God wants to do something incredibly new and powerful in your life that will be absolutely transformative and life changing. He began, once again, doing so in my own life four years ago and it only continues to get better. But there’s a ‘catch’.

You have to come to Him on His terms and it will involve surrendering your entire heart and life to Him. And that involves more than going to church twice a week and reading three chapters out of your bible every day too. (And No, doubling down on those two activities in themselves won't help either)

If He is going to be ‘Lord of all’, then you have to do what He instructs you. Why call Him, ‘Lord, Lord’, if we are not going to do what He says?’ (Luke 6:46). And if you think this kingdom of heaven and all this talk of ‘eternal life’ awaits everyone who ‘says Lord, Lord’, and the rest of this talk about having to ‘obey God’ is just some option for super-saints, then you’ve been lied to. “Just believe...and put your trust in Jesus”...might make for a nice sound-bite or slogan that ‘churches’ can peddle to increase their numbers, but the only ones who are going to enter the kingdom of heaven are the ones who are abiding in Christ. We are told in Hebrews 5:9 that Jesus “became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.”

Am I starting to sound repetitive here yet?

Funny, but whenever I read through Deuteronomy, I think the same thing about Moses who was speaking on behalf of God there. He sure seems to repeat himself over and over and over...all this talk about ‘obeying’ and ‘doing’ and ‘observing...carefully all His commandments’. Usually, when someone like a teacher or a parent or a boss at work repeats over and over a particular point, it is for good reason. They want you to ‘get it’.

Now you might ask why do I bother reading those old books of the ‘law’ from the OT. And I understand why you might ask that. But consider this for a moment: When Jesus was with His disciples there at the end before He returned to heaven, we are told that He “opened the scriptures to them”, and “He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the scriptures.” (Luke 24:31,45). What ‘scriptures’ do you think He was talking about?

In fact, if you take a look at that chapter there, you might underline where Jesus said: “...all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and Psalms concerning Me.” (44). And take a look at what Peter admonished us in Acts 3:24-26, and then in his second letter there in 3:1-2. We would do well to study these writings.

Why even Paul took time to point us to this particular generation that Deuteronomy focuses on as he lists the various ways God dealt seriously with them, indicating that these things were written down for us as examples and warnings. (1 Cor. 10:1-11). Interestingly, he even points out the fact that with “most of them, God was not well pleased”. (5). If you would, you might jot down Romans 8:8 next to that verse as well, and we'll come back to this later.

So what is happening here in the Book of Deuteronomy that is even remotely relevant to us ‘NT believers’ today? A lot. And I mean...more than you might imagine. Which is why we need the Holy Spirit to ‘open our understanding’ to it as well. Hang with me here, I bet some think I have changed course from what I was going to talk about today regarding the ‘second building block’ of foundational teaching most of us missed that class on.

God had gathered this second generation of His people whom He had delivered and set free from the bondage of Egypt. You should know by now that this was a ‘type’ or a foreshadow of what God eventually was going to do with us today. It was not Egypt though, that He was setting us free from; it is the ‘world’ and the bondage of sin and Satan that Jesus came to deliver us from. (John 8:32-24; 1 John 5:19; Acts 26:18; 2 Tim. 2:25-26)

They (the Israelites) were all camped out near the Jordan River, and on the other side was this ‘promised land’ known as Canaan Land. This was where God had promised to lead them to where He could establish them and bless them. God has not changed; He is still wanting to do that for anyone and everyone who will call upon His name. He has a ‘land’ for us to possess as well; but it is not a physical piece of real estate. It is a place of ‘peace and rest’ and we are admonished that we better ‘fear lest we fall short of it’. (Heb. 4:1). And did I mention this place of peace and rest is on THIS...side of heaven? (Luke 1:79). How do I know that, you might ask?

Well this land that God was going to lead His people into was inhabited by multiple nations that were strong, established, and evil. (There will be no evil in heaven) These were the Canaanite nations that God made clear were on the land, and were a people that His children were no match for in their own strength; but not to worry...IF...they would just follow and obey His leading/commands, HE...would be the one to remove them from the land. And He was going to do this over time, not even in ‘the first year’; but ‘little by little’. (Ex. 23:27-33).

