A HABIT FIT FOR KINGS: THE IMPORTANCE OF DAILY BIBLE READING

Deuteronomy 16-17:20; Luke 9:7-27; Psalm 72:1-20; Proverbs 12:8-9

Today’s reading underscores the importance of daily Bible reading.

We are introduced to THE LAW REGARDING KINGS.

Moses predicts the time when Israel will give in to “King Envy”. During the time of the prophet Samuel they will want to have a King like all of the nations around them.

Here again we have an example of there being both a “will of command” and a "permissive will" in the sovereign will of God.

God had expressed His desire for a covenant relationship with Israel in which He would be their God and they would be His people. He was to reign over them in all things, but they rejected His will (Micah 4:9). 

God’s  “permissive will” is based on His what is foreknown of their future rejection of His "will of command" pertaining to kings, which will come to pass in the time of the prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 8).  

Therefore in Deuteronomy 17 God gives laws that will help Israel to see that His original plan for the Kingdom of God will not be thwarted by their disobedience (Deut 17:15-17).

In this section of Deuteronomy, Moses is given laws for the Anointed offices of "King” (Deut 17:14-20) "Priest" (Deut 18:1-12) and "Prophet" (Deut 18:14-27). These three offices will be combined in the Messiah, the Anointed One, who will restore the kingdom of God to man.

According to the law, the King will have the Word with Him always (Deut 17:1). The prophecy will be fulfilled in the One who embodies the Word, has the Word with Him at all times, as the Word made flesh (John 1:14-18); 

The Priest will stand and minister in the LORD’S name ALWAYS (Deut 18:5). This prophecy is fulfilled by Jesus whose ministry in not limited to a number of days because He ministers in the power of an incorruptible, indestructible life (Heb 7:3,17). 

The Prophet will be one to whom all are to listen and to whom ALL will one day be held accountable (Deut 18:19; Heb 1:1-3; John 5:25-30). The New Testament will make clear, with the witness of God the Father Himself, how Jesus is the fulfillment of Deuteronomy 18:15-19, the prophet like unto Moses to Whom all are commanded to listen! (Matthew 17:5).

"Behold a voice out of the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him!" Matthew 17:5 (NASB)

THE KING AND THE WORD

The King is commanded to write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll.  This was not something as easy a pressing a “print” command on a computer!  He is  commanded to read it all the days of His life (Deut 17:19). This was not a command for the priest, but for the head of state, the king!

The five stated benefits for this daily intake of God’s written word were:

·         That he may learn to fear the LORD his God (a heart of worship)

·         That he might put into practice all the words of this law and these statutes (a heart of obedience)

·         That his heart may not be lifted up above his countrymen (a heart of humility)

·         That he may not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or the left (a heart of discernment)

·         That he and his sons may continue long in his kingdom in the midst of Israel (a heart of peaceful assurance)

There is a great benefit to reading the Word, hearing the Word, writing the Word, meditating upon it, discussing it and practicing it with fresh obedience. 

The priests were to hold the king accountable for writing a copy of the word, having it with him, and reading it all the days of His life (Deut 17:18)

A future king, David, wrote in the Psalms:

¹¹ Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You. Psalm 119:11 (NASB).

Later we will see how King David, Solomon and others failed to keep the law of kings. There is a king who takes these laws to heart, and an even greater king, the King of kings, who fulfills them perfectly.

Our reading today in Psalm 72 relates well to the subject of the king’s relationship to the Word of God:

¹ Give the king Your judgments, O God, And Your righteousness to the king's son. ² May he judge Your people with righteousness And Your afflicted with justice.
Psalm 72:1-2 (NASB)

Other highlights from today’s reading in the Old Testament are:

GOD’S COMMAND TO CELEBRATE JOYFULLY

God wants to have His children joyful. And we need to know where our joy comes from. The Feasts of the Lord remind us of this.

The three seasons of celebration highlighting three great reasons for rejoicing are:

·         The Spring Festivals- (Passover, Unleavened Bread, First-fruits) the finished work of Christ

·         The Harvest Festival (Pentecost)- the gift of the Holy Spirit

·         The Autumn Festivals  (Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Tabernacles) – our blessed hope, the second coming of Christ

These feasts are designed to prompt their memory with the joys of their experience of redemption, provision and their promised destiny, a hope and a future.

