Welcome to Delight in Grace. The Teaching Ministry of Rich Powell. pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. Deuteronomy 6 holds one of the most well known commands in the Bible. You shall love the LORD your God, with all your heart, with all your soul.
and with all your might. It calls us to keep His words on our hearts. These commands are far more than a simple duty. To love our God fully is to be connected to the one we were made for. our very source of life and purpose.
Without him We're nothing. God knows that without him mankind cannot flourish. And with him. We find our soul's deepest need. And highest good.
This is part four of a message titled, You Shall Love the Lord Your God. It was first preached on may nineteenth, twenty fifteen. Here's the second warning. It begins in verse 16. You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.
Now you've heard that before, haven't you? Jesus quoted that. in the Gospels, remember when Satan was tempting him? He says, you shall not put the Lord your God to the test. And what he's referring to here in this text that follows is what's recorded back in Exodus chapter 17.
And the people were thirsty, and they started to grumble and complain. Right. And here was their basic question. It came down to this, and it's recorded in the text, Acts 17. Is the Lord among us or not?
Now remember everything that they had come through. They had come through the Exodus. They had come across the Red Sea. Imagine that. And they're in the wilderness, and then they ask the question: is the Lord among us or not?
Now here's what that looks like. for us today. We haven't walked across the Red Sea. If you think you have, You need to call Chris. Chris and I will meet with you about your theology.
Mm-hmm. Here's what we can do. An adversity arises in your life. An unpleasantness. A thirst.
If you will. You say And a question arises. in your heart and mind. I'm going to test God. Let's see if he Cares.
Or Let's see if he keeps his word. We do that, don't we? We're very, very prone to do that. And that only happens when we forget who God is and what He has done. And these two Truths about God, that he cares and that he keeps his promises.
These are two characteristics of God that are false. firmly established. In the record. in history. Especially in difficulty.
They are firmly established. Because God is like what God has done. And what we tend to do is we can become very myopic very quickly. Myopic means I only see right here, right now. I forget what has happened.
And I forget where we're going. I forget his promises, I forget what he's done, and I forget his promises. And I'm only looking at right here, right now. And when I do that, I can panic. And then I can say, God, do you really care?
Will you keep your word? And he does. Yes, and yes. And those two characteristics are firmly established in the record. and in every one of our lives.
And even in difficulty, As he says in verses 18 and 19, you're going to go in to possess the land. In other words, The task that I've given you to do is beyond your capacity. But I'm with you. Are we willing to remember that? As we conclude today, I want to talk about verses 20 to 25.
Your greatest gift to your children. Got a lot of kids here. A lot of young couples. Grandparents, you can offer this to your kids too, and their kids. Because that's what it says in the text.
It talks about your kids and your kids' kids. Doesn't say the word kids, you know, but We have to contextualize. Your greatest gift to your children and your grandchildren. Look at verse 20 to 25. When your son asks you in time to come, what is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you?
In other words, you're reading God's word at home with your family, and your child asks you, what is the meaning of all this? Why are we doing this? What is your answer?
Well, it's the right thing we do and we have to do it because we're Christians. That's a wrong answer. Don't do that, please. Please don't do that. What does he say?
Then you shall say to your son, We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt, and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. And the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and his household before our eyes. And he brought us out from there that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give our fathers. And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God for our good always, that he might preserve us alive as we are this day. And it will be righteousness for us if we are careful to do all these.
All this commandment before the Lord our God as he has commanded us.
Now there's a good answer. God is like what God has done. Would you say that with me? God is like what God has done. What has He done?
What has he done? That's why we have the Old Testament. It's also why we have the Gospels. and the following New Testament.
Okay, God is like what God listen Do you believe in the authority and sufficiency of this? Or do you think this is just myth? Listen. Christianity is anchored in history. The real things that God has done.
in history. God is like what God has done. So we teach our kids: the greatest gift you can give to your kids is a knowledge of God. and knowledge of God. And we do that through history.
And in this case, it's the history of the ten plagues in Egypt: the deliverance, the liberty of God's people, and their identity as the people of God. Why? Because they're teaching their kids that God is like what God has done. This is our God. This is the God we serve.
He's the God who is all-powerful. He is the God who delivers. He is the God who sets free. He is the God who draws us to himself. He is the loving Holy God.
We serve him. We exist for him. Parents, listen to me. That is the greatest gift. You can give your kids.
And don't let it be something that just happens on Sunday. The greatest gift you can give your kids, number one, is a knowledge of God. Number two, it's a devotion to God. A devotion to God. And what's the difference there?
They can know about God, but do they know Him? Do they walk with Him? Do they walk with him? That is the one thing that will keep your child. In the midst of all the craziness and all the distractions.
and all the lies that surround them. Day in and day out. It's one thing to know who God is, it's an entirely different thing to know God. because you walk with him. because you're devoted to him.
You see, it's not just about knowledge. It begins there, yes. But it's not just about knowledge. Look with me at verse 24. And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes.
Here it is. Fear the Lord our God. for our good Always. To fear the Lord our God. Let's define that.
Because that word fear, you know what it means? It means fear. It means be afraid.
So how do we understand that in the context of an absolutely good and loving God? What does it mean to fear him? Let me give you this definition. To fear God is this: it's to be captivated. by his perfections.
and my accountability to him. Captivated by his perfect holiness, captivated by his perfect love. captivated by his perfect goodness. captivated by his perfect justice. captivated by his perfect grace.
And mercy. To be captivated by his perfections and my accountability to him. In other words, practically speaking, what does it look like to fear God? For me, for Rich Powell, to fear God today, tomorrow, the rest of the week, it means this: I live. for the audience of one.
One. I fear him. And when you fear God, there's little else you fear. It's true. I live for the opinion of one.
And he says, why? Why should we do that? For our good always. Those four words, for our good always, say that with me, for our good always. God is for us.
His precepts and loving boundaries. are for our good. Do we know that? Do we understand that? And why are they for our good?
Why does he desire our good? For one reason alone, because He is good. Do you know the goodness of God? Do your children know the goodness of God? Are they learning to appreciate the goodness of God?
And we in the New Testament, we have so much more revelation now than they did back at this time because they were still looking ahead to the cross. And where are we? We're looking back at it. There is never a question about God's love for us and his goodness toward us. That is firmly established.
Let's not forget God and let's not test him. But let's be very intentional. Let's be very intentional. About Loving him. 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. to discover how to live by grace, Tune in with us on weekdays at 10 a.m.
