S3E307 – Deuteronomy 10-12: What’s It Take?

Transcript Podcast Introduction Today is Monday so we’ll read from the Law. Deuteronomy 10-12  I have a special, by request On This Date In Church History for you, and an audio comment from a friend, in response to a prayer request. I’m calling today’s episode “What’s It Take?”   Design: Steve Webb | Photo: Uta Scholl on Unsplash Comments on Deuteronomy 10 12“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good? Deuteronomy 10:12-13 ESV These are the actions that God requires of His people. 1. To fear the Lord your God 2. To walk in all His ways 3. To love Him 4. To serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul 5. To keep the commandments and statues of the Lord BONUS: These are all given FOR OUR GOOD. 1. To fear the Lord your God This is not the kind of fear that makes us tremble with fright. This is an awe inspired respect that causes us to want to please Him. As He invites us into His presence, we are aware of His infinite power, holiness and righteousness. But the fact remains that He has, indeed, invited us. So we realize that He wants us to be with Him. And then we realize the price He paid so that we could be in His presence…Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, died for our sins and was resurrected, defeating death. And the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, came to live inside of us when we accepted Jesus, an unimaginable privilege. All of this helps us to realize how very much God loves us. 1 John 4:18 tells us that “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.” We need not fear God if we have placed our faith in Jesus, not the type of fear that means “afraid”. 2. To walk in all His ways In His Word, God has given instructions for how we should live. He expects and requires us to follow these instructions. Much of the time, our inclination is to follow our own desires, which are diametrically opposed to God’s ways. In spite of our desires, He requires that we choose His way. If we insist on walking in our own ways, how can we say that we are His? When I married the Lovely Lady LeeAnn, I made a vow to be faithful to her, and walk in the ways of matrimony. If I insist on continuing to live as if I were a single man, how could I say that I was truly her husband? I may have said the words, but my heart and my mind was not changed. In a similar way, when I accepted Christ, I began a new relationship with Him and asked Him to be the Lord of my life. My life must reflect that relationship, just as my life must reflect the marriage relationship I have with LeeAnn. 3. To love Him God requires that we make a conscious decision to love Him. This kind of love is not based on an emotional or romantic whim, but a reasoned response to the love and mercy He has shown toward us. Love is more than a feeling. Love is a decision. I decided to love the Lovely Lady LeeAnn, forsaking all others. Through good times and hard times, in sickness and in health, I promised to love her. That’s a picture of how we are to love God. Sometimes life is sweet, sometimes life is hard. But I choose to love God in all circumstances. 4. To serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul Because we love Him, because of the fact that all that we are and all that we have is because of God’s goodness and love, He requires us to serve Him with our whole being. All that we do should be done as if it were a service to Him. Without Him, I am nothing. My very breath is a gift from God. I owe literally everything to Him. It is my honor to serve Him. It is an obligation, but one that I take on willingly and without reservation. How could I not? 5. To keep the commandments and statues of the Lord We cannot keep His commandments and statutes unless we know them. Therefore, He requires that we truly study His Word. We must become students of the Word. We must keep it in our hearts and minds. His Word is really a love letter to us. In it, He reveals His heart to us. He shows us what His initial plan for mankind was before the fall, and then how He set about redeeming us so that all could be set right. The more I study and read, the more I want to know Him and do what He wants. BONUS: These are all given for your good The Lord our God is not a Cosmic Killjoy. He is not the Sovereign Stick In the Mud or the  Big Buzzkill. His commandments and statutes are given so that we can live the very best life possible; the life that He knows is best for us, even if we can’t understand it.  God knew from the foundation of the world that we would fail miserably in keeping His commandments. It did not surprise Him when Adam and Eve sinned. God already had the plan of salvation in mind. He gave us free will, knowing that we would make wrong choices. But the alternative, that of having no free will, would mean that we would not love Him out of choice but out of programming. But then, it would not be love. Remember…love is a decision. Forced love is not love…it is something else entirely. So in His perfect love, righteousness and holiness, from the foundation of the world, Jesus knew what He would do for you and for me. I cannot but offer my life as a living sacrifice because of Jesus’ sacrifice.  Today’s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 10 ESV; Ch. 11 HCSB; Ch. 12 NCV Support This a value for value podcast. There are no advertisers because advertising=censorship. If you enjoy the Lifespring Family Audio Bible, decide how much value it brings to you. Only you can make that determination. Then put a number on the value and send it to me here: SUPPORT. Transcript Download .txt file. STEVE WEBB – 0:00He’s not a sovereign stick in the mud or the big Buzzkill. INTRO S12E313 – 0:11Coming to you from Riverside, California, this is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible, and podcasting since 2004, I’m your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. This is the daily show where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year. Today’s Monday, so we’ll read from the Law. We’ll read Deuteronomy 10 through 12. And I’ve got a special, by-request, On This Date in Church History for you and an audio comment from a friend in response to a prayer request. I’m calling today’s episode, “What’s It Take?”. The show notes page for today’s episode is at lifespringmedia.com/s12e313. Then my email address is st***@*************ia.com. Let’s begin. DEUTERONOMY 10 (ESV) – 0:50Deuteronomy, chapter 10. (1) “At that time the Lord said to me, ‘Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to me on the mountain and make an ark of wood. (2) And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets that you broke, and you shall put them in the ark.’ (3) So I made an ark of acacia wood, and cut two tablets of stone like the first, and went up the mountain with the two tablets in my hand. (4) And he wrote on the tablets, in the same writing as before, the Ten Commandments that the Lord had spoken to you on the mountain out of the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. And the Lord gave them to me. (5) Then I turned and came down from the mountain and put the tablets in the ark that I had made. And there they are, as the Lord commanded me.” (6) (The people of Israel journeyed from Beeroth Bene-jaakan to Moserah. There Aaron died, and there he was buried. And his son Eleazar ministered as priest in his place. (7) From there they journeyed to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land with brooks of water. (8) At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord to stand before the Lord to minister to him and to bless his name, to this day. (9) Therefore Levi has no portion or inheritance with his brothers. The Lord is his inheritance, as the Lord your God said to him.) (10) “I myself stayed on the mountain, as at the first time, forty days and forty nights, and the Lord listened to me that time also. The Lord was unwilling to destroy you. (11) And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, go on your journey at the head of the people, so that they may go in and possess the land, which I swore to their fathers to give them.’ (12) “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, (13) and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good? (14) Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. (15) Yet the Lord set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. (16) Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. (17) For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. (18) He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. (19) Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. (20) You shall fear the Lord your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear. (21) He is your praise. He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen. (22) Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons, and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven. DEUTERONOMY 11 (HSCB) – 3:56Deuteronomy, chapter 11. (1) “Therefore, love the Lord your God and always keep His manda