Soft or Hard Hearts

We're going to begin our worship this evening by singing to God's praise in Psalm 96a.

Sing Psalm's version, page 1 to 6 of the psalm books.

We're going to sing from verse 1 to verse 10.

Psalm 96a, the tune is Bloxam.

We sing from the beginning,

Sing a new song to the Lord, sing praises to his name and his salvation day by day,

let all the earth proclaim.

We sing from verse 1 to verse 10 to God's praise.

We stand to sing.

Oh, sing a new song to the Lord, sing praises to his name

and his salvation day by day, let all the earth proclaim.

His glory and his mighty deeds to every land declare.

How great and awesome is the Lord, with him no cross compare.

For other gods are wood and stone, the Lord made heaven's height.

All power and majesty are his, he dwells in glorious light.

All nations to the Lord, ascribe the glory that is due.

Glory and strength ascribe to God, and praise his name on you.

Enter his words with joy, and bring an offering with you.

Worship the Lord in holy faith.

All earth before them bow.

Tell everyone, the Lord is king, established is the earth.

And cannot move.

The Lord will judge the people's sin is true.

Amen.

Let's come to God in prayer.

Let us pray.

Lord, our gracious God, our Father in heaven,

as we gather to unite our hearts and praise this evening hour,

we thank you for the blessings of this day.

We thank you for your mercies in it.

Lord, we thank you for the joy that we have in worshiping you.

And even for the song, the psalm that we've sung,

it reminds us that you give us a new song to praise you,

to praise your name.

And we thank you that it's a song of salvation,

for you are the one alone who is able to save.

And we thank you for your ongoing work of salvation to your people.

That you are a God who continues to remember us

and to help us in all our different needs.

That you are a God who reigns over the world

and calls the people of this world to come

and offer up glory and praise to you.

Tell every nation, tell every land,

the Lord is king, the psalmist says.

And we thank you that your word goes out with power

in so many different ways and places.

We thank you for all your people who serve you

in proclaiming the gospel,

in proclaiming it far and wide

to people of every tribe and tongue.

We thank you for all the gifts that you have given

down through the generations to your people.

For as we hold your word in our hands this evening,

as we have the holy scriptures before us,

we realize that it is through your great works of providence

and through your will and your gifts given to many

down through the generations

to translate and to print

and to make your word in a form

that is so unchanging and unchangeable.

And we thank you that your word is passed down

and that it's translated into so many different languages.

Even throughout the world today,

when we hear the numbers of languages

and forms that your word is translated into,

we marvel.

We marvel that there are so many

and we marvel that you are a God

who remembers each one

and longs for all to come to know you.

And so we pray for your power

and your glory to be seen

throughout our world and throughout our nations,

that we would remind ourselves,

as your word does so often,

that when we feel a sense of despair

and dejection in the day in which we live,

that there is nothing new under the sun.

There have been times,

even as we see in your word,

that high points when your people

have been blessed so richly

and praised you so lovingly and so loudly.

And yet there are other times

when your people have turned away,

when they've turned to their own hearts

and to their own ways

and forgotten God.

And the warnings are there before us so often.

And we know today, Lord,

that we live in a day

when many do forget you,

where many choose to have nothing to do with you

and even to reject you in vehement ways.

Not just to reject,

but to persecute those who believe

and to seek to destroy

the Christian faith and the Christian church.

But we do thank you

that you are God and Lord,

head of the church,

that you have established

and that nothing can overcome.

We thank you that even,

as the word says,

the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

And so we thank you

that in this day in which we live,

we have these assurances,

these promises,

and these things that we can take

as confidence and hope

that you are building your church

upon the rock that is Jesus Christ.

Christ.

And we thank you

that the gospel is founded in him,

that in him there is good news,

in him there is the one

who gives that assurance

of forgiveness for sin

as we put our trust in him,

that he is the one

who gives the hope of eternal life,

that he is the one

who spoke to disciples long ago,

reminding them that he is the way,

the truth, and the life,

that there is no way to the Father

but by him.

And so we thank you

that that is still true to this day.

And may we know you

leading us in our worship this evening,

leading us into your truth,

leading us into your word,

and helping us to hear

what you have to say to us,

helping us to be established

and grounded in your word

and in your truth

in a way that it doesn't just

impact us for a moment here,

but that it will go with us

into the rest of the week ahead.

