God Has Spoken, Part 6

Amen. That's our theme. What more can he say than to you? He has said he was one one and two talking about the fact that God has spoken. He has spoken to us through his son in the last of these days, the days in which he spoke and he's given us his word, his unchanging word, his infallible word, his inerrant word. And that word is the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. And that's the word that we hold in our hands. And because God has spoken to us through his word, it's imperative that we understand what it means to obey that word.

His word is sufficient. His word is supreme because it is. We don't seek some kind of emotional experience, but an intellectual encounter with the living God. We spend time in his word because through his word, he unveils to us his glory. And through his glory, we understand the God of the universe. That's what he was one one and two is all about. We've been here for six weeks. We will be here for a few more weeks because we need to understand that scripture is sufficient, sufficient for everything that pertains to life and godliness because God himself is sufficient and supreme.

His word is sufficient and supreme. And so we moved you from Hebrews one, one and two to Psalm 19 last week to help you see what David said about the law of the Lord, the commandments of the Lord, the statutes of the Lord, the precepts of the Lord, the fear of the Lord, the judgments of the Lord, because those who embrace it experience joy in their hearts. They experience a restoration of their soul. And so David gives us his perspective on the sufficiency of the word of God, the special revelation that God gives us that is sufficient to take care of everything that we need.

That's so important to understand that. But before David, there was Moses. And I want to turn with you, if you would, with me to Deuteronomy chapter four, take you back to the book of Deuteronomy to help you understand what Moses said about the word of God. This is very important because I'm afraid this is where the modern evangelical church has missed the boat when it comes to the authority of God's word in the life of the people of God. The historical context of the book of Deuteronomy is very simple.

Israel is about to embark on the promised land. Moses will not go with them. So Moses reiterates the law of God. That's the book of Deuteronomy. It's a reiteration of God's law. Moses' last words to a nation. He cannot go into the promised land. Behind them, behind them is the Red Sea. Behind them is the wilderness wanderings. Behind them is a rebellion at Kadesh Barnea. Behind them is 40 years. In front of them is the Jordan River. In front of them is Jericho. In front of them is the promised land.

In front of them is the land of rest that was given to Abraham. Before them is blessing. Behind them was bondage in Egypt. And so Moses is going to explain to them the importance of the word of God in the lives of the people of God. He's not going to give them a military briefing. This is very important to understand. He's not going to give them a military briefing on how to overcome the enemy. He's not going to give them a geographical analysis of the land of promise. He's not going to even give them a demographic perspective of the area they're going to embark on.

He's going to give them the only thing that they need, listen carefully, not to be successful, but to actually survive for the rest of their lives. He's going to give them the one thing they need to do to survive. Because if they don't survive, they will die. So he tells them it's very important to understand the word of the Lord. He emphasizes the necessity and the regularity by which they hear the word of God and the intensity and the responsibility they have to heed the word of God. Did you get that?

You need to write that down if you didn't get it because it's really good. He emphasizes the necessity and the regularity by which they hear the word of God and the intensity and the responsibility by which they heed the word of God. Why? Because how they hear and obey will determine whether they live or whether they die. Life and death pertains to what you do with the word of God. I don't know where you go to church. Hopefully you go to this church, but you're here. But I don't know if you're visiting where you go to church.

But you know, the churches in America today have lost that perspective. When we stand up to preach, we are preaching life or death. We don't preach anything in between. It's life or death. To obey is life. To disobey is death. And we have a lot of people in the church today living a death-like existence because they refuse to obey the word of God. They are struggling from day to day because of their refusal to hear and to heed the word of God. Let me tell you what Moses says.

Deuteronomy 4 verse number 1. Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I am teaching you to perform, so that you may live and go in and take possession of the land in which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you. Verse 40. You shall keep his statutes, his commandments, which I am giving you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may live long in the land which the Lord, your God, has given you for all time. If you want to live well, if you want your children to live well, you better listen to these statutes, you better obey these statutes, or it's going to be miserable for you, it's going to be miserable for your family.

So black and white. He goes on to say in Deuteronomy chapter 5. Hear, O Israel, verse 1, the statutes and ordinances which I am speaking today in your hearing, that you may learn them and observe them carefully. Verse 29. Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear me and keep all my commandments always, God says.

That it may be well with them and with their sons forever. You see the perpetualness of the word of God. Oh, if they would just hear me, listen to me, it would be well for them. It would be well for their sons and for their daughters. Verse 32 of Deuteronomy 5. So you shall observe to do just as the Lord, your God, has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right or to the left. You shall walk in all the way which the Lord, your God, has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, that you may prolong your days in the land which you possess.