Our joy comes from the One who purged us from the leaven of Adam’s sin and was sacrificed as our Passover.

⁷ Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. 1 Corinthians 5:7 (NASB)

Jesus was raised from the dead on the day after the Sabbath that followed the Passover, the Feast of the First-fruits

Our joy comes from the Holy Spirit. We rejoice that our salvation is mediated to us by the Holy Spirit. He regenerates us, sanctifies us and when that sanctification is completed at the return of Christ, will glorify us.

The Feast of Pentecost is Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, coming  a week (7) of weeks, 49 days, after the Feast of Firstfruits (Resurrection Sunday).- It was a celebration of the ingathering of the early barley harvest, the first fruit of what was sown in the earth. (Deut 16:10-11; 1 Cor 15:20). We died in Adam. We are risen in Christ! 

²⁰ But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹ For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 1 Corinthians 15:20-21 (NIV)

Shavuot also commemorated the giving of the Law at Sinai and the laws to leave crops for the poor and foreigners (Gentiles).  How fitting that the Holy Spirit was given at Pentecost to write the law of God on our hearts and to extend the gospel to the nations.

Our joy comes from the Father who has ordained a plan for redemption, a new creation and glorious consummation. THE AUTUMN FESTIVALS- give us reason to rejoice in the hope of the gospel- the second coming of Christ- the Feast of Trumpets (the summoning of the saints to reign with Christ), the Day of Atonement (the appearance of the Lamb who was slain to satisfy the claims of Justice and God’s heart of mercy), and the Feast of Tabernacles (Rev 21:3).

³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, Revelation 21:3 (NASB)

THE PLACE THAT THE LORD CHOOSES

It is important again to note the repetition of the phrase “in the place the LORD your God chooses”.  We have already learned that this phrase points to Christ crucified, risen and glorified.

It is important to remember that YAHWEH JIRAH was a name given to a geographical place. It is not specifically the name of God but a place named by God which contains His Name.  It was the place of the altar where the father (Abraham) would place his son (Isaac) as a self-sacrificial offering of obedience given in faith of God’s power to raise him from the dead in order to fulfill his promise (bring forth a nation) (Gen 22:1-14).

It is ‘the place of which God had told him’ (Gen 22:9). It is the place where “God Himself will provide the lamb” (Genesis 22:8).

God speaks to Abraham of “one of the mountains of which I will tell you”. (Genesis 22:3)

Throughout the Bible God tells of this mountain. The place where Abraham offered Isaac, from that time named, “Yahweh Jireh” is the same place that David purchased for the temple, the threshing floor of Araunah (2 Sam 24). It is the same place where God Himself would provide the sacrifice of His Son upon the altar, as Jesus is crucified on Golgotha, the Place of the Skull, on Mt. Calvary (pictured here).

“The place the Lord would choose to establish His Name” (Deut 16:5, 11) would be on the mountains of Moriah. ‘Moriah’ literally means, ‘seen of God’. We might translate it, “center stage”. God has the gospel on “center stage” throughout the Bible. It is there that we learn of Jesus Christ and His cross and the gift of the Holy Spirit given at Jerusalem, the city on the hill.  It is there that Jesus Christ will return as the trumpet sounds, as Israel looks upon the one who was pierced and repents (Zech 12:10). It is there that Jesus will establish His kingdom.

In 628 BC when Josiah discovered the Book of Deuteronomy and read these passages, he was convicted of his sin. In deep repentance he put into practice these laws (2 Kings 23:1-25).

When King Josiah called for the celebration of the Passover in his eighteenth year of rule, it is recorded that he celebrated the Passover.

²² Surely such a Passover had not been celebrated from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and of the kings of Judah. ²³ But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was observed to the LORD in Jerusalem. 2 Kings 23:22-23 (NASB)

²⁵ Before him there was no king like him who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him. 2 Kings 23:25 (NASB)

THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE

The laws of God call for justice. People are to be guaranteed a fair trial with established witnesses with testimonies determined to be reliable. No one is to be put to death on the evidence of only a single witness (Deut. 17:6).

To help ensure that correct verdicts are rendered, appeals can be made to the appointed Levitical priest of judge.

