A Time of Deliverance

We can turn back to our reading in Deuteronomy chapter 29.

Deuteronomy 29 · chapter mention

! We're going to be looking at the whole chapter.

We can read again at verse 9.

! Deuteronomy 29 at verse 9.

Therefore keep the words of this covenant and do them,

that you may prosper in all that you do.

A nation stands on the threshold of freedom,

having been under the rule of a foreign nation for many years.

The people are being encouraged to make a choice,

to make a stand that will affect their future

and the future of generations to come.

It sounds like something we hear almost on a daily basis just now,

whether we're looking at our own nation or other nations around the world.

People looking for deliverance, people looking for a way forward.

But this is not a present-day political rally.

This is turning to the Word of God and what we see here in the book of Deuteronomy

is this very kind of setting.

And it's hard for us to imagine what it has taken for the children of Israel

to arrive at this point that we're reading of in chapter 29 of Deuteronomy.

They have come through so much.

When we were singing there in Psalm 114,

we were given a little taste of just the kind of things that they came through,

coming out of Egypt, having been an oppression there for many years as slaves

and suffering under the cruelty of that,

and then being led out of Egypt, but not an easy way,

a very difficult way, coming through many different challenges,

to such a point that the people cried out,

would it not have been better for us to stay in Egypt where we were?

And yet all the time God was leading them to that promised place,

a place that's described as flowing with milk and honey,

a place that the spies spied out.

And only two of them, Joshua and Caleb,

came back saying,

here is a great land,

a place that God has prepared for us that we can go into.

And others said,

no, it is too difficult.

They've come through so many challenges.

And from that point,

when the spies returned and said,

no, it's too difficult,

and the people went along with them,

they were then 40 years wandering in a wilderness,

so that none of those who actually came out of Egypt,

far from Joshua and Caleb,

would go into the promised land.

The rest lost their way.

They lost their focus on God.

But what Moses is here doing

is bringing them to that point

where they're here on the border of the promised land,

saying, how are we going to go forward?

How are we going to go into this land?

How are we going to go from strength to strength?

And Moses is saying it is by putting the Lord central to it all,

by keeping the Lord as our focus.

Otherwise, we lose our way.

Otherwise, the devil comes in and displaces us,

misguides us, leads us in the wrong ways.

In the former Soviet Union,

government frequently published maps that were inaccurate.

They had false information put on them.

It was vague.

Towns, rivers, roads,

they were all misplaced or mislabeled.

Why?

Why?

Why would anybody want to do that?

Well, it was for national security.

That's what they said.

So if anybody came and tried to spy the land

or find a way or where a city was,

then they would be confused.

They would be in the wrong place.

They would be looking in the wrong places.

But it caused confusion for everyone.

It was a tactic called maskerovka.

It means misdirection or misinformation.

But all it does is lead to confusion.

And you can almost say that's a devil's tactic, maskerovka.

It's the kind of thing that he wants us to fall into as well.

Misdirection, confusion,

not knowing the way we should go by looking in the wrong place.

But God speaks to us and God guides us.

And that's what we need.

We need an accurate map to have an accurate way.

And God's word is just that.

And that is what Moses is giving to the people here in Deuteronomy.

As they're about to go in to this great land that they've been promised.

He speaks from the outset of the book in this way.

He says in Deuteronomy 1 verse 1,

Deuteronomy 1:1

These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness.

God was speaking through Moses.

And you see it here again in 29 verse 1.

These are the words of the covenant

that the Lord commanded Moses to make with the people of Israel.

God was speaking.

God was giving them guidance.

A nation to go forward.

A nation to be blessed.

A people to be blessed.

It was by trusting in the Lord.

You know when we think of nations and our own nation today.

Leaders will produce manifestos.

They will talk about this is the way we are to go forward.

This is the way we will go forward and prosper in so many different ways.

Information and plans for a better future.

But does it become reality?

So often it doesn't.

So often it doesn't because the promises that are made just cannot be fulfilled.