That the word that we hear

will be a word that we are able

to share and lean on

and rely upon in all the days

of this week ahead, God willing.

That it will be your truth

that shapes us,

that gives us discernment,

that gives us willingness,

that gives us boldness and courage,

that gives us all that we need

to live in this world

and to be the light of the gospel

among the people around us.

And so we ask, O Lord,

that you will unite our hearts

and praise and worship this evening

and unite our hearts

in all that we seek to do

in your name.

As we especially pray

for the week ahead,

we think of that meeting

on Wednesday evening,

a congregational meeting,

and we just commit it to you

for your unifying presence

as we read in the bulletin

for that to be in our midst

in these days.

That you would unite our hearts

together in praise

and worship and prayer to you

as the one that we depend on

for all things.

And we pray, Lord,

for that spirit of oneness,

spirit of encouragement,

spirit to look to you

that we might know you're leading

and your guidance

in all of these things

as we appoint a vacancy committee,

as we seek to invite preachers

to come and minister here,

as we seek to call a minister,

God willing,

in the not-too-distant future.

We do pray, Lord,

that your will be done

and that you would give us

your wisdom and your help in it.

And we thank you

that we have so many people here

who you use for your glory,

that the work goes on day by day

and week by week.

Among our young people,

we thank you for our Sunday school

and creche and tweenies

and Bible class.

We thank you for the youth fellowship.

We thank you for the explorers.

We thank you for the toddler group.

Thank you for all these ways

of coming alongside people,

especially our young people,

teaching them,

helping them along the way,

guiding them in your truth

and in your word

to walk closely with you.

We do pray, Lord,

that our young people,

that they would seek you

in the days of their youth.

They seek you while you are to be found.

Seek you while their hearts

are close to you

and tender to you.

Because we know, Lord,

we live in a world

filled with so many distractions,

so many things

that will lead us away from you.

And so we pray

that you will guard them

and guard us all,

guard us in our hearts and minds

that we might know

your peace with us.

We pray, too,

for the Fridays at the Free

and the over 55s.

We thank you for that meeting

last Friday

and, God willing,

the meeting of the Fridays

at the Free this coming week.

We thank you for all the encouragements

it gives

and gathering in fellowship together

and gathering

to encourage one another

and to come alongside each other

in different ways.

We do pray your blessing

upon all that we do

to come alongside

in these times.

Above all,

we pray, Lord,

to see people coming,

to be under the gospel,

to be curious,

to be asking questions,

to be exploring the Word

and seeing what it says to them.

And we thank you

for the Thursday evening meetings

of the big questions.

We pray, Lord,

that we will be encouraged

to invite people

to come along ourselves,

even to come and hear

and share

and experience together

the riches of your truth,

the riches of your Word,

and to be built up

in the faith through it.

So, Lord,

may you hear our prayers

for all of these things.

We ask, O Lord,

too,

for your blessing

on the wider church.

We thank you

for those who you have called

into ministry

and those who are training in it.

We think tonight

of Scott and Fiona

as they have gone from us

to the congregation

of North Harris.

We pray for them

as they settle

into a new home

in Scalpy

and a new congregation

in Tarbert

and a new school

for the girls,

for Katie Bell

and Lily May.

We pray that you will help them

and be with them,

that you will help them

to find people around them

who will encourage them

and draw alongside them

and help them

along the way.

And we do pray

that you will continue

to bless Scott

and his training

and all others

who have started back

in the seminary

in these past weeks.

O Lord,

we pray for those

who go on in their studies

and those who are just beginning.

We pray to see

your hand upon them

for good

and for your blessing

over the seminary

and upon all the leaders there,

the lecturers

and the staff

and all who are involved

in the training process.

Lord,

may they know

your rich hand upon them.

May they know

your goodness to them.

We pray for our nation

and our world

and our leaders

and all that we see around us

when there are so many challenges

since we hear

seemingly every day

of those who are seeking

to find peace

and only finding trouble

and we hear of immigrants

crossing the channel

and so many lives being lost

and maybe turmoil

being experienced

by those who are trying

to get across

or escaping

and fleeing

so many different places.

Lord,

there are so many

of these crises

all around us.

There are troubles

every way we look

and Lord,

we just pray

have mercy,

have mercy upon us.

Remember us, Lord.

Come in your power.

Come in a day

of your power

into our midst

that your gospel

would flourish,

that your glory

would be seen

to all ends

of the earth.

