywhere present. Yet He is invisible. No visible form had been granted to them in His communication, even in the fire and in the burning bush. We are later exhorted by the Apostle Paul, not to know Jesus, God-Incarnate, after the flesh, as if He were anything less than the Infinite Creator God (2 Cor. 5:14-16).
We are not to make for ourselves any idols. We are to delight in Him, the Creator, above all creation. We are to honor His power above all powers. And no created thing should hold any power over us!
The speech transitions to the Second Articulation of the Law.
Deut. 4:40 "So you shall keep His statutes and His commandments which I am giving you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may live long on the land which the Lord your God is giving you for all time."
THE NAMES OF THREE OF THE SIX CITIES OF REFUGE
Moses introduces the Law in verse 44. But before he does he appoints the three cities of Refuge that will be on the east side of the Jordan (the side on which they are currently camping).
Remember these Cities of Refuge point to the Refuge we have in Christ:
1. BEZER- meaning FORTRESS. (A mighty fortress is our God and bulwark never failing!- Luther)
2. RAMOTH- meaning EXALTATION; Christ became lower than the angels that He migt be exalted and lift us up to a position above the angels. As our mediator He is seated at the right hand of the Father and we share this position as those who are seated together in heavenly places “in Him”.
3. GOLAN- means JOY. He is our exceeding Joy. JESUS is the JOY of YAHWEH (Neh. 8:10). In His presence is fullness of joy.
When we are accused by the Law let us flee to HIM who is our REFUGE, OUR FORTRESS, WHOSE BLOOD PLEADS THAT OUR SIN HAS BEEN PAID FOR ON HIGH, WHERE HE OUR ADVOCATE IS EXALTED ON OUR BEHALF. HE WHO IS OUR JOY has made us sit together in the heavenly places where we are forever safe in Him.
Let us also take to heart Deut. 4:2 which I will summarize: Don’t edit the Word. Just do it!
NEW TESTAMENT READING: Luke 6:39-7:10
Jesus includes a number of illustrations of hypocrisy in the Sermon on the Mount.
The word ‘hypocrite’ means a person who pretends to be someone or something he is not. In Greek dramas the actors wore large expressive masks that could be seen clearly at a distance. It is a compound word to describe an actor who is ‘hupo’, ‘underneath’ a ‘krities’, a ‘mask’ or ‘assumed character’.
JESUS GIVES SEVEN DESCRIPTIONS OF A HYPOCRITE:
1. (v. 39) A blind man wearing the mask portraying a character who has perfect vision. When the blind lead the blind both fall into the ditch! Hypocrites are those who assume positions of leadership without the eyes of their heart’s understanding being enlightened by Christ.
2. (v. 40) A student wearing the mask portraying that he is the teacher. He assumes superiority over his teachers. He puts himself above the teacher but is not prepared to function and suffer as a teacher. (True disciples are teachable).
3. (v. 41-42) A man with a beam in his eye who pretends to be an eye-doctor. Those who point out the faults of others while neglecting the fact that their perceptions are affected by their own faults to which they are blinded.
4. (v. 43-45) A thorn bush that pretends to be a fig tree. Trees bring forth fruit true to their nature. A tree that professes to have a new nature (a good heart) yet produces bad fruit is a pretender;
5. (v. 45) A person who professes to have good treasure but brings forth evil treasure. The parable of the treasures of the heart is another illustration of the fact that what is in our heart, and what our heart treasures most, will be revealed by our behavior and speech.
6. (v.46) Someone who says “Lord, Lord” yet does not do what He (Jesus) says.
7. (v. 47-49) A foolish man who builds his house upon the sand.
Jesus concludes the Sermon on the Mount by saying those who hear him will go to whatever length necessary (dig deep) to:
1. Come to Him (v. 47)
2. Hear His Words
3. Act on Them
Those who do so will find salvation through every storm including the great tsunami of the final judgment (the torrent) (Verse 48). Those who don’t come to Him, don’t hear His words, and don’t act on them (though they may pretend to do so) shall experience immediate collapse at the judgment and great ruin.
THE CENTURION
There is only one man that Jesus is ever said to have marveled at. He was not Abraham, Joseph, Daniel, Moses, or David. He was not one of his disciples. In fact, he wasn’t even from Israel.
Jesus had just taught about loving your enemy. The enemies of the Jews were the Romans.
