Welcome to Delight in Grace. The Teaching Ministry of Rich Powell. pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. This is part four of a message first preached on January 19th, 2025. It's part of a series from Deuteronomy titled, It is Because the Lord Loves You.
To hear the whole message or others in this series, you can visit www.delightinggrace.com. Yeah. Just they don't feel right tonight. I'm just gonna follow my own instincts. He's gonna ditch the plane.
Right in the ocean. Because his feelings are not sufficient. His own senses are not sufficient. His own reason is not sufficient. to fly that airplane.
without the information that he needs.
So, remember the Lord means to take action on what you know to be true. And here's the advantage that we have under the new covenant: Jesus promised his disciples, again, the indwelling Holy Spirit, he says he will bring to remembrance. Everything that I have told you and everything that I have done. What is it that He brings to remembrance in us? Rich Powell, you are forgiven.
Rich Cowell, you are justified before God. Rich Powell, you can eat at the banquet of God's grace and his delights. Why, Rich, would you want to eat out of the dumpster? That's remembering God. That self-talk right there that reminds you of who you are, the self-talk that's anchored in God's self-disclosure.
Remember And the And you take action on it, what is it that Paul says in Romans chapter 6? Reckon yourselves. That's a good southern word, isn't it? Reckon yourselves. It means take inventory.
Count on this: that you are dead to sin and alive to God. God says that's what's true about you. Remember that and take action on that reality. How this to prevent drift. And also remember that it's an unconditional covenant.
This new covenant that we are under is unconditional. Look with me again at verse 17. Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide my face from them, and they will be devoured. Listen to me. That will never be said.
to one who is in Christ. You with me? That will never be said to you if you are in Christ. Ever. Because it was Jesus.
Who spread his arms on the cross and was nailed to it. And what did he cry out? Why have you what? Forsaken me. And he did that.
For you. Thank you, Jesus. Abandonment by God has been experienced in your place. Yes. Know that.
Remember that.
So important to see the distinction between the old. And the new. Habit number four. Let's review them again. Number one, read God's self-disclosure.
Number two, practice the presence of God. Number three, remember, which means to take action on what you know to be true. Number four, With me at verse 2. I'm going to read scripture here before I go to... Uh clear.
All right, here we go, verse twelve. Assemble the people, men, women, little ones, and sojourners within your towns that they may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God. And be careful to do all these words of this law. Habit number four, be in community. Be in community.
What kind of community? The community of God's covenant people. Be in the community of God's covenant people. With accountable leaders. with accountable leaders.
Moses was never sovereign. Joshua was never sovereign, meaning they didn't have complete freedom to do whatever they wanted to do. No leadership is sovereign. every leadership. Every position of leadership is accountable.
There's only one sovereign, and that is God himself. and he will not share his glory with another.
So be in community, the community of God's covenant people with accountable leaders. And the advantage that we have under the new covenant is that by one spirit we are all baptized into one body. That's those of us who are in Christ, and that is the church. In the Old Testament, you had the temple that was in a specific place, in a specific location, and you had to go at specific times. What is the Temple in the New Testament?
We are. We are the temple. Do you know what? Even when we disperse from this room, we are still the temple of God. And we represent the presence of God.
That's huge, isn't it? Habit number five, sing God's word. Sing God's Word. Verse 19, Now therefore write this song, and teach it to the people of Israel, put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the people of Israel. And then look at verse thirty.
Verse 30, the last verse. In the chapter, then Moses spoke the words of this song until they were finished in the ears of all the assembly of Israel. And it's it's divinely it's it's divinely inspired scripture. And he's commanding his people to sing it. This song will confront them as a witness, he says.
Here's the truth, the true power of music. Here's the true power of music. The stuff that we sang this morning, absolutely beautiful, all of it anchored in scripture. And that is a huge priority for us here. Here's why it's important.
Truth confronts wandering affections and attitudes. Truth confronts. wandering affections and attitudes. And it does it memorably. Go ahead and try to forget the songs we sang this morning.
Yeah. It does it memorably. Not only does it confront wandering affections and attitude, but it also restores focus. That's why we're constantly called to seeing the truths of God's word. Because it's memorable.
And it makes the Word of God memorable to us. And what is our benefit under the new covenant? The fact that we are indwelt with the Spirit, we are also called to be filled with the Spirit. And he says in Colossians 3.16, Let the word of Christ do what? dwell in you richly.
And it includes. singing to one another and psalms, hymns, spiritual songs. making melody in your heart to the Lord. The word of Christ. Why the word of Christ?
Because Christ is the fullest expression of God. And we sing it. and it is memorable. And you want to mitigate drift In your life? Here's how you do it.
These five habits. You read God's self-disclosure. You practice the presence of God. You remember God by taking action on what you know to be true. And then you find yourself, you find yourself in the community of God's covenant people with accountable leadership under the authority of the Word of God.
And then you sing the Word of God. I challenge you to practice those habits. It's a little late for New Year's resolutions because some of you have already abandoned them, right? Pick them up with this. Can we all confess this morning?
Can we all confess? We're not going to stand in judgment of Israel. We are prone to wander. And God gives us these five habits that we can practice. that will keep us from wandering and keep us anchored to him.
where we find our joy, our satisfaction, and our security. All this in the hardship. Through which the people are going to be taken and have come. Let me just end with this thought here today, and that is the blessing of hardship. The blessing of hardship.
Deuteronomy 8:3, the Lord said to his people through Moses, I brought you through the wilderness, I let you get hungry, I let you get thirsty. Why did God let them do that? To teach them what? that man does not live By bread alone. But by every word.
It comes from the mouth of God. The blessing of hardship is that it moves us from complacent drift. to humble perseverance. That's God's intent for hardship. And it also rescues us from autonomy.
and compels us to trust. That's the blessing of hardship. And all of this. Because God is Good. How are they saying?
He is good. Would you stand with me, please? I'm not missing that. Mm. All right.
Father. You have taught us much this morning. There is so much in your self-disclosure, and so much, all of it, every bit of it, is applicable to us. As a people to each one of us. individually.
Father, we confess and acknowledge this morning that we are prone to wander because we can be so easily distracted. or discouraged. And Father To prevent that, I ask, Lord, that you would fix our gaze on the beauty and the glory and the majesty of Jesus.
Okay. that you would find us to be a people committed to reading reading, consuming your self-disclosure. And practicing your presence. and remembering taking action on what we know to be true. and keeping ourselves in community with your people.
under the accountability of your word, Father. And Father, put a song in our hearts. These songs that we sing May we be guilty of singing in public, Father. Because you are good. Rescue us from drift, Lord, I pray.
Thank you for your goodness and all of it. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. 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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