Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Please be seated. Good morning, everybody. Again today. I've already mentioned that the message today is out of the Book of Deuteronomy. And we're doing this series, Encouragements in Deuteronomy. And you've probably thought to yourself, how many encouragements can be in the Book of Deuteronomy? There's people dying and there's people getting leprosy and getting all kinds of diseases and being rebuked and not living for the Lord and making bad decisions. And what kind of encouragement can be found in Deuteronomy? So just to kind of give you a synopsis, if you're just joining us for this, Numbers. The Book of Numbers is kind of the events that happen in Moses life as he brings the people out of Egypt, you know, let my people go, that kind of deal. He brings them up out of Egypt and the experience that they have in the wilderness. That's the Book of Numbers. But Deuteronomy is kind of like his journal.
[00:00:57] It's like how a leader felt about all of these occasions, all of these incidents as they happened. And so when you dive into the Book of Deuteronomy, you run across a lot of the same stories, a lot of the same events as numbers, but you get to hear from the heart of the one who leads his people.
[00:01:16] So I've begun to actually just really adore the Book of Deuteronomy.
[00:01:20] And so we've decided to take these last few moments that we have to study through the book as we get into the month of February and talk about how we can find some major moments of encouragement in the book.
[00:01:40] So today, here's your question to start out with. Have you ever attempted something that is just. Or let me say that again. Have you ever attempted something that just seemed too difficult to do?
[00:01:54] Maybe you're at your job and your boss gives you something and you're just saying you have the wrong person for this job.
[00:02:00] Or maybe you're an older person like me, and the Internet, which I think is still just a fad, came on to you, and now you've got to learn all these different apps, and you're pulling out your hair because you're thinking to yourself, what good are all these different apps?
[00:02:19] Maybe you have a relationship that you're in that just seems too difficult to maneuver.
[00:02:26] Have you ever been given something in your life that just seemed too difficult to do? And here's the kicker. When you didn't do it, or when you failed at it, or when you dropped the ball, how many of you love to make up excuses.
[00:02:43] So if you go golfing with me, you will hear a lot of excuses.
[00:02:49] Tee up the ball, you know, hit it out there a thousand yards into the woods. Shank it, you slice it, you duff it. Am I on?
[00:02:59] Am I still.
[00:03:01] Whatever you do.
[00:03:02] And then after you tee it up and you hit it and it all goes wrong, you turn around to the people that you're really trying to impress, those people that are standing with you, and you think to yourself, which of the next the five excuses in my mind am I going to say? Hey, you guys were talking. Let's cut that. I could have. This could have been a million dollar hit. But you guys were. The sun was in my eyes. Or, you know, whatever.
[00:03:27] You know, I could do better than that. I don't know.
[00:03:31] Whatever your excuses are. Football season just ended. How many of you have excuses for how your team did?
[00:03:37] Yeah, I know. It's like, well, the refs weren't on our side, okay? Yeah. So gym memberships.
[00:03:45] Gym memberships have started because it's January, you know. So you go to the gym and good luck finding a machine. Right? Because everybody's there. Give it two months and it'll be crickets in there again. Right. And then you say to people, well, why aren't you going to the gym? I thought your New Year's resolution was to go to the gym. Well, I can't go to the gym. There's just too many people there, Whatever it is. But you're making up excuses for how the deal goes. All right, so one of the best illustrations I have for excuses for not succeeding is the story of Blockbuster. How many of you remember Blockbuster? Remember Blockbuster?
[00:04:25] Do you know the story of Blockbuster? Yeah.
[00:04:29] So I think you're okay on that. Yeah. They're not going to be collecting at your door. Blockbuster was.
[00:04:35] Blockbuster was a megalith. Do you remember this?
[00:04:39] You know, the younger people probably don't, but I'm going to give this illustration anyway because it's a great illustration of failure. But making up excuses. Blockbuster, at their pinnacle had 9,000 stores. Now, just let that sink in a second. 9,000 stores. They had millions of members. Do you remember the members? Do you remember the little Blockbuster card that you had?
[00:05:00] Yeah. Yeah. You still got one that you owe on, right? Yeah. They led the pack in movie distributions and movie rentals. They had clear direction. They had all the resources they needed. They had a guaranteed place in the market. Now, I'm glad you're sitting down because this next one is going to blow you away.
[00:05:21] This company Blockbuster was so great. At the point in time when Netflix came out, Netflix offered to sell to Blockbuster for $50 million.
[00:05:33] And Blockbuster passed.
[00:05:37] Blockbuster passed because they said the culture, Netflix said the culture is moving to a streaming culture.
[00:05:48] And Blockbuster said, no, they are not, and here's why.
[00:05:53] And there's videos of all these excuses. You can find these online. But. But when they were interviewed as to why they didn't take on Netflix, especially after Netflix went crazy and Blockbuster obviously didn't, they said, here's some of the quotes. People will always want to come to a store.
[00:06:15] Isn't that funny? Yeah, I'm glad I got that reaction right. People will always look at the weather outside. People are always going to want to come to a store to get their streaming is a fad. They said, our model is a proven success, and they're right about this. And our success proves we're doing it right. And so soon their excuses became a way to avoid responsibility. And within a decade, Netflix was up and Blockbuster was gone.
[00:06:47] Blockbuster didn't fail because they couldn't keep up with Blockbuster failed because they wouldn't.
[00:06:55] So now you're thinking to yourself, what in the world does this have to do with Deuteronomy 30? Well, if you go to your Bibles, I'll show you Deuteronomy 30 is the passage that we're in right now. We're going to back up a little bit into 29. But let me give you a little bit of background on Deuteronomy 30. This is where we're jumping in for our moment of encouragement out of the book of deuteronomy today.
[00:07:16] Chapter 30 is Moses conclusion to what blessings and cursings are going to be like.
[00:07:24] Chapter 28 is the blessings and curses. Chapter 29 is the renewed covenant. And chapter 30, where we're going to be today is Moses response to that. Now listen, after chapter 30, everything kind of winds down. I'll tell you what happens. All right, Just so you know, chapter 31, Moses passes the baton of leadership to Joshua. Chapter 32, Moses sings a song. So you want to go and hear Moses sing? That's chapter 32, chapter 33, Moses blesses the nation of Israel. And chapter 34, Moses kicks the bucket. He's done. He dies in chapter 34.
