Christ Church

The Lord’s Faithfulness

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The Text

Deuteronomy 30:1-20

Introduction

         We come to the conclusion of Moses’s charge to Israel and to the last sermon in the series Faithfulness for the Next Generation. An appropriate question to ask is what does God want from his people? Faithfulness. Even with the majority of the book devoted to explaining the Ten Commandments, God does not want a nation a box-checkers. The Law reveals God’s desire for the hearts of his people. Faithfulness to God begins with loving God with your whole heart. That is what the law reveals about God. But the law also reveals man and his unfaithful heart.

         In his final sermon, Moses expounds the gospel truths that God is faithful even when his people are not. And God will do for his people what they can not do for themselves––circumcise their hearts and the hearts of their children. This is possible because the word, the Word, is very near to them and to you.

The Heart that Cannot See or Hear (Deut. 29:1-4)

         Why can’t Israel be faithful? It’s easy to think that “If we had front row seats to seeGod’s wonders in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness, and if we have heard God speak from the cloud and heard the words of the Law, then we would have been really obedient. So what’s their problem?” Moses says that God didn’t give them a heart to see or to hear.

         Listen to what Moses says in 29:2-4, “Now Moses called all Israel and said to them: ‘You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land––the great trials which your eyes have seen, the signs, and those great wonders. Yet the Lord has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day.” Israel’s ears were hard of hearing because their heart was hard. There eyes were blind because their heart was blind. Israel’s problem was their heart. They don’t have the right heart because God has not given them the right heart.

The Heart of Man      

         This is not merely Israel’s problem, but mankind’s problem, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Your heart is a hypocritical, to others and to yourself. Moses warns again deceiving yourself with covenant presumption, “When he hears the words of this curse, that he blesses himself in his HEART, saying, ‘I shall have peace even though I follow the dictates of my HEART’” (Deut. 29:19). How simple it is to view your life through Instagram #blessed, when you are really cursed. While you and your heart may be deceived, God is not. He sees, he hears, he knows the heart of man. He knows your heart. He is not fooled.

The Lord Circumcises the Heart (30:1-6)

         The Lord knows that his people will turn and fall away and would be unfaithful to their covenant. He knew this not only for his covenant people of Israel, but also that his covenant people of Christ Church would be unfaithful. But the Lord is faithful. And he is already planning to forgive. To restore. To show compassion. To return home. To change hearts. “And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God will all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live” (Deut. 30:6). The glorious gospel promise is that God does for man what man can not do for themselves. Earlier in Deuteronomy 10, God told Israel to “Circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer” (Deut. 10:18). A faithful Israelite would be wondering, “How do I apply this one?” What is impossible for us––whole-hearted obedience––God gives.

The Obedient Heart (30:7-10)

         The heart circumcised by the Lord is the heart that loves the Lord. That’s the first and greatest commandment. And this obedience keeps spreading (verse 8).  You can obey the Lord and turn to the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul, because the Lord has turned your heart.

The Word is Near (30:11-20)

         In Romans 10, Paul quotes Deuteronomy 30:11-14 and shows how this is about Jesus. Paul begins, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” Paul then outlines two options for righteousness––self-righteousness or Christ’s righteousness. You enter heaven either through yourrighteousness or Christ’srighteousness. It’s not a deep mystery whose righteousness will get you there.

         But Paul shows how Jesus brings near the Word of this covenant. You can’t say that this covenant is not too hard or mysterious because Christ has fulfilled the law and graciously gives you his righteousness. Don’t say that the covenant is too far away, because Jesus is Immanuel. Jesus has come and has come to take on your curse. Christ conquered death and evil and now brings life and goodness for his people.

         Moses says, “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, his statutes, and his judgments, that you may live and multiply” (Deut. 30:15-16). Moses sets life and good and blessings before them by placing before them the law. And the law really can be life and good and blessing when you believe that Jesus is your Law, your Righteousness, your Savior, your Lord. Therefore choice Jesus.

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1 Samuel 16:1-13

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The Text

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Introduction

Ecclesiastes tells us in a number of different ways that ending well matters. in fact the implication running through the book is that starting well is easy; ending well is much more of a challenge: “The end of a matter is better than its beginning; the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.”

