Hearing God's Grace - God's Continued Grace

with a pen.

Okay, so Deuteronomy chapter 1.

Deuteronomy 1 · chapter mention

I'm going to read from verses 1 through to 8,

and then Nick is going to take over.

Okay, so...

Okay, Deuteronomy 1 verse 1.

Deuteronomy 1:1

These are the words of Moses,

that he spoke to all Israel in the desert,

east of the Jordan, that is, in the Arabah,

opposite Suf, between Paran and Tophel,

Laban, Hazareth and Dizahad.

It takes 11 days to go from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea

by the Mount Seir road.

In the 40th year, on the first day of the 11th month,

Moses proclaimed to the Israelites

all that the Lord had commanded him concerning them.

This was after he had defeated Sion, king of the Amorites,

who reigned in Heshbon and at Edri,

and had defeated Og, king of Bashan,

who reigned at Ashtoreth.

East of the Jordan, in the territory of Moab,

Moses began to expand this law, saying,

The Lord our God said to us at Horeb,

You have stayed long enough at this mountain.

Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites.

Go to all the neighbouring peoples in the Arabah,

to the mountains, in the western foothills,

in the Negev and along the coast,

to the land of the Canaanites,

and to Lebanon, as far as the great river,

the Euphrates.

See, I have given you this land.

Go in and take possession of the land

that the Lord swore he would give to your fathers,

to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,

and to their descendants after them.

Taking up the story at verse 26.

But you were unwilling to go up.

You rebelled against the command of the Lord your God.

You grumbled in your tents and said,

The Lord hates us,

so he brought us out of Egypt

to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites

to destroy us.

Where can we go?

Our brothers have made us lose heart.

They say,

The people are stronger and taller than we are.

The cities are large,

with walls up to the sky.

We even saw the Anakites there.

Then I said to you,

Do not be terrified.

Do not be afraid of them.

The Lord your God,

who is going before you,

will fight for you,

as he did for you in Egypt,

before your very eyes,

and in the desert.

There you saw how the Lord your God

carried you,

as a father carries his son.

All the way you went,

until you reached this place.

In spite of this,

you did not trust in the Lord your God,

who went ahead of you on your journey,

in fire by night,

and in cloud by day,

to search out places for you to camp,

and to show you the way you should go.

When the Lord heard what you said,

he was angry and solemnly swore,

Not a man of this evil generation

shall see the good land

I swore to give your forefathers,

except Caleb,

son of Jephunneh.

He will see it,

and I will give him and his descendants

the land he set his feet on,

because he followed the Lord wholeheartedly.

Thanks very much, Nick.

Well, keep your Bibles open

in these first few chapters,

and we'll pray.

These are the words

Moses spoke to all Israel

in the desert.

As we gather together,

we pray

that the words that Moses spoke

would be God's words to us

in our time,

in our land,

and in our generation.

And we pray that we would hear clearly

what you are saying to us afresh,

and that we would be people

who take your words seriously,

so that we may be able to enjoy

and receive

all that you have to give us.

So bless us and help us

as we start out in our journey together

through this great book.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, how long does it take

to get from Cork

to Belfast?

Well, just after Christmas,

we took a trip to Belfast

to visit family.

Except what should have taken

four hours

turned out to be

one day,

four hours.

It should have been

very straightforward

if we had done

what we were supposed to have done.

More about that

a little bit later.

Instead,

we had to endure

standing freezing cold

on the edge of the motorway

waiting for help.

What should have been

an easy journey

turned out to be

very long

and painful.

It was

a serious problem.

How long does it take

to get from Horeb

to Kadesh Barnea

when you take

the Mount Seir road?

Well, look at verse 2.

It takes 11 days

to go from Horeb

to Kadesh Barnea

by the Mount Seir road.

Except what should have taken

just 11 days

took quite a whole lot more.

Look at verse 3.

In the 40th year

on the first day

of the 11th month

Moses proclaimed

to the Israelites

all that the Lord

had commanded him

concerning them.

What should have taken

11 days

has now turned into

40 years.

That's a long time

to be standing

on the side

of the Mount Seir bypass

getting pretty cold.

If you look

on the screen

there's a map there.

You remember

that 40 years ago

God had graciously

rescued

his people

from their captivity

in Egypt.

So Egypt

is over there

to your left

in the top

corner.