He goes on to talk about those great commandments in the great Shema and Israel. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one. He says in verse 24 of Deuteronomy 6. So the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God for our good always and for our survival as it is today. These words will help you survive. If you don't hear them out of necessity and regularity and don't heed them with intensity and because that's your responsibility, you will die. Then he says this, chapter 30, verse 11.

For this commandment which I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach. Okay? We would say it's not rocket science. He would say it's not pyramid science. Okay? It's not too difficult for you to understand this. It is not in heaven that you should say, Who will go up to heaven for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it? Nor is it beyond the sea that you should say, Who will cross the sea for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?

But the word is very near you in your mouth and in your heart that you may observe it. The word of God is not so far from you that you cannot get to it. It's not so hard for you that you cannot understand it. It's given to you with great clarity. It's given to you with great simplicity. It's not that you can't find it. It's in your heart. It's on your mouth. All you have to do is observe it. Verse 15. See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. Folks, that's it. You come to church at Christ Community Church, we present you one of two options.

Life or death. Prosperity or adversity. That's it. Then he says this. In that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that you may live and multiply and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it.

I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live you and your descendants by loving the Lord your God, by obeying his voice and by holding fast to him. For this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land in which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and to give them. Wow, what a powerful statement. Moses is about to die. He gives his last words.

He says, look, there's life, there's death, there's prosperity, there's adversity, there's blessing, there's cursing. Which will you choose? To obey is life. To disobey is death. And that's why he says in the book of Deuteronomy, the 32nd chapter, the 46th verse, take to your heart all the words with which I am warning you today, which you shall command your sons to observe carefully, even all the words of this law. For it is not an idle word for you. Indeed, it is your life. And by this word, you will prolong your days in the land, which you are about to cross to Jordan to possess.

This is not an idle word. This is not a vain word. This is not an empty word. This is a word that really is your life. This is your manna. This is your blessing. This is how you live your life. There is nothing else to hang on to. It is the word of God and nothing else. I'm not going to show you how to fight. I'm not going to show you how to go in and think of a way to defeat your enemies. I'm going to give you the word of God. Just do what God says.

Everything will be taken care of. Obey the Lord. That is the responsibility of the preacher. And any preacher who does not do that should resign yesterday. He is not worth his salt at all. It is life or death. To obey, life. To disobey, death. That is the message of the church. That's what needs to be preached in every church across the world. And so, that's how Moses said it. David comes along in Psalm 19 and talks about the law of the Lord, the commandments of the Lord, the precepts of the Lord, the fear of the Lord.

He talks about the judgment of the Lord because he wants you to understand that with them comes blessing. David says in Psalm 19, verse number 11, Moreover, by them your servant is warned. Warned about what? Life, death, prosperity, adversity. Blessing, cursing. And then David says, And in keeping them there is great reward. What a statement. He doesn't say, and in keeping them there's going to be a reward. And after all, we live in a society that is completely reward oriented. He says, in keeping them there is great reward.

This is where we left off last week. So, what's the great reward? So, two weeks ago I sat in my office and I asked myself, What is the great reward? In the space of three minutes, I wrote down 27 great rewards. And I'm going to give all of them to you. All of them. Why? Because they're great. And I want you to have a great reward. So, I'm going to begin today by telling you what the great reward is. In keeping them there is great reward. How great is the reward? If God says it's great, it's got to be pretty great.

So, I'm going to spell them out for you. And I'm just going to touch the tip of the iceberg by giving them to you. I'll leave the rest of your life to study what those great rewards are. But today let me begin by helping you understand the great reward in keeping the commands of God.

Number one is eternity. Eternity. Eternity with Christ himself. This is reward number one. This is the ultimate reward. Listen to what Jesus says in John 5, verse number 24.

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word. Remember, the necessity and the regularity by which you hear the word of God, the intensity and the responsibility you have to heed the word of God. Jesus says, truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and does not come into judgment but is passed out of death into life.

Jesus makes it very clear that to hear and believe my word gives you eternity. You pass out of judgment into life. No more death for you. Only life. Moses said to obey life, to disobey death. Jesus says, if you hear my words and you believe him who sent me, you will have eternal life.

Jesus also said in John chapter 6, these words, verse 63, it is the spirit who gives life, the flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. The words that I have spoken to you are your life. What kind of life does God give? He gives eternal life. What is the great reward? The great reward is eternity with Christ. That's the great reward. So, the rich young ruler comes to Jesus. He asks the question, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus says, you're going to have to sell all that you have.

The rich young ruler comes to Christ not because he has a fallen need, but because he has a felt need. Big difference. And so Christ explains to him what it means to be a Christian. And the disciples respond after hearing Jesus say, with man it's impossible, but with God all things are possible. It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And Peter pipes up and says, Lord, we have left everything to follow you. What is in this for us?

