Deuteronomy 5:22-6:25, What Do I Do Now?

Deuteronomy chapter 5 starting in verse 22 here the word of the Lord These words the

Lord spoke to all your assembly on at the mountain out of the midst of the fire the cloud and the thick darkness with a loud voice and he added no more and he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me and As soon as you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness while the mountain was burning with fire

You came near to me all the heads of your tribes and your elders and you said behold

The Lord our God has shown us his glory and greatness and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire

This day we have seen God speak with man and man still live now

Therefore why should we die for this great fire will consume us if we hear the voice of the

Lord our God anymore We shall die For who is there of all flesh that has heard the voice of the

Living God Speaking out of the midst of the fire as we have and has lived Go near and hear all that the

Lord our God will say and speak to us that the Lord our God will speak to you and we will hear and do it and The Lord heard your words when you spoke to me and the

Lord said to me I have heard the words of this people which they have spoken to you They are right in all that they have spoken

Oh That they had such a mind as this always to fear me and to keep all my commandments that it may go well with them

And with their descendants forever go and say to them return to your tents But you stand here by me and I will tell you the whole commandment and the statutes and the rules

That you shall teach them that they may do them in the land that I am giving them to possess

You shall be careful therefore to do as the Lord your God has commanded you You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left

You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has Commanded you that you may live and that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land

That you shall possess Now this is the commandment the statutes and the rules that the Lord your

God Commanded me to teach you that you may do them in the land to which you are going over to possess it

That you may fear the Lord your God that your son and your son's son By keeping all his statutes in his

Commandments Which I command you all the days of your life and that your days may be long

Here therefore Oh Israel and be careful to do them that it may go well with you and that you may multiply

Greatly as the Lord the God of your fathers has promised you in a land flowing with milk and honey

Hero Israel the Lord our God the Lord is one you shall love the

Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might and These words that I command you today shall be on your heart

You shall teach them diligently to your children and you shall talk of them when you sit in your house

And when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontless between your eyes you shall write them on the doorpost of your house and on your gates and When the

Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers to Abraham to Isaac and to Jacob to give you with great and good cities that you did not build houses full of good things that you did not fill and Cisterns that you did not dig and vineyards and all of trees that you did not plant and when you eat and are full

Then take care lest you forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt out of the house of slavery

It is the Lord your God who shall fear him. Here's the Lord your God. You shall fear

Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear You shall not go after other gods the gods of the peoples who are around you for the

Lord your God in your midst is a Jealous God lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you and he destroy you from the face of the earth

You shall not put the Lord your God to the test as you tested him at Masa You shall diligently keep the commandments of the

Lord your God and his testimonies and his statutes Which he has commanded you and you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the

Lord that it may go well With you and that you may go in and take possession of the good land that the

Lord swore to give to your fathers By entrusting it by thrusting out all your enemies from before you as the

Lord has promised When your son asked you in time to come What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the

Lord our God has commanded you? Then you shall say to your son We were

Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and the Lord showed signs and wonders

Great and grievous against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household before our eyes and he brought us out from there that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers and The Lord commanded us to do all these statutes to fear the

Lord our God for our for our good always that he might preserve us alive as we are this day and It will be righteousness for us if we are careful to do all this commandment before the

Lord our God as he has commanded us May the Lord had his blessings to the reading of his

Holy Word Well, have you ever waited or hoped worked

Worked hard for some some big achievement some goal some pinnacle of your life.

You're trying to get to and then It comes you reached it and it's over and then you think

What would what do I do now? What do you do after you've achieved? This goal that's consumed your life maybe for years.

Maybe it's graduation You've been writing papers and completing assignments taking tests and then you're graduated now what

Maybe it's marriage you've been waiting for the right one then you plan the wedding you get the dresses and the flowers and all the other clothes and photographers and invitations and plans and then you're married and you come home from the honeymoon and What do

I do now? Maybe it's the birth of a child Especially the firstborn this was the culmination of so much of life of the marriage itself.

