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I wish you a beautiful day today, one filled with hope and victory!
Starting this week, we will take a look at the book of Deuteronomy line by line,
at least couple times a week
Firstly, Deuteronomy is the Word of God for the people of Israel
written by Moses just before his people entered the land of Canaan
Some call it the "Law of God"
and His laws are necessary in our daily lives
Now, why do we legislate laws?
Set of laws that we face daily would be traffic laws
You break the traffic law and you get a ticket in the mail
Fines of 70,000 or 80,000 won does take a financial toll
But these days, with advancements of Navigation,
you are warned well in advance: "Camera in next 300 meters"
But if you still end up with a ticket? then you deserve it
One night, I had a funeral to attend at Muan, South Jeolla Province. we left just before 11 p.m.
When I woke up after we arrived at Muan. It was just after 1 a.m.
It took just over 2 hours to get there!
From Seoul! needless to say, we flew down there!
But we also avoided all the speed traps
We slowed down just enough when the navigation gave us a warning
After passing the speed trap, we'd speed back up
That must be how we got there in just over 2.5 hours
Now, why do we have laws in the first place?
Were laws created to fine people and to imprison those that break them?
Not at all
Traffic laws were created to ensure safety and happiness for us, the people
That is the purpose of the law
God did not create laws to give us the laws to punish us with
Laws are needed to keep a boundary, so that we can remain within the boundary
So we can be safe in the presence of God
and enjoy the happiness he wants us to have
That is why he spoke the laws
This is the most important reason for the book of Deuteronomy
Why was Deuteronomy written?
It was for our happiness
What kind of life do we need to live, in order to have the happiest life?
The purpose of Deuteronomy is to tell us just how
So before we dive into the book of Deuteronomy, I want you to understand the purpose of this book
This book was for His people that will start living in Canaan, In other words, for those that will live in Christ
To show them how to live their life to their full happiness. That is the purpose of this book
So with that in mind, let us dive in
Let's take a look at verse 2
(It takes eleven days to go from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by the Mount Seir road)
I remember talking to you about this route before
This was the best way to get to Canaan from the Red Sea
Under the normal circumstance, Israelites could've gotten
from the Red Sea to the entrance of Canaan in just 11 days
Well, sometimes our God speaks to us through the content of the Bible
but also through structure and arrangements
Such patterns recur often in Deuteronomy
Let's take a look at verse 3
(In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month)
It looks more complicated in Korean
but it means 1st day of 11th month on the 40th year
Here's a background, Israelites reset their calendar after they crossed the Red Sea
So just before entering the land of Canaan, Israelites have wandered for 40 years, 11 months and 1 day
So why does the Bible present verses 2 and 3 in this fashion?
Unwritten voice of God sits between the lines of written words
His message is hidden between the lines
This is what it says: Oh you whom have wandered for 40 years,
which should've only taken 11 days
That's it, verses 2 and 3 are set up this way to show this contrast
If they would've obeyed God after crossing the Red Sea
How long would their journey have been?
An eleven day journey, but they wandered for 40 years!
So now, with that in mind let me ask you a question
What do you call taking 40 years to get to a place that is only 11 days away?
What is it?
We call it waste !
The concept of waste is very important in the Bible
I'll use an example from the New Testament
The book of Luke tells a story of a father with two sons
The younger son, goes up to the father one day and demands his inheritance early
In those days, boy's actions would've angered the whole village
One can only claim their inheritance after the father passes away
But in the case of the second son, for him to ask his father for his share
while the father is alive and well, is like asking his father to "die already"
This goes beyond being a big mistake
According to the laws in Deuteronomy, the boy is supposed to be *** to death
So the father in the story is afraid the townspeople will stone the boy to death
The father is worried about his son and run to hug him
No! He is still my son
He runs to him, to cover him up at once
So clearly, the parable of the prodigal son isn't about the son's return
But rather about father's love to cover up the rebellious son: God's love for us
Where does the younger son eventually takes his share and leaves to?