You might make note of this passage as well. I say that because this ‘story’ is the ‘blueprint’ of what God is wanting to do with us today. You’ll notice that back then, He referred to them as their ‘enemies’ (27), but today as you might know, our ‘enemy’ has nothing to do with ‘flesh and blood’ (Eph. 6:12). Peter tells us exactly who our ‘enemy’ is in 1 Pet. 5:8, and just as God warned repeatedly to the Israelites back then to give them no place, so does Paul admonish us the same thing in Eph. 4:27.

So now, we can see in Deut. 28, Moses is once again...repeating himself on behalf of God in what you might call the final sendoff message before they cross over the Jordan river to go in and begin this new life where God wants to bless them as He reveals Himself to them. And the chapter begins with: “IF...you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments...all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you because you obey the voice of the Lord your God.” (1-2). The promises God is making here in the first 13 verses are all focused on blessings. The chapter...begins with blessings; blessing that are ‘conditional’, I might add. Keep in mind that even today, while God’s love for all the world is ‘unconditional’, His promises today still remain...’conditional’. When did God change? Answer: He hasn’t. (Mal. 3:6; Heb. 13:8)

Next comes the part that tends to make us feel rather uncomfortable, because the remaining chapter includes some 50+ verses that focus on ‘curses’; curses that the people of God can expect to experience IF...they disregard God’s law/commandments. In fact he tells them that they will ‘come upon you and "overtake" you’. (28:15,45).

Need a quick ‘NT break’? Flip over to John 12:35 and read what Jesus warned us as to why we best walk in the light while we have the light lest ______ (what) ‘overtakes’ us?

Now some of you might be asking why is any of this OT talk even relevant to us today? We’re not ‘under the law, but grace’, so we’ve been taught. (Rom. 6:14). Well, that is only partly true. Those who are ‘led by God’s Spirit are no longer under the law’. (Gal. 5:18). A law, I need not remind you that still stands today. Jesus never indicated that He came to abolish or do away with this law. (Matt. 5:17). And all that this law entails, still includes the ‘wrath, curse, death, and condemnation’ the law brings for those who disobey it. (Rom. 4:15; Gal.3:10; 2 Cor. 3:7,9).

But if you are abiding in Jesus, guess what you are NOT doing? You are not ‘sinning’, or not ‘breaking the law’. (1 John 3:4, 6). Hence, the warning offered up by Jesus to ‘go and sin (don’t break God’s law) no more...or something worse might come upon you.” (John 5:14). Or another NT promise by Jesus...”if you don’t repent, you will all likewise perish”. (Luke 13:3,5). Now if you are beginning to sense a bit of ‘fear’, that is not a bad thing. (Prov. 1:7). The fear of the Lord is the ‘beginning of knowledge’; and why are God’s people ‘destroyed’, according to Hosea 4:6? (Rom. 3:17-18)

So...all that to say: the message that Moses preached there in chapter 28 began with blessings and ended with curses and promise of suffering and loss and destruction.

Enter Jesus with His ‘sermon on the mount’ as recorded for us in Matt. 5-8. Guess what it begins with ? Blessings! (5:1-12). Want to guess how He ends or wraps up this sermon to the multitudes? Take a look at 7:24-27. It comes on the heels of Him telling us plainly who will ‘enter the kingdom of heaven’ in vs. 21-23; then this: “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine...and DOES THEM...I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (24). He then goes on to indicate that there are floods coming that will beat against that house, as in ‘not if, but when’ the floods come. (25) But because this house was built on a rock that represents those who actually ‘do’ what He says, they are ‘blessed’ and remain strong and intact; unlike...those who heard the sayings but ‘did not do them’. (25). The same floods came, and that house built on sand, was destroyed. (27)

You might say Jesus began His message with promises of blessings and finished up with promises of destruction for all those who heard but did not ‘do His sayings’. And if you spend time reading through those 3 chapters, many of those sayings would suggest that He was ‘raising the bar’ on this ‘law’; saying things like “you have heard it was said before, but now I tell you today...” (5:21-48). He ends that chapter explaining what He expects us to ‘be’ like...as in ‘perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect’. (48)

Which leads me to my final point: You might be feeling a bit distressed and concerned by now. Especially if you read through those ‘expectations’ like no longer lusting and being angry and resentful and loving our enemies and doing good to those who harm us, etc. Why, you might even find yourself asking...”How can these things be?” This sounds...impossible to do. Guess what? You are in good company. Both Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Nicodemus...asked similar question themselves. (Luke 1:34; John 3:9). Tomorrow, Lord willing, we will begin looking at just ‘how’ these things can indeed...be. ;- )