And now Now what? Maybe it's that dream career Did you got the education for you've been working for you've been doing internships and so forth

That's the pinnacle of what you've been climbing up to and and finally that acceptance letter comes and You've arrived

Well, what next? Maybe it will be the end of all these these lockdown requirements

They stay at home orders and this and maybe there will be a proclamation that is it is safe to go back to something

Like normal for us here that we can have as many people here as we like We're not confined to ten and we could then think well

What do we do now? Do we really go back just to the way things were before as though the corona virus had never happened

We go back to shaking hands and passing around a basket Passing around the

Lord's Supper plate seated right by each other. Well, maybe eventually but Probably not right away

There will be a new normal Things change once you once you reach some mountaintop some achievement you've been consumed by for years

You may not have even thought of what will come after you've reached that goal after you graduated or you're married or after you've had

That kid or after all this pandemic is over things will be different Then you won't have the goal that that consumed your life that framed your life

Basically determined almost everything you did that gave you something to work for every day.

You'll have a new goal You'll have a new normal But at first you'll be asking yourself

What do I do now That's where Israel is here This is

Deuteronomy It's literally means second law Where they are poised on the verge of the promised land ready to go in It's the second law because Moses here.

He's literally just given them the Ten Commandments again, and he's instructing really a new generation The old generation has passed away.

He's instructing this new generation on how to live again Like they had the previous generation, but they didn't listen very well instructed this new generation

Oh what you're gonna do what to do now, especially What to do after they've reached the goal of the promised land.

This is where God's people are After they've been saved from slavery, they've been given the law

They've been disciplined and purged and trained for 40 years And that's where they when they reach where they will be once they've crossed into the promised land.

This is what they're to do now They've been aiming for this promised land, you know flowing with milk and honey as it says everything they could want

They've been aiming at that for centuries. I'd ever since Abraham. They've been waiting for this this goal.

That's consumed them It's all they've ever known for the next few years, they'll be busy getting it and then

They'll be at rest in the promised land in their salvation in the inheritance that God has had for them and then they'll look around and wonder

What do I do now? We see here what we are to do now six things

There were told to do after we've been saved we are to first honor second to love

Then to teach for to remember that to keep and finally to say

First we are to honor here Moses has recounted the Ten Commandments and he recounts how they how these

Ten Commandments came to them He says out of the midst of the fire the the cloud the thick darkness with a loud voice

Well, that was 40 years before And he recounts it now to a new generation that most of whom weren't there in verse 24

Behold, the Lord our God has shown us his glory His heaviness is weightiness as magnificence his glory and his greatness

He recounts how amazed they were that Moses could hear directly from God Like Moses tells tells this younger generation how the previous generation had been amazed and trembled

That if God drew near to them like he had to Moses that they would surely all die in verse 25

Moses recounts how they had said why should we die for the great fire will consume us?

Here's where the idea where the book of Hebrews gets that our God is a consuming fire And they said if we hear the voice of the

Lord our God anymore We shall die They were shaken to their bones by the terror of the

Lord that the terror of a sinner coming face -to -face with the

Holy Moses recounts that to them now. It's just a generation later He's recounting it about their parents so that they this new generation will tremble also at the voice of God so that they

Also will honor him You know, we've today it's so Domesticated God that people in our culture even among often in the churches think that God exists

It's not really somebody to tremble at he exists to validate our feelings He exists to make us feel good to affirm us as we are to encourage us.