For a far away country
For Israelites, going abroad, or leaving your home
is to sever all ties with the community
The decision to leave home is not a light one it takes resolve
But if you keep reading, the Bible tells us
After the son leaves the father's house, one thing remains consistent
What keeps happening to him?
Waste happens, and poverty comes
Ultimately he is so broke, he turns to pigs animal most hated by Israelites
He takes a job feeding pigs
but no one would even give him what pigs were eating
The Bible describes how far his fall had been
At that point, not when he was hungry, but on the verge of dying of starvation
The son decides to go back to his father
This is the man's ego
When it all comes crashing down
That's when a man realizes where his true home is
When the father sees his son return, he runs to him and hugs him
just in case his neighbors would stone his son
to death in accordance to the Laws of Moses
the father then calls for not just any robe, but the best robe
and to celebrate his return with a fattened calf
One thing remains constant. When you leave the father's side,
poverty soon follows
Why did it take 40 years of wander to reach a destination that was only 11 days away?
What was the reason?
Disobedience
That is why the time spent away from the house of God is time wasted
That is just wasting your time away
When you are not under the sovereignty of God those are times wasted
The real intention behind the arrangement of verses 2 and 3 is as follows
Why did it take 40 years to cover a distance of 11 days?
That is the purpose behind the book of Deuteronomy
Do not disobey and stop wandering
Korean translation for Deuteronomy uses the character "Shin"
"Shin" refers to appearance of God Deuteronomy records another set of commands of God
When a mom repeats the same things to her children, over and over
Kids call it nagging,
so why do moms repeat the same things?
Because it is important...
Some Biblical Scholars call Deuteronomy
God's nagging
That is correct
The Bible is mostly God's nagging
Repeating what was said before, over and over...
So you must view verses 2 and 3 from that point of view to understand it
Now let's take a look at verse 4
This was after he had defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, and at Edrei had defeated Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth.
The Law of God was given to Israel after those victories
In those days, God revealed himself through various means
God made himself known through wars, and through supernatural methods
But today, 66 Books of His Words are completed in the form of the Bible
Because it is complete, God only reveals himself through the Bible
What is the only way He reveals Himself?
Only through His words
These are the days of spiritual confusion
well, every era had such times, but it seems especially worse these days
There is a particular occurrence
People practicing shamanism in the name of Jesus
Shamanism. So what is shamanism?
Some say prediction or prophesy, right? Going to receive the prophesy of God
There are no prophesies besides the Bible
Rest are all fake!
God no longer uses other methods to reveal Himself. Only the Bible
Why?
Because the Words of God is complete ...
"I received a revelation in my dreams..."
Nope, Do not be mislead
It is a very subjective experience, thus seem very reliable
But how dangerous is that?
There are many that use the name of Jesus to tell fortunes
Humans are weak, so it seems very plausible
But why do we fall for such? Because our foundation in the Word is shaky
The Samil Bible College starts today, right?
If you have not registered please register, Register and learn His Words
Let's take a look at verse 5
(East of the Jordan in the territory is Moab, Moses began to expound this law, saying)
In Korean, expound is written as “explain” but in the original text, the word used
is "started to clearly reveal God's intentions"
Words of Deuteronomy doesn't just apply to those in ministry,
but is important and must be taken in earnest by everyone
Everyone, including the ministers, What are we before God?
We are all Chief Priests
Being a Chief Priest means that all of us has a role as
an intercessor between God and someone
You have the role of being the Chief Priest between God and the world
as the light and salt of the world
Then let me ask you, what is the most important role of a Chief Priest?
To reveal the true intentions of God and living the life
I live as a minister, but the thing that I fear the most is..
