Welcome to Delight in Grace. The Teaching Ministry of Rich Powell. Pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. The things you spend your time and money on. often point to the desires of your heart.
God doesn't want our performance. God wants our love He wants our hearts. He calls us to love him. How do we do that? We behold him.
As we come to know him through his word and his spirit, we can be captivated by his beauty. It is then that He can work a mighty transformation in our affections and our attitudes. Let's listen to this message from Deuteronomy X, titled The Call to Faithfulness. This is part three of a message first preached on june thirtieth, twenty twenty four. at Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem.
So he loves specifically and purposefully. And this is why, as Paul writes to the Colossians in the New Testament, that People of the church, we who are God's people, he refers to them as God's elect, holy, and beloved. What a beautiful title that is. Yeah. God's elect, holy and beloved.
Meaning In Christ, I am the object of God. I have been the object of God's loving concern since when? Eternity. And to when. Eternity.
Do you know God this way? He loves specifically and purposefully.
Now look with me at verse 17. Who is God? What is he like? And so he says, verse 16, that he's calling for their hearts. Circumcise the foreskin of your hearts.
That's ceremonially set your heart apart. You are mine. It makes me think of that old song, I want you to want me. I shouldn't have gone there. I'm sorry.
That's pretty much God is saying here. But I want you to notice he does not impose himself on people's hearts and minds, does he? Verse seventeen, he further describes, the Lord your God. Is the God of gods, the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, the awesome God who is not partial and takes no bribe. Let's unpack that for a minute.
Two main points here. He is the great, the mighty, the awesome. Notice the article: the great. In other words, he is the greatest and most important reality. Here's the point.
The greatest and most important, the great. The mighty man is the word that's used here, the mighty man. In other words, it's words that's used for a champion. He is my champion. I look to him, I admire him.
There's a lot of people in this world that people are admiring and looking to.
Some of them go on tours. This one is the one who definitely deserves my admiration. My hero. And then he says the awesome. The awesome God.
I love that. The Awesome God. The word awesome It means something that strikes awe in you. I will never forget. When Andrew and I went down to Wilmington, North Carolina, I visited USS North Carolina for the first time.
We registered and then we walked that plank up to and we're walking onto this massive battleship. And I was overwhelmed. I was overwhelmed by The immensity I was overwhelmed by the power. Power. of this ship, but I was also overwhelmed by what it represents.
What was accomplished? with the assistance of this battleship. I got choked up. And you and I are invited into the very throne room of God in His presence. And we can approach.
boldly, with confidence. Because of what Jesus has done for us. Let's not be glib about it. God is awesome. Are you captivated by that?
And then the end of verse seventeen. The awesome God who is not partial and takes no bribe. He is not partial and takes no bribe. There is, number four, there is no corruption or bias in God. There is no corruption.
John tells us, God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. He dwells in Unapproachable light. We have to be so careful that we don't make God like us, that we don't perceive Him to be just a bigger version of what we are. He is not like us. But he does call us to be like him.
5. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner. giving him food and clothing. That's who God is. He is just and cares for the weak and the marginalized.
Isn't that what Jesus said? The Son of Man came to seek and save what? Those who are lost. He came to be a healer for those who are sick and know that they need healing. He did not come for those who don't think they need any healing.
He is just and he cares for the weak and the marginalized. That's why he calls us to do justice and to love mercy. And then jump down. We're going to come back to these verses later, but jump down now to verse 21. He is your praise.
He is your praise. He is your praise song. He is the focus of your delight. Music is meditative, music is worshipful. Music is re is meditative because it's repetitive and you're You're going over and over and over again the things that are true about God, which is why here at Grace.
Number one, it's redundancy. The priority of our music here. is that the words are true and accurate. biblically. There's no point in us meditating on something that is not true biblically.
And it teaches us who God is. I said this a couple years ago when I taught my first TMI class. Thriving Marriage Institute, not too much information. It's Thriving Marriage Institute. When Andrew and I got married in 1987, There was a very popular song back then by Chicago.
You're the meaning in my life, you're the inspiration. We chose that as our song. And we were singing idolatry to each other. You're the meaning in my life. You're the inspiration.
She can't live up to that and I can't either. Neither of us belongs in that place. God does. Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful I like the song. But you have to under you have to listen to it with understanding.
And those of you who are under 40 have no clue what I'm even talking about. He is your praise. Number seven, he is your God. He is your God. That's simple, isn't it?
That says it all. He is your God. Who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen? He's your creator. He is a, by virtue of the fact that he created you, he defines you.
He's the one who determines your purpose. You do not determine your purpose. God does. How successful are you? Success means realized purpose.
He is your God. He's creator. He's the one who defines you. He is the only one who is worthy, worthy object of your devotion. He is your God.
And also, number eight, he is your protector and your sustainer. He has done these great and terrifying things that you have seen. Listen, there is no explanation for the existence of the nation of Israel apart from God. Couldn't happen. They were a small, weak nation.
And yet here they are. even all these thousands of years later. He is your protector and your sustainer. That's what he says in verse 22. Your fathers went down to Egypt.
Remember when Joseph was there and then his brothers came? And he ran them through the ringer, right? Remember that story? And then they go back and say, Jacob, your son Joseph lives. And guess what?
He's number two man in Egypt. And there was a famine in that whole region, and Joseph says to Dad, who is Jacob, come on down to Egypt, I've got land for you. And they ended up being there for over 400 years. And Egypt became Israel's incubator, where they flourished as a nation. And now, look what he says.
He's made you as numerous as the stars of heaven. In other words, you can't count how many there are. God is your protector and your sustainer. Let me wrap all this up in saying this, this section that we're talking about right here. Behold your God.
God is making this point. There is nothing in God that disappoints. There is nothing in God that disappoints. Try it. And say the words of Peter, to whom shall we go?
Let me just add this. There's no extra charge for this, but... I'm just kidding for those of you who are visiting, all right? If you're disappointed with God, I'm not kidding about this now, okay? If you're disappointed with God, it is because one of two reasons.
You've made him in your image. and you think he's like you. Or He has not done what you want him to do. He has not met your demands. And you're disappointed with him.
And to you he is small. Because to you, he's there to serve you. I'm just going to leave that there. But When your heart is in mind are captivated by the God who is the God of gods, the heaven of heavens, the Lord of all lords. Thanks for joining us here at Delight in Grace.
You've been listening to Rich Powell, the lead pastor at Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. The Delight in Grace Mission. Is to help you know that God designed you to realize your highest good. and your deepest satisfaction in Him. the one who is infinitely good.
We hope you'll join us again on weekdays at 10 a.m.