[00:08:03] So this chapter, chapter 30 is really the last chapter we hear from a leader talking to his people, saying how he feels about everything that they have been given by God, everything they've experienced with God. This is like his summary of life.
[00:08:24] And that's where we're diving in this morning, so let's start at 29. 29. Before we get to 30.
[00:08:31] The secret things, it says in 29. 29. This is Moses speaking. The secret things belong to the Lord our God.
[00:08:38] But the things that are revealed belong to who? Church Belong to us and our children forever so that we may do all the words of this law.
[00:08:50] Here's the encouragement.
[00:08:54] Here's what Moses says. After experiencing the wanderings in the wilderness, the water coming out of the rock, the manna falling from heaven, the pigeons or the pheasants they get to kill and eat. After all of the feasts and all of the festivals, the Sinai moment, all of that chapter 29 leading into chapter 30, Moses looks at the people and he says, listen, here's what I want you to know. You can do this.
[00:09:24] You can do this.
[00:09:27] You may think that you can't.
[00:09:29] Satan and the enemy may come up against you and say that you can't. But I, as a leader who have gone through life with you, telling you, you can do this and your children can do this.
[00:09:43] I love this passage of scripture because it says the secret things belong to who? Church.
[00:09:50] The secret things belong to the Lord.
[00:09:53] Do you know what the secret things are?
[00:09:55] The secret things are like what's planned for you after the service today. How many of you can guarantee me 100% that you're going to make it home alive?
[00:10:04] You can't, right? You don't know what's going to happen. You don't know what's going to happen in the next five minutes, much less the next five days.
[00:10:11] The secret things belong to the Lord. He does his plans. He works his plans, and he doesn't tell us all the details.
[00:10:21] And he does it for a reason. And he loves us. And we know all of those things are true. But the secret things, those belong to the Lord.
[00:10:29] Those are things that have not been revealed to us for some reason or another.
[00:10:34] This is the plane where God lives in Isaiah. It says it this way in Isaiah 55. This is one of my favorite passages of scripture, actually. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, God says, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. In other words, we can't know the mind of God.
[00:10:58] We can't know his secret things that he's working on. And he doesn't need to tell us because we trust him.
[00:11:05] This is where faith comes in. We believe that he loves us. We Believe that He protects us. We believe that he considers us his own family. And so faith comes in and allows God to work in the secret realm. And we're okay with that.
[00:11:21] In fact, I'm glad He works in his secret realm because I don't want to know the details.
[00:11:29] I don't want to know how hard life is going to be tomorrow, because I may not be able to deal with that today.
[00:11:35] But I know that if life gets hard tomorrow, he's there. He's with me. He protects me. He loves me. He has me in the grip of his grace.
[00:11:45] How do I know that? Because it's all over Scripture.
[00:11:48] Those are the revealed things.
[00:11:51] The secret things belong to the Lord, but the revealed things, Moses says, belong to us.
[00:11:58] This is what God has revealed so that we might enjoy life, so that we might be successful, so that we might live lives that are pleasing to Him. Deuteronomy 30, verse 16 says this. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, that I'm commanding you today by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules. All right, you got those three things?
[00:12:22] Love the Lord. Yes. You got it. Love the Lord, walk in his ways, keep his commandments, statutes and rules. If you do that, then you shall live and multiply. And the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you're entering to take possession of it. God says to his people, Israel, he says, listen, if you're careful to do all of these things, you will live lives of blessing.
[00:12:49] This is a promise of God to them. This is the revealed part of God's will.
[00:12:55] No person could ever say, God didn't tell me what to do. Oh, yes, he has preserved His Word so that we know his will.
[00:13:05] You know God's will for your life. It's in His Word. The question is, will you obey?
[00:13:12] Will you walk in it?
[00:13:15] Will you love God more than your own sin?
[00:13:20] That's the question.
[00:13:23] In God's Word, we have things that please God, things that don't, things that would damage Israel's reputation, things that would threaten their future blessings. The bottom line is God knows what he's doing. We don't have his playbook, but we have been given everything we need to live our lives.
[00:13:41] Israel has been given everything they need to live their lives pleasing to him and able to find his blessings in their lives. Okay?
[00:13:50] These are the words of a man about to die. A man who knows he's about to die, who passes the baton to Joshua in The next chapter sings a song in the chapter after that and then croaks in the chapter after that.
[00:14:05] He literally is saying, you know, God has a realm that he works in, and you can trust him, and you have a realm that you must live and obey him. That's the revealed truth of God.
[00:14:20] So now the encouragement. Here's the encouragement. Deuteronomy 30, verse 11.
[00:14:24] For this commandment I give, I command you. Today is not too hard for you.
[00:14:31] Neither is it far off.
[00:14:35] I love that the children of Israel have to be thinking to themselves, okay, well, we'll do the will of God. But, man, it is going to be really difficult.
[00:14:49] There's a lot of feasts, a lot of festivals, a lot of repentance, a lot of sacrifices, a lot of rules. It's going to be really, really hard. And Moses says to them, no, listen, it is not too hard for you. It's an encouragement from a leader to his people. This is not too hard for you. The payoff is beyond what you can imagine. So it's not too hard. God doesn't give you something you cannot do.
[00:15:14] And neither is it far off. Remember, we wrote all of this in the entrance into the land. We posted them and we plastered them in the rock.
[00:15:23] We've got them in the Ten Commandments.
[00:15:26] We do feasts and festivals to remind us about God's word. Word. It is not far off. It is not hidden from us.
[00:15:35] It is not incomprehensible.
[00:15:39] This word is given to them today.
[00:15:42] It is written down. It is in their language. They don't have to get somebody to decipher it for them.
[00:15:48] God spoke Hebrew so that they could understand.
[00:15:52] You ever wonder what language we're going to speak when we get to heaven?
[00:15:56] I don't know.
[00:15:57] I'm guessing it's probably not English. So maybe we're all going to have to take classes so we understand one another. I hope not, because I hate language classes.
[00:16:05] I don't know. All I know is this.