God brought them

from Egypt

down to

Horeb

which is right

down at the bottom.

of the sea there

Mount Sinai

we know it as

Mount Sinai

where God

in his goodness

gave them

his law

his words

that he gave them

so that they would

know how to live

in relationship

with God

in the promised land.

Now all they had

to do was to walk

from Sinai

from Horeb

all the way

to Kadesh Barnea

which is

kind of where

the squiggles are

those red lines.

Takes them

eleven days

and they would

be there

at the beginning

of the promised land.

What should have

been an easy journey

turned out to be

long

and painful.

It was a

serious

problem.

So what

went

wrong?

Well we'll find

out in just

a minute.

But where

Deuteronomy

brings us to

in chapter one

is that these

forty painful

years are

now over

and God's

people now

stand on the

very edge

of the promised

land.

But before they

enter into

the promised

land

Moses is

giving his

people

a series

of sermons

before he

dies.

Deuteronomy

is a collection

of talks

given by

Moses

just before

his death.

And in these

first few

chapters

he's looking

back

over those

forty years

right back

to the very

beginning

reminding us

all

of God's

continued

grace

to his

people.

So first

of all

God's

gracious

promise.

Look at

verse six

of chapter

one.

So he's

looking back

remember to

Horeb.

This is down

in Mount

Sinai where

they received

God's

law.

So verse

six.

The Lord

our God

said to

us at

Horeb

you have

stayed

long

enough

at this

mountain.

Break

camp and

advance

into the

hill

country

of the

Amorites.

So here

was a

command

to go

from there

into the

promised

land.

Verse

eight.

See

I have

given you

this land.

Go in

and take

possession

of the

land

that the

Lord

swore

he would

give to

your

fathers

to Abraham

Isaac

and Jacob

and to

their

descendants

after them.

It was

like being

given keys

to a new

home.

A home

that has

been paid

for.

A home

that has

been offered

to you.

Go in

take possession

of it.

It's yours.

And the

land was

theirs not

on the basis

of what they

had promised

to God

and all

that they

would do

for God

but the

land was

there on

the basis

of God's

gracious

promise

to them.

Now with

all the

news that

we see

on television

about Israel

and Palestine

today which

is actually

in the same

area we

need to be

very clear

about what

this land

is and

what has

been promised

to us.

So I

want you to

keep your

finger in

Deuteronomy

1 and

jump all

the way

to Hebrews

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11.

So keep

Deuteronomy

1 open

and jump

all the way

to Hebrews

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11.

I think we

might have

the reference

there is

it?

Yep.

Page 1209.

As we

think about

what this

land actually

is as we

trace the

theme of the

land through

the Bible.

Well here

we have it.

Hebrews

Hebrews 11:8

chapter 11

verse 8.

Remember the

promise was

first given

to Abraham

and to

his descendants

that followed.

So verse 8

of chapter 11.

By faith

Abraham when

called to

a place,

that's the

land he

would later

receive as

his inheritance,

obeyed and

went even

though he

did not

know where

he was

going.

Verse 10.

For he

was looking

forward to

the city

with

foundations

whose

architect

and builder

is God.

So what's

the city

that he's

looking forward

to?

Well verse

16 tells

us.

They were

longing for

a better

country,

a heavenly

one.

It wasn't a

physical land.

They were

looking for

something beyond

that.

Therefore God

is not ashamed

to be called

their God

for he has

prepared a

city for

them.

Verse 39.

As he

goes through

all the

other

descendants

and generations

it says

verse 39

these were

all commended

for their

faith yet

none of

them received

what had

been promised.

So even

though they

actually were

in the land

it wasn't

what they

were meant

to receive.

It was

something

greater.

God had

planned

something

better for

us so

that only

together

with us

would they

be made

perfect.

You see

the promised

land that

we read

about in

Deuteronomy

is only

a picture

of the

ultimate

promised

land

which is

heaven.

It's

salvation.

The new

creation,

the heavenly

city where

God and

his people

will live

together in

perfection

for all

eternity.

this is

what Abraham

was looking

forward to

and this

is what

we are

looking

forward to.

This is

the land

that has

also been

given to

us.

So you

see the

story of

Deuteronomy

is actually

a story

about us.

The words

that Moses

were speaking

to the people

then are

God's words

to us

today.

And because

they are

God's words

to us

today,

and because

they contain

a promise

to us

today,

it requires

a response

from us.

Have a look

at Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 30 · chapter mention

chapter 30.

We'll go

back to

chapter 1

in just a

minute,

but Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 30 · chapter mention

chapter 30.