How we need you, Lord,

and how we plead with you

to come.

So Lord,

hear our prayers.

Continue with us

in all our needs

personally here

and collectively

as a people

in our homes

and our families.

You know our needs

as we were thinking

this morning

and we thank you

for the great comfort

that you are able

to give.

So comfort

all who need you

in so many different ways.

Hear our prayers.

Continue with us now

and help us to sing

to your glory.

Lift up our voices

to you in praise

and to have ears

to hear your word.

May we know

your spirit upon us

leading us

in all of these things.

We ask all

looking to our Lord

and Saviour,

Jesus Christ,

looking to forgiveness

in him

that we might know

his blessing

in each of our lives.

We ask it

in his precious name

and for his glory.

Amen.

We'll continue

to worship God

and sing

to his praise.

This time

in Psalm 20

in the Scottish Psalter,

page 224.

Psalm 20

on page 224.

We're going to sing

from verse 3

down to the end

of the psalm.

The tune is Walsall.

Let him remember

all thy gifts,

accept thy sacrifice,

grant thee

thy heart's wish

and fulfill

thy thoughts

and counsel wise.

In thy salvation

we will joy

in our God's name

we will display

our banners

and the Lord

the prayers

all fulfill.

We'll sing

from verse 3

down to the end

of the psalm.

Psalm 20

to God's praise.

Amen.

Let him remember

all thy gifts,

accept thy sacrifice,

grant thee

grant thee

thy heart's wish

and fulfill

thy thoughts

and counsel wise.

In thy salvation

we will joy

in our God's name

in our God's name

we will display

our banners

and the Lord

thy prayers

all fulfill.