The terms of the verdict are to be declared “from the place which the Lord chooses”. We should seek to reflect the mind of God’s chosen One, the Lord Jesus, in all of our decisions.

NEW TESTAMENT READING: Luke 9:7-27

Jesus was becoming a hot topic of discussion, even in palaces. Herod the tetrarch was concerned that he had another John the Baptist on his hands, and made efforts to see Him (Luke 9:9).

 Jesus continues to preach about the kingdom of God and fulfilling the prophecies about the Messiah curing those who had need of healing. 

Once again they are faced with the problem of what to do with the crowd, who by this time, late in the afternoon, would be needing food and perhaps lodging (9:12).

Jesus challenges the disciples to give the people something to eat (9:13). Other gospel accounts bring out that Jesus already knew what He was going to do, but was testing the disciples. They took into account what food was at hand (5 loaves and 2 fish) and what was in the treasury (200 denarii).  But they knew it was insufficient to feed 5000 men plus women and children.

Jesus takes the existing supply of 5 loaves and 2 fish and he looks to heaven, he blesses them with thanksgiving and breaks them. A previously non-existent supply is created.  God has a way to meet the need- Christ.  It makes no differences the amount of people in the crowd, money in the kitty, or food at hand. Obey Christ and the will of God will be done.

The seating of the crowds in groups of fifty remind us of Pentecost and communities of the Holy Spirit. God has a plan to meet our needs. And that plan is to gather us into local churches where His miraculous provisions can be administered if we adopt a position of rest- to be seated- assured of our position in Christ and our provisions coming from Christ’s hand.

Satisfaction is the result felt by all. There is even enough for ‘take home’ bags for each of the twelve disciples!

JESUS PREDICTS HIS DEATH, RESURRECTION AND OUR EXPERIENCE OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND A PERSONAL CROSS.

We are at that turning point in the ministry of Jesus that takes place at Caesarea Philippi (See Matthew 16).  The Father gives His disciples more revelation as to Jesus being the Christ, the Anointed King, Priest and Prophet, the Son of the Living God (Luke 9:20).  Jesus postpones all “Go and tell” commands till after His resurrection.  The disciples hear about the cross but they were not able to understand it (Luke 9:22).

 How true that is in our lives. Until the Holy Spirit opens the eyes of our heart’s understanding we cannot begin to comprehend the cross or the kingdom of God.

Jesus gives this statement that underscores the fact that it is only through identification with Christ and His finished work on the cross, accepting our death in His, that we can have life.

We must relinquish our old life in Adam with its insistence on self-redemption, self-advancement, self, self, self. If we attempt to preserve this life, we will lose out on real life, which is fellowship with God.

²³ And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. ²⁴ "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. ²⁵ "For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?
Luke 9:23-25 (NASB)

Jesus says that there are some among the hearers who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God. Jesus is pointing to the experience of regeneration by the power of the Holy Spirit that enables us to “see” and “enter” the kingdom of God (John 3:3,5).

PRAY FOR THE NATIONS- CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

Geography

 

Area: 622,436 sq km

The Central African Republic is a landlocked state in Africa’s geographical center. There is variation of terrain from tropical forest in the southwest to semi-desert in the northeast.

Population: 4,505,945    Annual Growth: 1.90%

Capital: Bangui

Official language: French and Sango (the trade language used by most of the population)    Languages: 82

Answer to Prayer

Solid foundations are laid for developing a national-level strategy for mission and evangelism that spans denominational and organizational lines. The potential for massive church growth and consolidation exists; there is a growing interest among the churches for evangelism to unreached people groups.

Challenge for Prayer

 The physical human needs of CAR are immense. The seemingly endless series of coups and counter-coups devastated the economy and infrastructure. Pray for the following needs:

a) Peace and stability, particularly in the north and east. Constant uprisings and banditry grind down the already poor and blight the government’s efforts to restore the infrastructure. Anarchy continues to reign in the north of the country, and hundreds of thousands have fled their homes in the past few years. Pray that banditry and chaos might not prevail and that a strong and just central government can establish peace throughout the country.

b) The economy. The nation, although blessed with vast mineral resources, is weak economically. Pray that the government might bring to bear a wise hand in increasing wealth that enriches the entire nation and not just a privileged few.

c) Unemployment. Pray for the emergence of employment opportunities for the many without work. Pray for the emergence of Christian businessmen who will be agents of transformation in the economic and spiritual spheres.

d) Health. CAR is another nation increasingly devastated by AIDS; HIV rates peaked at 15% of the adult population infected, although now reduced to 6%. Life expectancy is dropping year by year. Pray for programs and ministries to combat not only HIV/AIDS but also diseases that come about from malnourishment, lack of clean water, faulty hygiene and poverty.