I stand before the congregation on numerous occasions but every time I go on before you,
I am afraid that my inabilities and my weaknesses Would distort the purpose God has written into the Bible
This is my biggest fear
The words that Apostle Paul left Timothy, who was like his son,
almost as his last will while imprisoned in Rome
said "who correctly handles the word of truth" using “Orthotomeo”
Orthotomeo is a Greek construction term, which means "to make a straight path"
You and I are tasked with building a road on a field in the absolute darkness
What happens to those taking that road if the road builder messed up in his work?
Death, in a serious accident people can die as a result
Think about how important that role and function is
What is this path? It is a path that reveals the God's truth
So for those that are wandering, looking for the path
We must show with our lives that Jesus is the way!
Amen?!
That is how you explain the Word of God
Now, is Deuteronomy meant only for the Ministers?
Not at all. It is for the people of Israel
In another words, the Book of Deuteronomy is for all of God's people
The words are not only for the clergy Now what is the key in religious reformation?
In the days before the religious reformation, only the priests had the Word of God
And they would preach in Latin, a language the congregation could not understand
Preachers would just talk for the sake of talking
No wonder the dark ages envelopes the pulpit
Looking back on history, every time an era falls into darkness the pulpit is in the Dark Ages
The Word of God starts to become more and more distorted
Pragmatic sermons take center stage
Sermons that focus on the needs of the people becomes the trend
A sermon should not be focused on the needs of the congregation
What does God need in the era full of pain and suffering..
The pertinent need!
Not the needs of the workplace But the Real need!
What does God need?
That is where the sermon must start
Where does the decadence of the pulpit start?
It starts from the focus on the needs of the people
When the needs of the world take precedence, problems start
When we get used to sweet and enticing sermons we can no longer distinguish the Truth
The sermon, both for those preparing and for those listening,
it must start from God’s needs
That is what Moses is talking about
Let's take a look at the next verse
(The Lord our God said to us at Mt. Horeb, "You have stayed long enough at this mountain")
(Please look up) How long have they stayed in the Mountains? Long enough
Long enough, does the passage refer to it in terms of time?
It is tough to interpret the Korean translation in any other way
But in Hebrew, the original meaning is not that we have stayed long enough,
but rather, we have heard enough of God's Words
Have heard enough, that's what this passage means
Israelites have had their fill of the Words of God that Moses brought them
That was translated into Korean as "long enough" in this passage
Dear members of Samil Church, have you not heard enough of God's Words?
How many services do we have at Samil?
8 Services on Sundays!
In all of Korea, I think only us, and Full Gospel Church are the only ones that have that many services
We hear enough of the Words right?
After we have our fill of Words, what is the next step?
Here is what the Bible tells us
I'll read verse 7
Listen carefully for the emphasis
Follow along silently with me
(Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighboring people in Arabah, in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, Euphrates.)
Do what?
Go!
This concept is repeated 3 times here
How? Go, Go and Go!
If you have heard enough, what do you need to do?
Go and go and go! Amen!
This is the reason why we worship
Experience God's glory through the worship Listen to God's Words
Give praise with full assurance and then what?
Go and Go and Go!
The meaning behind the service we hold this morning is just that
Before starting the day, come before God with reverence
Worship, praise and listen to His Words
And then what are you suppose to do?
Go and Go and Go into the heart of your Missions!
Your place of work!
Your work is not the place you go to make a living but a place God has call you to go
To make a path in accordance to His Words The place of Missions, and the place you are called to
Am I right?
That's why we must Go!
As we pray this morning,
pray for the guidance to help us to completely obey the words we received,
and to live a life without waste
If we heard your Words this morning,
let us pray that we don’t live a life that just seeks to put 3 meals on the table
But rather pray for a life that builds a path in this world surrounded in darkness, being a light that leads the way,
To live the life that explains the words of God to those that are lost
I pray and bless that the words we heard this momrning will become your prayer, to be the place of obedience
Let us pray,
Thank you for your Words this morning,
Help us to obey
And let us pray for the upcoming day A day that we will live for God and our works
I leave the ministry of Samil Church for this week in your hands
Fill us with abundance, let us pray out loud