God is often presented now. It's it's therapeutic In our culture. That's the way we think he's the therapeutic

God In order to help you adjust to your all your fears not one who causes fears

Well many people do they have no sense of the terror of encountering the Holy but here they had really encountered the

Holy and so they begged Moses to go for them to the

Lord and the Lord accepted that he accepted that because That came from hearts that were honoring the

Lord that was trembling at his holiness And so in verse 29, the Lord says, okay think of what the people said

They're so shaken in terror of God's holiness his weightiness that they said we're gonna die

He's a consuming fire and God says about that in verse 29. Oh That they had such a mind as this this attitude this this instinct of their sinfulness

God's holiness Oh that they had such a mind as this always To fear me and to keep all my commandments that it might go well with them and their descendants forever

I would say they keep this attitude. That's this fear of the Lord that will keep them in God's grace

Not only for them now for their descendants forever So what's next?

Have the same fear of the Lord that same reverence. That's a trembling honoring of him

Today many Christians commonly think that now that they're saved they have nothing to fear That's almost what salvation's for and I have nothing to fear now they they don't need to tremble they think it's cheap grace

That is easy believe ism That's really fire insurance sold as salvation the false doctrine of the carnal

Christian that you could have Jesus as Savior But not as Lord that as long as you say you believe in Jesus Even if you don't honor him as Lord, you know, even if you don't become a disciple you don't tremble at his word still

That's okay Grace covers all that up. Some people are to say you don't have to do anything

You don't have to fear anything and indulge You can say you're saved as long as you say you believe some bare doctrine

And you can then indulge your greed or your lust to be deceived by riches Liz it live as if money was what matters most seek first your own kingdom your own will and yet still they think you have nothing to fear because of Grace, so just relax

Right, no trembling needed honor nothing But that's not the

Bible's picture of the pilgrim in the promised land. He's been saved by grace

But still honors the Lord he trembles at his word

In verse 29 the Lord says oh, oh that they that we had such a mind as this

Let's see what they're saying. Oh, he's he's a God is a consuming fire if he comes close to us

He will destroy us. God says that's the attitude you want such a mind is that to fear me?

That's a key to always be fearing the Lord to take him seriously to be shaken at the thought that you've been living in Disregard of his word.

It's when Christians are most careful to obey When they're when they're when they fear disobeying

That they are safest When a Christian asks whether it is right, you know, really maybe really wondering and asking basking pastor asking somebody, you know

They're troubled by the idea. Is it some ethical question? Maybe like is it is it okay to watch?

someone else's pirated videos they're invited over watch a movie and It's a pirated video.

They're afraid is this is this stealing? Is this breaking God's commandment again? Is it displeasing the father? When that kind of question burdens a

Christian I'm really not so interested in what the answer to the question is

You know, is it absolutely? No, that's copyright theft You cannot take part in it or or is it kind of like eating foods offered idols in the marketplace, you know

Or not offered idols, but in the marketplace, you don't know whether it's offered idols Not is it kind of like that put on a movie, you know, so don't ask but if they tell you it's pirated

Then you have to walk away. Is it kind of like that or is it is it just okay? But well those Hollywood people they made was so much money

They make a lot of money from when it's shown in theaters and never mind. You're not really taking anything Much from them that are already rich.

Anyway, is it is it is it like that the question comes from up? It's a sort of a tangled ethical issue, but it it comes from a heart that doesn't want to do anything

That might displease the father that the craves To honor him and it fears him fears his judgment as long as that is your passion.

I Don't think it really matters which of those which are the ways you eventually end up concluding About say an issue like that, which is fairly small issue, but whether what not you should watch pirate in the videos

It's when that passion dies off When it gets cold When you get to the point where you just kind of shrug your shoulders, you don't really care whether it's wrong or not

And it's once you get to that attitude. There's something relatively small like that Then soon it's not not very long

You can go off and commit sexual immorality and just shrug that off, you know, just call it. Well, that's my besetting sin

Everybody's got a few it's no big deal Grace is what grace is for So I can sin and grace may abound but that attitude that attitude.

That's the big deal. That's a huge deal It's a lack of fear of the Lord of honoring him In fact, it might be a deal -breaker

For your salvation. You should always have a heart that fears the Lord that fears your own sinfulness.