But above all there's no thought of God.

There's no putting God first in it all.

And for God's people, whether it's in the days of Moses or our own day,

what we need is God first and foremost.

And that's what Moses is doing here in Deuteronomy.

He's giving them a manifesto, if you like.

A manifesto to live and to prosper and to be blessed.

A road map that is one that is accurate, that is true.

And so we need it to go forward.

And as with any manifesto, there's key points.

And that's what we're going to think about this morning,

the key points of what Moses is telling the people here in chapter 29.

You see, there's four things just very quickly we want to look at.

An overview, an observation, an outcome, and an offer.

An overview, an observation, an outcome, and an offer.

So the first thing is an overview.

The book of Deuteronomy can be outlined,

and it's been outlined by some people like this.

Chapter 1 to 4, it's about looking back.

End of chapter 4 through to chapter 26, it's about looking up.

And then chapter 27 to 34, it's looking forward.

That's the kind of outline you have in the book of Deuteronomy.

But it's hard just to separate them, isn't it?

You can't look forward without looking back and looking up.

You can't look back without looking up as well.

They all just go together.

But so often we can be guilty maybe of just maybe taking one or two of these things.

We can be guilty of looking back and looking forward without looking up.

And you can just rehash them all.

Because we need to have all three, really.

And that's what you see with Moses here in chapter 29.

And as he is seeking to go forward, he does it by both looking forward,

but also looking back.

But above all, looking up.

Looking up to God.

Because when you see in the outset of this chapter, what you see is this overview of things,

this review of things like any kind of manifesto would have.

Where are we now?

What resources do we have?

What kind of infrastructure do we have?

How can we go forward?

Moses does this with God in mind.

And that's what you see at the outset.

These are the words of the covenant that the Lord commanded Moses to make with the people of Israel.

And then in verse 2, he summoned the people to him.

You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt.

So he's taking them back.

He's taking them back there to Pharaoh, to all his servants,

and then to the journey that they've had coming through to the point they're at now.

The great wonders that they have seen.

All the different things that are going on.

So there's a whole overview of things here for them.

And it's a good thing to do.

As we think of anything that we're involved in in church or as a people,

we need to look at the bigger picture.

To look at what's going on.

He reminds them here that they can look back and see that God has been with them faithfully

through 40 years.

40 years of wandering through the wilderness.

And he's never failed them.

And you see it in just the way the clothes that they wore, the shoes that they wore.

They had food, they had drink.

For 40 years, everything.

God has been faithful.

What do we see?

What do you see when you review your life?

When you do an overview of your life?

Looking back over all your years, what do you see?

Each of us might see different things.

We will.

We've all come through different experiences.

Some will say, I was my happiest when I was close to God.

I knew great blessings.

I was lost before I came to faith and everything was wonderful.

But others might say, well, my life I felt was good before I found the Lord, before the Lord found me.

But when I came to faith, suddenly my life started to unravel in so many different ways.

How can we marry the two together?

Why should one person have one and another person another?

We cannot understand.

You just have to look at the last words of this chapter.

God has revealed to us a way of faith.

God has revealed to us a way of faith.

So that in any overview that we're looking at, we have to look at it in the bigger picture.

That God has allowed things into our lives.

Some are good.

Some are hard to understand.

But all the time, God knows.

And God is leading.

And we come to a point where we can look back and say, God has been with us every step.

Never failed us.

Can you look back like that?

Are you able to see the bigger picture?

To see in an overview of all things the way the Lord has led to this point?

Are you able to say, hitherto, the Lord has helped.

What a blessing it is when you can.

And if you can't.

If today you're saying, I just cannot see God in the midst of my life.

He is calling you to look to him.

To trust in him.

To lean upon him.

He is saying that, keep pressing on.

They couldn't see it in all these years.

40 years of wandering through the wilderness.

Just what was ahead.

But they were kept going.

They were kept.

And that is the way we are to be as well.

The Lord will keep us.

Through the hardships.