God's name

now know

thy God

his King

that save

me from

his holy

heaven

will hear

him

with

the saving

strength

by his own

right hand

him

in chariots

some

put confidence

some

horses

trust upon

but

we

remember

well

the name

of

our

Lord

God

alone

we

rise

and

upright

stand

when

we

are

bowed

down

and

fall

deliver

Lord

and

let

the

King

us

hear

when

we

do

all

we

can

turn

to read

God's

word

together

now

in

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 10 · chapter mention

chapter

10

so

in the

Old Testament

the book

of

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 10 · chapter mention

chapter

10

you'll

find it

around

page

185

of the

church

bibles

and we're

going to

read

the whole

of this

chapter

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 10 · chapter mention

chapter

10

from

verse

1

at

that

time

the

Lord

said

to

me

cut

for

yourself

two

tablets

of

stone

like

the

first

and

come

up

to

me

on

the

mountain

and

make

an

ark

of

wood

and

I

will

write

on

the

tablets

the

words

that

were

on

the

first

tablets

that

you

broke

and

you

shall

put

them

in

the

ark

so

I

made

an

ark

of

a

wood

and

went

up

the

mountain

with

the

two

tablets

in

my

hand

and

he

wrote

on

the

tablets

in

the

same

writing

as

before

the

ten

commandments

that

the

Lord

had

spoken

to

you

on

the

mountain

out

of

the

midst

of

the

fire

on

the

day

of

the

assembly

and

the

Lord

gave

them

to

me

then

I

turned

and

came

down

from

the

mountain

and

put

the

tablets

in

the

ark

that

I

to

Moserah

then

Aaron

died

and

there

he

was

buried

and

his

son

Eliasur

ministered

as a

priest

in

his

place

from

there

they

journeyed

to

Godoga

and

from

Godoga

to

Jothbatha

the

land

with

brooks

of

water

at

that

time

the

Lord

set

apart

the

tribe

of

Levi

to

carry

the

ark

of

the

covenant

of

the

Lord

to

stand

before

the

Lord

to

minister

to

him

and

to

bless

in

his

name

to

this

day

therefore

Levi

has

no

portion

or

inheritance

with

his

brothers

the

Lord

is

his

inheritance

as

the

Lord

your

God

said

to

him

I

myself

stayed

on

the

mountain

as

at

the

first

time

for

forty

days

and

forty

nights

and

the

Lord

listened

to

me

that

time

also

the

Lord

was

unwilling

to

destroy

you

and

the

Lord

said

to

me

arise

go

on

your

journey

at

the

head

of

the

people

so

they

may

go

in

and

possess

the

land

which

I

swore

to

their

fathers

to

give

them

now

Israel

what

does

the

Lord

your

God

require

of

you

but

to

fear

the

Lord

your

God

to

walk

in

all

his

ways

to

love

him

to

serve

the

Lord

your

God

with

all

your

heart

and

with

all

your

soul

and

to

keep

the

commandments

and

statutes

of

the

Lord

which

I

am

commanding

you

today

for

your

good

behold

to

the

Lord

your

God

belong

heaven

and

the

heaven

of

heavens

the

earth

with

all

that

is

in

it

yet

the

Lord

set

his

heart

and

love

on

your

fathers

and

chose

their

offspring

after

them

you

above

all

peoples

as

you

are

this

day

circumcise

therefore

the

foreskin

of

your

heart

and

be

no

longer

stubborn

for

the

Lord

your

God

is

God

of

gods

and

Lord

of

lords

the

great

the

mighty

and

the

awesome

God

who

is

not

partial

and

takes

no

bribe

he

executes

justice

for

the

fatherless

and

the

widow

and

loves

the

sojourner

giving

him

food

and

clothing

love

the

sojourner

therefore

for

you

are

sojourners

in

the

land

of

Egypt

you

shall

fear

the

Lord

your

God

you

shall

serve

him

and

hold

fast

to

him

and

by

his

name

you

shall

swear

he

is

your

praise

he

is

your

God

who

has

done

for

you

these

great

and

terrifying

things

that

your

eyes

have

seen

your

fathers

went

down

to

Egypt

seventy

persons

and

now

the

Lord

your

God

has

made

you

as

numerous

as

the

stars

of

heaven

and

so on

and may

God

bless

that

reading

from

his

word

before we

come back

to look at

some of

this passage

we'll sing

again

to God's

praise

in

Psalm

32

Psalm

32

in the

Scottish

Psalter

page

244

we'll sing

verse 7

down to

the end

of the

psalm

Psalm

32

at

verse 7

the tune

is Bedford

thou art

my hiding

place

thou shalt

from

trouble

keep

me

free

thou

with

songs

of

deliverance

about

shall

compass

me

I

will

instruct

thee

and

they

teach

the way

that

thou

shalt

go

and

with

mine

eye

upon

thee

set

I

will

direction

show

we'll

sing

verse 7

down to

the end

of the

psalm

to

God's

praise

the

heart

my

hiding

place

thou

shalt

from

trouble

keep

me

free

I

with

songs

of

deliverance

abide

shall

compass

me

I

will

instruct

thee

and

thee

teach

the way

that thou

shalt

go

and

with

mine

eye

upon

thee

said

I

said

I

will

direction

show

then

be

not

like

the

horse

or

mule

which

do

not

understand

whose

mouth

God

they

life

and

подоб

of

t

jeep

from

real

japan

代

get

to

the

John

In the Lord, mercy shall compass Christ.

Ye righteous in the Lord be done, in him do ye rejoice.

O ye that have my loving heart, for joy lift up your voice.

We can turn back together to our reading in Deuteronomy chapter 10.

Deuteronomy 10 · chapter mention

We can look at verse 12 to verse 16 in particular together this evening.

Deuteronomy chapter 10 at verse 12.

Deuteronomy 10 · chapter mention

And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you?

But to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,

and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good.

Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it.

Yet the Lord set his heart and love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day.

Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart and be no longer stubborn, for the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords.

And so on.

I hope you all make it a priority at some point in the day.

I hope you start the day and end the day looking at the word of God, making it a priority to read your Bibles.

But how do you read it?

What approach do you take to it?

Are you one who just maybe sticks in the same kind of area?

Or do you like to read through it in a more ordinary manner?

Or maybe trying to start from the beginning and just read your way through it?

We can all have different ways of approaching how we read the word of God.

Bishop J.C. Ryle, a bishop in England many years ago and a writer of many books, many books I'm sure that many of you are familiar with.

Most homes will have his book on holiness or other ones like that.

Well, he once said that we must read our Bibles like men digging for hidden treasure.

That is how we are to approach reading our Bibles as men, women, boys and girls digging for hidden treasure.

With that sense of anticipation, that sense of longing that we're going to find something of riches in this word of God.

We've thought about it as we've been looking at Habakkuk, digging for nuggets of gold in Habakkuk.

How in the midst of so many things that just leave people in dismay and disarray,

there are these nuggets, these precious nuggets of gold that give us a sense of encouragement.

