Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy

In Deuteronomy there is a shift in writing from a third
person historical narrative, “Moses did this, God said that, and the people did
this. Now it is a first person
historical narrative, I said to you, God said to you, and you did this. This is because Moses is speaking to the
people and recounting their joinery together in preparation for entering the
Promised Land. The Hebrew title is
“elleh haddebarim” which means “these are the words” and the book consist
mainly of speeches given to the people by Moses. The English title “Deuteronomy means
“repetition of the law”.

I found chapter 3:26 interesting “because of you God was
angry at me” Moses blames them for his sinful action of hitting the rock.

In Chapter 9 Moses points out a great truth to them, it is God
who is giving this land to you not because of your righteousness, but because
of His integrity and the judgment of the people who live there now. For us today it reminds us that our faith
comes from God. Before you could believe
and be saved God had to make it possible for you to believe.

1.
Israel given the land as a judgment of the other
people

A.
God judged the wickedness of the other nations
vs4.

B.
God made a promise to Israel

C.
God will later bring in other nations to judge
Israel

D.
We as a nation have been blessed not because of
our government being “Christian”, but because of the faith of the Christian
people who live in our nation.

E.
Cannot expect the same judgment of our nation’s
wickedness as Israel received, and the nations before her.

F.
Perhaps we will see this judgment come in the
next few weeks.

2.
God given faith

A.
We often think we believe and are saved, yet
before we believed God saved us.

A.
1 John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us
ⁿ and sent his Son as an atoning
sacrifice for ¹⁰ our sins. ^o

A.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we
were still sinners, Christ died for us. ^v

B.
Jess lived on the street since she ran away from
home at 15. Now at 22 her church is
having a 1 year celebration of jess standing up, making a choice to live a new
life with Jesus. She chose to quit the
drugs, and all the things she did to pay for them. In the back out of the spotlight was Sam. Sam found jess passed out next to a dumpster
behind is restaurant. He brought her
inside out of the cold. Of all the lost
street people he had seen he chose to save jess. For two years he would pick her up, over and
over again. Sam lifted this broken girl
and held her up until she grew strong enough to stand on her own. If it was not for Sam, jess could have never
made a choice to change her life. Sam
chose to change it for her.

C.
God chose to change Israel’s life not because of
their faith but so they could have faith.
He chose them not because they were the people of God but so they could
choose to be the people of God.

D.
Helen Keller was an author, public speaker, and
an amazing person. She is celebrated for
her strength and determination to overcome her disabilities. Yet the real hero in her story was Anne
Sullivan who fought with Helen and her parents lift her up and hold her up
until she could stand and fight for herself.

E.
God chose to save you, to lift you up until you
could say “I believe in Jesus”

3.
the challenge to us

A.
To lift people up not because of the choices
they have made but so they can make better choices in the future.

B.
To lift them up not because of who they are or
what they are but because of who and what they can become.

C.
We must not get discouraged because once again
they have fallen down, because one day when we help them to their wobbly feet
they will stand.

D.
On that day many will celebrate their choice to
live a new life, like Sam sitting in the back watching jess, remember that God
used you to lift them up.

E.
Today remember that you are saved not because
you choose to believe but because first God chose you.

Joshua 1-10

Joshua 1-10

Taking over for Moses must have
been a daunting task for Joshua. Moses
had laid hands on Joshua and Joshua receives the Spirit which had guided
Moses. It is clear that Joshua receives
the ability to have direct conversations with God as Moses did. The passing on of the Spirit connection of
one prophet to another can be seen in Elijah and Elisha, where Elisha receives
the Spirit of Elijah.

God’s promises to Joshua are the
assurance of victory in battles to come and the assurance that God will never
leave or forsake Joshua. These same
promises are made by Jesus to all who would follow Him when He says “I will be
with you always even unto the end of the age.
While in Joshua’s time God limited this interaction to just one chosen
person, now God has opened this relationship to all who call upon the name of
Jesus. How often have we really looked
for this kind of relationship, not believing it possible, or just not taking
the time needed to have it? Moses,
Joshua, Elijah, and even Jesus spent many hours just focused on the presence of
God.