That's Matthew's account. In Mark's account, Jesus says this, Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or mother, or father, or children, or farms for my sake, or for the gospel's sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses, and brothers, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and farms, along with persecutions, and in the age to come, eternal life.

Christ says, listen, you have left all to follow me. What is the essence of you leaving everything for me? Eternity. With me. That's why in Luke's gospel, in the 10th chapter, and we're just scratching the surface with this one, he sends the 70 out, and the 70 come back after ministering for Christ, doing some miraculous things, they come back, and it says in verse 17 of Luke 10, the 70 returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name. This was a magnificent ministry.

They went out to serve the Lord, and they saw so many marvelous miracles, so many things that they would not even believe to understand had they not gone. They came back with great joy. He said to them, Oh, I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. This is Christ's words to the 70. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.

Don't be so preoccupied with your ministry on earth that you miss the blessing of eternity and the fact that your names have been written down in glory because as you go through life, you're going to have ups and downs in your ministry, ups and downs in your marriage, ups and downs in your workplace. Your life is filled with ups and downs, but the constant up is that your name is written down in glory and that you will spend eternity with me. That's what you rejoice in. That's the essence of your joy.

Oh, your joy in temporal things in your ministry on earth is going to fluctuate all the time, up and down, up and down, up and down, but what never fluctuates is the fact that your name has been written down in glory and you will spend eternity with me. Your security and glory is something that will never change. And yet, is it not true that when you speak about eternity, people just don't get that excited? Ever notice that?

Maybe that's you today. I don't know. Maybe you're saying, wow, that's my great reward? Yeah. Yeah, that's it. That's where it begins. Listen, on Resurrection Sunday we're going to gather together. I'm going to tell you I'm going to begin the sermon this way, okay? Everybody in the room has three things in common, okay? Everybody in this room has three things in common. I'm going to begin the sermon on Resurrection Sunday, so if you want to miss the introduction, you can, okay? Here it is. Three things.

One, you're all alive. You're breathing. You're sitting here, right? That's one thing we all have in common. I don't care where you came from, where you were born, who you are, what nationality you are. That's all irrelevant. You're all alive. You're all living. That's number one.

Number two, every one of you are going to die. That's number two. This is going to be on Resurrection Sunday, so if you've got a visitor, let them know. I'm going to tell them they're going to die. Okay? You're all alive. You're going to die. Here's number three.

You ready for this? Everybody in the room is not only alive and not only is going to die, but everybody in the room is going to be resurrected. Everybody. Believer and unbeliever alike. Everybody is going to be resurrected. I'm going to talk to you about that resurrected body on Resurrection Sunday. You see, eternity has been set in the heart of man. Ecclesiastes 3.11. Everybody knows about eternity, but what do we do? We squelch it down. We don't want to think about life after death. We want to think about life now.

We want to think about what makes me happy now. And Jesus makes it very clear. Don't get too excited about your ministry. I know you saw demons being subject to you. I know you have authority over scorpions and the enemy. I know that you have miraculous gifts. I know all that, but don't get too excited about that. You want to get excited? Get excited about this. That your names are written down in glory. That you're going to spend eternity with me. That's what gets you excited. Because that's the great reward.

Eternity. Ironically, those of us who pursue earthly comforts are the most uncomfortable people in the world. Richard Baxter, one of the great Puritans, said this. He says, The heavenly mind is a joyful mind. This is the nearest and truest way to live a life of comfort. And without this, you must needs be uncomfortable. Can a man be at fire and not be warm? Or in the sunshine and not have light? Can your heart be in heaven and not have comfort? On the other hand, what could make such frozen, uncomfortable Christians but living so far as they do from heaven?

Oh, Christian, get above. Believe it. That region is warmer than this region below. Unfamiliarity with heaven will always make a dull, boring, worldly, pathetic Christian. It just does. Because heaven is our destiny. Our citizenship is there. Our Father is there. Our rewards are there. Everything that matters is there. Eternity is everything. So, David says, By them, the judgments of God, your servant is warned. But in keeping them, there is great reward. Jesus says, He who believes in me and the words that I have spoken shall have eternal life.

Great reward number one? Eternity. I could spend forever talking about this. But we've got to move on. Okay? We've got 25 of them to cover. Alright? Number two.

Liberty. Liberty. Freedom. In keeping them, there is great reward. Listen to the words of Christ. If you're still in John's Gospel, John chapter 8, Christ says this.