And so is intent Or not turning aside from the

Lord Not even just a little That you may live long in the land as in verse 33 may live long eternally in The land and the new earth in your father's love always honoring him

You honor him practically he says by keeping his commandments That's what we saw in James a year and a half ago.

Your faith leads to obedience here It's your your honoring your fear of him leads to obedience

Always have a heart that believes that trembles at God's Word with a passion for honoring the Lord that that fires your obedience

You have commands from God You have the Ten Commandments You have the commands of the

Lord Jesus like on the Sermon on the Mount Love your neighbor be perfect as your father in heaven is perfect now

If you fear the Lord You honor him then you will then that that fear that honoring that passion will drive you to obey him

It will show itself in obedience. You'll follow his word. You fear the Lord your God in chapter 6 verse 2

Notice that you fear our honor Not just by having an attitude You know reverence without works

James talks about faith without works some people think they can have a reverence without works But of course that doesn't make any sense here.

We see it doesn't make any sense You don't fear him just by an attitude or just by saluting symbols like taking the sacraments

No, you fear the Lord by you and your children and their children in verse 2 by here's how you fear the

Lord By keeping his statutes and his commandments his statues teachings you fear you honor by doing and You do it all the days of your life you know not just kind of an attempt like some people do dieting an

Attempt for a while when they're young and idealistic they go through a phase No, you do it every day so that Your days may be long for us eternally long

So we'll be in a new earth with a new body living forever with him. So in verse 6 here here

It's a key in this passage, isn't it? Do you notice that here pay attention? Listen to this

Here therefore because You need to fear the Lord here pay attention

Because truly say people honor and that keeps you for the reward of salvation because of that Oh Israel or people of God Here be careful to do don't just be entertained by preaching or Educated by doctrine but be a doer of the word that it may go well with you that you might grow

That your children spiritual children. You hope your physical children are also your spiritual children that Then they would be doers of the word not just quoters

They'd memorize it they can quote it Whether they do it they live by it and so you'll help by that by doing you populate a land

Flowing with milk and honey the promised land where all God's children are blessed so You're saved

Congratulations, you think now, what do I do? Honor the Lord tremble at his word and then

Love him starting in chapter 6 verse 4 Now we know verse 5 is the greatest commandment should be very familiar without the

Lord Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment and this was his response right from this passage Love the

Lord your God with all your heart your soul your strength other words with all that you are The Jews know this passage is the

Shema from the Hebrew word which means here Traditionally they repeat it three times a day

Shema Oh Israel Yahweh Aloha, Yahweh God something like that Shema means here.

Listen pay attention to this. It's the same word that began Verse 3 remember that here and be careful to do true hearing results of being careful to do

The Lord's commandment because you honor him here in verse 4 second point

What are we to do now? Okay, we're saved now. We're saying what do we do? We're in the promised land.

What do we do next? Well first We love the

Lord himself here Here Oh Israel Oh people of God.

Are you listening? Are you hearing if you honor him? If you tremble at his word, you'll listen when he speaks

The Lord is our God now Baal not Asherah not whatever fertility God the locals in Canaan will try to tell you

Are the gods that will help make your crops grow and your wife bear healthy children? No, the

Lord is our God not the money. They tell you makes the world go around not the dollars You're supposed to spend your life chasing

Unless there's a virus, of course Yeah, then we understand. Okay, then we can stop business then we'll shut down Then we'll sacrifice our business our income.

We won't do that for the Lord. Of course, isn't that interesting? You won't you won't close down business for the for the for the

Lord to go worship In church, but there's a virus. No, that's a different thing We won't

We won't sacrifice our income in order to seek first his kingdom but if If it means keeping from getting sick, okay.

Yeah. Yeah, then finally we see the logic of Closing the shop. Yeah, what is when there's a pandemic?

