Revering the Word
Deuteronomy 7 A plurality of faith and “god’s” is a snare.
Good morning everyone Deuteronomy 7 a difficult chapter to cover. Let's have at it. I Want to recall for a moment that back in Genesis chapter 12 God told Abraham to go to his land and that he was going to give him the land and that he was gonna bless Abraham that he was gonna make his family expand and that he was gonna be a blessing to the nations and ultimately God wanted to bless his people and Have them be a blessing to the people around them one of the things that we Need to understand today is that we're not living in the old covenant. We're not living under the old covenant that we're reading today We're under a new covenant in the new covenant today. We have been saved by faith through grace Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior who died for us and now we have become his kingdom of priests we now those who believe in him are Sent ones and we seek to help other people Know the good news of Jesus Christ so that they can become part of the family of God So that they can be forgiven of their sins and promised eternal life We are part of God's missional army to go make disciples of all nations and That is what we're here to do now So God is trying to in this season of history God is trying to win the world to Jesus Christ and Have people come to know him and we're part of that mission. We're no longer doing it through war We're no longer devoting anything to destruction however in the Old Testament there were There was a distinct time in history when God is asking the Israelites in this season to overtake the Promised land and given the land that they were to devote everything to destruction That is a reality of God's people a reality of what God desired in the Old Covenant and there's a reason for it That doesn't mean that we always like it But God doesn't come and seek our opinion You know we God has reasons and I'm gonna give you what I believe are those reasons So first of all do you remember when God created Adam and Eve and he created them in a beautiful garden in one day He's gonna return us to essentially a garden But it's gonna be a new Jerusalem that's gonna come down out of heaven And there's gonna be many things like there were in the beginning first of all God's gonna have his own light There's gonna be a tree of life in the garden there's gonna be a river flowing from the middle of the throne of God and Much like they had a blessed time with God's proximity right there with them in the garden We will have that again one day God's gonna restore that one day hallelujah But in that perfect place Adam and Eve sinned against God and they were removed from the garden due to their Sinfulness and then sin was on the loose sin multiplied You might recall that Adam and Eve had two children can't enable Cain killed able there was murder right away in the first family and Ultimately instead of multiplying God's goodness, which is what God always desired by the way He he said I have created you in my image and likeness and I want you to be fruitful and multiply That's what he told Adam and Eve he wanted to create a people that would honor and be like him and multiply his likeness His goodness throughout the land that we would be a people that would be after God Well when they got kicked out of the garden because of their sin they multiplied as God desired But they multiplied a sinful version of mankind and in fact the earth got so corrupt and all their thoughts were just corrupt All the time that God looked at his creation. He's like man What I created was meant for good for you guys to multiply my likeness my image My goodness and instead you guys have multiplied wickedness And that's when God flooded the earth and only saved one man's family Noah's family on the ark And then God started over through Noah and he said hey He gave him the same mission. I've created you in my image and likeness be performed multiply the same thing that he told that I'm an Eve he then told Noah see God is after expanding his image his likeness his goodness in this world And in fact he's still about doing that today through the church through followers of Jesus Christ We are supposed to try to resemble and take on the reflection of Jesus become more like him And seek to be to multiply him in others throughout the world So that they can have the forgiveness his sins and so they can have eternal life So God is still after the same mission. However in the old testament now again a different season and different dispensations God's not working in this way anymore God was after israel to expand his image his likeness his goodness and he knew that if they intermarried if they just went into this new land that God was giving them and just let everyone stay there He knew they would intermarry with them. He knew that they would become corrupt They they worshipped all kinds of false gods and false things and they were not a Holy people not a good people and when when when israel would go in there if they didn't destroy them It would go back to like what it was with noah where everything was just corrupt in that You know he'd have to start over again so to speak so God said listen I'm trying to create a people in my image and likeness who will be like me And it's not going to work unless you guys destroy those who are there So in this season in history, that's what he asked them to do that doesn't mean that he's going to do You know, he's asking us to do that. That's not what's happening today But it is what god desired because he knew the outcome He knew the outcome that what god created when he created this world and he created a maneve and he created us It wouldn't work out and you know ultimately the truth is It didn't work out. The truth is man Has always failed to live up to the standard of god And that's why god in his great love sent his son and we live in a new season of history now Where everyone has the ability Through the power of the holy spirit to become born again and live a new life under jesus christ And everyone's welcome into the family of god through faith in jesus So god's doing it a new way. I can't stress that enough. I've already repeated it But it's really important Although we worship the same god who's now revealed himself through jesus God is working in a different way today through his church Then he was in the old testament with all of that as a backdrop Let's see what happened in this season of history when god was trying to create a pure people In the promised land verse one when the lord your god brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it and clears away Many nations before you and by the way, it's going to be miraculous how god's going to give this little This this country that you know, it has only been a country for for four years coming out of a Slavery and somehow they're going to be able to develop an army that's going to be able to defeat their enemies because god's going to be with them uh When these nations come before you the hit tights and the your goshites and the amorites and the canonites and the perizites and the Hivotites and the jubusites Seven nations greater and stronger than you and when the lord your god delivers them before you and you defeat them Then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them And show no favor to them Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them You shall not give your daughters to their sons nor shall you take their daughters for your sons So this is why he's going to give the reason why for all of this right now For they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods See god wants people to worship him and him alone. He does not want a plurality of gods He does not want there isn't by the way. There's only one true god, but he doesn't want people Worshiping false things and this was his great concern Then the anger of the lord will be kindled against you and he will quickly destroy you If you don't destroy them because then you're going to end