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

www.newlife.org

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."

www.newlifefinearts.org

THE CALL FOR DISCERNMENT

TODAY’S READING FROM THE ONE YEAR BIBLE

MARCH 30 Deuteronomy 13-15:23; Luke 8:40-9:6; Psalm 71:1-24; Proverbs 12:5-7

Moses predicts that there will be false prophets and dreamers ready to deceive the Israelites with powerful signs and wonders when they enter Canaan. According to Moses, their prophecies may appear to come true. The signs will be impressive. Nevertheless they are snares designed to deceive God’s chosen people from their single hearted devotion to God. 

These words remind us of Jesus’ warnings to his disciples prior to his crucifixion:

"Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many” (Matthew 24:1; NASB)

²⁴ "For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.” (Matthew 24:24;NASB)

The apostle Paul warned the church of similar dangers as they embarked on their mission.

³ But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. ⁴ For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully. 2 Corinthians 11:3-4 (NASB) B

It is a call for spiritual discernment.

Moses reiterates that God has exclusive rights to the love, trust, and obedience of His people.

The first commandment has to do with having no other gods; the second with manufacturing them.

Do we love, trust, and obey the created thing more than the Creator?

The New Testament tells us that sexual immorality and greed are tied to idolatry (Col 3:5; Eph 5:5).  Money, sex, power, success, and popularity can all become idols. What we devote ourselves to will be mirrored in our lives. When we put anything or anyone in place of the God who has revealed Himself in the Bible, it will have a corrupting influence upon us.

GUARD YOURSELVES FROM IDOLS

The Apostle John gives a similar warning in the New Testament:

²¹ Little children, guard yourselves from idols.  1 John 5:21 (NASB)

In Deuteronomy 13, Moses calls the Israelites to resist three major temptations to turn away from their devotion to God and follow after foreign gods.

Moses warns of three temptations:

1. BEWARE ANY UNDUE FASCINATION OR CURIOSITY THAT WOULD CAUSE YOU TO ADD TO OR TAKE AWAY FROM THE WORD OF GOD.

"When the LORD your God cuts off before you the nations which you are going in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, ³⁰ beware that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, 'How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?' ³¹ "You shall not behave thus toward the LORD your God, for every abominable act which the LORD hates they have done for their gods; for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. ³² "Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it. (Deuteronomy 12:29-32; NASB)

In order to obey this commandment you must truly know what the Word of God teaches and what it doesn’t. We can appreciate different cultures but need  to distinguish propositional truths that differ from the gospel.

2. DON’T LET SIGNS AND WONDERS WROUGHT BY FALSE PROPHETS MOVE YOU FROM CLINGING TO THE LORD.

¹ "If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, ² and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, 'Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,' ³ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 13:1-3 (NASB)

⁴ "You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. (Deuteronomy 13:4; NASB)

We don’t readily think of our devotion to the Lord being tested when supernatural signs and gifts are present, but there are a number of instances in the history of Israel when counterfeit signs and words were present to confuse and deceive them.(1 Kings 22; Jer 28).

Notice how strong Moses instruction is:

You shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deuteronomy 13:3; NASB)

The purpose is kept in view: TO CLING TO THE LORD.

⁴ "You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. Deuteronomy 13:4 (NASB)

3. BEWARE BEING DECEIVED THROUGH NATURAL AFFECTION

⁶ "If your brother, your mother's son, or your son or daughter, or the wife you cherish, or your friend who is as your own soul, entice you secretly, saying, 'Let us go and serve other gods' (whom neither you nor your fathers have known, ⁷ of the gods of the peoples who are around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other end), ⁸ you shall not yield to him or listen to him; and your eye shall not pity him, nor shall you spare or conceal him.
Deuteronomy 13:6-8 (NASB)

It is always a powerful temptation when someone you cherish would seek to divide you from the God who has revealed Himself through the Word.

