Yesterday, Today, and Forever
Deuteronomy: Changing Times and Our Unchanging God • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 46:23
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God does not Change!
God does not Change!
This weeks sermon is the other side of the coin from last weeks sermon. Both sermons begin with the idea expressed in verse 1.
1 “Hear, O Israel: you are to cross over the Jordan today, to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than you, cities great and fortified up to heaven,
The people are about to walk either by faith to success or in self-righteousness to their doom. Chapter 9 begins with a focus on God’s judgement of the wicked. He wants the people to know for sure that it was not because they were great or righteous that they would conquer the promise land. No, instead He makes it clear that it is done by Him and it is done as an act of Judgement against the wicked nations that live in that land.
Today’s sermon will focus on the rest of the chapter which reminds us that God is the one who gets the credit for Israel’s victories. The only thing the Israelites can take credit for is our stubbornness and rebellion.
This reality is mirrored in our own lives and even in our salvation. Throughout time, man has changed, rebelled, and given in to pride while God has remained steadfast and unchanging in His Promises.
19 God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
and later in the New Testament
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
As we move through our sermon today we will see that the unchanging nature of God’s character is something we must rely on with hope and assurance.
Pray.
Read.
6 “Know, therefore, that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people.
7 Remember and do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day you came out of the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the Lord.
8 Even at Horeb you provoked the Lord to wrath, and the Lord was so angry with you that he was ready to destroy you.
9 When I went up the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that the Lord made with you, I remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water.
10 And the Lord gave me the two tablets of stone written with the finger of God, and on them were all the words that the Lord had spoken with you on the mountain out of the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly.
11 And at the end of forty days and forty nights the Lord gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant.
12 Then the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, go down quickly from here, for your people whom you have brought from Egypt have acted corruptly. They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them; they have made themselves a metal image.’
13 “Furthermore, the Lord said to me, ‘I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stubborn people.
14 Let me alone, that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven. And I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.’
15 So I turned and came down from the mountain, and the mountain was burning with fire. And the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands.
16 And I looked, and behold, you had sinned against the Lord your God. You had made yourselves a golden calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the Lord had commanded you.
17 So I took hold of the two tablets and threw them out of my two hands and broke them before your eyes.
18 Then I lay prostrate before the Lord as before, forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all the sin that you had committed, in doing what was evil in the sight of the Lord to provoke him to anger.
19 For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure that the Lord bore against you, so that he was ready to destroy you. But the Lord listened to me that time also.
20 And the Lord was so angry with Aaron that he was ready to destroy him. And I prayed for Aaron also at the same time.
21 Then I took the sinful thing, the calf that you had made, and burned it with fire and crushed it, grinding it very small, until it was as fine as dust. And I threw the dust of it into the brook that ran down from the mountain.
22 “At Taberah also, and at Massah and at Kibroth-hattaavah you provoked the Lord to wrath.
23 And when the Lord sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, ‘Go up and take possession of the land that I have given you,’ then you rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God and did not believe him or obey his voice.
24 You have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you.
25 “So I lay prostrate before the Lord for these forty days and forty nights, because the Lord had said he would destroy you.
26 And I prayed to the Lord, ‘O Lord God, do not destroy your people and your heritage, whom you have redeemed through your greatness, whom you have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand.
27 Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Do not regard the stubbornness of this people, or their wickedness or their sin,
28 lest the land from which you brought us say, “Because the Lord was not able to bring them into the land that he promised them, and because he hated them, he has brought them out to put them to death in the wilderness.”
29 For they are your people and your heritage, whom you brought out by your great power and by your outstretched arm.’
The People are Stubborn and Rebellious
The People are Stubborn and Rebellious
6 “Know, therefore, that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people.
7 Remember and do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day you came out of the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the Lord.
13 “Furthermore, the Lord said to me, ‘I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stubborn people.
22 “At Taberah also, and at Massah and at Kibroth-hattaavah you provoked the Lord to wrath.
23 And when the Lord sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, ‘Go up and take possession of the land that I have given you,’ then you rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God and did not believe him or obey his voice.
24 You have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you.
What was the disobedience of the people in the wilderness?
What was the disobedience of the people in the wilderness?