Yeah, then we'll do it when it's interesting when conflicts come between conflicting things

It's then we see people's priorities What they what they love first But they love second or what our last

I'm not criticizing those who closed shop because of the pandemic. Maybe that maybe that's the reasonable thing for them to do

But why won't they do the same thing? For the Lord, that's the interesting question

Your physical health for their families. Maybe that's the first thing they love money or family second money or or family is second

Well, it's really hard to tell whether they value money or family because be they were earning the money for their family But where's the

Lord in there? You know, it's just it's somewhere behind money For many, isn't it?

I Mean because they're willing to close the business Do not get the virus, but they aren't willing to close it to seek first the kingdom of God You see the values way things are shaking out

If they won't sacrifice a little business for the Lord like by closing on Sunday morning so they can come to church But they will sacrifice the whole business to avoid the risk of a virus

Well, then in their actions we see where the Lord ranks in their heart Here You people of God here

The Lord is your God Not money not even family not even health now that doesn't mean you do something foolish

To get infected just because you're foolhardy He wants he wants you to love your neighbor if you really love the

Lord you're gonna love your neighbor G when Jesus said What's the greatest commandment? He quoted from this and then he said the second is like it so it's really attached

He wants you to love your neighbor. So you love your children or your neighbors your elderly parents who are very vulnerable

Are your neighbors you should love them take care of them Your love your literal neighbor.

They're helping to stop the virus practice social distancing That's a practical way to love your neighbor, which is it like loving the

Lord your God, so it's connected But you do it not just because you love yourself You don't want to get sick

But you love and family by the way is usually just an extension of yourself for most people

You don't do it just for that. You love your neighbor Because you love the Lord in whose image they are made here this church the

Lord is your God and He is one he's one

God one essence and one nature and Practically in this context that means well first he is to be the the number one that you love really the one

The only one you love you love your neighbor Sure as a way of loving the

Lord you love your wife or husband our children as a way of loving the Lord So you love them in a way?

That's not competing With the Lord you love them in a way that That doesn't make

Their love for you compete with their love of the Lord It's not that you give 51 % which way some people think

I get the majority of my love to the Lord 30 % or whatever to my spouse and you kind of divide up the rest

Some for country some for children or whatever some kind of rationing of love. It doesn't really practically work

Now you love the Lord first with all that you are and as a way of expressing that love for the

Lord Right love the Lord your God with all your heart soul and strength and the second is like it like it love your neighbor

And a way of expressing your love for the Lord you love others Love the Lord your God your personal one and only

God Here the commentator said he the word you You love the

Lord your God is singular like he's speaking to everyone individually That's just the nation as a whole you nation of Israel.

You should love the Lord, but every one of you in particular Love the Lord your God with all your heart the center of your mind and will your heart the fountain of What you love of who you are who you are at your core is focused on loving the

Lord Love the Lord your God Not just your family's

God, you know mama's God and you're carrying on the family tradition of worshiping

Maybe that's why you go to church. But no you love your God with all your all your soul

He says it's your life Your mind your thoughts

The way you think thinking with God in the center Allowing him to judge what our good and bad thoughts

As Paul says you take every thought Captive to the obedience of Christ.

Do you think God's thoughts after him? So we study study God's Word in particular

Also to love the Lord with all your soul means loving with your feelings Not just your thoughts reform people are big on loving

God with their thoughts their intellect But not so big on the feelings part your passions your affections

I Got that song. It's when I like that song that Rachel did for us.

I Like I even like the dancing expresses a love and affection for the

Lord So don't be a one -dimensional lover of the Lord. Are you loving with your doctrine?

You love him with your intellect? You'll read deep theological books, but you're kind of cold and when it comes to affections expressing.

No Have both There's no reason you can't have both Well, someone said well, you know, he or she not respecting my he's not respecting my feelings

Well feelings aren't not are not meant to be respected or validated they are either meant to be mastered or Ignored and Judged they're judged as is good

It's a good feeling if it's helping me love the Lord or that's a bad feeling because that's leading me away from loving the

Lord Feelings are gonna be true or they can be false There but it's not true just because it's a feeling you can have an overwhelming feeling of something

Sometimes married people go through phases in which they get an overwhelming feeling of attraction to someone.