[00:16:08] We're going to understand each other when we get to heaven. All right? Just let me put a cap on that. But I do know this. When God gave His law to his people, he spoke and wrote it in their language. Isn't that great?
[00:16:19] This is for you.
[00:16:21] The leaders will quote it at all of these feasts and festivals. It'll be taught regularly to your children, to the adults, sojourners that come in, guests that pop in, your servants. Everybody's going to hear this. We're going to talk about God's word constantly to make sure that it's not far, far from us and it's not impossible.
[00:16:43] The issue is not that they've never been.
[00:16:47] The issue has never been capacity. The issue is willingness.
[00:16:51] People would be tempted to make excuses and Moses knows this.
[00:16:56] Moses knows people are going to drop the ball and then they're going to go, eh, it was just too hard to do. Sun was in my eyes, guys were talking on the tee box, whatever. Make excuses because I dropped the ball.
[00:17:13] Moses says it's not too hard because God has already brought the word down to your level.
[00:17:18] I just want to say one more thing on this. God separates himself from the pagan gods here.
[00:17:24] Pagan gods tell you just enough to get you through the door and then they require a lot from you.
[00:17:35] Pagan gods turn into gods of this world.
[00:17:38] The gods of this world will promise you ease and comfort.
[00:17:44] But the minute you start eating off the plate, you find that you have given too much up.
[00:17:54] This is how people walk into addictions.
[00:17:57] They walk into addictions because the gods of this world promised them immediate satisfaction, immediate joy.
[00:18:05] And then it fades and the guilt falls in and the relationships break down.
[00:18:11] The gods of this world promise you if you sit in a dark space, you will not be bothered. So sit in the dark space and put walls up.
[00:18:24] Relationships are too hard, so don't try.
[00:18:27] The gods of this world will promise you all of these wonderful, fulfilling, satisfying things. But when you start eating off the plate, you realize you've given way too much.
[00:18:42] They charge far more than they say they do at the door.
[00:18:49] Doing that non threatening drug ends up costing you far more than you thought it would in the long run.
[00:18:56] Trusting in that gambling hobby became a habit that turned into an addiction and broke apart relationships.
[00:19:07] Tasting an appetizer on social media turned into a sexual feast you can't live without.
[00:19:15] They promise you. The gods of this world promise you way more than they say they're going to charge you.
[00:19:26] They promise you ease, but in the end deliver you a painful way that costs you far more than you're willing to pay. I've said this before and it's so good I put it up on the screen. Here it is for you. Sin will take you further than you want to go. It'll keep you longer than you want to stay. And it'll cost you far more than you're willing to pay.
[00:19:45] These are the gods of this world.
[00:19:47] This is what they promise. And what they deliver is brokenness and pain, sorrow, shame and guilt.
[00:19:57] God has revealed himself so that his will can be plain to his people. And God's will never changes.
[00:20:05] His blueprint for them was near to them, revealed for them, would benefit them. All they had to do was do it, believe it, trust it and follow it.
[00:20:14] And by the way, let me just make a connection in the New Testament, God promises us where we're at today, the same treatment. Look at this verse in 1st Timothy 4, 7. Have nothing to do with irrelevant silly myths. This is talking to the church.
[00:20:29] The church that we're a part of today.
[00:20:32] Have nothing to do with irreverent silly myths.
[00:20:37] Rather, trained yourself for godliness. Have you ever trained for something before?
[00:20:43] When you trained for something, was it a joyful time?
[00:20:48] Did you just love it? And you just. I can't wait to train anyone that I know. That's training. Dreads takes work. It takes effort. It doesn't happen when you sit on the couch and watch tv. You have to. Unless that's what you're training for, then that might work. Anything you train for is going to take some effort. And this is what Timothy tells us. Paul writing to Timothy. Have nothing to do with irreverent silly myths. Rather, train yourself for what? Church.
[00:21:16] Train yourself for godliness. Work at it, train for it.
[00:21:22] For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way. How many ways is godliness valuable? Church?
[00:21:32] Every way, as it holds promise for this present life and also for the life to come.
[00:21:40] Man, I would love to train for something that helps me in this present life and also in the life to come. Wouldn't you?
[00:21:48] That's a good thing to train for. And that is in Scripture told to us today, train for godliness. It is not far from you, and it is not too difficult for you.
[00:22:00] God has revealed all of this to us for a reason.
[00:22:06] But when we train for it, when we try so often, we drop the ball. And when we do, what do we do? We find excuses.
[00:22:20] We find excuses.
[00:22:22] God knows the tendency we have to find excuses. So guess what he does in Exodus, chapter 30?
[00:22:29] He anticipates our excuses, the excuses of humanity.
[00:22:35] So I have six excuses that I think are the best excuses of all time. And I think they come right out of these passages of Scripture. So Deuteronomy, chapter 30, starting in verse 12. Listen to this. This is God ridding us of excuses.
[00:22:51] It is not in heaven that you should say, who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us.
[00:22:59] It's talking about the will of God, his plan for our lives, all right? His purpose for us being here. It is not in Heaven. That you should say, who will ascend to heaven and bring it to us?
[00:23:08] That we may hear it and do it.
[00:23:11] Neither is it beyond the sea.
[00:23:13] Beyond the sea. Neither is it beyond. Sorry, that's. That you should say, my French is coming back. That you should say, who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it. But the word is very near you.
[00:23:32] It is in your mouth and in your heart. Why? Why? It is in your mouth and in your heart so that you can do it.
[00:23:42] God doesn't ask us something for something we cannot do.
[00:23:46] So here are six excuses, I think, that keep us from God. Number one. It's too mysterious, it's too spiritual.
[00:23:53] It's too far above me. I'm not qualified to figure out what this spiritual thing is because it is too mysterioso.
[00:24:05] We would obey, but God's will is hidden in heaven. We can't know it. We're just normal people. How can we figure it out? What we might say today is, the Bible is too complicated.
[00:24:17] I can't understand it. How can I really know the Bible is God's word?
[00:24:22] I'm not a spiritual.
[00:24:24] I'm not spiritual enough to know how to decipher what God actually says and what he doesn't want us to do.