In some

ways this is

a summary

of the

whole book.

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 30:15

chapter 30

verse 15.

And remember

keeping in

mind as we

think about

land, we're

thinking of

eternity,

we're thinking

of salvation

today, and

all that God

has promised.

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 30:15

30 verse 15.

See, I set

before you

today life

and prosperity,

death and

destruction.

for I

command you

today to

love the

Lord your

God, to

walk in

his ways and

to keep

his commands,

decrees and

laws.

Then you

will live

and increase

and the

Lord your

God will

bless you

in the

land you

are entering

to possess.

Verse 19.

This day I

call heaven

and earth

witnesses

against you

that I

have set

before you

life and

death,

blessings and

curses.

now choose

life so

that you

and your

children may

live and

that you

may love

the Lord

your God.

Listen to

his voice

and hold

fast to

him for

the Lord

is your

life and

he will

give you

many years

in the

land he

swore to

give to

your fathers

Abraham,

Isaac and

Jacob.

you see

obeying the

promises of

God's word

is choosing

life in

all of its

fullness.

The promises

that have been

given to us

through God's

word is about

choosing life.

Life today

and life in

the ultimate

promised land.

You see as

Moses was

speaking and

we go back

to chapter 1

now, as

Moses was

speaking to

the people,

he was not

setting before

them rules

and regulations,

he was

setting before

them God's

gracious promise

of life.

Life for

your family,

life for

your children.

And as we

listen to

these words,

and if we

do listen,

and if we

believe,

and if we

obey,

we will

receive all

that God

has to

give us.

But it

seems that

Israel and

ourselves have

a problem in

obeying what

God has to

say.

So second,

our persistent

rebellion.

Look at

verse 21 of

chapter 1.

Again, the

promise is

repeated.

See, the

Lord your God

has given you

the land.

Go up and

take possession

of it as

the Lord,

the God of

your fathers

told you.

Do not be

afraid and

do not be

discouraged.

So they

obeyed and

went up as

God said.

No, there's

a bit of

delay tactics.

Verse 22.

Then all of

you came to

me and

said,

well, let

us send

men ahead to

spy out the

land for us

and bring back

a report about

the route

we're to

take and

the towns

that we're

going to

come to.

Verse 25.

Taking with

them some

of the fruit

of the land,

they brought

it down to

us and

they reported,

you know

what?

It is a

good land

that the

Lord our

God is

giving us.

So having

renewed their

confidence,

they went

up as

God said.

No, they

didn't.

Verse 26.

But you

were unwilling

to go up.

You rebelled

against the

command of

the Lord

your God.

You grumbled

in your tents

and you said,

the Lord

hates us.

So he

brought us

out of

Egypt to

deliver us

into the

hands of

the Amorites

to destroy

us.

God is

patient.

and in

his

continued

grace,

he reminds

these

persistent

rebels what

he's going

to do.

Verse 29.

Then I

said,

you do

not be

terrified.

Do not

be afraid

of them.

The

Lord your

God,

who is

going

before you,

will fight

for you

as he

did for

you in

Egypt

before your

very eyes.

God is

going to

fight for

you.

Remember

how he

rescued

you from

Egypt.

Just

believe my

word.

Obey

what I

tell you

to do

and enter

the land.

It can't

get more

simple than

that.

Tragically,

and what is

so often

the story

of our

lives,

they

persisted

in their

rebellion.

Verse 32.

In

spite of

this,

you

did

not

trust

in the

Lord

your

God.

In

spite of

God's

promised

word,

in

spite of

everything

that he

had done

for you,

you

wouldn't

trust

what God

said he

would do.

You see,

our rebellion

is always

expressed

in our

refusal to

believe God's

word and

to obey

God's

word.

God's

love and

God's

arrogance.

In our

arrogance, we

think that we

can somehow

receive and

get from

God everything

that we

need through

our own

resources.

For

failing to

trust God

is saying,

I don't

need God.

It's saying

that I'm

better off

without

God.

When we

don't trust

God and

when we

turn our

backs on

him, we're

just saying,

God is

not good.

God is

not generous.

God is

not gracious.

We kind

of echo

the words

of the

people of

Israel.

The Lord

hates us.

He's brought

us here to

destroy us.

We can't

trust him

with our

lives.

And so

we back

off, we

back away.

But the

consequences

of not

trusting God

with our

life are

disastrous.

Look at

verse 34.

