Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell. Pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. God places his law on the hearts of his people. and to an extent in the heart of every man. His way gives life It protects and it grows all that is good in mankind.
Sin, on the other hand, is self destructive. It destroys, separates, and distorts. In Deuteronomy 27, God reinforces the importance of the material. of following his way. commanding the priest to call out those things which bring curse on his people.
Through the lens of Christ's action on our behalf, we see the great power we can have to overcome sin. and we see the grace and blessing that Jesus gives us through His substitutionary work. Let's listen to this message titled, The Choice of Life or Death. You have become the people of the Lord. Will you turn with me to Deuteronomy chapter 27?
We're going to look at verses 1 through 8 today. Deuteronomy chapter 27, verses 1 through 8. It is on the screen if you do not have a Bible. There are some under the seats in front of you. If you don't have a Bible, take that, please.
It's our gift to you. Deuteronomy 27, verses 1 through 8.
Now, Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep the whole commandment that I command you today. And on the day you cross over the Jordan to the land the LORD your God is giving you, you shall set up large stones and plaster them with plaster. And you shall write on them all the words of this law when you cross over to enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey. as the Lord the God of your fathers has promised you. And when you have crossed over the Jordan, you shall set up these stones concerning which I command you today on Mount Ebal.
and you shall plaster them with plaster. And there you shall build an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones. You shall wield no iron tool on them You shall build an altar to the Lord your God of uncut stones. And you shall offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God, and you shall sacrifice peace offerings, and shall eat there, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God. And you shall write on the stones all the words of this law very plainly.
Father, we look forward to hearing What your servant will bring us this morning For in this text we find not only law, but we find your grace. They're putting law on these stones There is a message of your grace. your love, your mercy, and your compassion. Open our hearts and our eyes today, our Father. Pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen. Man. Good morning, church. Deuteronomy chapter 27. We are now in the fifth section.
of the book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy means second law. It is to the younger generation. The older generation had died in the wilderness because of their lack. Of trust.
But now the younger generation is gathered in the plains of Moab. And Moses is speaking to them. He's preparing them to cross over the Jordan. And into the promised land, the land that God promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as much as six. centuries before now.
It's a long-lasting promise, isn't it? And what we find here, we've just covered. The whole section of Deuteronomy that reiterates the law, all kinds of law. The Ten Commandments, chapter five, the Shema, chapter six. And then all the laws, the call to faithfulness, and all the laws that God has laid out for his people.
In this second iteration of the law to the younger generation about to cross over into the land. What we're going to be looking at today, first of all, is the ratification of this covenant. The ratification of this covenant. This section is chapter five, the fifth section of Deuteronomy. I've entitled this whole section, The Choice.
of life and death. The choice of life and death. It becomes very, very clear. And so he says, as you cross over into the promised land, remember, I brought you out of Egypt, I led you through the wilderness, I will be taking you over the river. You will be in the land, and this is the land that I've promised.
What's the big picture here? Let's remember this. Why is this so important? Keep the big picture in view. because it is in this land and through this people.
That Messiah would come. The Redeemer of humanity. That's pretty big, isn't it? He would come, he would be born in this land, he would live a perfect life in this land, he would be betrayed. and die sacrificially in this land, he would rise again in this land.
He ascended from this land. He will come again to this land. Yeah. That's the big picture. That's why all of this is so important.
So, as they're about to cross over into the Jordan, the portion that was just read this morning. that Dwight read for us. Deuteronomy chapter 27 is about the altar that God commanded, that Moses commanded them, the Lord commanded through Moses for them to set up. And what's the significance of this altar? It's to remember, is to remind them.
To remember and to teach their children generation after generation. This is a reminder.
Now as we're going through this I want there to be some very practical application for us as we listen, because this is not just history this morning, okay? What do you think about there being an altar? in your life. What do you have to remind you of who God is and what He has done? And to visit that altar.
regularly. And this altar was to be a stone monument. Covered with plaster, and the law was to be written on it.
Now I'm thinking. There's a lot of words in the law. It's possible that maybe they were to write the Shema, which is in Deuteronomy chapter 6. Here it says, The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.
And then the Ten Commandments that we found in Chapter Five. Because they summarize the whole law. But then, after they set up this and By the way. This was fulfilled in Joshua chapter 8. I have to go to Joshua chapter 8, and you read about them actually doing this.
And he says, when you go over and you've built this altar, this monument, Then there needs to be a declaration. You shall therefore obey the voice of the Lord your God, keeping his commandments and his statutes, which I command you. Today. Verse 9: Moses and the Levitical priest said to all Israel, keep silence. Keep silence, O Israel.
This day you have become the people. of the Lord your God. This day you have become the people of the Lord your God. I want you to hang on to that because that is true for us, and the New Testament appeals to that. Peter does Specifically.
So it's a declaration, it's a solemn pronouncement of identity. A solemn pronoun. Keep silence, Israel. No distraction, full attention. Today, the Lord declares you to be.
his people, the ratification of the covenant. Today you have become the people of the Lord your God. Know this. people. People of Earth.
creatures. You are who God says you are. You are who God says you are. We don't create ourselves. You are who God says you are.
And because of this, there are implications on one's life. and behavior. There are implications on one's life and behavior.
So that's why we get into. Verse 11. And following, verses 11 to 14, the blessing. And the cursing. And this just begins it today because this is going to be chapter 28.
Look at chapter 28. It's a long chapter, 68 verses. And we're going to cover that next week. And some of you are saying, yeah, right. We are, okay?
So today he talks about this is the declaration that needs to be made. First of all, that you are. You have become the people of the Lord your God. And then blessing and cursing. Let's look at this.
That day, Moses charged. The people saying, When you have crossed over the Jordan, you shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. And these shall stand on Mount Ebel for the curse, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. And the Levites shall declare to all the men of Israel in a loud voice. And he proceeds with the curse.
So Mount Gerizim and Ebol are two mountains. In the middle of the promised land. They're near to each other, kind of in the center of the land. And the tribes are divided, six on one and six on the other, and they are to stand on these mountains, and then these. Pronouncement, this declaration, the blessing and the cursing was spoken over the land.
and the people. And it was to be affirmed by the people, by the word Amman, which is what. Where do we get the word amen? What does amen mean? I like that.
No, that's not what it means. It means so be it. This is firm. That's what that means. When you say amen, you're saying so be it.
This is fun. In other words, it's like saying God has forgotten. That's pretty significant.
So, when you conclude your prayer. And you say, in Jesus' name, Immense. This is a little bit extra here. No, it's a germ shape. You are claiming that you are asking for.
Not what God wants. You are claiming that you are asking according to the character and the purpose of God. 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.
