Welcome to Delight in Grace. The Teaching Ministry of Rich Powell. pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. Have you ever wondered why the Mosaic law had so much to say about what was clean and unclean? As Pastor Rich unpacks our text, Deuteronomy 14, we have We see the gracious heart of God in the laws that He gave the people of Israel.
His heart is for human flourishing. And in light of Jesus, who touched the unclean without becoming unclean, Who made all things new? we can see the hope and joy our God has for his people. From the Old Testament to the new. Let's listen to this message titled A People Holy to the Lord.
As you're opening your Bibles to Deuteronomy 14. I'll be reading 22 to 29.
So open your Bibles there, but while you're doing that, I would encourage you. to recognize that when the Living stones meet together in the body of Christ.
Something happens. And the Spirit of God works in a unique and special way.
So you may hear a still small voice today. You may hear a lightning bolt. You may be encouraged by a smile. You may Hear a turn of the phrase that's really poignant. Whatever it is you came here for today, It's not an accident.
Would you wait for it? Would you look for it? Savor it. And remember. Deuteronomy 14.
You shall tithe all the yield of your seed. that comes from the field year by year. And before the Lord your God in the place that He will choose. To make his name dwell there You shall eat the tithe of your grain. on your wine and your oil, and the firstborn of your herd, the flock, and you may learn To fear the Lord your God always.
May I repeat that? that you may learn to fear. Lord your God. Always. And if the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe.
When the Lord your God Bless us, Hugo. because the place is too far from you. which the LORD your God chooses to set his name there, then you shall turn it into money. and bind it on the money and bind up the money. in your hand.
and go to the place that the LORD your God chooses. Spend the money. or whatever you desire. oxen or sheep. Wine or strong drink?
whatever your appetite craves. And you shall eat there. before the Lord your God and Rejoice. You and your household. And you shall not neglect the Levite.
who is within your towns. For he has no portion of inheritance With you. At the end of every three years, You shall bring all of the tithes I would be a prodos. in the same year and laid up within your towns. and the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance.
with you. The soldier owner? The fatherless. The widow. What is within you?
within your towns. shall come and eat and be filled. Then the Lord your God may bless you. and all the work of your hands. That shouldn't.
Let us pray. Father God, we thank you so much. But you love us so much to take the speak to every area of our life. I thank you for that. You love us and care for us.
God, I pray. that we would see you as our provider. You provide And you Give us the place. And you honor it with your presence. And then You bring your people to pray.
Yeah. Thank you for that wonderful truth. Pray that you give Pastor Rich, the words to say? Um The passion. compassion of his heart.
And Lord, I would pray that you'd open our height. Our hearts. that we would see and hear what you have for us. that nugget of truth. We pray it in the powerful name of Jesus.
Amen. You are a peculiar people. And I don't know. Just want you to know that. I'm just quoting the Bible, right?
You are a peculiar people. Section three of Deuteronomy. We're in chapter 14 today. A people holy to the Lord. Look what the first verse of chapter 14 says: You are the sons of the Lord your God.
Verse 2, for you are a people holy to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
Now Peter reads Peter quotes this in 1 Peter. Chapter 2 Peculiar people, that's an older translation that says that you are God's special possession. God's special possession. That's the whole nuance. And he's speaking to those who are indeed God's people.
Who are God's people, those who are in Christ? If you have surrendered yourself in faith to Jesus Christ, You're God's special possession. Listen to the text this morning and understand the text this morning in that light. It says in the beginning of Deuteronomy 14. We don't expect this language in the Old Testament.
It says, You are the sons of the Lord your God. This takes us back to Exodus chapter 4, verses 22 to 23, where Moses goes before Pharaoh. And before Pharaoh he says, Moses says to Pharaoh, Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, and I say to you, Let my son go, that he may serve me. And so God uses that language all the way back to Exodus chapter 4. And this was a while before this.
This was at least 40 years ago, right? Because Israel's been in the wilderness for 40 years.
So when he uses the word sons, There could be potential reasons for why the word sons can be used of a people belonging to a category or a group, and certainly Israel did that. But we can also see that Yahweh, Jehovah, led Israel, as he said in Exodus chapter 4. He led them, he cared for them, and he disciplined them like a father. And their lives, and here's the point. Here's the point from today.
So, this is what I want you to get, all right? They are God's people, so their lives are to bear the marks of God's special ownership. Their lives are to bear the marks of God's special ownership.
Now, he uses, God uses that same language for us in the New Testament.
So, we're going to see the basis for that in the Old Testament and then apply it to ourselves in the New Testament as well.
So, in chapter 14, as Moses is reiterating the law. The law for a second time to this new generation about to go in to possess the promised land. The land that God promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the land where Messiah would be born. And live and die and rise again. That land that was promised to the people of Israel.
And so these people, as God's people, are to be set apart by three things that I want to look at this morning. The first one is in verses one and two. They need to be set apart. God's people are set apart by how you perceive the people. life and deaf.
How you perceive life and death. Look at verse 1 again. You are the sons of the Lord your God. You shall not cut yourselves or make any baldness on your forehead. for the dead.
Now, what is he referring to? And Moses says this to the people, and this is God's command. Why is he saying this? What is he referring to? God's people are to disassociate themselves from pagan rituals of mourning a death.
In other words, pagan rituals involved shaving their foreheads and cutting their bodies as a form of mourning and death. And God says, No, you are my people. You don't follow those pagan practices. And there's a reason why. Paganism If God's people were to get involved with that, paganism would be first of all dishonoring to God.
We are called to be stewards of the body. We are embodied spirits. God created us, body and soul. And so our body is to be stewarded with honour. Not As in the pagan rituals, also, paganism would be harmful.
This would be self-harm. That's what this is. But also, pagan rituals in mourning the dead would be misleading. They distract from God who is good. And it's a form of manipulation.
That's what pagan rituals are. They're all about manipulation. And God says, when you are mourning a death, you're not manipulating so that hopefully you can, this person who's passed on can have the outcome that you desire for them. That's not God's way at all. But lastly, and probably most importantly, pagan rituals were.
without hope. They were without hope. And God says, in your understanding of life and death, God is the giver of life, and God is. The one who gives us eternal life. If we follow him, if we walk with him.
And God's people are not to mourn. as if there is no hope. In fact, we are to mourn with Hope. Understanding that there is a big picture. We, as God's people, need to understand that that wall to that wall represents all of eternity, and God is there in all of that, and our life represents one tiny dot on that line.
That's not the totality of your life. God has known you from eternity. And because he has brought you into this physical time-space created order, You will enjoy him for eternity if indeed you are his people. Don't limit your concept of your life to that one type. tiny dot.
You are forever his. And you will forever enjoy him if indeed You are his people. 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 It 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.