Verse 31. So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed in him, If you continue in my word, then you are truly disciples of mine. And you will know the truth. And the truth will make you free. The truth will liberate your life. The truth gives liberty. It gives freedom. It gives freedom from the bondage that has enslaved us since the day of our conception in our mother's womb. Such freedom. That's why the Bible says in the book of Colossians, the first chapter, for he rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son.

There has been a deliverance. There has been a transference. We are sons of disobedience. We are children of wrath. We are sons of our father, the devil. Until we are born again by the spirit of the living God. Until we hear the word of God, we embrace the word of God. We obey the word of God. We understand that by grace through faith you are saved. We realize that faith cometh by hearing and hearing by a word about the Christ. That's why through the law of the Lord, the commandments of the Lord, the soul is restored.

It's converted. It's perfected through the truth of God's word. So we know that through James 1.18, 1 Peter 1.23, it's the word of God that gives life. And so what happens is that when we hear that word, we believe that word and we're born again, we are transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear son. We have been liberated. We are set free from the domain of darkness. No longer are we enslaved to sin. That's why Paul talks about 2 Timothy 2 that when we preach the gospel, God grants repentance to those who have been taken captive by Satan to do his will.

The unbeliever has been taken captive by Satan to do the will of Satan. When they hear the word of truth, okay, they are set free from that bondage. They are released from that bondage and they now become part of the kingdom of God. There's been a liberation. Paul says it this way, Book of Romans 6 chapter, therefore, verse 4, we have been buried with him through baptism into death so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father so we too might walk in newness of life for we have become united with him in the likeness of his death.

Certainly we shall also be in likeness of his resurrection knowing this that our old self was crucified with him in order that our body of sin might be done away with so that we would no longer be slaves to sin for he who has died is freed from sin. There's liberty. No longer am I a slave to sin. No longer am I a slave to Satan. This is the great reward. We have been set free from Satan's bondage. We are now slaves of righteousness. We are slaves of Christ. We are children of the living God and now we are set free to obey the truth of God's word.

This is the great reward. Yes, there is eternity but on top of eternity there is liberty. There is a freedom that we have in Christ to live and to serve and to honor and to glorify his name. We walk in newness of life. Why? Because we have a new heart according to Ezekiel. We have a new spirit according to Ezekiel. We are a new creation according to Paul in 2 Corinthians 5. We are a new creature according to Galatians chapter 6. We have a new, new man according to Ephesians chapter 4. Everything about us is new.

Why? Because we're set free. We're no longer a slave of Satan. No longer a slave of sin but we've been set free to honor Christ. Listen, in keeping the commandments and precepts and judgments and the fear of the Lord there is great reward. Number one, eternity.

Number two, liberty. Number three, identity. Identity. Listen to what John says in the book of Revelation the first chapter.

Revelation chapter 1 he says these words verse number 5. From Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, the ruler of the kings of the earth, to him who loves us and released us from our sins that's liberty, by his blood and he has made us to be a kingdom priests to his God and Father. We have become a kingdom of priests in God's heavenly realm. We have a whole new identity. That's why over in 1 Peter 1 Peter chapter 2 Peter says this way, verse number 9, he says we are a chosen race, a royal priesthood a holy nation, a people for God's own possession so that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous life for once we, for you once were not a people but now you are the people of God.

You had not received mercy but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers because that's who you are. Your identity makes you so foreign to anything on this earth. Peter says you're like an alien and a stranger in a foreign land. You are now a child of God. That's why the Bible says in 1 John 3 verse number 1, oh what manner of love is this that the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the children of God.

We are children of God. Our whole identity is changed. We are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything about us is new because we've been born again. We have heard the word of God. We have obeyed the truth of God. Therefore, we become the priceless possession of Christ Himself. Titus 2 14 says that we are His possession. We have a new identity not because of who we are but because of who owns us. Christ Jesus owns us. He purchased us with His blood. We are now His children. We have a whole new identity.

In keeping the commands of Scripture, there is great reward. Number one, eternity. Number two, liberty.

Number three, identity. And with all that, number four, tranquility. Tranquility. Romans 5 verse number 1. Having been justified by faith, okay, how is a man justified by faith? He has heard the word of God about the King who explains the truth because He is the way, the truth, and the life. We embrace that word. We are justified by Christ. We are now at peace with God. We are no longer the enemy of God. We're at peace with God. And because we're at peace with God, we can now be at peace with man.

Did you ever think the reason you're not at peace with man is because you're not at peace with God? You see, we now become peacemakers, not troublemakers, because we're at peace with God. That's why the Bible says over in Luke's Gospel, the second chapter, the Christmas story, when the angel and the heavenly host praised God, they said, Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace among men with whom He is pleased.

