Thru the Bible - #157-Deuteronomy 6- Obey God and Prosper

Transcript

Welcome And Settle In

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to Barin's Corner, the podcast where we go through books of the Bible chapter by chapter and verse by verse. Wherever you are in the world, thank you for joining. Grab a glass of water, a cup of coffee or tea, and let's get into today's lesson. Alright, welcome back, and thank you for joining me as always. Open your Bible to Deuteronomy chapter 6. The title of today's lesson is Obey God and Prosper. Deuteronomy chapter 6, and let's read.

SPEAKER_00 0:46

Deuteronomy 6. These are the commands, decrees, and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children, and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. Hear, O Israel. And be careful to obey so that it may go well with you, and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your fathers, promised you. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts, impress them on your children, talk about them when you sit at home, and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up, tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads, write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates. When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give you, a land with large flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant. Then, when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. Fear the Lord your God, serve him only, and take your oaths in his name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you, for the Lord your God who is among you is a jealous God, and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. Do not test the Lord your God as you did at Masa. Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. Do what is right and good in the Lord's sight, so that it may go well with you, and you may go in and take over the good land that the Lord promised on earth to your forefathers, thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the Lord said. In the future, when your son asks you, What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees, and laws the Lord our God has commanded you? Tell him, We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Before our eyes the Lord sent miraculous signs and wonders, great and terrible, upon Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land that he promised on earth to our forefathers. The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today. And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.