They're not married to you just got to say no to that and overcome it and Same way with the

Lord you get an overwhelming feeling everything in you can feel like doing something that the

Lord says no to You have to master that feeling You have to you have to make your feelings

Love the Lord if your feelings don't help you love the Lord Then you resolved to discipline them until they do you're you're resolved that your soul will

Love the Lord so you feed those feelings like putting wood on a fire that help you love the

Lord and you douse those feelings that Don't help you love the Lord Love the

Lord your God Not just your culture's God. We're in the South. We're in the Bible Belt. So we'll do the religion thing

No, you're a God and you love him with all your your strength with your body

Your your your very physical nature Everything you do with your body you're eating you're drinking your sex you're dressing your exercise

You're you're doing your best To keep yourself from from getting a virus that can be a way of loving the

Lord, you know Practice your social distancing good hygiene wash your hands so you don't get it But also do your best to keep from getting heart disease

Don't clog your arteries or do your best to keep up getting cancer Love him by not smoking because that's horrible for your health love him with with with sweat and tears and sleep and a beating heart and every breath from your lungs

Well now you're saved You've heard God's law What are you to do now?

Love the Lord Love the Lord in and third You teach about him

Especially children especially the next generation in chapter 6 verses 6 to 9 now

I like to quote these words and in a baby dedication So that the parents will note that they it's their duty to teach

God's Word to their children but I think this passage is really it's for the people of God to raise up the next generation of the people of God and We hope that includes our physical children our natural children, but we also hope includes other people's children

Right like the children of Jim jr. That we bring here You still need to be praying for even though we can't Have that run that program right now

The Lord says in verse 6 these words that I command you today Like in the ten commandments the greatest command that he's just given love the

Lord your God Shall be on your heart It should be at the center of who you are and as a result of our seven and onward you shall teach them teach these words

Ten commandments have no other gods before me this greatest commandment. Love the Lord your God teach them diligently

Diligent means you keep doing it Okay, we come here. We haven't seen really hardly any growth the church from Jim jr

Are much from Jim, but you just keep teaching. We're not we're not called to To have big numbers

We're called to keep diligently teaching to your children to God's children to the covenant children who we don't know who they are

So we teach all the children we can we could get in here You teach them not just in formal settings like Jim jr

Or Sunday school, but when you're sitting at home and this is your own children particularly around the table when you're driving

When you're going to bed and when you wake up I mean, you don't got to be a pastor or you pastor load staff anywhere to do that.

You're sitting at home You're eating dinner. You teach About the Lord in verse 8 you bind them on your hand

Particularly people in that day were almost all either farmers or craftsmen at some time and you know Like they're saying we have in our culture

I know it like the back of my hand because if like that working a job I think you're always looking at the back of your hand, right?

This was always in your view So you bind them the Word of God on your hand. So you're they're always looking at God's Word and And he says you put them between your eyes

Now he didn't mean literally You know like we saw a lot last week of the hypocrites who took it literally so they these factories they put on their foreheads

Now he means you you soak your mind with it. You think about the Word of God constantly

So you put it in places in your life that you come across it often you can memorize verses you can meditate on them

You can listen to sermons that help you unpack Scripture or today. You can listen to the Word of God sung good good

Christian music, especially That is putting the word like in our Psalms putting the

Psalms to music so you're singing it to surround yourself Like your doorframe surrounds you when you go through it

Surround yourself like that with it and teach it then to your children fourth now that you're saved and you're in the promised land

Where you have everything that you need for life and godliness with all these blessings now

Remember in verses 10 to 15 Remember Most of the people were too young to have walked through the

Red Sea Just these people he's talking to here Most of them probably grew up were born after that or grew at least grew up after that Maybe there was maybe they were small children and some of them remember it

But most of them hadn't to it. Most of them hadn't seen the Mount Sinai shake and smoke when the law was given

So here they are being reminded of it by Moses now none of us here.