And God willing, we'll come back to Habakkuk next Sunday morning, all being well.

But when we come to read the word of God, we might be maybe more inclined to read the New Testament,

to go into the Gospels or the letters of Paul.

Or maybe if we go into the Old Testament, we stick to maybe passages that we've been familiar with from a very young age.

The stories like David and Goliath or Daniel and the Lion's Den or all these kinds of accounts that we read of,

we maybe become more selective.

Who has in their favorite books the book of Deuteronomy?

Is it a book that you keep going back to as a book that you think there's so much nuggets of gold in here

that I just long to go back to it and read it again and again?

It's not always a book maybe that stands out in our list of favorites.

And yet, as you go through the book of Deuteronomy, you find it's such an important book.

An important book in the sense of the Old Testament, but also as you go into the New Testament.

What it's speaking about is so important, not just for Moses and his day, but for ourselves today.

There's so much we can learn from this book.

There's so much we see that has such great significance for us.

There's one commentator, one writer, one theologian called Gordon Wenham.

And he speaks of the significance of the book of Deuteronomy in this way.

He calls it the linchpin of the Old Testament.

So the linchpin is something that hinges things together.

Like a trailer has a linchpin that connects it to whatever's towing it.

So you've got this linchpin that makes sure that everything else is secure.

And he describes the book of Deuteronomy in that way.

It's like a linchpin that keeps things secure.

So what's come before it and what comes after it is held secure by what we read in the book of Deuteronomy.

So why is it so important?

Why is it a book that we should be so interested in?

When you think about how often it's quoted in the New Testament, you maybe think, where do I see it quoted?

Well, alongside Genesis, Psalms, and the book of Isaiah, it is the most quoted book in the New Testament.

So again, that highlights for us that there is significance in this book of Deuteronomy.

We're not putting it above other books, but we're just seeing that it's not a book we should ignore.

It's not a book we should think of just easily passing by it because you find so much riches in it.

And it's important hasn't waned.

It's still important for us today, just as much as it was, as Moses was with the children of Israel here, about to enter into the promised land.

They were on the border.

They were on the cusp of going into the promised land.

The Lord had brought them through the Exodus.

He had brought them out of Egypt through so many trials.

And here they were about to go into the promised land.

And what you find with the book of Deuteronomy is it begins and it ends with a reminder of God's covenant.

That's God's relationship with his people.

That God has promised many things to his people.

If you look in chapter 4, verse 31, there it said,

So there's that promise at the start.

And then if you jump forward to chapter 29, and just even looking at the heading of that chapter,

it's the covenant renewed in Moab.

You go through that chapter and it's a reminder of God's covenant that he made with Moses and with his people.

So you find the whole book has at its bookends, if you like, the covenant.

The reminder of God's promise to his people.

And so Moses is here preaching to the people.

He's reminding them as they're about to enter the promised land that their allegiance is to be to God.

Because they are going into a land that is full of so many other gods.

False gods, idols, temptations that they will be drawn away from worshipping God

and their allegiance going somewhere else.

What was the danger that they faced?

The danger was that they would forget the Lord their God.

And that's the serious nature of this book.

That's what you see as the bookends with God showing his remembrance of his people

and his covenant love to them.

Within and in between that, there is this danger of the people forgetting God.

And you say, well, they wouldn't.

Surely they wouldn't forget God.

After all he's done for them.

After all he's done in taking them out of Egypt, through the wilderness, all these years,

and now on the border of the promised land,

and taking them into a land that's described as flowing with milk and honey,

riches and everything that they need.

Surely they wouldn't forget the Lord.

The warning rings in their ears in chapter 8, verse 11, 14, and 19.

There you see the warning go out so powerfully,

where Moses says,

Take care lest you forget the Lord your God

by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes which I command you today.

It's this warning ringing in their ears.

And yet, as are we.

And we say to ourselves, well, we wouldn't forget the Lord.

We wouldn't forget his goodness to us.

We wouldn't forget the blessings of a Christian upbringing, a Christian home.

We wouldn't forget what he's saying to us through his word.

We would.

And we do.

That is the sad nature of who we are.

How quickly we forget the Lord.

Even as we go into this week ahead,

we might have that warning ringing in our ears.

Do not forget the Lord.

Maybe on Monday it's loud and clear.

On Tuesday it's just a little bit quieter.

By Wednesday we've just taken up by the rest of the ways of the world.