Through the joys.

Through it all.

The Lord keeps us.

So the first thing we see here is an overview.

And in an overview we see our need of God.

And how God is there for us.

The second thing we see here is an observation.

In the bigger picture we focus in on some of the smaller issues as well.

We hear problems today.

The usual problems when people are talking in a political way.

Poor health care.

Unemployment.

Poverty.

Education.

The economy.

Crime.

All of these things are mentioned.

But what is the observation that comes from Moses here?

When you come to this place.

When you come in to this land.

What are they going to find?

What are they going to see?

Well the biggest problem is idols.

Idols.

But it points them back to the observation overall.

That the problem with the people is the heart.

Because our hearts are drawn towards idols.

Do you think that's true of yourself today?

How is your heart with God today?

Are you feeling that sense of closeness?

Are you trusting in him?

Or are you leaving him out?

Are you pushing him away?

That's the problem that the people here were facing in the days of Moses.

They are going forward but what to?

There are going to be many different challenges for them.

They are familiar with idols.

They have seen them before.

You look at verse 16.

You know how we lived in the land of Egypt.

And how we came through the midst of the nations through which you passed.

And you have seen their detestable things.

Their idols of wood and stone.

Of silver and gold which were among them.

Beware lest there be among you a man or woman or clan or tribe.

Whose heart is turning away today.

Whose heart is turning away today.

It is the heart that is being led astray.

John Calvin once said,

The heart is an idol factory.

In other words, the heart is able to produce idol after idol after idol.

And an idol is something we put in the place of God.

And he is warning them here.

This is the observation that he has.

This is going to be your greatest danger going forward.

Your heart.

Frank Sinatra said,

I did it my way.

It's a common song at funerals.

And it's what we see in this chapter as well.

We see that that is the danger of this attitude.

Of making it out that it is about our ways.

Look at verse 19.

One who, when he hears the words of this sworn covenant,

blesses himself in his heart, saying,

I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.

There is the attitude of doing it my way.

What is the idol of your heart today?

What is it that comes between you and God?

What easily leads you astray?

There are so many because we can just produce them over and over.

Pride.

Pride can so often be in our hearts.

Humility can stop us coming to God.

Now that doesn't sound right, does it?

Humility.

We are told to be humble,

and yet we can have a false humility.

And say that my heart is just so wretched,

so wicked that I'm not good enough to come to God.

It's a false kind of humility.

But it can be a big problem.

Stubbornness.

Or too easily led us astray.

They both seem like opposites,

and yet they can lead us in the same direction,

the wrong direction.

Greed or covetousness.

There's just so many.

Think of this little story of a salesman.

He used to go around

and would make hundreds of sales,

going door to door.

How did he do it?

Well, just in a few words.

He would say to the people he was visiting,

let me show you something.

Several of your neighbors have said you couldn't afford.

What does that make you do?

What would that make you do

if someone said that to you at your doorstep?

It makes you want to prove them wrong, doesn't it?

That stubbornness,

that covetousness,

that pride,

it can so easily come in.

And Moses knew the kind of people he had.

He knew how easy they would be led astray.

He knew the challenges

that they were going to face up to,

the challenges we read there in verse 16 to 18.

And he says,

beware,

beware.

And look at how seriously he puts it

at the end of verse 18.

Beware lest there be among you

a root bearing poisonous

and bitter fruit.

That's how dangerous it is.

Poisonous

and bitter fruit.

That's how easily the heart

can become hardened against God

and against his people

and against his ways.

When we are led astray,

when we are led by idols,

false gods,

and turn away from God,

a poisonous

and a bitter root

takes over.

And that is one thing

we have to guard against

at all times.

So we have an overview,

we have an observation.

Then thirdly,

we have an outcome.

An outcome predicted.

Any kind of manifesto,

anything that's looking

to the way ahead,

it always tries to predict

the outcome.

If we go this way,

we will prosper,

we will do well.

But it's always so difficult

to predict.