1 Samuel 16 is a transition point in the history of Israel. Samuel’s life and ministry is coming to an end and David’s kingship and the Davidic kingdom is just beginning. 1 Samuel 16 is an ideal lens to look closely at the end of a matter (Samuel’s life and ministry) and the beginning of a matter (David and his rule).

The End of a Matter (Samuel)

1 Samuel 16 is the last recorded event in Samuel’s life and ministry before his death in 1 Samuel 25:1 (aside a brief appearance in ch.19).

The way 1 Samuel 16 is carefully crafted in the context of all that has gone before suggests that it serves as a subtle rebuke/humbling of Samuel, one that has been building throughout the narrative.

1 Sam. 2:18-26

1 Sam. 3:2ff

1 Sam. 9:6-20

The Beginning of a Matter (David)

v.9 David is the ‘youngest’ of Jesse’s eight sons and has been left watching the sheep while Jesse and his sons attend the sacrifice arranged by Samuel

What about 1 Chron 2:15?

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Covenant Renewal

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The Text

“I make this covenant and this oath, not with you alone, 15 but with him who stands here with us today before the Lord our God, as well as with him who is not here with us today 16 (for you know that we dwelt in the land of Egypt and that we came through the nations which you passed by, 17 and you saw their abominations and their idols which were among them—wood and stone and silver and gold); 18 so that there may not be among you man or woman or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations, and that there may not be among you a root bearing bitterness or wormwood; 19 and so it may not happen, when he hears the words of this curse, that he blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall have peace, even though I follow the dictates of my heart’—as though the drunkard could be included with the sober.” Deuteronomy 29:14-19

Covenant Renewal

As we dig into this passage on the renewing of the covenant of the children of Israel with God, I want you to remind you that we don’t want to miss important parallels with our own experience. Why?  Because what we are doing his this morning is also a form of covenant renewal.  These folks are preparing for the invasion of Canaan, we are preparing for the expansion of the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

What is a Covenant?

It is a contract or agreement between two parties, sealed by vowing or with an oath, with with attendant blessings and curses based on completion of the oath.  When God covenants with His creation, it is unilateral. We are recipients, not contributors; we are called to accept it as offered, to keep it as demanded, and to receive the results that God, by oath, assures will not be withheld.  To believe God and respond in faith.

What are the Options?

“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil” Deuteronomy 30:15 Life vs. Death, Good vs. Evil.  I think you get the idea about the contrast.  And this is the conclusion that Moses draws in verse 9:“Therefore keep the words of this covenant, and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.”

Eyes to See and Ears to Hear

“Yet the Lord has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day.”  The secret things of God includes opening eyes and calling people to Himself.  With this in mind, it is natural for someone to question whether God has or is working sovereignly in their heart and mind.  But this should not result in despair because we have all that God has ‘revealed’ as a gift to us and our children.

How do we Renew the Covenant?

“Instead of asking yourself whether you believe or not, ask yourself whether you have, this day, done one thing because He said, Do it! or once abstained because He said, Do not do it! It is simply absurd to say you believe, or even want to believe, in Him, if you do not do anything He tells you.” George MacDonald

God has called you today to renew you covenant, your trust in His salvation.  He has called you into relationship through your koinonia in Christ. Let this truth, this reality draw worship and obedience out of your heart in gratitude.

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Psalm 98: Undertake or Overtake

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Introduction

When we sing the psalms back to God, one of the things we are learning how to do is how to address Him as He would like to be addressed. Instead of cooking up our idea of pious noises and a liturgical shuffling around, we can read the script, commune with the librettist, and follow the stage directions.

The Text

“O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory. The Lord hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen. He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. Sing unto the Lord with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm. With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King. Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together before the Lord; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity” (Ps. 98:1-9).

Summary of the Text

This psalm can basically be divided into three stanzas. The first concerns why we are invited to praise Jehovah (vv. 1-3). The second addresses how (vv. 4-6). And the third has to do with the matter of who (vv. 7-9).