The Shema: Hear And Love

Keep God’s Word Everywhere

Blessings That Follow Obedience

Success Can Make You Forget

Worship God Alone With Reverence

Do Right And Teach Children

Closing Prayer And Stay Connected

SPEAKER_01 4:00

Now, let me start here. I don't think most people who know God truly understand just how important obedience really is. Because when life gets hard, people run to God. When we have troubles, we run to God when we have troubles, when we get in trouble, troubles around the corner, things are not going right, we run to God. But when life gets good, people drift away from God. And there is the real danger. It's not the struggle, but the success. You know, it kind of reminds me of a of a boxer. I I won't say who he is, but there's a particular boxer that um when he was younger in his career, I remember he would always say, you know, thank you to Jesus. Thank you to Jesus, my Lord and Savior, uh, when he was on his way coming up. He was making good money, but he would always thank the Lord after his wins. I noticed that the more rich he got, and once he became the man and he became and he started making lots of money, I didn't hear him thank the Lord anymore after his bouts. I didn't hear him say thank you, Jesus, or that Jesus was his savior after his bouts. When things were uh so-called horror coming up, he was always with the Lord. But when things got good, he began to drift away from the Lord, and that's exactly what Moses is addressing here in Deuteronomy chapter 6. He knows Israel is about to step into the promised land into blessings, success, and all the opportunities. But he doesn't want them to forget one thing that got the that the thing that got them there, and that is God and his word, listening to the word of God. The key to experiencing consistent blessings and a full life is simple fear God, love God, and carefully obey his word. And that is a very important foundation that we can stand on, and we can see the importance of that obedience in verses one through three. Now, this is the commandment, the statutes and the judgments which the Lord your God has commanded me to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you are going over to possess it, so that you and your son and your grandson might fear the Lord your God to keep his statutes and his commandments, which I command you all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. O Israel, you should listen and be careful to do it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, just as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you in a land flowing with milk and honey. Moses reminds them God gave them commands, God gave them statutes, God gave them judgments, and all of it matters. Now, this isn't something that's optional, this is a foundational point. If you take God's word seriously, it can lead to a longer life, a better life, a blessed life. That's the promise, and that's the promise that the Lord gave to Israel here. Now, there's a number of teachings that we can get out of this chapter, and we will start with the first one. God's people need to hear. Notice verse 4 hear, O Israel. This isn't just about hearing sound, this is about hearing with the intention to understand and obey. There's a difference between listening and actually applying. Which brings us to the second teaching. Know the Lord is your God. We see that also in verse 4. The Lord is our God. Now, that is personal. Did you catch that? The Lord is our God. He is not just a God, he's your God, the sovereign, all-powerful God, and you have a relationship with him. That's you and I. That's that is personal. He is our God. The Lord is our God. He is the God who looks over every single one of us down here on this earth. Which brings us to the third teaching. God is one. Notice verse 4. The Lord is one. There's truly only one true God. There are not multiples, there are not options. There's one God revered fully in Scripture. This is why the scriptures were written to Israel, but given to us, because God reveals Himself in these scriptures. Don't forget that. Which brings us to the fourth teaching. Love God completely. Notice verse 5. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Now, God doesn't want part of you, He wants all of you. He wants your heart, which is your emotions. He wants your soul, who you are on the inside, and He also wants your strength. That's your energy and your effort. Everything. God wants you. That's what God has always wanted. That was the reason why the Lord created us and allowed us to multiply all of these years to have as many people as we have here because He He wants you. That's what He wants. Brings us to our fifth teaching. Keep God's word on your heart. Notice verse 6. And these words which I am commanding you today shall be on your heart. God doesn't just want you to have his word, he wants it living inside of you. So his word shapes how you think, how you react, how you live. And you know, that's how we can stay on the straight and narrow path. You get that word of God on your heart. Don't just read it uh uh for reading its sake. You need to read it so it goes in to your mind and it lands on your heart and stays there. Which brings us to the sixth teaching. Teach it to your children, verse 7. And you shall teach them diligently to your sons and talk to them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up. Now, this is big, this is very important here. Faith is not meant to stop with you. Uh you know, you uh parents and grandparents, you are supposed to also be teaching this daily. It's not just in the church, it's not just when they go to church or when they go to Sunday school, but it's daily. It's on the parents and it's on the g and it's on the grandparents to walk in it daily, as it says, when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. That's in the morning, that's at the night, every day, all day. That word is supposed to be out of you into your children. Which brings us to teaching number seven. Apply it in every area of your life. We see this in verses eight and nine. And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead, and you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. God's word should show up uh in your work, in your thinking, in your home. It should show up in your public life. You know, it's not just a Sunday thing, it's an everyday thing. You ever heard of people calling people Sunday Christians, where uh they get up on Sunday morning and they go to church and they get that word of God in them, but then the other six and a half days, they're just doing whatever. That's what this is more referring to. Applied in every area of your life. Uh, in everything that you do, people should see it. When you're at work, people should see the Lord coming off of you. Uh, when you're at home or you're out in public, uh, you know, and inside your mind, you want to keep that word of God sharp in you so it will always show in you. Which brings us to uh some results of obedience when you do obey the Lord. Uh look at verses uh 10 and 11. Then it shall come about when the Lord your God brings you into the land which he swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you great and splendid cities which you did not build, and houses full of all good things which you did not feel, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you shall eat and be satisfied. If you obey God, this is what the Lord says, I'll give you cities you didn't build. He's talking to Israel here, but let's apply that to our life. What he's saying there is that I will give you things in your life