Over the years,

people have always tried

to predict

the way things would go.

Famously,

Thomas J. Watson,

who was chairman

of the board of IBM

back in the 1940s,

said,

I can see a market

for computers

in the world

of only five.

Five computers.

That was then.

Look at the world

we live in today.

There's computers

everywhere.

There's computers

in your hands.

Another man,

an author,

Geoffrey Gittimer,

I think it is,

he said back in 1963

when I graduated,

there were no

personal computers,

no cell phones,

no internet,

no credit cards,

no cassette tapes,

no satellite TV.

In the space of 60 years,

all of these things

have come.

In fact,

some have come

and gone.

Cassette tapes,

now people don't even

know what they are.

Back in 1963,

they hadn't been produced.

It's hard to predict.

But what God does

is deal in certainties.

In certainties.

Because there's nothing

hard for God

to predict.

And the predictions

that he gives

in this chapter

are warnings.

If you continue

in your own way,

if you turn

to these false gods,

you see it

in verse 24

to verse 26.

A long list

of predictions

and disasters,

but there's a reason

given why.

Verse 24,

all the nations

will ask,

why has the Lord

done this to the land?

Why this fierce,

burning anger?

And the answer

will be,

it is because

this people

abandoned

the covenant

of the Lord,

the God of their fathers,

the covenant

he made with them

when he brought

them out of Egypt.

They went off

and worshipped

other gods

and bowed down

to them,

gods they did not know,

gods he had not

given them.

This is the outcome

predicted.

They will go

because that's

their natural way.

But when they go

they will find it

empty.

They will only

find destruction.

That is the warning.

It's the same warning

as Jesus gives

in the Gospel

of Mark,

Mark 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8.

What does it

profit a man

to gain the whole

world and forfeit

his soul?

what's it worth?

What's your soul

worth today

to you?

Is it worth

turning away

from God

and losing it?

It's not something

God wants.

And you see that

as you go on

into chapter 30

in this book.

Repentance

and forgiveness

is the heading

at chapter 30.

But just look

at verse 6.

The Lord

will God

will circumcise

your heart

and the heart

of your offspring

so that you

will love

the Lord

your God

with all your

heart,

with all your

soul,

that you may

live.

He doesn't

want you

lost.

He wants

you to live.

And that is

the power

that He is

able to

produce in

your heart.

To circumcise

your heart

means to

open your

heart before

God.

To change

your heart.

That is the

power that He

has.

And that's

what God

wants.

That is the

outcome He

is looking

for.

not that

we would

perish,

but that

we would

live.

And that

leads us

to the

final thing.

Because the

final thing

we see here

is an

offer.

An offer.

You see it

again in

chapter 30

verse 11

downwards,

the choice

of life

and death.

You see it

here in

chapter 29

verse 9

that we read,

therefore keep

the words

of this

covenant

and do

them that

you may

prosper in

all that

you do.

That you

may live.

That you

may know

deliverance.

That is

what He

wants for

His people

here.

That is

what He

wants for

His people

today.

The choice

that is put

before us.

The choice

that is

there.

Choose

God

and live.

That is

so often

the choice

that we

see

throughout

Scripture.

The choice

that God

calls us

to.

That is

the real

call of

this passage.

To find

a way to

prosper.

To find a

way of

deliverance.

To put

our trust

in God.

That is

what verse

9 asks

of us.

To

consider.

To look

at all

that we

hear in

these words.

keep the

words of

this

covenant.

A

covenant

is a

promise.

God

makes His

promise

to us.

He will

be our

God.

We will

be His

people

when we

put our

trust

in Him.

And it

comes with

a warning.

There is

always a

warning.

Just think

of Jesus'

teaching in

the Sermon

on the

Mount in

chapter 7

of Matthew.

There He

presents that

great picture.

Enter by

the narrow

gate, for

the gate

is wide,

and the

way is

easy that

leads to

destruction,

and those

who enter

by it

are many.

For the

gate is

narrow, and

the way

is hard

that leads

to life,

and those

who find

it are

few.