[00:24:32] God's answer to this is clear. You don't have to climb into heaven to figure this out. God has already brought it down to you from heaven. Isn't that great?
[00:24:44] Through his Word and ultimately through Christ being revealed, God intended for his will to not be a mystery to you.
[00:24:55] Through his Word and ultimately through Christ being revealed. Listen to this. God intended for his will to not be a mystery to you.
[00:25:07] It's not in heaven so that it's, whoo. It's hidden. You can't free. It's not transcendent.
[00:25:13] He brought it down. He showed you what his will is for you. Excuse number two, I'm not able.
[00:25:19] I'm not able to figure out God's will for me. Somebody else has to do the hard work for me.
[00:25:25] But we read in verse 12 that you should say, who will ascend to heaven and bring it down to us? You might say, if somebody would just go to God's throne room and say, okay, God, what is your will for Craig, I would like to take it down for him and help him understand it.
[00:25:41] Because then Craig says, if that would happen, I'd obey. If God would just write in smoke in the clouds, I would obey.
[00:25:52] I'll obey once I Truly understand.
[00:25:55] I'll obey. If I have the right resources, I'll obey. If the sin gets less demanding, it's too strong right now, I'll obey. But my past wounds me and limits me from being everything God wants me to be.
[00:26:11] Listen, church, you don't need another mediator. Moses went up to the mountain to bring down God's will. Do you ever notice that?
[00:26:18] He goes up to Sinai to bring down God's will?
[00:26:23] Christ said he came from heaven to us so that we may know God's will for us.
[00:26:32] God doesn't hide his will. He delivers it on a silver platter to make sure that you have the abundant life. John 10:10. Jesus says, the thief comes to steal and kill and destroy. But I came from heaven. I came down to make sure that they have life and have it abundantly.
[00:26:52] Abundant life that Jesus gives you replaces the excuses of scarcity.
[00:27:00] God brings us abundant life so that we can experience it, so that we can know it, so that we can revel in it.
[00:27:07] And that diminishes all of our excuses. Like if it had been easier, if it had been easier to understand, if I hadn't been able to go to heaven myself and bring it back down, God brings it down for us. Excuse number three, it's too extreme. It's too far away. It's too unrealistic, too unrealistic for real life. Verse 13 says, Neither is it beyond the sea.
[00:27:30] The ancient people saw the sea as the edge of the world, like they didn't know what existed beyond that.
[00:27:36] And so they would say, you've got to go beyond what we don't know to bring back something so that we can understand it.
[00:27:47] Now, I want you to catch that, because that's what he means by neither do we have to go over to sea.
[00:27:53] This is not something we have to take a long trip to figure out some transcendental idea of mystic spiritualism and bring it back so that all of us can understand. The children of Israel, all they knew were the gods of Egypt.
[00:28:10] And now they knew Yahweh God. And God is saying, listen, I've destroyed all the gods of Egypt, and there are no other gods beyond the sea.
[00:28:18] You're going to go into this new land, this new Canaan land, the promised land, and you're going to see all kinds of new worship idols there. I want you to know I have proven myself to you so that you don't have to be confused.
[00:28:32] There is only one God and you worship him. And by the way, you don't have to Go find him. He has come to find you.
[00:28:43] We celebrate this every Christmas. Do you know what the word Immanuel means?
[00:28:48] Emmanuel means what?
[00:28:50] God with us. This was a name of Jesus.
[00:28:54] We don't have to go beyond the sea to find some transcendental way of meditating or. Or moving our body around so that we can elevate ourselves into another level of spiritualism that's trying to find a God that's apparently hiding on us.
[00:29:12] In our case, church. God has come to find us.
[00:29:16] And for some of us here this morning, when we give our lives to Jesus, that's the reason. Because we realize he pursued us relentlessly.
[00:29:28] This is the excuse for somebody who believes God hasn't done everything needed to get his truth into their lives. So they look for truth in other cultures. They find mysticism somewhere in the monasteries of Kathmandu, or they walk and find their own personal, transcendent experience that will elevate them to find this hidden God that will finally tell them the truth about life.
[00:29:51] God's answer is, my will doesn't require extreme circumstances.
[00:29:57] My will is very obvious. All you have to do is open my Word and read it.
[00:30:02] It's right there.
[00:30:03] It's preserved, delivered, and doable in real time.
[00:30:08] Excuse number four.
[00:30:10] I know what God says, but I don't feel it in my heart.
[00:30:14] We use the same excuse.
[00:30:16] I know that God exists, but I don't feel it in my heart. And so we read in verse 14, the word is in your heart. God anticipates the experiences of the Hebrews. My heart isn't in the right place. I don't feel moved to obey God, so I won't.
[00:30:33] I need to feel it first.
[00:30:35] I'm just not feeling close to God right now. So if I felt close to God, I would obey God.
[00:30:41] And God says, no, no, no. It's near to your heart. We're gonna get more on that in just a minute. Obedience is not waiting on feelings.
[00:30:48] Feelings follows obedience.
[00:30:51] We obey, and then we feel good about it.
[00:30:54] It's like going on a diet.
[00:30:56] You diet and then you lose the weight. It doesn't work the other way around, unfortunately.
[00:31:03] You obey, and that increases your faith.
[00:31:06] It doesn't work the other way around.
[00:31:09] Excuse number five is I don't know what to say.
[00:31:12] I would do God's will. I would be more of an impact for Jesus Christ. I would do more. More for God in my life. But I just don't know. I don't know the right things to say. I don't have enough information that I Could communicate it. But verse 14 says the word is in your mouth.
[00:31:28] Some ways that we might say this, I don't pray. Why don't you pray? Because I don't do it very well.
[00:31:34] I don't talk to my kids about faith. Why not? Because I'm not really grounded in my faith.
[00:31:39] I don't know how to share the gospel. Why? Because I don't really understand the gospel.
[00:31:45] But God says the word is in your mouth.
[00:31:48] Jesus disciples had the same concern when he was sending them out as witnesses. Jesus was saying, okay, now I'm going to send you out as witnesses into the world. And by the way, I'm not going with you.
[00:32:00] For them, that must have been like, well, hang on a second. When did the playbook change?