We are to praise God because His strong right arm has obtained the victory (v. 1). We are to praise Him because He does not keep the fact of His salvation a secret (v. 2). He has remembered His mercy and truth with regard to Israel, and the whole world can see that (v. 3).

So, make a joyful noise, make a loud noise, and do it with song (v. 4). Sing to the Lord with a harp, and also with a psalm (v. 5). Add to all the jubilation with some brass (v. 6). Act like this is the coronation of the king.

Let the fullness of the oceans join in on the chorus, not excluding all the inhabitants of these oceans (v. 7). Waves crashing together on the offbeat are glorious, and because the hills refuse to be left out, they also rejoice (v. 8). We all sing together in joy because of the coming judgment. This judgment will be sheer relief for the planet, not to mention all the nations (v. 9).

The Magnificat

Our Lord’s mother was very likely a teenage girl when Gabriel appeared to her. Not only was she of such a character to be chosen by God at such a tender age, she was also a young woman who was steeped in the Old Testament Scriptures. The heading of this psalm says simply “a psalm,” and the Magnificatwas also very much a psalm—filled with echoes of thispsalm, as Adam Clarke notes:

Sing a new song to the Lord, and Mary answers, “My soul doth magnify the Lord.” He has done marvelous things, and Mary answers, “He that is mighty hath done great things.” His arm has gotten Him the victory, and Mary answers, “He hath showed strength with his arm.” The Lord has made known His salvation, and Mary answers, “His mercy is from generation to generation.” He has remembered the house of Israel, and Mary answers “He hath holpen his servant Israel.”

Criminal and Civil Cases

In Scripture, we are invited to think about our relationship to God under different images. If we think biblically, we can use them all profitably, not allowing one of them to dominate, or applying them woodenly. For example, when we think of the coming judgment, we are invited to think it as a criminal trial, in a capital case, and with ourselves as the accused. For example, consider Ps. 67:4 and Ps. 96:12-13 and Ps. 35:24.

But we are also invited to think of that judgment, as here, as a civil case, with ourselves as the plaintiffs. In the former illustration, we want to get out of the courtroom as rapidly as possible, and with minimal fines. In the latter illustration, the difficulty is getting intothe courtroom. Your case is ironclad, and your problem is that no one will listen. The good news is that Jehovah Himself is coming, and He will listen. He will hearyou. This is the case with the widow in the Lord’s parable (Luke 18:3).

The judge is at the door. He will dry every tear (Rev. 21:4). He will bind up every wound (Ps. 147:3). He will set every bone. He will untie every treachery. He will reverse the effect of every desertion. Every disease will be sponged away. Every cruelty will be dissolved into nothingness. No unrepentant sinner will be given the power to blackmail the redeemed cosmos out of her joy. The fatherless will be brought to their everlasting Father, and all the pieces of this glorious story will be fitted together, and there will be no remainder.

Undertake or Overtake?

So what do you make of Jesus? He was crucified, buried, raised, raised again, and then enthroned. He is now seated at the right hand of the Ancient of Days, and every creature is summoned to face Him. Every one of us either does so or refuses to do so. The Latin word converteremeans to turn around, and it is where we get the word conversion.

Our solemn responsibility is to turn and face Christ. If we do, then we will look upon the one who was pierced. We will see Him, and that means we will see the judge who undertakes on our behalf. We can know this because we have been looking at the judge who undertook (past tense) on our behalf.

So that is the foundational issue. Christ either undertakesfor you, and does so as one kind of judge, or He overtakesyou, doing so as the other kind of judge. Do you want to look on the kind face of a merciful judge? Then you must repent. You must turn around. You must look upon His face.

Or do you want the other kind of judge? You intend to continue running away from Him, running pell mell through all your slippery sins? You who are stuck in the miry clay, you think you can make your escape? Do you really think you have the competence to successfully run from absolute Justice? You think you can make a run for the border? There is no border. The place you are running to is called the outer darkness for a reason.

The rebellious option is to flee and to feel, necessarily, the iron clasp of an avenging judge grip your shoulder. Or you might turn around, as the gospel commands, and see both of His hands outstretched, palms up, and pierced clean through.

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