January 7, 2014 - Tuesday

Start Time: 5:05 A.M.

End Time: 6:09 A.M.

Title: Exhortation to Keep the Covenant Principles

Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:1 – 25

God’s Message / God’s Promises / God’s Commands:

→ Moses now told the people the commandments, statutes, and ordinances that the Lord their God instructed him to teach them so that they may carry them out in the land where they are headed and that they may so revere the Lord their God that they will keep all His statutes and commandments that Moses is giving them – their children, and grandchildren – all their lives so prolong their days.  Moses said to pay attention and be careful to do this so that it may go wel with them and that they may increase greatly in number as the Lord, God of their ancestors, said to them, they will have a land flowing with milk and honey.

NOTES:

Ø God is a God who wants to take care of us!  He ensures provision and the welfare of His children.  Before Moses left His people, He made sure that Moses reminded the people of His law that they need to follow so that all may go well with them and that they will live long in the land He has given Him.  Praise God!  Despite of God’s just and wrath, He makes sure that when His appointed leader leaves, His people received the needed instructions for them to live life well in the Promised Land.  That’s how great our God is!  He always thinks of His people, of us and His love for us is greater than His anger!

Ø Moses as an appointed leader carried out God’s instructions and His purpose even to the last days of his life.  Let it be that we, as God appointed leaders, will do the same.

→ Moses declared to the Israelites to listen for the Lord is their God, the Lord is One!  They are to love the Lord their God with their whole mind, their whole being and all their strength.  The words Moses are commanding them on that day must be kept in mind and they must teach them to their children and speak of them as they sit in the house, as they walk along the road, as they lie down, and as they get up.  They should tie them as a reminder on their forearm and fasten them as symbols on their forehead.  To inscribe these words on the doorframes of their houses and gates.

NOTES:

Ø God is a God who wants to be loved by us!  He is One God with 3 persons and He wants His people to love Him wholeheartedly.  In the last days of Moses, God made sure that Moses reminds His people of this.  He wants to be loved by us! And despite of our stubbornness and rejections, He keeps loving us for He first loves us and He waits for us to turn back to Him and open our whole mind, being and strength into loving the God who has loved us from the beginning!  Oh how sweet is that?  Thank You Jesus!

Ø God knows that we are forgetful so He ensures that we remember by telling the people to teach of His love, goodness and grace to our children and grandchildren.  Not only that, He wants us to speak of Him always, as we sit in the house, walk along the road, lie down, get up.  He wants us to be consumed by the source of Life so we may live our lives fully and well.  How awesome our God is!  Even when He told the people to speak of Him and to inscribe His words on the doorframes of His people’s houses and gates, these actions benefits His people more than Him.  And this is our God!  Our God seeks for our wellbeing!  HE wants to take care of us every day!  What an amazing Love it is!

→ Moses continued saying that the Lord will bring them to the land He has promised their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – it is a land with large, fine cities that they did not build, houses filled with choice things they did not accumulate, hewn out cisterns that they did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves they did not plant for them to eat their fill so they must be careful not to forget the Lord who brought them out of Egypt, from the place of slavery.  They must revere the Lord their God, serve Him and take oaths using only His name.  They must not go after other gods for the Lord their God is present among them and is a jealous God and His anger will erupt against them and remove them from the land.  Moses warned the people not to put the Lord their God to the test as they did at Massah and to keep His commandments very carefully.  Moses said to do whatever is proper and good before the Lord so that it may go well with You and that You may enter and occupy the good land that He promised their ancestors and that they may drive out all their enemies just as the Lord has said.

NOTES:

Ø God is a God who gives us provisions that we do not deserve!  Speaks about Amazing Grace!  God is saying, I want to give You food You have not earned, I want to give You a house You have not built, I want to give You success You have not worked for.  This is our God’s heart’s desires; He wants to outpour His amazing grace and provision to us!  What a Great God we serve! 

Ø All these things He wants to do but we stop Him from doing so when we depart from His Grace and love and do things on our own

→ Moses said that when their children ask them later on about the Lord’s commandments, they are to say that they were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt but the Lord brought them out of Egypt in a powerful way and He brought signs and great devastating wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on his whole family before their very eyes.  God delivered them from there so that He could give us the land He had promised their ancestors.  The Lord commanded them to obey all the statutes and revere Him so that it may always go well for them and He may preserve them, as He has to this very day.  They will be innocent if they carefully keep all God’s commandments before Him.

NOTES:

Ø God delights in our testimonies!  God ensures that His people will live to speak His works, wonders, goodness and love to the younger generation so that His glory will continue and be passed on to generations .  God wants to live in thanksgiving and He wants us to not only live of His goodness towards us but to speak of it to others!

Ø Our testimonies break boundaries, release the bondage, remove shackles, etc.  We need to use it so God’s glory will continue on and will be passed on to generations.

Application / Realization:

Ø God wants to take care of us.  Even in the earliest times in the Bible, you can see that God is always in the business of taking care of us.  Even from the earliest times in the Bible, from the beginning of the creation until the end to revelation.  His hands were, are, and will always be working to take care of us!  What an Amazing God! 

Ø God wants to be loved by us.  Even if we don’t, He still keeps on loving us but His heart longs to be loved by you and me.  His grace and love is so wonderful even if we are so distant from Him, He remains faithful and true to His identity.  Just think of how much grace and love You can experience when You open Your hearts, mind, whole being and soul into loving Him too.  It will be outrageous (sorry for the lack of word) but you will definitely experienced His love multiplied many times from the love You are experiencing right now.  So why limit Yourself with His love?  Dive in and open yourself into loving Him and enjoy the overflowing, overwhelming, outpouring and outrageous love, grace, and favor God has in store for you.

Ø God wants to give us what we do not deserve!  The Amazing Grace of God once again, clearly revealed in this passage!  He wants to give us good and perfect gifts that we have not earned or that we did not work for.  He wants to give us the best things in life without a sweat from us.  He is a Super-duper-Over Gracious Provider!  Hallelujah!

Ø God wants to hear our testimonies and thanksgiving!  God longs to hear us speak of His goodness, His love, His power, His provision, so do not allow the devil to shut our mouths!  But instead, let us praise the Lord every day with our lips!  Let us not allow the rock to outpraise us in giving glory to our King!

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, Great and Awesome Lord!  Gracious Father and Provider of all things!  My heart is filled with thanksgiving and love for the kind of God You are!  I am blessed to have a God who wants to take care of me, let alone who longs to be loved by me!  I am so overwhelmed with emotions to know that my God wants to give me good and perfect gifts that I do not deserve!  My mouth will ever Praise You Lord!  Holy Spirit, I am moved and touched by Your Being!  By how outrageous Your love is for us.  Let me see Your outrageous love every day and may I be not only a recipient but a channel of Your outpouring love to others.  Thank You Lord, Thank You Jesus!  Give me the chance to share Your love and experience it in my life unconditionally and consistently every minute or second of the day!  In Jesus’ Name, Amen!

NOTES:

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