[00:32:04] You should be going with us. And then if we have any questions from people that we're talking to, we'll send them back to you. You got the answers? We're just, you know, we don't have all the details that we can communicate.
[00:32:17] What if we say the wrong things?
[00:32:20] Jesus talks to his disciples in Matthew 10 and puts their fears at ease. He says, don't be anxious about how you're going to speak or what you're going to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the spirit of your father speaking through you. Love it.
[00:32:42] Excuse number six.
[00:32:44] I just can't do it.
[00:32:46] It's too hard.
[00:32:47] Can't do it. It's too hard.
[00:32:49] But verse 14 reminds us over and over again so that you can do it.
[00:32:54] Obedience is not impossible, but you might think that it is.
[00:32:59] So the excuses come. Who can live a holy life? Well, Craig can, because that's Craig. But I can't because I'm me.
[00:33:08] My habits are too entrenched. My sin struggle is so strong. My past is too messy. I'll always be this way.
[00:33:17] God's answer is, you can obey, but not on your own strength.
[00:33:23] So stick to what you've been given.
[00:33:25] It's really easy to come up excuses. Listen, church, this is the bottom line. It is really easy to come up with excuses when your sin and obedience starts rubbing together.
[00:33:39] Because when sin and obedience to God starts rubbing together, we have a tendency to err on the side of sin because we make excuses for how we can't obey God.
[00:33:54] Excuses come from people who would rather not follow God's commands in the first place.
[00:34:00] This is why the Father sent Jesus Christ. Romans 10:6 says, this righteousness that's based on Faith says, do not say in your heart who will ascend to heaven, that is to bring Christ down. Does that sound familiar?
[00:34:14] Now, this is a New Testament passage that tells us a direct connection with Deuteronomy, chapter 30.
[00:34:23] But talking to the church, the righteousness based on faith says this.
[00:34:30] Don't say in your heart, who will ascend to heaven, that is to bring Christ down, or who will descend into the abyss that is to bring Christ up from the dead. But what does it say?
[00:34:43] And it quotes Deuteronomy directly, but what does it say? The word is what church near you, in your mouth and in your.
[00:34:55] That is a direct quote from Deuteronomy, chapter 30.
[00:34:59] That is the word of faith we proclaim. Paul is making a connection between how difficult and how many excuses the children of Israel made for not obeying God. And he talks to us today, the church today, and he says, you are the same as the children of Israel. You're going to be tempted to make excuses for how difficult it is to obey God. And you need to understand it is the same God, Old Testament and New Testament. It is the same excuses, Old Testament and New Testament.
[00:35:29] The word is near you. It's in your mouth and in your heart, just like it was with them. That is the word of faith we proclaim. Because verse nine, this is another one of my favorite verses in the Bible.
[00:35:40] Verse 9 says, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved.
[00:35:50] It is in your mouth and it is in your heart.
[00:35:54] Romans 10, 6, 9 quotes this passage, how the Father brought Jesus down to us with no effort on our part to reach up to him.
[00:36:05] And it highlights the point of how simple faith is. If you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart, you will be saved.
[00:36:15] No pilgrimages do you get this church? I want you to get this so much. No pilgrimages, no glass to crawl on. You don't have to go to Kathmandu and figure out which religion is right, which cult is telling you the truth.
[00:36:31] There's no wondering if this is true or that is true. It is not too transcendent for us. Church faith is simple for a reason. God did all the work so that you could get rid of all your excuses.
[00:36:50] Too often we think we need another guru, another book, another podcast, another conference. But all we need to do church is to walk with God, obey his commandments.
[00:37:02] In your mouth, confess with your. With your mouth. It's the same thing, same connections between Deuteronomy and Romans chapter 9, Romans 10, 9, 10. In your heart and believe in your heart. It's the same.
[00:37:16] Obedience flows from a genuine heart for God. A genuine heart of love.
[00:37:22] Why is it in our mouth and why is it in our heart? Why do we confess with our mouth and why do we believe in our heart?
[00:37:29] Because we believe God's word. We speak it and we believe it so that we can do it.
[00:37:39] Same principle as the Old Testament.
[00:37:42] The point of revelation is transformation. God doesn't want you to stay the same.
[00:37:46] You may have heard pastors say to you, you just need to come to God as you are. He will adapt to your inadequacies. Baloney.
[00:37:54] Your inadequacies are killing you and he has a better life for you.
[00:38:00] Your failures are killing you and destroying your relationships around you. He has a better life for you.
[00:38:06] Nowhere in scripture will you ever find that God says let's just be friends and we'll just forget about all the stuff you need to work on. Training for godliness holds value in this life and the life to come.
[00:38:21] And it's not too hard for you.
[00:38:23] That's what I love. Well, Craig, it's just too hard. We've already went through all the excuses.
[00:38:29] God's nearness removes every excuse we find to wander from him.
[00:38:36] Under the Old Testament, the covenant, God's word was given to them, spoken to them. They have a conscience that could be trained and seared and they had rituals and memorials and all of these things to keep God in front of them. But now in Jesus Christ, we have something infinitely better. When you come to know Christ as your savior. Listen, church. When you come to know Christ as your savior, many of you have, like, I am amazed how God is working in our church. Many of you listening today have just come to know Christ as your savior.
[00:39:04] You've started this relationship with God. You knew you should, but you just, you couldn't put it together. And then boom, it has happened. You follow Jesus Christ. You're a full fledged follower of Christ.
[00:39:17] When that happens, the Holy Spirit comes to indwell you.
[00:39:21] He doesn't bring the word near to you. He brings the word in you.
[00:39:27] This is the powerful part, the most advantageous part we have of living in the New Testament versus the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, the words were carved on stone.
[00:39:39] In the Old Testament, they were plastered on the entryway into the promised land.
[00:39:44] In the Old Testament, they were kept in the ark of the Covenant on tables of stone.
[00:39:49] In the Old Testament it was all written down. But in the New Testament it's put inside of you. It's written on hearts of flesh and it changes you.
[00:39:59] I had one guy who came to know the Lord as his Savior, and as I was discipling him over the weeks after he gave his life to Jesus, he would start talking and he was quoting scripture and he didn't even know it. He would be just like, you know, Craig, I've been thinking about this, and this is what I think about this. And what do you think about this? And I'm going, well, that's a passage in the Bible, and you should know where it's at right now.