When the

Lord heard

what he

said, he

was angry

and solemnly

swore, not

a man of

this evil

generation shall

see the good

land I swore

to give to

your forefathers.

Except

Caleb, son

of Jephunneh.

He will

see it, and

I will give

him and

his descendants

the land he

set his foot

on.

Why?

Because he

followed the

Lord wholeheartedly.

In fact,

and these are

perhaps some

of the most

troubling words

in Deuteronomy,

when we

persistently

refuse to

listen and

to trust

God's word,

there may

come a

time when

God will

refuse to

listen to

us.

Look at

verse 45.

You

came back

and you

wept before

the Lord,

but he

paid no

attention to

your weeping,

and he

turned a

deaf ear to

you.

And so

you stayed

in Kadesh

many days,

all the

time you

spent there.

You see,

what should

have been

an 11-day

journey,

culminating in

a victorious

celebration of

entering into

the promised

land,

well, it

took 40

years,

and it

ended in

defeat

and misery.

It seems

very clear

that our

persistent

rebellion

against God's

word stops

us receiving

all that

God has

to give

to us.

We are

in desperate

need of

help.

But third,

God's

gracious

response.

Amazingly,

our

persistent

rebellion

is always

met with

God's

continued

grace.

Look at

chapter 2,

verse 7.

Look at

how God

responds to

their rebellion

for their

40 years.

Verse 7

of chapter 2.

The Lord

your God

has blessed

you in

all the

work of

your hands.

He has

watched over

your journey

through this

vast desert.

These

40 years,

the Lord

your God

has been

with you

and you

have not

lacked

anything.

What they

deserve

and what

they get

stand in

complete

contrast.

God

is so

gracious.

Jesus.

And look

at how

God

responds to

them when

they stand

again,

second time

round,

at the

verge of

entering the

promised land.

there is

there is a

bit of

deja vu

about all

of this.

Look at

chapter 2

verse 24.

Set out

now and

cross the

Arnon

gorge.

See I

have given

into your

hand

Sion the

Amorite

king of

Heshbon

and his

country.

Begin to

take possession

of it and

engage him

in battle.

Now these

are the

exact same

people they

were up

against 40

years ago.

Do you

remember the

excuse they

gave 40

years ago?

Go back to

chapter 1

verse 27.

They grumbled

in their

tents and

they said

oh the

Lord hates

us.

He brought

us out of

Egypt to

deliver us

into the

hands of

the Amorites

to destroy

us.

Where can

we go?

Our

brothers have

made us

lose heart

they say.

The people

are stronger

and taller

than we are

the cities

are large

with walls

up to the

sky.

We even

saw the

Anakites

they were

like giants

there.

In fact

they actually

went and

tried to

fight their

own battle.

Look at

the end

of verse

41

of chapter

1

thinking it

easy to

go up

or sorry

so every

one of you

put on his

weapons

thinking it

was easy

to go up

into the

hill

country

that's

into the

promised

land

but the

Lord said

to them

tell them

do not

go up

and fight

because I

will not

be with

you.

You will

be defeated

by your

enemies.

So I

told you

but you

would not

listen.

You rebelled

against the

Lord's

command and

in your

arrogance

you marched

up into

the hill

country.

the

Amorites

who lived

in those

hills

came out

against

you.

They chased

you like

a swarm

of bees

and beat

you down

from Seir

all the

way to

Horma.

You see

unless God

actually journeys

with them

unless God

goes before

them unless

God goes

and fights

on their

behalf

they don't

stand a

chance.

So let's

see what

happens this

time round.

Chapter 2

verse 32.

When

Sion and

all his

army came

out to

meet us

in battle

at

Jahaz

the

Lord our

God

delivered

him over

to us

and we

struck him

down

together

with his

sons

and his

whole army.

At that

time we

took all

his

towns

and

completely

destroyed

them.

Men,

women and

children.

We left

no survivors.

Verse 36.

From

Eror on

the rim

of the

Arnon

Gorge

and from

the town

in the

gorge

even as

far as

Gilead

not one

town was

too strong

for us.

The

Lord our

God

gave us

all of

them.

Now I'm

sure you're

reflecting on

the end of

verse 34.

It kind of

sticks in our

throat a bit

there doesn't

it?

It sounds

very disturbing.

Men,

women and

children

completely

destroyed?

Well this

theme does

come up

later on

in chapter

seven and

we're going

to deal

with it

fully

then.

But it

is something

that we

don't want

to overlook

just now.

