DEUTERONOMY 9:1-10:22
REMEMBER #5: (Deut 9:7) We are a provoking people, but God has shown His mercy toward us. Without His grace, we would not be able to serve God at all.
REMEMBER #6: (Deut 9:27) We are God's inheritance, thus we belong to Him. We are INCLUDED, have an "inside track", are part of His Covenant - not to be rejected.
Overcoming the flesh is a lifelong battle, won through obedience and faithfulness to God. We don't get the victory over our flesh because we are so righteous, but because our flesh is so wicked that God drives it out.
Definition of OBEY: If our lives depend on obedience, it would be good to know what God considers obedient. (Deut 10:12-13) "And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God REQUIRE of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, to keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?" Fear, Walk, Love, Serve, Keep.
NOTE: (Deut 10:14 & 17) The heaven, the heaven of heavens, and the earth with everything in it belong to God. They do NOT belong to Satan, never have, and never will. Did you honestly think that Satan could take something that big away from God? Our God is "God of gods, Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty and a terrible..." Satan is a USURPER, with no "legal" rights except what humans give him. He rules through deception, seduction, intimidation and force, not through authority.
RESPONSE: "Do, "keep", "observe", "obey" are used 176 times in Deuteronomy. It is not enough to just do as we are told. God doesn't want just our "backs", He wants our "hearts". And so part of obedience is to love Him and serve Him. Being a Christian is not a JOB, but a CALLING and a PRIVILEGE. We GET to "walk in His ways". We GET to love Him. I think it is interesting that God consumes our flesh and we are to obey QUICKLY to finish it off. I think that's because we would go back to it if we didn't burn our bridges.
LUKE 8:4-21
Fruit is brought forth from seeds "with patience" - it takes time, and "an honest and good heart". This is a heart that shows respect and esteem to the Word of God as being the Word from God, and is able to understand it, digest it and use it to grow without giving up. As those seeds sown in secret (in the ground) begin to sprout and grow, people will see that we had "an honest and good heart". RESPONSE: Have you ever asked your kids what the Sunday sermon was about? Often they can't tell you because they received it carelessly or without respectful interest. So I think a "good heart" also has to be a hungry heart. After awhile, the little bit we DID understand will be taken from us if we don't practice at least that much. That works for anything we learn.
When I learned some Swahili in preparation for going to Kenya, as I put it into use, I learned even more. When I got back home, I quit using it, and forgot what little bit I already knew. What little bit I thought I had was taken from me. The Word of God has to be received and put to practice immediately or it will be gone before we know it!
PSALM 69:19-36
This is prophetic of what Jesus endured His last days of life on earth. Verses 19-21 are "the cup" that wouldn't pass from Him. "Reproach, disgrace, shame, dishonor, heaviness, no pity or comfort, gall and vinegar to drink." What got David first, then Jesus, through this? Vs. 30 they "magnified the Lord with thanksgiving." They made Him great, boast, lift up, exceed, increase, promote, to make powerful. HOW? "with thanksgiving." As we thank and praise God out loud, our hearts are encouraged and made to accept that it is safe to trust God completely. "This also shall please the Lord..."
The righteous has his root in God; and therefore he shall not be moved. Evil is always variable: it has no fixed place or idea. Not only are evil people "not established", but they will be "rooted out".
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