Have we heard the Sermon on the Mount? None of us went to the empty tomb We need to be reminded of what

God has done and to constantly be made to remember Because we're prone to forget

Right. That's why we need to remember. That's what we're doing right now Hopefully I'm causing you to remember what

God has done for you because we tend to forget It's not like school where you can learn algebra or Shakespeare graduate.

You don't have to go back every every week This we need constantly to remember we're especially prone to forget when we're blessed

You know when we're comfortable, but life's good When we made it, you know, we've reached that pinnacle that we were reaching that we were working so hard for And we're sitting back

Enjoying life. We have enough money. We can we can retire. We have a nice house.

Maybe on a lake with a boat Family is sweet Everything's great We made it and Then we're likely to forget

Affluence leads to indifference to carelessness You know, the

Puritans came to this country to America out of zeal for God. That's what drove them here

They were willing to give up everything really to risk their lives on crossing the ocean and those rickety sailboats

They were willing to do all that so that they could worship God According to God's Word They first started coming 400 years ago this year.

This is the 400th anniversary this year. They wanted above all biblical churches where the

Word of God could be taught without interference and they got it and Then they prospered they were blessed and then

They declined what happened to the Puritans They they say their godliness begat prosperity and the daughter devoured the mother

They got prosperous and so Got careless and forgot

When the Lord brings you to what he promised you have the grace you have the blessings that you didn't earn and Then in verse 12

Be careful Lest you forget Be careful to remember who saved you how you got all the blessings.

That's why we have church That's why we have this assembly to come together to remind each other what God has done notice verse 12.

Don't forget the Lord Moses tells them who brought you out of Egypt out of the house of slavery.

Don't just remember what you are supposed to do Don't just keep these commands remember what

God has done That's why we have the Lord's Supper To remember what

God has done in the cross in verse 13. It is the Lord your

God you shall fear Don't forget that So, you know just by teaching duties what you're to do that's all we did

And people imply that then we only need to fear our Our failure to obey and we can correct that then by changing our life

But but here it is the Lord that we are to remember and to serve him to swear by his name

Because we're committed to him because he's your God not money or feelings or self authentication my self

Identification validated whatever slogan people now are entranced by as an excuse really just for serving themselves

Catering to their own feelings. No, but to the Lord serve him because in verse 15 the

Lord your God is in your midst He's among you

Remember that remember that during a pandemic when perhaps all the church can't meet at once and then you're tempted to think well

Maybe the church is not an essential service That's why we're being told Walmart Sam's Club gonna have a lot of people not us because we're not essential, right?

We can only have ten at a time We're so small You're gonna buy that and you just go along with it.

At least the attitude that that is founded on. I Hope not remember

No matter what they're saying remember he is in our midst and He is a jealous

God he doesn't tolerate us loving other gods beside him. Not even just a little a little cheating on the side

Remember that because if you forget you think you can you can give way maybe maybe do a little a little money idolizing a

Little covetousness or greed which is idolatry You know living for the the fat bank account

The big house the car the fancy gadgets That's like it's like bowing before an idol for bail

If you provoke his jealousy by forgetting to love him with everything Then he will set his anger on fire

He's already shown our God is a consuming fire and he will devour you or your business or your bank account or your health

He might even shut it all down with a tiny virus so Remember him

Well now that you're saved what do you do Well, some say it doesn't matter what I do Grace grace grace is excuse.