So can

we just

go back

to Genesis

Genesis 15 · chapter mention

chapter 15

just to

help us

out here.

Genesis

Genesis 15 · chapter mention

chapter 15

and verse

16.

This is

where the

original

promise was

first given

to Abraham

about going

into the

promised land

and this

is what

God says

to Abraham

and to

his

descendants

that will

follow.

Chapter 15

verse 16.

So he

says to

Abraham

in the

fourth

generation

that's

about

600

years

later

your

descendants

will

come back

here

for the

sin of

the

Amorites

has not

yet reached

its full

measure.

in other

words

God has

given the

Amorites

close to

600 years

to sort

themselves

out.

So what

we read

in Deuteronomy

at first

sounds quite

unfair and

not very

nice

but in

the context

of what we

read in

Genesis

it actually

portrays to

us a God

who is

long

suffering

patient

and very

gracious.

Now of

course it

does raise

other questions

but let's

hold those

questions we

will get to

them when we

move on

later into

Deuteronomy.

But I don't

want us to

lose our

focus and

the thrust

of what

chapter 2

is telling

us here.

That God

in his

grace

has gone

out before

them and

fought the

battle that

they could

never fight.

Unless God

had gone with

them they

would have

failed and

they would

have never

entered the

promised land.

And God

has fought

the ultimate

battle for

us.

You see

as we think

about our

own rebellion

we too

deserve to

be punished

and judged

for our

persistent

rebellion

against God's

word.

But God

in his

grace

has sent

to us

his own

warrior,

his own

fighter,

his son

Jesus Christ

who came

to fight

our greatest

enemies,

sin and

death and

he has

destroyed

them both

once and

for all.

Not with

weapons,

not with

armies,

but through

his death

on the

cross and

through his

resurrection

from the

grave.

We don't

deserve it.

But yet

Jesus has

come to

take all

our failures

of the

past,

our rebellion

of today

and our

sin of

the future

and he's

taken all

the consequences

of it

on himself.

And as

it were,

Jesus

himself was

like shut

out of the

promised land

for us.

He was

barred,

he was

excluded,

he was the

one who

suffered hell

for us,

taking the

judgment for

us so that

we might be

able to

enter into

the promised

land,

enter into

life and

enter into

salvation.

salvation.

You see,

it's so

clear that

our

persistent

rebellion

stops us

receiving from

all the

good gifts

that God

has to

offer us.

If it

was up to

us, we

would not

have anything.

Amazingly,

through God's

continued

grace and

his grace

alone,

we receive

freely all

that God

has to

give.

Our life

today and

our eternal

life that

is to

come.

God is

so gracious.

Which really

brings us to

the fact that

this is

problem solved.

When our

car broke

down, we

resigned

ourselves to

having to

stay in

Cork.

But we

got a

phone call

from a

very generous

person.

They rang

to tell us

they were

going to

give us

their car

and that

we could

have it

for the

time that

we were

away.

Not just

a car,

but a

car that

was full

of petrol

and fully

insured

for us

to drive.

A

gracious

intervention

and without

their help

we would

not have

got to

our

destination.

God is

continually

gracious to

us.

And because

of what

Christ has

done for

us, that

grace flows

to us day

after day

after day.

And as we

journey together

into 2013,

let me tell

us this,

we are all

going to

doubt God's

goodness.

At different

times we're

going to turn

our backs on

him, we'll

fail to

trust him,

we'll grumble,

we'll complain,

we'll say God

hates us, he's

only brought us

here to make a

misery of our

lives.

Why?

Because we're

persistent

rebels.

And on our

own resources

we'll never

arrive.

But thankfully

our persistent

rebellion is

always met by

God's

continued grace.

grace.

And if we

are to know

this grace

and experience

it day by

day in our

lives, we've

got to get to

the heart of

God's word.

To be people

who read it

and who devour

it, because

even as we

read through

these sections

here right

now, we've

come to see a

picture of an

amazing, gracious

God who

doesn't treat

us as we

deserve to be

treated, but

treats us with

grace.

welcoming us

into his

land, into

his family

forever and

ever.

This is not a

book of rules.

This is a

word of

grace.

Let's read

it as we

enter into

2013.

Let's pray.

Amen.

Father, thank

you that

your word is

really a

story about

us, a

story about

our lives.

And

sometimes that's

painful because

it reflects us

as we really

are.

Stubborn,

rebellion,

rebellious,

failing,

negative.

podem