We forget about the Lord.

But as we come into chapter 10,

what we want to see together this evening,

as we look at this section,

verse 12 to verse 16, 17 there,

what we are reminded of is an insight of God's love to us.

And it comes about in this situation where,

as we read at the beginning of chapter 10,

the Lord is still remembering his people.

He gives the Ten Commandments to them,

despite, as you see in chapter 9,

the golden calf when they'd just turned their back on God so quickly,

that he still remembers them.

And in verse,

excuse me,

in verse 10

and verse 11 there,

you find that he's talking there about

still remembering and interceding

for his people.

Moses has prayed with God

and the Lord listened to me,

it says in verse 10,

and the Lord was unwilling to destroy you.

There's that mercy you see there.

He's showing mercy

in the midst of their disobedience,

in the midst of their forgetfulness.

He's still a God

who shows mercy.

And the Lord longs for his people

to come and trust in him.

And that's the call that goes out through this passage

to ourselves this evening as well.

To remember that God

is a God who could destroy us.

He could give us what we deserve,

what our sins deserve,

is death.

But he shows mercy.

And he gives time.

And he calls to us to come.

He shows us his great love towards us.

Through his son, Christ Jesus.

And in that love that he shows towards us,

he calls on us to love him

because he first loved us.

And so I want us to take these three things

from these verses as we look at them

together this evening.

As Moses is here

preaching to the people,

as he's ministering to them,

he's saying three things to them.

The first is he's giving them

what the Lord requires.

There's a requirement here.

If we want to know

the Lord's blessing,

there is a requirement.

And then secondly,

he gives them a reminder.

A reminder of his love.

And then the third thing that we see

is this calls for a response.

So we have a requirement,

a reminder,

and a response.

And the first thing we see

is a reminder.

In verse 12 there,

having reminded them

of how he has interceded

and how he has said,

the Lord was unwilling to destroy you,

he's showing God's love to them,

God's mercy to them.

And as you see God's mercy,

does that not demand a response?

Well, it does,

as you see here.

Because in verse 12,

Moses goes on and he says,

and now Israel,

now you people,

what does the Lord,

your God,

require of you?

In light of his mercy,

in light of his sparing you,

what does he require of you?

And he goes on to give them the answer.

He says,

but to fear the Lord,

your God,

to walk in all his ways,

to love him,

to serve the Lord,

your God,

with all your heart

and with all your soul,

and to keep the commandments

and statutes of the Lord,

which I am commanding you today.

there is what the Lord,

your God,

requires of you.

And in many ways,

you could look at that list

and think,

there's an outward side

to that list.

To fear the Lord

is to show

an honor to God,

to recognize

who he is,

to walk in his ways,

to love him,

to serve him,

to keep his word.

And what you see

as you go through the scriptures

is that for people,

God's people

down through generations,

this can be an outward show.

But what he's warning here

is it's got to be more

than that.

It's got to be more

than just an outward show

of things.

And what he's getting at

in this section

is the heart.

And as we'll see later on,

it's the heart

that needs

to change.

And it's the heart

that needs to have

been impacted

by all of these things.

He requires of you

to fear the Lord,

not just outwardly,

but inwardly.

He requires of you

to love him,

not just in an outward showing,

but with all your heart

inwardly.

And your service

must come

from that loving

him inwardly.

Keeping his word

must be just

not to make people see it,

but because you love

the Lord

with all your heart,

you lay up

his word

in your heart.

And it's the goal

that you're searching for,

that you're searching

the scriptures

to see

Lord,

what do you want

of me?

Moses had been assigned

as the leader

of the people.

And if he was

to lead the people

well,

he was to be one

who lived in this way

as well.

And again,

not just outwardly,

but with all

his heart.

So what Moses

is saying here

to the people is,

don't look at me

as your leader.

Look to God.

fear the Lord.

Don't look to me

and love me,

Moses is saying.

Love God.

Don't look to me

and serve me.

Serve the Lord.

Don't look to me

and keep the words

that I am giving you.

It's the word of God.

Keep his word.

not doing anything

for man,

not doing anything

for an outward show

to anybody else,

but doing it

for the Lord.

Because you see

what the Lord

has done

for you.

Do you ever ask

yourself that question,

what does the Lord

require of me?

And maybe you've got

this list of things

that you think,

this is what would be good

before the Lord

for me to do.

And you'll do it

to suit yourself.