up worshiping everything that they worship But thus you shall do to them you shall tear down their altar See they were already worshiping false things in this land and smashed down their sacred pillars All things of false worship and hew down their ashram again things of false worship and burn their graven images more false worship that the people were Doing in that land with fire you burn it all so that there's nothing left for you guys to worship false things Why see what is god trying to do for you are a holy people to the lord your god The lord your god has chosen you to be a people for his own possession out of all the people who are in the face of the earth You're a holy people. I want you to expand my holiness The lord did not set his love on you nor choose you because you were more in number Because they're not than any of the peoples for you are the fewest of all the peoples But because the lord loved you and kept the oath which he swore to your fathers to abraham And you know abraham i's i can jake up The lord brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed You from the house of slavery from that hand of the pharaoh king of egypt's Know therefore that the lord your god he is god He is god he alone is god the faithful god who keeps his covenant and his loving kindness to a thousand generation With those who love him and keep his commandments But repays those who hate him to their faces to destroy them He will not delay with them who hates him he will prepay him to his face And you know that even though we live in a new dispensation that that's still the case today When jesus christ comes back those who do not Follow jesus are going to be destroyed those who follow jesus Are going to enter his millennial king given ultimately the new heaven and the new earth So although there are changes in this new dispensation that we live in now and the ones to come It's still going to be You know back then israel is god's family now those who believe in jesus are god's family And that's the way that you stay in the love of god and an ablesing of god But those who do not follow jesus are going to pay And just like these people do so we got to get a right right wife right with jesus Therefore you shall keep the commandment and the statutes and the judgments which i am commanding you today to do them That's what this book has really been about a reminder to do what god has asked them to do When they enter the promised land Then it shall come about because you listen to those These judgments and keep and do them that the lord your god will keep with you his covenant and his loving kindness Which he swore to your forefathers He will love you and bless you and multiply you hallelujah Remember that that's what it was always about multiplying his image and likeness He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground your grain and your new wine and your oil The increase of your herd and the young of your flock and the land which he swore to your fathers to give you You shall be blessed above all peoples There will be no male or female baron among you or among your cattle for the lord Will remove from you all sickness and he will not put on You any of the harmful diseases of egypt which you have known but he will lay Them on all who hate you You shall consume all the peoples whom the lord your god will deliver to you your eyes shall not pity them And here's why Nor shall you serve their gods for they would be a snare to you If you should say in your heart these nations are greater than i how can i dispossess them You shall not be afraid of them and you shall remember what the lord your god did to pharaoh Remember he you know pharaoh had the power and control of you and and you get you got out of there And god's going to take care of you taking over this promise land too The great trials which your eyes saw and the signs and the wonders and the mighty hand and the outstretched arm by which the lord your god brought you out He's been miraculous to israel so shall the lord your god due to all the peoples of whom you are afraid Moreover the lord your god will send the hornet against them Until those who are left and hide themselves from you perish You shall not dread them for the lord your god is in your midst a great and awesome god The lord your god will clear away these nations before you little by little You will not be able to put an end to them quickly for the wild beasts would grow too numerous for you But the lord your god will deliver them before you and will throw them into great confusion until they are destroyed It's going to be miraculous how god's going to give Israel the promised land he will deliver their kings into your hand so that you will make their name perish from under heaven No man will be able to stand before you until you have destroyed them They now listen here's why again the graven images of their gods you are to burn with fire You shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them nor take it for your cells For you will be snared by it for is it is an abomination to the lord your god Look it. It's an abomination to worship anything, but jesus and and god Jesus is the revelation of who god is you shall not bring an abomination into your house And like it come under the ban you shall utterly detest it and you shall utterly abhor it for it is something banned I can't help but just think today that you know We we live in a different season and god's trying to win the people to jesus and you know, I just want to say that sometimes We worship the foundation of america and we say well, you know We have in america freedom of religion. You can worship whatever you want And the reason we got what we got in america is because over in england They forced people to follow the king's religion And people didn't think the king's religion was right. It was a version of christianity But not not if you followed the bible the way that we do today You wouldn't want to be forced to follow the king's religion So the people who came to america wanted a freedom to be able to worship god of the bible and In their constitution in our constitution they said well Because we didn't like being forced. We're not going to create that in america Although they were the you know people who came here were largely christian and wanted to be a christian nation But they said listen we think it's bad to put any kind of forced thing into the constitution Because we didn't like that Well in doing so we got a major plurality of faith and everything goes and everything Is to be respected and especially when you get the liberals in charge You know, it's almost anti christian and pro everything else and Just know that this hasn't changed god wants to be worshiped alone And he is the only true god And the revelation of who god is has come to us through jesus christ And the word of god is how we know who god is and he's also revealed who he is through his spirit and You know, I say, okay, maybe our constitution has worked out better than Um, you know other nations for prosperity, but has it led to the worship of the one true god and Yes, you know, i'm grateful for the many freedoms that we have in america but It doesn't work well when we say anything goes and just worship whatever you want And our country has become more liberal more atheistic more filled with corruption more filled with sinfulness and Our god has always one who wanted to be worshiped alone so Take the freedom that you have and make sure that you worship jesus And I would desire that we would help more in this nation become a christian nation Until the return of jesus and yet it looks very likely that the world Although there could be a season of revival there could be a re-season of return to the lord That likely Things aren't going to be at their best when jesus comes back. That's what the the bible indicates But you know what that doesn't mean that you can't be at your best and Take our freedom that we have and and worship jesus and him alone. God bless you all [BLANK_AUDIO]