Joshua is
told to be strong and courageous because God will give him victory in all he
does. Yet in 1:7&8 Joshua is told
that his success and victory is connected with his careful keeping of the Book
of the Law, given to Moses. This would
require two things, first it requires that a Book of the Law exist, and second that
Joshua would have an in-depth knowledge of what the Book of the Law said. It is clear from Joshua 1 that the Pentateuch,
the first five books of the Bible must have been written before Moses died and
Joshua had possession of these books before he started to lead the people. Many people want to make the writing of much of
the Pentateuch to be added at a time after Joshua. Yet Joshua clearly had the writings of Moses
in his possession.

The promise
of success and victory being connected with the keeping of the Book of the Law
is very important to us today. All
through history God has connected obedience and success. God stressed to Moses the keeping to the Ten Commandments
and the Law. Now God stress the same
thing to Joshua. Later Jesus will stress
obedience to God as necessary for being loved by God and for answered prayer. Today we often find that we want the
assurance of success and victory while we live in a lazy fashion with regards
to obedience to God. Also many
Christians would like to leave out the hash judgement of God found in Joshua
1:18. To strike a balance between the
Grace of God and the Judgement of God seems difficult. Yet The God of love is also a God of justice,
the God of judgement is also a God of forgiveness and grace.

The spies
sent out to recon the promise land do not have to travel far for the
information they need. It seems the spies
only make it to Jericho which is some 10 miles into the promised land. There
they discover the fear the people have of them, this stands in contrast to 40
years erlier when the spies sent by Moses painted a grim picture for the
people. Rahab who helped them is told to
place the scarlet cord around her window to mark her home so no one would be
hurt withen it is reminesant of the blood on the door post the night of
Passover in Egypt.

Also
reminiscent of the Exodus is the parting of the Jordan river just as the Red
Sea was parted. The people have a
tangable sign that God is with their leader Joshua as He had been with Moses. The parting of the Jordan River also leaves
no doubt of where it is that God wants the people to go.

When the
people reach Gilgal they do two things the first is the taking on the sign of
Abraham’s people, circumcision. The
second is the celibration of Passover. The
people who left Egypt failed to keep their identity as God’s people by the sign
of obedience, circumcision, or the sign of grace, Passover. It is important for each generation to
embrace their own relationship with God and not leave it to the past or to the
future. Quite often people see faith as
something about their parents lives or something their children need. But a relationship with Jesus is something
which is to be about us today.
Circumcision is a painful process, yet God requires it of the men. I have to wonder if in our own lives today,
God places demands which get often passed off as to radical or fanatical. I think that today there may be actions of
obedience that are just as painful and radical as circumcision was for the men
of Israel.

Joshua 6

Joshua 6 “The strange
ways of God”

INTRODUCTION: In all
our lives we face Jerichos. They can be
a place, a person, a job, a habit or addiction.
Jericho was a city that blocked the entrance into the promised
land. It was an important city of
trade. After Joshua curses the city it
is never rebuilt. A new city of Jericho
is built about a mile from the Jericho of Joshua’s time.

1.
JERICHO
BLOCKS THE WAY TO THE PROMISED LAND

A. ENTRANCE OF A TRADE ROAD

B. ENTRANCE TO TWO VALLEYS NORTH AND
SOUTH

2.
GOD’S
STRANGE WAY TO OVERCOME IT

a. March around the city with seven
priests blowing horns followed by the Ark of the Covenant with a few guards
then the people. Once they go around the
city they go back to camp. 6 days they
do this.

b. On the 7^th day they march
around the city seven times, they all shout and the walls fall down.