[00:40:21] Because the Holy Spirit comes to write his word on our hearts.
[00:40:26] You have an amazing advantage that the Old Testament people don't didn't, and that is that the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of us. He is the. Think of it this way. He is the multiplier God places inside the believer so that everything he commands is now enabled for us to do from the inside out.
[00:40:47] I put this up on the screen for you because I really want you to see this. In the Old Testament, it was on stone, but New Testament is on hearts. The Holy Spirit is the multiplier God places inside the believer, so that everything he commands is now enabled from the inside out.
[00:41:03] He doesn't just tell you His Word, he gives you the strength to do it.
[00:41:09] So I want to give you not six excuses, but now I want to give you six advantages. I'll go through them quickly. Six advantages the Holy Spirit gives to people today.
[00:41:22] Number one. The Holy Spirit illuminates the word. In first Corinthians 2:12, we are told that we have received not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we might understand the things given to us freely by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom, but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. In other words, when you come to know Christ as your Savior, he illuminates the word.
[00:41:51] He helps you to understand it. He teaches it to you in a way that you. Ah, it's like a light bulb goes over your head.
[00:41:58] Israel had this law on tablets explained by the priests, but we have God's law explained by the Spirit. The Holy Spirit turns information into illumination so that we can confidently say, this is God's will and I will do it. Number two. The Holy Spirit internalizes the word.
[00:42:19] Hebrews 10:15 says this. The Holy Spirit also bears witness to us. For after saying, this is the the covenant that I will make with them. After those days, declare the Lord, I will put my laws on their hearts and write them on their minds. He doesn't just show us the truth, he roots it in us. His presence in us is God's guarantee that obedience is possible. Number three. The Holy Spirit flushes out sin, fleshes out sin.
[00:42:52] In the Old Testament, they could sear their conscience.
[00:42:55] In the New Testament, we can also sear the Holy Spirit's, you know, work in our lives.
[00:43:02] But that won't keep him quiet.
[00:43:05] His job is to flush out the sin that's killing us.
[00:43:08] He warns us, he alerts us, he awakens us, and he gives us the strength to overcome.
[00:43:14] This is why I quote to you so many scriptures in, in the New Testament that talk about his power in us. Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. Right?
[00:43:27] This is the victory that overcomes even our faith.
[00:43:32] The Holy Spirit gives us more power. That's his whole point, is to give us the power to live lives pleasing to God.
[00:43:41] And by the way, if you're being convicted of sin, it's not punishment.
[00:43:46] It's not punishment, it's protection.
[00:43:48] It's God's proof that he's actually shaping you.
[00:43:53] Not punishment, but protection.
[00:43:56] Number four. The Holy Spirit empowers obedience.
[00:44:00] Deuteronomy reminds us God's word is near so that you can do it. But the new covenant says, walk by the Spirit. You will not gratify the desires of the flesh when you walk by the Spirit. Church, I want to. I want to really encourage you. When you walk by the Spirit, you get the fruit of the Spirit. Please do not say fruits of the Spirit.
[00:44:18] Fruits of the Spirit is wrong. It means that fruits of the Spirit gives you an idea, like you get one, but not the other.
[00:44:27] Fruit of the Spirit means everything the Holy Spirit is. This fruit comes as a package deal.
[00:44:34] Do you want to know what you get? Get when you accept Christ as your Savior and you are filled with the Holy Spirit, here's what you get. The fruit of the Spirit is church. I want you to say this with us. So I'm going to wait for it to go up there. This is the fruit of the Spirit. And you're going to be encouraged by this. So let's say it together. Here we go. The fruit. Say it, say it. Fruit. Fruit, fruit. Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control.
[00:45:07] Against such things, there is no law. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. This is the key.
[00:45:18] You don't get a little love and a little joy and a little peace, but no patience. It doesn't work that way. You get the whole thing, the whole kit and caboodle. It comes as one pass. Package deal. When you accept Christ as your Savior, you get all of that. That's pretty advantageous, wouldn't you say?
[00:45:40] You ever get a package deal?
[00:45:42] My family, we went down to Florida and we were told that if we sit through an evil timeshare presentation, that we would receive a package deal of an all inclusive resort that we could go to once the timeshare was over. So that gave us like three hours. But anyway, yeah, probably worse. So we went to the timeshare, we sat through this evil presentation, and then we get a half a day at an all inclusive resort. My girls loved it. We had all four of them at the time. We went straight down to the beach, they grabbed a menu and they ordered one of everything off the menu, and it was all delivered to them right on the beach. They were living it up. And so, you know, a couple hours go by and they ordered everything on the menu again.
[00:46:35] And we ate and we baked in the sun and it was glorious. It was a package deal. Church. I'm telling you, when you accept Christ as your savior, you are invested with the Holy Spirit. He comes to live in you, and you get a package deal. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self control.
[00:47:09] Where the law says, do it, the Spirit says, I'll give you the power to do it.
[00:47:15] Number five. The Holy Spirit guides us with wisdom.
[00:47:19] The spirit of truth comes in John 16:13. He will guide you into all truth. This is Jesus speaking, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak. And he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will give you wisdom.
[00:47:32] No pilgrimages, no mystical quests, no searching for distant truth beyond the sea.
[00:47:39] Just the indwelling guide who directs our steps, provides clarity, nudges us in decisions, gives us discernment, brings scripture to mind at the right minutes.
[00:47:52] This is the Holy Spirit who guides us with wisdom. And finally, number six, the Holy Spirit multiplies everything God gives. He's a multiplier.
[00:48:03] Philippians 2:13 says, for it is God who works around you, true or false.
[00:48:10] Oh, sorry, I don't have Philippians 2:13 on there. I do. Good, good, good. All right. For it is God who works around you, true or false.
[00:48:20] For it is God who works without you, true or false.
[00:48:24] For it is God who works in you, true or false, both to will and to do, to work for his good pleasure. The Spirit multiplies the word, multiplies conviction, multiplies transformation, and it increases your ability to obey. I want you to see this church. What Israel had externally, the believer has internally.
