D. Patrick Ramsey preached on the following text from Deuteronomy this morning; he also used passages from Proverbs 9 and Matthew 7 because God presented the same choice via those texts.
Deuteronomy 30:15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil.16 If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.
17 But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess.
19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, 20 loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
Review Proverbs 9 to read the ‘way of wisdom’ and the ‘way of folly,’ as I’d have to paste in the entire chapter to identify the criteria for that choice.
In Matthew 7, the same choice as above was presented via the following texts:
Mat 7:13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
Mat 7:14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
Mat 7:24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
Mat 7:25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.
Mat 7:26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
Mat 7:27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
In each case, the choice was presented differently but the blessings and consequences for not choosing life were the same, although they were articulated in very different words.
The pastor also made plain the lie that many believe which keeps them from choosing life. Perhaps, you still believe it to some extent; if so, then this sermon may help you seek God’s grace to let go of that of that foolishness.
[I have come to understand that when I sin, I am still believing Satan’s lie, it is an inherent part of my old brainwashing, 53 years as an unregenerate person. Sermons such as this, which clarify the problem, are very beneficial.]
Sermon highlights [bracketed statements and emboldening are mine]:
*Amid the pastor’s introduction, he noted that the words of Deuteronomy 30 are the completion of Moses’ 3rd speech to Israel wherein he was exhorting them to choose life and that the consequences of their choice would manifest itself in the Promised Land.
That is, Israel would reap what they had sown.
*The choice: if they chose life then they would experience prosperity; and if they chose death, adversity.
*Choosing life, was represented by loving, trusting in and cleaving unto the Lord; choosing death was represented by an unwillingness to do that, but relying upon self, choosing to go one’s own way
*The rest that Israel got when Joshua gave them their inheritance in the Land, was not the true rest; the book of Hebrews, speaks of the true rest, it is a reference to that which one knows in heaven
*For us, we choose eternal life, heaven [by denying self, taking up our cross and following Jesus]
*In Proverbs 9, this same choice is presented in terms of choosing to live as the wise man vs the foolish man: each is illustrated in that passage
*In Matthew 7, Jesus presents the same choice between life and death via 2 gates, 2 ways, 2 ends
*The narrow gate and difficult way (life); vs the broad gate and easy way (death)
*The one who heard God’s word and obeyed – represented by building a house on rock; vs the one who heard God’s word and did not obey it, represented by the house built on sand which would not stand in a time of judgment, as the one built on the rock of obedience would
*That we have the option of choice is only possible because of the gospel; there would only be spiritual death otherwise; we would remain as we were born, in Adam
*John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
*The importance of missions briefly stated
*WE NEED TO MAKE A CHOICE
*Since humans are created in the image of God, they are morally accountable to Him; therefore, our choice will have consequences meeted out by Him; that is, you will reap what you sow; choose life (via loving the Lord, trusting and obeying Him) and you will be blessed with prosperity; vs the opposite
*Scripture states John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
*TWO REASONS THAT MOVE PEOPLE TO CHOOSE DEATH
*Moses stated herein that blessings derive from a saving relationship with the Lord; that is, they would prosper in the Land if they loved, trusted in and obeyed the Lord; and they would perish if they turned away from the Lord to worship other gods
*The pastor explained obedience, sin and atonement very briefly
*Those who chose death believed the LIE that blessings could be had when one is out of fellowship with the Lord; when one turns from Him to follow another god…that one could still somehow find blessings in his life
*To state that in New Testament terms: if you choose Christ by denying self, taking up your cross and following / obeying Him, then you will experience life (the narrow gate – hard way); following your own way, the way of self, leads to death (broad gate – easy way)
*Satan told Eve that she could disobey God and still experience blessings, she would even be like Him
*It is apparent that one believes the LIE if he thinks he can have prosperity / blessings by following his own way and ignoring God’s commands and God
*Covenant blessings come only when one is in relationship with God as stated by Moses: loving, trusting in and obeying commands (seeking gospel forgiveness via repentance after sinning…)
*Some wicked people experience material blessings in this life, but if they never come to repentance, then their manifest actions represent a choice for death, the consequences of which are hell
*SECOND reason people choose death is due to moral perversity
*For example, if a young person turns away from the church after entering into college, it might be because that person has begun to experiment with immorality
*Selfishness, covetousness and pride are broad way behaviors that entrench one in worldliness; that is why Christ called His followers to DENY self… [the pastor weaved those concepts into his message, for brevity, I stated them differently]
*Israel had chosen the Lord at Sinai, Moab and would later choose Him when they crossed the Jordan; why then was Moses calling them to choose again?
*Their choice, as ours for Christ, is a recurring one – it must be made daily. It is not a choice that is made once and can be dismissed thereafter. As in a marriage covenant, a person marries and is required thereafter to love their spouse, to be faithful to them…as the marriage covenant requires.
*The choice to deny self, pick up one’s cross and follow Christ will need to be made daily
24-minute mp4 sermon:
For other sermons by D. Patrick Ramsey, click the following link:
https://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?SourceOnly=true&currSection=sermonssource&keyword=nashuaopc