c. LOVE YOUR ENEMIES

d. BLESS YOUR PERSACUTERS

e. CONFRONT EACHOTHER IN LOVE

f. BECOME GREAT BY SERVING

g. RECEIVE BY GIVING

h. BUILD A BOAT WHERE THERE IS NO WATER

i.
LOOSE
YOUR SELF TO SAVE YOUR SELF

j. LIVE BY DIEING

k. BECOME KING BY DIEING ON THE CROSS

l.
EXALT
THE HUMBLE AND HUMBLE THE PROUD

m. OBTAIN RICHES BY GIVING AWAY YOUR
MONEY

3.
FACING
OUR OWN JERICHO

A. A DISABILITY

B. FINACIAL PROBLEMS

C. RELATIONSHIP

D. SIFUL HABBIT OR DESIRE

E. LOST JOB

F. DEPRESION

G. ADDICTION

H. ATTITUDE

I. LIMMITS SET BY OTHERS

J. OBAY GOD OR NOT

K. FOLLOW HIM OR LISTEN TO THE CROWD

L. WILL WE BE FAITHFUL OR POLIICTALY
CORRECT

M. FOLLOW A 2000 THOUSAND YEAR OLD BOOK
OR THE NEWEST PUBLIC OPNION

N. WILL YOU RISK BEING LAUGHED AT AND
RIDACULED

CONCLUSION: WHAT
JERICHO DO YOU FACE? ARE YOU WILLING TO
DO WHAT GOD ASK EVEN IF IT MAKES YOU UNPOPULAR OR LOOK SILLY. WILL YOU MARCH AROUND YOUR JERICHO WHILE THEY
LAUGH. WILL YOU MARCH EVERY DAY? WILL YOU MARCH SEVEN TIMES AROUND IT AND THEN
GIVE A SHOUT OF VICTORY? GOD STILL
BREAKS DOWN WALLS, GOD STILL GIVES VICTORY OVER OUR JERICHOS.

The Book of Ruth

INTRODUCTION:

1.BOAZ KNOWS ABOUT RUTH

A. WHO SHE
IS

B. WHAT SHE
HAS DONE

C. THAT HE
IS A KINSMAN REDEEMER

2. BOAZ SHOWS KINDNESS TO RUTH

A.PROTECTION

B. MEALS
AND EXTRA GLEEINGS

C. NOT TO
EMBARRASS HER IF SHE SINS

3. RUTH RESPONDS TO THE LOVE BOAZ HAS SHOWN

A. RUTH
RESPONDS

BOAZ MAKES
THE DEAL

4. GOD’S LOVE FOR YOU

A. GOD
KNOWS YOU Psalm 139

B. GOD HAS
REACHED OUT TO YOU Romans 5:8

C. GOD
WAITED OR WAITS FOR YOUR RESPONSE Rev 3:20

D. JESUS
MADE THE DEAL FOR YOUR SOUL Romans 5:6

E. SANDLES
AND CROSSES

Why settle for gleanings when we can be his heir, Why settle
for his favor when you can have the depth of His love.

Tithing

There have been some Sundays where I have not gotten my outline posted. I was asked about my sermon on tithing so I looked it up and here it is.

Lev 27:30-33

Today we come to the end of Leviticus. The very end of Leviticus is about tithing,
and redemption. We first hear of tithing
when Abraham gives Melchizedek a tenth of his wealth to honor God. Cain and Able we know were given some instructions
from God about giving but we do not know if it was first fruits offering or
tithing that Cain fail to follow. As Moses
is given the law from God tithing becomes a written instruction.

1.
THE TITHE BELONGS TO THE LORD

A.
ONE TENTH OF ALL INCOME BELONGS TO THE LORD

B.
TO HOLD IT BACK FOR A WHILE COST 20%

C.
WHAT THAT MEANS, IF WE EARNED $10,000. A YEAR

D.
THE TITHE IS DESCRIBED AS HOLY OR SET APART FOR
GOD

E.
A WAY TO SHOW RESPECT, HONOR, THANKFULNESS, AND
LOVE FOR GOD

F.
IN MALACHI 3:8 ISRAEL IS CONFRONTED WITH ROBBING
GOD

G.
TO NOT TITHE WAS A SIN

H.
ROCKS IN THE STREAM, YOU ONLY HAVE TO MISS ONE
TO GET WET

2.
WHERE IS YOUR HEART

A.
TITHING BECAME OBLIGATION, DUTY, REGULATION AND
A BURDEN

B.
MATTHEW 23:23 YOU TITHE YOUR MINT AND DILL YET
NEGLECT….

C.
NOT ETHER OR, BUT BOTH

D.
MATTHEW 6:21 TREASURE AND HEART CONNECTION

E.
YOUR MONEY IS NO GOOD WITHOUT YOUR HEART.

F.
MARK 12:43
GAVE ALL SHE HAD

G.
FIXED INCOME

H.
CAME OUT OF RESPECT AND LOVE FOR GOD

3.
A NEW WAY OF GIVING

A.
2 CORINTHIANS 9:6&7 GIVE WHAT YOU DECIDED IN
YOUR HEART, NOT AN AFTER THOUGHT

B.
CHEERFUL GIVER.

C.
CLEANING OFF THE WINDOWS

D.
WASH AWAY YOUR OLD IDEAS ABOUT GIVING AND LET
YOUR HEART SPEAK TO GOD

CONCLUSION: what you give to god reflects your love,
respect, and honor to god. Let our
giving reflect our heart, and not be an afterthought.