The ever present danger of the human heart is that we can put those with whom we are bound with natural affection in the place of God.  Misplaced affection and divided loyalty must be refused. 

Simon Peter was a close friend of Jesus.  Satan used him to attempt to persuade Jesus not to go to the cross.

²² Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You." ²³ But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's." Matthew 16:22-23 (NASB)

If inhabitants of a city have been seduced to serve other gods, an inquiry was to be ordered to determine if this abomination actually has been done. If so, everything comes under the ban of destruction.

This becomes a picture of the judgment of the cross of Christ on the world with all of its idolatries. (This will become more clear as we read the Book of Joshua).

DEUTERONOMY  14

This chapter repeats the laws of separation- determining the difference between that which is ceremonially clean and unclean.

Warren Wiersbe explains:

The distinction between "clean and unclean" sacrifices was known in the days of Noah (Gen. 7:1-10) and therefore must have been told to our first parents when God taught them to worship. In the Jewish law, the words "clean" and "unclean" have nothing to do with the intrinsic nature or value of the creatures themselves. This was a designation given by the Lord for reasons not always explained. Some students believe that the Jews enjoyed better health because they avoided certain foods, but both Jesus and the apostles declared all foods clean (Mark 7:14-23; Acts 10:9-25; Rom. 14:1-15:13), the so-called "healthful" foods as well as the "unhealthful." Bible Exposition Commentary (BE Series) - Old Testament - The Bible Exposition Commentary – Pentateuch.

PRAYER FOR THE NATIONS: CAPE VERDE ISLANDS

(p.198-199, OPERATION WORLD)

Cape Verde Islands

Republic of Cape Verde

Africa

Geography

Area: 4,033 sq km

Fifteen dry, barren islands 600 km off the west coast of Africa.

Population:512,58 Annual Growth: 1.43%

Capital: Praia

Official Language: Portuguese. Trade Language: Portuguese Creole.

Challenge for Prayer

Economic and ecological problems must be wisely addressed. Scant resources were poorly managed in the past, intensifying Cape Verde’s poverty. Pray for government leaders who will make good decisions and develop the economy for the betterment of the whole nation.

Most Caboverdians are Catholic in name, but in practice are more influenced by superstitions and African fetishism. Christian literature is lacking in Creole, and most people have only a rudimentary grasp of Portuguese.

Newer groups are growing rapidly. Pray that more indigenous leaders and pastors may be trained for these growing groups. Pray that believers may mature and increase despite poverty and geographical isolation.

There are 490,000 Caboverdians living in migrant communities; the largest are in New England (USA) (266,000), Portugual (80,000), Angola (46,000), Senegal and France. Their remittances are vital to those living in Cape Verde. Pray that many in these communities may become true disciples of Jesus Christ and be spiritual and economic blessings to their homeland.

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

www.newlife.org

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."

www.newlifefinearts.org

DON’T MISPLACE YOUR FAITH.

MARCH 29 - Deuteronomy 11-12:32; Luke 8:22-39; Psalm 70:1-5; Proverbs 12:4

YOU HAVE GOOD REASON TO WORSHIP

Moses specifically addresses those in the crowd who are old enough to remember the beginning of their eventful journey from Egypt through the wilderness. 

They were teenagers or children at the time of the plagues and the Passover. They experienced first-hand the demonstrations of God’s power against Pharaoh. They remember being delivered by the obedience of their faith in God’s Word that caused their fathers to put the blood of the lamb on their doorposts. They remember the first time they saw the pillar of cloud by day and the fire within the cloud by night. They quickly followed their parents, making haste to leave what had been their homes from birth to join the Exodus into the wilderness. They witnessed the parting of the Red Sea and their miraculous deliverance from the Egyptian armies that pursued them. They experienced God’s power sustaining them, providing for them, guiding and protecting them during their long years in the desert. They saw with their own eyes God executing judgment upon those who rebelled against Him, even those tribal leaders who murmured against Moses.

To whom much has been given, much is required (Luke 12:48). We must walk in the light of what God has shown us. We are accountable for the genuine experiences we have had in which God has made known His character and His mighty power.