[00:48:45] What they pressed into rituals, we experienced through relationships.
[00:48:52] The Spirit takes the word near you and makes it the power within you.
[00:48:57] Beth came to me the other day and she said, craig, I can't find my glasses.
[00:49:02] Can't find my glasses. I said, you got to be able to find your glasses. You got 20 pairs sitting around the house. Can't find my glasses.
[00:49:11] She said, craig, I don't know where I left them. I can't find my glasses.
[00:49:15] And I looked at her and I thought, so it's beginning.
[00:49:20] I said, beth, they're on your head. And she took them off her head and she realized they were on her head.
[00:49:27] Sorry. Use that as an illustration, Beth.
[00:49:29] The very thing she thought she lacked was with her the whole time.
[00:49:33] Church.
[00:49:35] The very thing you think you lack in not living a life pleasing to the Lord. If you know Christ as your Savior is with you the whole time.
[00:49:42] The Holy Spirit lives to guide you, convict you, strengthen you, lead you. You're not lacking anything. You need to find truth. All you need to do is surrender.
[00:49:54] Verse 19. I call on heaven and earth. This is back in Deuteronomy 30, from a leader to his people.
[00:50:00] I call on heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death.
[00:50:06] Blessings and curse.
[00:50:09] Life and death. Blessings and curse.
[00:50:14] You have the same thing in front of you today.
[00:50:18] God sets before you. Life and death. Blessings and curse.
[00:50:21] You could choose, just like they could choose.
[00:50:25] And Moses says, therefore, please, I beg of you, choose life that you and your offspring might live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him for he is your length of days. The bottom line, the kill excuses is this.
[00:50:42] I put them all up on one screen so you can see them.
[00:50:45] Stop waiting for some dramatic sign. God has already given you his word.
[00:50:49] Stop searching for something new. Obey what you already know.
[00:50:52] The issue isn't understanding God, it's surrendering to God.
[00:50:56] God's word is not far, but some hearts are.
[00:50:59] So draw near by being in God's word more.
[00:51:04] And number five, the nearness of God's word is the nearness of Christ himself.
[00:51:09] Spend time with him in prayer.
[00:51:12] Easy list way that you find success to kill. Excuses.
[00:51:18] I have two quick. So what's number one? You have everything you need to do to follow everything God commands.
[00:51:26] Remember your multiplier.
[00:51:29] This commandment is not too hard for you. It's not far away from you. God's word is very near to you. You can obey. You can do what I'm asking.
[00:51:36] God's truth is accessible.
[00:51:39] Just like Blockbuster. You have everything you need to succeed. You got a guy knocking on your door that's saying to you, let us sell you the way that you can go into the next century.
[00:51:53] Israel had the word of God. The presence of God, the leadership of Moses, memory of miracles, clear path to obedience. They were set up to thrive. But within one generation, they turned their back on God. They drifted.
[00:52:06] They compromised. They adopted idols. They broke covenant. They lost their distinctiveness. They forgot that the commandments of God were not too hard.
[00:52:16] And just like Blockbuster, they began to offer excuses.
[00:52:20] The cultures around us have influenced us. We needed to fit in, to thrive. We didn't have enough resources. We were afraid.
[00:52:27] We didn't want to stand out.
[00:52:29] Excuses became the spiritual smokescreen to hide their disobedience.
[00:52:35] Israel didn't collapse because obedience was impossible.
[00:52:38] Let me say this one more time. Israel didn't collapse because obedience was impossible.
[00:52:43] They just ignored, like Blockbuster, the signs of decay.
[00:52:48] Blockbuster had Netflix knocking on the door.
[00:52:52] God was knocking on the door for them as well. But they rejected the God who reduced them.
[00:52:57] So here's a question for us today. If God has not made obedience impossible, what excuses are we using to be disobedient?
[00:53:07] You have everything you need to be successful in this life if you follow Christ as your savior. My kids taught me how to play Sonic the Hedgehog. You ever play Sonic the Hedgehog?
[00:53:19] They didn't tell me this, but if you land on this thing called the multiplier, Sonic goes like a thousand times faster and you rack up a ton of points.
[00:53:27] You've got the multiplier on your side.
[00:53:30] You tap into him and he will give you everything you need to be successful. Everything you need to have a life of blessing in this life. It may not mean that you're going to have difficulties in the future, but you will have in those difficulties. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, meekness, gentleness, self control.
[00:54:01] You have the multiplier, and he is on your side.
[00:54:05] Number two. We have the payment and provision to restart. And this is what I want to leave you with.
[00:54:11] Everybody listening today has one thing in common. We have all dropped the ball.
[00:54:16] None of us, including yours truly, does this perfectly.
[00:54:21] We will and we do drop the ball.
[00:54:26] But we have a payment and provision that restarts us, no matter how bad the failure.
[00:54:34] Deuteronomy 30, verse 1.
[00:54:37] This is the beginning of Deuteronomy 30 starts this way. I want to read these words to you because I.
[00:54:42] I think this really explains to us how we can identify with the children of Israel that dropped the ball countless times.
[00:54:51] Moses says, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I've set before you, and you call to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you. And you return to the Lord your God, you and your children return to the Lord your God, and obey his voice in all that I've commanded you today with all your heart, with all your soul.
[00:55:12] Then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes.
[00:55:15] He will have mercy on you. He will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord has scattered you.
[00:55:20] I love that he will return you, you and your children.
[00:55:25] God was anticipating they would try and they would fail. But he said, don't give me excuses.
[00:55:32] You have everything you need to succeed.
[00:55:35] Don't give excuses. Give me your heart.
[00:55:38] Admit where you fall.
[00:55:40] Admit where you fail.
[00:55:41] And you watch me restore you.
[00:55:44] Their children would need these reassurances.
[00:55:47] The temptation would be to make up more excuses for more failures.
[00:55:52] The children's temptation would be to blame their parents for where they fail. Does that sound familiar?
[00:55:59] God says, let's just be real.
[00:56:01] Every one of you is going to need a way home.
[00:56:04] And I'll take you home every time.
[00:56:07] I'll take you back every time.