Now, after completing his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus heads to Capernaum to be greeted by some Jewish elders who brought the report of a Roman centurion whose beloved slave was sick and about to die. The elders said that this Roman centurion was unique. He loved the Jews and built a synagogue for them. He loved his slave and would not leave his side. He knew Jesus could help.
When Jesus was not far from the house, friends of the centurion came to Jesus with this message.
"Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to come under my roof; for this reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I, too, am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, 'Go!' and he goes; and to another, 'Come!' and he comes; and to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does it." (Luke 7:6b-8)
Jesus, according to Luke, “marveled at him”. He had not even seen the Roman centurion. But he was already struck by his written testimony! The centurion understood who Jesus was. He understood His authority and was humbly submitting to it.
“Jesus marveled at him”. Both Luke and Matthew use the Greek word for amazement, ‘thaumazo’. The only other time it is used to describe a response of Jesus is in Mark 6, when Jesus is AMAZED at the UNBELIEF of those in his hometown of Nazareth (Mark 6:6).
How unlikely it was that this man would get this response from the Son of God. He was a Gentile, with most likely a pagan upbringing. He was a Roman stationed in Palestine. He was subject to the Emperor who was worshiped by the Romans as God. He was a man of war. Centurions had to distinguish themselves in their fighting skills. He had a knowledge of human authority and the Holy Spirit caused him to recognize Divine Authority.
By a miracle of grace, God had opened his heart and given him faith to submit himself to Christ.
Jesus not only performed miracles, He watched miracles. He responds with rejoicing when He recognizes the miracle of the Father giving people the revelation of Who He is (Luke 10:21). He honors the Father when people confess that Jesus is the Christ (Matthew 16:18). Jesus recognizes what is behind the mask of our lives. He looks beyond the Roman garb and sees the heart of a believer in the God of Abraham. He does not look upon the outward man but looks upon the heart. He recognizes true humility, faith, hope and love that only a miracle of grace can place there.
May the quality of our response to Christ bring Him delight today.
PRAY FOR THE NATIONS: CAMEROON (p.189-192, OPERATION WORLD Prayer Guide)
Answer to Prayer
The growth of evangelicals. Most of the recent growth is through localized church planting, particularly among newer Pentecostal denominations.
Cameroon faces internal forces that could disable the nation. Cameroon is blessed with material resources, relative stability and diversity; these all have their costs and risks.
a) Widespread and deeply entrenched corruption, for decades, has crippled Cameroon’s economic and political progress. This blight runs deep in government administration, the police, the legal system and business. Anti-corruption initiatives (done at the behest of the international bodies that hand out loans and forgive interest on debts) have made some progress, but a deeper change of attitudes must occur. Pray that those stealing from the nation would be caught and stopped; pray also for a change in people’s lax attitude toward and acceptance of corruption.
b)Deep divisions of language, politics and faith are all potential flashpoints of tension and violence. Cameroon is divided between French and English regions, between Christian, Muslim and traditional religions, between government cronies and increasingly frustrated opposition. Pray for God to raise up reconcilers and peacemakers in this divided land.
c) Integrity in leadership will make a difference if even just a few key people speak, act and live with integrity. Pray for leaders who will be examples of righteousness and transparency rather than perpetuators of the status quo.
The spiritual poverty of the churches is the country’s greatest tragedy. Nominal Christianity is a bigger problem in Cameroon than in most of Africa. Early work has been compromised with liberation theology. Tribalism, pagan practices, alcoholism and low moral standards are endemic. Pray for deep repentance, lasting deliverance and true revival and pray for a restoration of Bible reading, preaching and holiness among Christians.
Pastor David
So, naturally, we proclaim Christ! We warn everyone we meet, and we teach everyone we can, all that we know about him, so that, if possible, we may bring every man up to his full maturity in Christ. (Colossians 1:28, J.B. Phillips paraphrase)
New Life Community Church, Concord, MA 10742
Meeting Sundays at 10:30 AM at the Emerson Umbrella for the Arts, 40 Stow Street, Concord MA
Mailing Address: Post Office Box Five, Concord, MA 01742
Church Offices: 35 Bypass Rd. Lincoln, MA 01773 978-369-0061
Home Office: 978-371-3176
New Life Fine Arts
"Theater you can believe in."