I could do nothing if I feel like it. I can be careless God's promises They say, you know, they'll keep me no matter how careless

I Am they think there are probably some foolish people. I'm guessing

I've ever seen in one exactly yet But just knowing human nature, there are probably some foolish people that think they could quote a verse

Maybe like from Psalm 91 The Lord will keep me from from the enemies that they think they can quote a verse that will keep the corona virus

From them. No need for PPE. I just quote the verse and the virus dies right blow it away some

Prosperity preacher was saying he blowing the virus away from America. That was about a month ago. Does it seem to have worked?

but there's some Foolish people think they can just you know quote a verse And don't practice any social distancing or don't wash their hands particularly and don't do their part and God is my

PPE But the Lord says in verses 16 to 19 that you need to do your part do your keeping keep his commandments

Don't put the Lord to the test with your failure to keep his word You know

Satan brought the Lord Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple And just told him, you know step off Satan said jump off Trust the

Lord the promise from Psalm 91. God will send his angels to keep you from being hurt, but Jesus said

No, there's the command. Sure. There's a promise in Psalm 91. I won't be hurt, but there's also the command right here in Deuteronomy Don't test the

Lord. You shall not put the Lord your God to the test. He's promised to protect you sure But don't use that promise like a bungee cord, you know just for fun

I'm gonna jump off this bridge Knowing that I'll bounce back before I hit the ground you don't not work and Expect God to supply your needs you don't not study and Expect God to help you do well on the test or for the sermon

You don't sin That grace may abound instead in verse 17 you shall

Diligently is that word again? Diligently keep his commands to work to study to do what you're called to do

To flee immorality, whatever flee sin keep doing it. Keep keeping his word

Persevere in it because it is perseverance. That is the grand mark that separates true believers

They either wasn't persevere from hypocrites who get tired and go do something else

So if you keep keeping his word, then you will finally get Full possession of what

God has promised you the Lord will put all his enemies in your life under his feet through you

Keeping on Keeping his word. Well now that you say what do you do?

You keep his word diligently You know remember what he's done you teach about him particularly to the children you love him with all that you are you honor him by trembling and his word and finally

Say What he has done? say the gospel tell people

Tell people to ask speak the truth in those last six verses. We're told what to say

When you're saved You're free from slavery to sin The wrath of God has passed over you you pass out of death to life and and someone maybe your son

Ask you Does all this mean? You know these commands these ten commandments this

Bible this this stuff that we hear in church. What's it all mean? What's it all about?

Well, you are to say We're told starting in verse 21 We were slaves to the world the flesh of the devil long my imprisoned spirit lay fast bound in sin and nature's night, but as I defused a

Life -giving ray may became alive. I woke the dungeon was filled with light

My chains fell off. My heart was free. I rose went forth and followed the

Him He brought me out with a mighty hand He brought me out with a mighty hand that he might give us

Eternal life life forever in that new earth. He brought Christ out from death

With a mighty hand hand so mighty it overpowered death itself

And he brought us out with him Resurrected in a new heaven and a new earth

Promises that nothing we now have promises that nothing can separate us from the love of the

Lord Promises of things so great. He says we can't even we can't even imagine it. All we have to do now

Is to honor him to love the Lord To teach about him to remember him to keep his word.

It is after all why not keep his word It is after all good for us Through that Will persevere he'll preserve us.

He'll keep us safe. So that's what you're to say say Especially to your children how we'll be right

With him through Christ living this way. We'll have righteousness. We'll have a right relationship with the father

So he'll say Thinking of what we're to say We say that we testify what he'll say at the end is come blessed ones

Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world So you saved?

What do you do now? The work of saving is over It's been applied

Salvation has been done it is Being implemented it doesn't depend on us

So, what are we to do? Nothing No, not if not if we've really been saved if we've been saved then the work of him who worked is

Working in us So we'll honor him will tremble at his word We'll love him with all our being just amazed that his grace has saved us and will teach about him

Especially to our children and will remember what he did by keeping his commandments if you've been saved

The work is done and now you will get to work honoring and loving and teaching and remembering and saying

Amazing love how can it be? That you my god