Grumbling and Complaining
Doubting God
Rebelling against God’s word
Demanding things that they didn’t need
They made their own god
How similar are these sins to ones we commit?
So first we see that the people will be tempted in their pride to take credit for driving out the nations so Moses prepares them by reminding them just how little they contributed. He then reminds them of the wrath that their sin kindles and how badly they needed someone to stand in the gap as an intercessor.
The People Needed an Intercessor
The People Needed an Intercessor
After the Golden Calf
After the Golden Calf
18 Then I lay prostrate before the Lord as before, forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all the sin that you had committed, in doing what was evil in the sight of the Lord to provoke him to anger.
19 For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure that the Lord bore against you, so that he was ready to destroy you. But the Lord listened to me that time also.
After Kadesh Barnea
After Kadesh Barnea
25 “So I lay prostrate before the Lord for these forty days and forty nights, because the Lord had said he would destroy you.
26 And I prayed to the Lord, ‘O Lord God, do not destroy your people and your heritage, whom you have redeemed through your greatness, whom you have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand.
So each time the Lord was going to wipe the Israelites out because of their stubborn rebellion and wickedness, Moses stopped and prayed. During my study I arrogantly put myself in the place of Moses. Who do I intercede for? That was my question. In my own pride, I was blind to the fact that I wasn’t Moses in this picture, I was Aaron.
20 And the Lord was so angry with Aaron that he was ready to destroy him. And I prayed for Aaron also at the same time.
Moses stood in the gap for the people. He prayed for the people and did all that He knew to do to save them from the wrath of God the was righteously aimed at them because of their sin.
Remember why this is such egregious sin.
In regards to the Golden calf, God had spoken to them directly a mere 40 days prior. When He did, He issued the commandments to them. How could they have so quickly forgotten.
In regards to the failure to go into the land, God had shown His power when he overthrew Egypt. These people had seen all of the miracles, they had seen the destruction of Pharaoh's army. They had plundered the Egyptians without drawing a sword. Instead of trusting God, they gave into fear.
God is faithful to His Word.
God is faithful to His Word.
27 Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Do not regard the stubbornness of this people, or their wickedness or their sin,
28 lest the land from which you brought us say, “Because the Lord was not able to bring them into the land that he promised them, and because he hated them, he has brought them out to put them to death in the wilderness.”
29 For they are your people and your heritage, whom you brought out by your great power and by your outstretched arm.’
When Moses points to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob he is pointing to the covenant that God made with them.
It is not our good works that save us, it is God’s Covenant that saves us because he does not change.
It is not our good works that save us, it is God’s Covenant that saves us because he does not change.
6 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.
13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.
The Same Sin and the Same Unchanging God.
The Same Sin and the Same Unchanging God.
We are Stubborn and Rebellious
We are Stubborn and Rebellious
14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin.
15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.
16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good.
17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.
19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.
20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.
22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being,
23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
Identifying the struggle does not free us from responsibility. Although we know that we do not take credit for any righteousness produced in us, we are called to action.
We are called to walk in dependent cooperation with the Holy Spirit.
We are called to walk in dependent cooperation with the Holy Spirit.
1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
We are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.
We are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,
13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing,
15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
We don’t just sit back and coast.
Yes, we have the grace of God!
Yes, we have salvation by faith in Christ Jesus.
Yes, we are sealed by the Spirit for the day of salvation.
But we don’t coast!
We are called to live for His Kingdom!
We are called to bear witness!
We are called to live holy lives.
We are called to preach the Gospel!
And we are filled with His Spirit to do it all.
If you are a person who is sitting back resting taking God’s grace for granted . . . If you feel no stirring in your heart to see God change your life and in the lives of those around you . . . If you do not long to see the lost saved . . .
You are acting just like the people of Israel, they had seen it all and yet all they wanted was to control God to get an easy life for themselves. Many of those who thought they were secure as part of God’s people fell in the desert. There are many who sit in churches today who have a false assurance of their own self-righteousness and need to repent before it is too late.
Jesus is our intercessor.
Jesus is our intercessor.
34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
God is Faithful to His Covenant with Us.
God is Faithful to His Covenant with Us.
15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.
In the end, what we really need, is the unchanging promises of God!
In the end, what we really need, is the unchanging promises of God!
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.