[00:56:11] When Jesus went in through the gates of Jerusalem on Passion Week. You know what Passion Week is?
[00:56:16] The beginning of Easter. We call it Passion Week. Starts with the Palm Sunday moment.
[00:56:23] Do you know what Jesus did on Palm Sunday?
[00:56:25] Two times in Scripture, Jesus cried. And one of them was on Palm Sunday. Did you know that?
[00:56:31] He wept as he looked over the city, as he prepared to come through to a big party.
[00:56:36] Palm branches and cloaks on the ground and people screaming, mashiach, Hosanna, which means Messiah saved. Now, he knew that was coming, but instead of being, like, thrilled to go to the party, he's weeping over the city of Jerusalem. And here's what he says. He said, how I would have gathered you together as a hen gathers her chicks together, but you would not hear me.
[00:57:06] He knew they would fail.
[00:57:09] Even before he goes to the party. He knew the same people that would be crying for his kingship would be crying for his blood at the end of the week.
[00:57:19] The greatest blessing sometimes is to be reminded, God knows that we're going to drop the ball. But he always makes a way home.
[00:57:28] Oh, he always makes a way home.
[00:57:35] I think one of the hardest things for the prodigal father's dad to do was nothing.
[00:57:42] If I had been the prodigal father's dad, I would have sent out a search party.
[00:57:47] I got cash.
[00:57:50] I would have sent out people. I would have got my son, the son that I loved, who was making bad decisions. I don't care about him blowing his inheritance. That doesn't matter to me. What matters to me is his heart and his soul, and he's selling it for nothing.
[00:58:07] And the father, the father of the prodigal did not send out a party, did not chase him down.
[00:58:18] He just stayed home and he prayed and he waited.
[00:58:21] And that, I think, is the hardest thing of all, because you got to leave it up to the Lord to do the conviction.
[00:58:29] But you pray and you wait and you pray and you wait and you pray and you wait.
[00:58:33] And then finally, that kid comes to his senses. Finally.
[00:58:37] Because he had good genes, probably. But he came to his senses, came up with excuses.
[00:58:43] I'll go home and I'll say, oh, gee, Dad, I blew it. Just make me a servant.
[00:58:49] Maybe he'll take me in if I just say, you know, I'm just the worst. Rembrandt did a painting that breaks my heart every time I see it. And is a prodigal son kneeling at the foot of his dad. He has one sandal on and one sandal off, and his father has his hands on his shoulders.
[00:59:14] God is our heavenly Father.
[00:59:17] God gives us the Holy Spirit that convicts us, drives us to come back home. But we have to choose it. And we have to stop giving excuses.
[00:59:27] But be assured, if this is you, if you have something in your life that you're hanging on to that has kept you drifting further and further away from the Father.
[00:59:39] He's waiting for you.
[00:59:42] And when you come home, as hard as it is every step to take, you know that he's watching out the window for you.
[00:59:53] Because in scripture, when the prodigal comes home, the Father runs out to meet him.
[00:59:59] You know what that tells me?
[01:00:01] He was watching every day.
[01:00:04] Maybe my son will come home today.
[01:00:09] We need to be reminded this is a God we serve. You cannot fall too far from his grace. There is no hole you can fall into that his hand will not rescue you out of. And he will forgive you and bring you in and hold a feast for you when you come back.
[01:00:29] But you got to take the steps to come home.
[01:00:32] And rest assured, when you do, he'll be waiting, and he will welcome you home every time. In fact, Peter said to Jesus, how many times am I supposed to forgive? What if I've been jaded one too many times?
[01:00:48] And Jesus says, okay, let's talk about this. You think it's good to forgive seven times? Peter said, yeah, I think that's over and above.
[01:00:55] And Jesus says, how about we be like God?
[01:00:58] Let's forgive 70 times 7.
[01:01:03] If you're in a hole, if you've wandered away, I want to remind you there's no excuse to keep you from coming back home.
[01:01:10] God waits for you. You have the power of the Holy Spirit in you. And if you don't, you accept him as your savior today. Confess with your mouth, believe in your heart, and bada bing, bada bam. You are in the family of God, and you are given the Holy Spirit who gives you the package deal so that you can live life in a way that pleases God. But you have to make that decision.
[01:01:31] That's your decision to make.
[01:01:33] And my prayer for everybody in here and online, and I made no qualms about it, I would love for you to accept Christ as your savior. If you don't know how to do that, we'll take care of that today. Before you leave today, put your head on your pillow. No shame, no guilt. Free of sin. Friends of God.
[01:01:53] And if you're here today, let this be an encouragement. You have everything you need to live a life that pleases God.
[01:02:00] When God sees you someday, he's not going to play a video of all the things that you've done to disappoint him. What kind of a God do you think we serve? He's got God Blockbuster up there with all your VHS tapes on his shelf.
[01:02:15] All of the great hits of Helen's life. Let's all watch them together.
[01:02:22] Yeah, he's moved to the streaming now. Yeah. No, he doesn't do that.
[01:02:28] God looks at you and you stand before God. Someday, church. You stand before God, you're going to go, okay, God, remember that time in 1992 when I did, blah, blah, blah. He's going to say, I don't know what you're talking about.
[01:02:40] And you're going to say, no, no, no, it happened last night. It happened last night right before I got to see you.
[01:02:45] I don't know what you're talking about, man. All your sins have been forgiven, past, present and future.
[01:02:54] He's going to look at you and go, he's going to be like, I'm so glad you're home.
[01:03:01] You have everything you need to be successful and pleasing to him in this life and the life to come. Train yourself for godliness. Church, you have everything you need. Let's pray.
[01:03:10] Father, I'm grateful for our message today. It was a long one. It was so good to do.
[01:03:17] You have given us everything we need for life and godliness. And I'm so grateful. Thank you for the Holy Spirit. They didn't have this indwelling Holy Spirit at the Old Testament, but man we do today.
[01:03:29] What a gift.
[01:03:32] May he lead our lives. May we walk in the spirit, side by side with him like a three legged race.
[01:03:41] May we always walk in step with him.
[01:03:45] May he lead the way.
[01:03:47] May we walk in obedience.
[01:03:49] Thank you Father for this message. Amen.