Who does peace come to? Psalm 147.11 tells us that the only people God is pleased with are those who fear His name. And the shepherds were one who feared the name of God. Mary was one who feared the name of God. Elizabeth was one. Zacharias was one. Simeon was another. Anna was another who lived in the fear of the Lord. So when Messiah comes, He brings peace. The God of peace. The tranquil heart. I will keep Him in perfect peace, whose mind is steadfast on me. If you're not in perfect peace, your mind is steadfast elsewhere.

Not in Christ. Christ said, I will keep Him in perfect peace, whose mind is steadfast on me. How do you do that? Psalm 119.165 says, Great peace have those who love your law. Not just peace, but great peace. If you don't have great peace, the solution is you don't love the law of God. Because God's word is true. God's word is steadfast. All who love the law of God have great peace. Great peace. Tranquility comes to those who love the law of God. Talking to Ray and Virginia Benson this past week over the last days of their daughter Brenda's life.

I've been talking with them this morning. They have great peace. Because they love the law of God. They have gone through, Virginia has her own personal bout of cancer. Then to watch her daughter suffer through cancer and then go home to be with the Lord. Great tragedy in their family. But never once do they complain. Never once do they bellyache or moan or groan over their situation or condition. But they remain steadfast. Their mind stayed on Christ. Thinking of things that are pure and true and holy and lovely.

As Philippians 4-8 says. Because if you do, you will inherit the peace of God. The great peace that stabilizes the soul. And this is where Ray and Virginia have been for the last years of their life. Because they're at peace with God, they can be at peace with one another and they can have peace when tragedy strikes. Because they love the law of God. This is a great reward because most people have no peace. They're at war. They're at war with their wife. They're at war with their husband. They're at war with their kids.

They're at war with their boss. They're at war with everybody they come in contact with. Really? Seriously? Great peace have those who love thy law. And then it says and nothing causes them to stumble. Nothing. If that's not a great reward, I don't know what else is. David says, the law of God, the judgments of God, the commandments of God, the precepts of God, the fear of the Lord, all these things, if embraced, warn you about the effects of disobedience. But in keeping them, there is great reward.

Eternity Liberty Identity Tranquility And we haven't even begun to scratch the surface on the great reward of the commandments of God. Let me pray with you.

Lord, this day we are grateful that we can gather together to worship you as our King. Our prayer is that we live in obedience to your word, serving only you, the Christ, for the glory of your name. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We have the opportunity to partake of the Lord's table today. The Lord's table is about eternity. The Lord's table is about liberty. The Lord's table is about identity and tranquility. The Lord's table is about God's redemptive plan. The Lord's table is about how God in eternity past had the perfect plan to redeem a bride for his son.

That that bride would spend eternity with the son worshipping and glorifying his name forever through the blood that was shed at Calvary's cross. And that blood that was shed would liberate the souls of those who have been in bondage to Satan all their lives, that they might be set free to worship that King. That they would become the bride of Christ, a whole new identity, the bride of the living God, and with that have the perfect peace that only God himself can give. We gather together to celebrate the Lord's table.

That we might understand that once in bondage, as Israel was in bondage, and they were set free by the power of God, by the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of their homes, so too we are set free by the blood of the lamb, Christ Jesus our Lord. And we celebrate that. We celebrate that. As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do proclaim the Lord's death till you come. Did you know that the early church celebrated the Lord's table every day? Every day. Because they thought the Lord was going to come right away.

So every time they celebrated the Lord's table, they didn't celebrate it in essence, because Jesus was going to come again, real soon. And so they celebrated all the time. Because they were so in to freedom, liberty. They were so in to their new identity. They were so enraptured with eternity, that they just could not let it go. So they gathered from house to house, daily, the breaking of bread, the fellowship, prayer, committed to the apostles doctrine, because this is what their life was. They knew what Moses said.

They knew what David said. They knew what Jesus said. And in keeping the word of God, there is life, and in disobedience, there is death. There is blessing with obedience. There is cursing with disobedience. There is adversity with disobedience. There is prosperity with obedience. They wanted to celebrate new life in Christ. Today, some 2,000 years later, we gather together and say, Boy, I hope he's going to be finished soon, so I can get to the beach. I can go to lunch. I can do whatever little ditty I'm going to do.

Somehow, we've lost perspective on the great reward that Christ gives us in obedience to his word. So on the first Sunday of the month, we gather together to partake of the Lord's table, so we can remember Jesus.

Remember me, he said. Remember me. Because he is everything. He is the way. He is the truth. He is the life. Without him, there is no living. Without him, there is no truth. Without him, we've lost our way. So we gather together to remember the Christ.