Because if you were

to actually do

everything that the Lord

requires of you,

it's a huge challenge.

Just think of what

he's saying there.

Fear the Lord,

walk in his ways,

love him,

serve him,

keep his word.

To do that

means it's difficult,

it's hard.

And you might say,

oh, this is just too much,

I'll just try

and do some of it.

And once you start

to just try

and do some of it,

then you start

to fall away

from the rest of it.

And then you just

fall back

into the old ways.

And then you realize

you're away

from God again.

We forget the Lord.

And that's the cycle

that you see

in Deuteronomy

as you go on

through the word of God.

It's that constant cycle

that you see.

Forget one

and it leads

to forgetting the rest.

It leads

to forgetting God.

So it's to be

our priority

to do all

of these things.

And not just outwardly

but inwardly

with all

our hearts.

There's a great example

in Scripture

for us.

If we're looking

for an example

and I was reading

this about David

in the Old Testament

in the book of Samuel.

There is a man

who is described

as a man

after God's

own heart.

He was a leader

who God chose

to lead his people

as well.

But what was

the qualities

that David had?

Well you could almost

say it was all

of these things.

He feared the Lord.

He walked in his ways.

He loved him.

He served him.

He kept his word.

That was when

David was strong.

Going back to maybe

our favorite passages

as we read in Scripture.

The ones we're familiar

with from a young age.

We know David

and Goliath

and that story

of how David

conquered this giant

Goliath.

But I was reading

about this this week

and it said

it's easy in the drama

of this event

that we miss

what David

was actually doing.

How he was fulfilling

these requirements.

How he didn't listen

to advice

of those around him

of he should do this

or he should do that.

That he listened

to God.

And it was this verse

that the writer

was focusing on

in verse 40

of 1 Samuel chapter 17

1 Samuel 17 · chapter mention

where you read

that account

of David and Goliath.

It says there

he chose

five smooth stones.

And you can easily

pass by

and think nothing

of that.

Or maybe

as some people

have done

you're asking questions

why five stones?

What did they represent?

Why more than one stone?

Surely you only needed

one to kill Goliath.

David was a man of faith.

Did he doubt

that God

would help him

in conquering

the giant Goliath?

Well

the writer pointed out

this

that later on

in 2 Samuel

2 Samuel 21:15–22

chapter 21

verse 15

to 22

there it mentions

giants.

other giants.

And it mentions

at least four

there by name.

So Goliath

wasn't

the only

giant.

So he didn't

just choose

any stones.

He didn't just

choose the first ones

that he came across.

He knew what it was

to use a sling.

He knew what he needed

to make

an accurate shot.

And so he did

as he had always done.

He chose

the best.

the most suitable.

He didn't say

the Lord

is going to do it

for me anyway.

I'll just pick up

any jagged rocks.

He recognised

his own

responsibility.

And this is a point

that the writer

was getting at.

There was

our responsibility

and God's

divine

providence

in David's life.

And it was

the two

going

together.

It was

what the Lord

required

of David

to use

his common

sense

but to

trust

the Lord.

And as

Moses is

writing to

the people

here

as he is

teaching them

and as he is

teaching us

he's teaching us

these two things

as well.

Yes

we can

trust God

but it's not

a case of

well God's

going to do it

anyway.

It's not that

kind of

trust.

There's

our

responsibility

too and that's

the responsibility

here.

What does

the Lord

require of

you the same

as of David

to fear

the Lord

your God

to walk

in his ways

to love

him and serve

him and trust

his word.

That is what

required

of us.

The Lord

gives us

instruction

for a reason.

He gives us

commands for a

reason.

In verse 13

he says here

it's for

your good.

All of

these things

are for

your good.

In chapter

4, 5, 6

and 12

he's giving

instructions there

in these chapters

with the phrase

that it may

go well

with you.

It's the phrase

that keeps

coming up.

So we have

requirements in

life.

They are for

our good

that it may

go well

with you.

The question

is

are we

fulfilling

them?

Are we

listening to

the requirements

that the

Lord gives?

Are we

choosing to

ignore them

and push

them away

and forgetting

the Lord?

We want

to do

as the

Lord requires.

We want

to love

him with

all our

hearts.

And the

second thing

we see

here is a

reminder.

A

reminder

in verse

15.

15.

yet it

says there

the

Lord

set

his

heart

in

love

on

your

fathers.