Welcome to Delight in Grace. The teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. God calls you to take care and keep your soul diligently. Why? Because we humans were made to worship.
We were made to worship the Lord God who created the universe. and holds all of life together. Why? because we so easily replace the Lord God for created things. If you have entrusted yourself to God through his Son Jesus, you're in covenant with him.
What's a covenant? And how do we faithfully follow and worship our Lord in light of distractions and temptations that call for our devotion?
Well, Pastor Rich answers these questions from Deuteronomy four. in this message titled, Keep Your Soul Diligently. Let's now turn our attention to today's scripture reading. This morning we will be in Deuteronomy chapter 4 and I will read verses 5 through 10 and then skip to verse 35 through 40. See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the Lord my God commanded me.
that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what great nation is there that has a God so near to it as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you to-day? Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life.
Make them known to your children. and your children's children. how on the day that you stood before me, the LORD your God at Horeb. The Lord said to me, Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.
So To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord is God. that there is no other besides him. Out of heaven, he He let you hear his voice. That he might discipline you. And on earth he let you see his great fire, and you heard his words out of the midst of the fire.
And because he loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them, and brought you out of Egypt with his own presence by his great power, driving out before you nations greater and mightier than you. to bring you in. to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is this day. Know, therefore, to-day, and lay it on your heart, that the Lord is God in heaven above, and on the earth beneath. There is no other.
Therefore, you shall keep his statutes and his commandments, which I command you to-day, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. for all time. This is God's word. Lord our God. There is no other like you.
This is why we have gathered here today. We could search out your character all of our days here. on Earth. and just barely scratched the surface at the end of it.
So we gather here today to worship the one true God. whose character and greatness we would not know unless you revealed it to us through your word.
So please open our hearts now. and help us to see ourselves today in light of who you are. And be with Pastor Rich in his voice this morning. and give him strength. To bring us the word today.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Good morning, church. It seems the Lord wanted to challenge your listening today.
So he took the strength of my voice. Let's just try to be faithful to the Word of God. Deuteronomy chapter 4. This is the beginning of section two. of the book of Deuteronomy.
And this section is the call. to faithfulness. the call to faithfulness. The title for chapter four is to keep your soul. diligently.
Keep your soul diligently, and this is why he gave them. The Shema. I trust you've been working on it. Today, we're looking at verses four through seven for our memorization.
So If you don't mind, please, I will have you lead. I will not. Would you stand, please, and let's recite Deuteronomy 6 verses 4 through 7. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our Lord. The Lord is one.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. And with all your might. And these words that I command you today.
So deal with your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children. and shall talk with them when you sit in your house. And when you walk right away, And when he lies down. And will you rise?
Thank you. Please be seated. Keep your soul. diligently That is a command. to keep your soul diligently.
We don't just sit back. and expect God to do that. We do it by His grace. But it is a call to diligence. To keep our souls diligently in this section now, where Moses is speaking to the children of Israel.
And he's giving them a call to faithfulness. We have here, this is kind of a preamble at the beginning of chapter 4. And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules. That I am teaching you, and do them that you may live and go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. It's like Moses is saying, Okay, now listen, Israel.
I've told you about how we got to this point. We covered that in the first three chapters. This is a sermon that Moses is giving to the people of Israel. And he's renewing their understanding. That God is fulfilling his purpose.
God says, This is my purpose. You are my people. And you are going into the land that I promised you. All of this is with Messiah in view. That's what we have to keep in mind.
Remember the gospel. We understand this in light of the gospel. God was going to bring Messiah. through the nation of Israel in the land of Israel. And so he is introducing.
A covenant. Anew. It had been given before. But you know how it goes. God said, Moses said to God, People are giving me an awful headache, and God said, Here, take these two tablets.
We were studying we were studying dad jokes at the men's breakfast yesterday morning. I have a full arsenal now. A covenant. A covenant is an agreement. It is a pledge.
There are two. major factors to this covenant that he is introducing. to them. two major factors. Look at verse 37 with me.
The first factor is God's election. of his people. Verse thirty-seven, and because he loved your fathers, and chose their offspring after them, and brought you out of Egypt with his own presence by his great power. He loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them. In other words, Israel would not exist.
Were it not? Forgot.
Okay. And then the second major factor is Revelation. Look at verse thirty-three. Did any people ever hear the voice of a God speaking out of the midst of the fire as you have heard? and still live.
God speaks, and He has spoken to His people.
So The two major factors to this covenant are that God has made himself known. He has chosen his people and he has made himself known to them. That is the foundation of this covenant. And the covenant is like God saying, I promise to be this way towards you, kind of like at a marriage. When the bride and groom exchange their vows I will, I will, I promise to do this for better, for worse, for rich or for poor, in sickness and in health.
I promise I will be with you. I will be beside you. I will be faithful to you. That's a covenant. This is what God is saying.
And then in this I feel like a 14-year-old whose voice is changing. Forgive me. It's like God is saying to the people of Israel now. As he gives, he's introducing the Ten Commandments. We're going to study them next time.
And he's saying this is what Follow this, this is what I expect of you. Because of what you know about me.
Okay, follow that. That's what the law of Moses is, particularly the Ten Commandments. They're delineated in chapter five. This God is saying to his people, this is what I expect. from you because of what you know about me.
You see, every precept. in Scripture is anchored in the character of God. God. But he also presents in this preamble, he presents a contrast. God is unique.
There is no other God. His people, therefore, your laws will be in contrast. Your customs will be in contrast to the other nations. You've been listening to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. To hear this message and others, check out www.delightandgrace.com.
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