that you didn't even put your hands on. The Lord says, Houses filled with things you didn't earn. He's telling Israel, I'm gonna fill your house with things you didn't earn. That can apply, that can and does apply to us as well. When you get things that show, you know how you say, Oh, that was such a blessing. These are blessings that show up in your life. Also, too, a life that's full and satisfying. That's something else the Lord gives us when we obey him. He's gonna give you a life full and satisfying. One of my prayers is uh I always say, Lord, you know, please give me a long, full life. You know, that's always one of my everyday prayers. And when the Lord is telling you, when you walk in his obedience, he will give you those things. Now, there is a warning. Don't forget God. Notice verse 12. Watch yourselves lest you forget the Lord who brought you from the land of Egypt out of the house of slavery. Now, here's the danger to everything that we just talked about. When life gets good, people forget God. They enjoy the blessings, but forget the one who gave it to them. Moses says here, don't do that. Don't forget the things the Lord did for you. As I mentioned earlier, a lot of people will do that. They will forget about the Lord, they will remember the Lord on the ride up. But when they get there, they start going other ways, they forget about the Lord. Which brings us to teaching number eight. Fear God. Notice verse 13. You shall fear only the Lord your God. The one you should reverence most is God. It's not people, it's not situations, it's it's not a pastor, it's not a teacher, it's God. You should absolutely have a reverence for the Lord. Teacher number nine, worship only God. Also look in verse 13. And you shall worship him. Who's the him? God. God doesn't share his place. He is the only one worthy. That's why he said he's a jealous God. He doesn't share his place with others. Teacher number 10. Be committed to God alone. Notice of verse uh 13 through 14, and swear by his name. You shall not follow other gods, any other gods of the peoples who surround you. Don't mix God with the world. Don't follow what everyone else is chasing. Stay committed to him, stay committed to the Lord, stay on track, stay on pace. And as I say a lot of times, stay on that on that uh on that narrow path. Teacher number 11. God is jealous. Notice verse 15. For the Lord your God in the midst of you is a jealous God. God cares deeply about his relationship with you. When something replaces him, it matters. That's when the Lord gets upset when something replaces him. But what do you mean by that? Anything that comes before the Lord. It could be your work, it could be uh your favorite sports team, it could be, you know, uh your yard work, your hobbies. The Lord does not like it when things come before him. Teacher number 12. God can't discipline seriously. Notice verse uh 15. Otherwise, the anger of the Lord your God will be kindled against you. This is something people don't like to hear, but this is real. God can deal with his people in very serious ways. He loves you, but he is not uh going to be taken lightly. So you have to remember that. The Lord is love, but he is also just, which means that he can discipline harshly. We need to remember that. Teaching number 13, don't test God. Verse 16 says, sorry, you shall not put the Lord your God to the test as you tested him at Mashiah. Now, don't make demands on God that go against his word, and don't question him just because things aren't going your way. That is something that we learned when we went through the book of Job. You know, when you make demands on God to go against his word, it's not gonna happen. That's putting God to the test. Anything you ask of the Lord, it has to be in and on his word. Which brings us to teacher number 14. Guard and obey the word. Notice verse 17. You should diligently, diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God and his testimonies and his statutes, which he has commanded you. Moses keeps coming back to this. Why? Because everything flows from it. Guard and obey the word. Teacher number 15. Do what is right. Notice verses 18 and 19. And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, and it may be well with you, and that you may go in and possess the good land which the Lord swore to give your fathers by driving out all your enemies from before you as the Lord has spoken. Not what feels right, not what culture says is right, what God says is right. That's what doing what right is. Now, guarantees, if you do this, there are some guarantees. One is that life will go well. As we mentioned a little earlier, the Lord will see to it that your life goes well. And that's one of the guarantees he gives us. The next one is God will keep his promise. The things that God said, he's gonna keep his promises because he's a God who can't go back on his word. And also, your enemies will be dealt with. That's why he said vengeance belongs to him. Your enemies, he will deal with them. That's why you're supposed to pray for your enemies. Which brings us to teacher number 16. Teach the next generation. We see this in verses 20 through 25. When your son asks you in time coming, saying, What do the testimonies and the statutes and the judgments mean, which the Lord our God commanded you? Then you shall say to your son, We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Lord brought us from Egypt with a mighty hand. Moreover, the Lord showed great and distressing signs and wonders before our eyes against Egypt, Pharaoh and all his households, and he brought us out from there in order to bring us in, to give us the land which he has sworn to our fathers. So the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God for our good always and for our survival as it is today. And it will be righteousness for us if we are careful to observe all this commandment before the Lord our God, just as He commanded us. Kids are going to ask questions. You know, we those of you who are parents, you know that. And when they do, you need to answer. You need to have those answers. And those answers should come from God's word. That is how faith continues. Kids are going to ask you questions about, you know, how did the uh stars get up there? You know, let's say you take your kids out at night and look up at the sky. Well, you know, how did the sun get there? You know, how where did all these animals come from? As a parent, you are supposed to have these answers. You are supposed to be able to answer those questions for your kid in the word of God. That's why it is good to stay grounded in it. Now, let me make this simple. If you want a better life, if you want a stable life, if you want a blessed life, the formula is not complicated at all. You just have to obey the word of God. You fear God, you love God, you obey God. That is it, and it is absolutely that simple. All right, that brings us to the end of Deuteronomy chapter six. I hope, as always, you learned something, you got something out of this lesson. I ask you to pray for me. Uh, that I stay steadfast in the scriptures, that I stay in good health, and I stay on the narrow path. And I am doing the same for you. I am praying for you as well. I hope that you are well wherever you are in the world. And as always, I appreciate you more than you will ever know that you take time out of your morning, afternoon, or evening to go through the scriptures with me. That brings us to the end of Deuteronomy chapter 6. That's all for now. God bless. Thank you for listening to Bereen's Corner. 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