What is our first requirement? Worship. This will be shown in our love for God expressed in the service of the tabernacle, keeping His commands and loving our brothers and sisters.

WORSHIP IS EXPRESSED THROUGH OBEDIENCE

Therefore Moses says “Keep every commandment.” “Be careful to obey.” “Always keep His charge, His statutes, His ordinances” (11:1,8). We are to listen to His commands and not turn aside from them.  The first commands always have to do with worship.  We are to have no other gods before us. Nor do we let anything else become a substitute for Him.

Jesus said, “If you love me keep my commands. Love one another as I have loved you.”

Everything takes its lead from the revelation of Who God is. Our moral, social, political, economic and spiritual life is derived from the central revelation of God’s person.  Our first command is to hear, or to listen to what God says. We respond to His self-revelation through His Word in worship. He makes Himself known- Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is One God (Deut 6:4; the Hebrew word here for ‘One’ is ‘echad’- indicating ‘a composite oneness’- such as found in Gen 2:24— ‘the two shall be one; in the Christian revelation- the three distinct persons of the Trinity are one in essence). What is our response to God’s revelation? We worship. We love Him for who He is, with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. We love Him because He first loved us. We love Him with all He gives us of a capacity to love Him back.

THE PROMISE- A VICTORIOUS AND FLOURISHING LIFE IN THE APPOINTED PLACE

²² If you carefully observe all these commands I am giving you to follow--to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways and to hold fast to him-- ²³ then the LORD will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations larger and stronger than you.
Deuteronomy 11:22-23 (NIV)

God promises that the fruit of the Israelites’ obedience will be a victorious and flourishing life in the promised land.

Deuteronomy has more to say about “the appointed place for worship”.

Jesus had a religious debate with the woman He met at the well in Samaria.  Remember that Samaria was in the Promised Land but the Samaritans history and worship were full of mixture and compromised obedience. Jesus confronted her with the hard facts that her people had not been worshiping in God’s appointed place.

²⁰ "Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." ²¹ Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. ²² "You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³ "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. ²⁴ "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."  (John 4:20-24; NASB)

The appointed place for worship is to be found “in Christ”.  Only by being found in Him, will we be able to appear before God as righteous. Only by being “in Him” can we come boldly before the Throne of God. Only by being “in Him” can we worship on God’s terms, with His terms of justice and His desire for mercy being satisifed.  Only in Him can we worship “in spirit and truth”.

God does have a special plan for the land of Israel. He has not forgotten Jerusalem. (We don’t replace God’s promises to Israel with His promises to the church. Since Christ’s coming, His promise regarding the land is not rendered null and void.). But the promised rest, the promised inheritance and appointed place we have in Christ is the substance of which the promised land and appointed place (Jerusalem) is a shadow. Jesus Himself announced at His coming: “An hour is coming and now is, when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.

WE MUST DEAL WITH FALSE PLACES OF WORSHIP IN OUR LIVES.

We are to tear down the altars in our affections that are devoted to competitors to the reality of God’s perfect satisfaction in Christ.  When God’s people were obedient to His commands during the reigns of King Hezekiah and Josiah, to destroy the altars and high places of false worship,  there was national revival.  True revival is always marked with the deep repentance of recognizing and casting down our altars of self-worship. We need to obliterate the names of these false gods so we no longer call upon them with the false belief that they can save or satisfy us.

⁵ "But you shall seek the LORD at the place which the LORD your God will choose from all your tribes, to establish His name there for His dwelling, and there you shall come. Deuteronomy 12:5 (NASB)

In the Book of Deuteronomy we have the repetition of the idea embodied in this phrase: “the place which the LORD your God will choose..to establish His name there for His dwelling.” (Deut 12:5, 11, 14, 18, 21, 26). The Gospel of John informs us that Jesus is the place the LORD has chosen to establish His name, in Whom He dwells and to Whom we are to come. He is the Word made flesh and tabernacling among us (John 1:14). Believers who identify with Him by faith, God positions “in Him” and thereby from God’s point of view every thing that pertains to Him pertains to those who are found “in Him” (1 Cor 1:30).

We cannot do our own thing when it comes to worship.

⁸ "You shall not do at all what we are doing here today, every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes; Deuteronomy 12:8 (NASB)

We are not to worship according to our own private preference or to adapt false worship practices into our own.