He puts

the choice,

the broad

road and

the narrow

roads.

The choice

between life

and death.

It's that

stark.

The choice

that Joshua

and Caleb

put before

us so

often as

well, when

you go back

to Numbers,

before they

went into

the promised

land, Joshua

and Caleb

said to the

congregation of

the people in

Numbers 14

Numbers 14:6–9

verse 6 to

9,

the land

which we

passed

through to

spy it

out is

an exceedingly

good land.

If the

Lord delights

in us, he

will bring

us into

this land

and give

it to

us.

Only do

not rebel

against the

Lord and

do not

fear the

people of

the land.

The Lord

is with

us.

Do not

fear them.

There was

a choice.

They chose

to turn

away from

that, to

turn away

from God,

and they

ended up

being lost

in the

wilderness.

And here

we are now

40 years

later, and

they're waiting

to go on

again.

And which

way would

they choose?

That's what's

being put

before them.

Keep the

words of

this covenant

and do

them that

you may

prosper.

What does

it mean

for you?

What does

it mean

for us

today?

Keep the

words that

God puts

before us.

The words

of his

covenant.

The covenant

fulfilled in

Jesus Christ.

That deliverance

is found in

him.

And when we

put our

trust in

him, we

are to

follow his

ways, all

the ways

that he

commands us.

And there

are many

things that

that leads

us to.

Love the

Lord your

God with

all your

heart, soul

and mind

and strength.

And love

your neighbor

as yourself.

That's the

summary of

it.

Is that

what we are

doing?

is that

the way

that we

are living?

Is that

the way

that we

are going

forward?

Because if

it's not,

there is

that danger

that we

read of

here,

a poisonous

and a

bitter fruit

when we

turn away

from God.

So let

us turn

to him.

Let us

look to

him and

go forward

trusting him,

honoring him,

loving him

with all our

hearts,

loving our

neighbor as

ourself,

seeking his

blessing and

his good

to us.

he is

faithful who

has promised.

Let us

be faithful

to him.

Let us

pray.

Lord,

our

gracious

God,

we thank

you for

the promises

that you

give to

us,

that you

are a

faithful

God,

that you

are the

God of

Abraham,

Isaac,

and Jacob

of old,

but that

you are a

God for

all your

people down

through all

generations,

that your

promises we

see fulfilled

in Jesus

Christ,

our Lord,

the one

who directs

us,

the one

who shows

us the

way,

and may

you help

us to

walk in

his ways.

May you

lead us

by your

spirit,

may you

guide us

by your

truth,

may you

forgive us

in all

our sin

as we

ask it

all,

in Jesus

name,

Amen.

We'll

conclude by

singing to

God's

praise in

Psalm 138,

Scottish

Psalter

Version,

page 431

of the

Psalm

books,

Psalm 138,

we'll

sing from

verse 3

to 5.

Thou didst

me answer

in the day

when I

to thee

did cry,

and thou

my fainting

soul

was strengthened,

strengthen

inwardly.

All kings

upon the

earth

shall give

thee praise,

O Lord,

when as

they from

thy mouth

shall hear

thy true

and faithful

word.

We'll

sing from

verse 3

to 5

to God's

praise.

O tits

me

answer

in

the

day

when

I

to

thee

did

cry,

and

thou

my

painting

soul

with

strength,

this

strength

and

inwardly.

All kings

upon

the

earth

that

heart

shall

give

thee

praise,

O

Lord,

when

last

they

from

thy

mouth

shall

hear

thy

true

unfaithful

word.

In

the

righteous

wish

of

God,

with

pout

this

they

shall

sing,

great

the

glory

of

the

Lord,

who

doth

forever

reign.

After the

benediction,

I'll go to the

door to my

right.

We'll close

with the

benediction.

Now may

grace,

mercy,

and peace

from God,

Father,

Son,

and Holy

Spirit,

rest upon

and abide

with you

all,

now and

forever

more.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.