Judges 13:1-5 “THE TRAGIC LIFE OF SAMSON”

Judges 13:1-5 “THE
TRAGIC LIFE OF SAMSON”

Introduction: Sampson, we have all heard the story and
remember how Delilah sold him out. But this
life of Sampson is very much the life of Israel and it could be the story of
our life today. We live in the greatest
land of opportunity there is. Ask any republican
or democrat and they will tell you how people without intelligence or wisdom
can rise up to senators and representatives.
No by opportunity we have easy access to God’s word, freedom to live it
and speak it. Sampson life ask the
question what will we do with it?

1.
THE TRAGIC LIFE OF SAMPSON

A.
FAILURE OF HIS PARENTS

a.
WHAT TO DO WITH HIM

b.
13:12-14

c.
Deut 11:18-22

B.
SAMPSONS PERSONAL FAILURE

a.
SELF INDULGENCE

b.
ANGER

c.
LOVED TO PLAY IN THE LAND OF THE PHILISTINES

C.
A WASTE OF A BLESSING

a.
WHAT A DELIVERANCE COULD HAVE BEEN MADE IF
SAMPSON CHOSE TO LEAD

2.
A PICTURE OF ISRAEL

A.
GIVEN THE LAW

B.
GIVEN THE PROMISE OF GOD

C.
GIVEN THE POWER OF GOD

D.
BUT THEY LOVED TO PLAY IN THE LAND OF THE
PHILISTINES

E.
THE FAVOR OF GOD WASTED

3.
THE CHALENGE OF THE CHURCH

A.
GIVEN THE WORD OF GOD

B.
EMPOWERD BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD

C.
THE FORGIVENESS AND FAVOR OF GOD

D.
EPHESIANS 6:13-18

E.
THE CHURCH LOVES THE LAND OF THE PHILISTINES

CONCLUSION: WHERE WILL WE LIVE (YOU AND I) IN THE PROMISE OF
GOD OR IN THE LAND OF THE PHILISTINES?
WILL WE BOLDLY LIVE FOR GOD, NO MATTER THE COST, OR WILL WE SQUANDER THE
POWER OF GOD IN EXCHANGE FOR SOME EARTHLY DELIGHTS. WE HAVE THE LOVE, POWER AND FAVOR OF GOD, WE
MUST NOT WASTE IT.

Judges 4:1-10

Judges 4:1-10

Discipline and deliverance

1.
DID EVIL IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD

A.
7 TIMES IN THE BOOK OF JUDGES

B.
EVIL

a.
WHAT IS EVIL

b.
World based, decided by the UN

c.
national based, decided by our government

d.
community, decided by village boards or local
activist

e.
personal, something that is based on it’s effect
on you

C.
IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD

a.
IN GOD’S JUDGEMENT

b.
THAT GOD CAN SEE IT

2.
THEY CRY OUT TO THE LORD

A.
GOD BRINGS JUDGEMENT (JABIN A KING OF CANAAN)

B.
AFTER A WHILE THEY TURN AND CRY OUT TO GOD

C.
WE ARE LEFT TO THE CONSIQUENCES OF OUR SIN

D.
YET GOD HEARS OUR CRYS AND ANSWERS

3.
GOD SENDS DEBORAH

A.
GOD’S HELP COMES IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS

B.
RAISED UP DEBORAH AS LEADING JUDGE AND
PROPHETESS

C.
GOD’S HELP MAY
COME FROM

a.
A BIBLE VERSE

b.
A VOICE YOU HEAR IN YOUR HEART

c.
THE VOICE AND ARMS OF A FRIEND

CONCLUSION: This morning in your heart cry out for our world

Cry out for our nation

Cry out for community

Cry out for our church

Cry out for your self

Our Father hears our cry and has sent first and foremost
answer to cries JESUS.