²⁹ "When the LORD your God cuts off before you the nations which you are going in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, ³⁰ beware that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, 'How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?'
Deuteronomy 12:29-30 (NASB)

Again the last injunction we read from the Old Testament today: Don’t edit the Word. Obey it.

²⁸ "Be careful to listen to all these words which I command you, so that it may be well with you and your sons after you forever, for you will be doing what is good and right in the sight of the LORD your God. Deuteronomy 12:28 (NASB)

EVERY DAY YOU ARE GIVEN A CHOICE

Everyone must make a choice. Moses makes this clear throughout the Book of Deuteronomy. Choose to worship God and keep His commands and you will be blessed. Choose to turn away from God and His commands to follow the ways of other nations and other gods and you will experience a curse.

TODAY HE IS GIVING US A CHOICE

²⁶ See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse-Deuteronomy 11:26 (NIV)

¹⁹ This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live
Deuteronomy 30:19 (NIV)

Jesus said ,¹³ "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. ¹⁴ "For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.  (Matt 7:13-14).

We come to Life on God’s terms- repentance of our sins and our attempts at self-salvation, and putting our trust in His appointed provision, the appointed Substitute, the Savior of our Sins. We cannot come through the wide gate of doing what is right in our own eyes. We must come through the narrow gate. We must come on God’s terms that requires nothing short of the perfect finished work of redemption accomplished by Jesus Christ. Choose Him who is the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father and no one comes to eternal life apart from Him. (John 14:6; 3:16; 17:3)

REMIND YOUR CHILDREN OF THESE PROMISES

 Parents and teachers in general, but fathers in particular, are enjoined to IMPRESS these words on their own hearts and those of their children. The word IMPRESS implies that one sharpens these truths, meditating upon them, thinking through their applications and preparing to teach them so they can penetrate the hearts of children like arrows. Our children will be impressed if something has such a deep impression upon us. Notice that teaching involves a prepared heart and an exercised memory (know well what you are going to teach; 11:18) Be ready for TEACHABLE MOMENTS with young people- and it could be when you are sitting, walking, lying down or getting up. Have visual reminders to reinforce the truth.

¹⁸ "You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. ¹⁹ "You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up. ²⁰ "You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, ²¹ so that your days and the days of your sons may be multiplied on the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens remain above the earth. ²² "For if you are careful to keep all this commandment which I am commanding you to do, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and hold fast to Him. (Deuteronomy 11:18-22; NASB)

NEW TESTAMENT READING: Luke 8:22-39

Today we read of two miracles.  In the first miracle Jesus calms the storm upon the Sea of Galilee (Luke 8:22-25).

In the second miracle He calms the storm in the heart of a demon-possessed man living among the tombs (Luke 8:26-39).

In the first miracle Jesus demonstrates His authority over the winds and the waves. His disciples asked one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water and they obey Him?”

In the second miracle, Jesus demonstrates His authority over a Legion of demons, commanding them to leave the man and enter the swine. The man went away proclaiming throughout the whole city the great things that Jesus had done for him.

Jesus not only rebukes winds, waves and demons in this passage. He rebukes His disciples saying, “Where is your faith?”

These disciples were dealing with a crisis. From their point of view, the storm threatened everything, their mission as well as their very lives.  Jesus, the Son of God, creator of the universe was sleeping as the storm waves were surging and the boat started to take on water and was in danger of sinking. The disciples try to wake Him crying, “Master, we are perishing!” Imagine how astonished the disciples were when Jesus rose up and rebuked the gale force winds and the waves.  They instantly stopped and the Sea of Galilee became calm. Jesus made no comment about the boat, the preparedness of the crew, or how much water was taken on board. The only subject He had on His mind was the lack of faith present on board.

This gives us perspective. “Do you have faith on board?” More importantly, “Do you have Christ on board?” If you have Christ on board, that is where your faith should reside. The crisis can sometimes be so dramatic that the threatening winds and waves are all that gets the attention.  The result is fear.

Be sure your faith is placed where it belongs- not in your own ability to handle the crisis, but the One is most worthy and capable to take command.

Yours in the journey,

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

www.newlife.org

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."

www.newlifefinearts.org