Saturday 25 July 2015

Deuteronomy 11: Standing on the Promises of God by Song Ting Kee dated 19.7.15

Based on Deuteronomy chapter 11 “Love and obey the Lord”.  Bro. Song started by explaining the meaning of Deuteronomy.  He said the following:
Meaning of Deuteronomy
Repetition of the Law
The Jews called Deuteronomy as these are the words or this Book of the Law
The Bahasa translation of Deuteronomy is “ulangan” repetition
According to a commentary on the Holy Bible Deuteronomy was written at the close of the wandering in the wilderness and the crossing of the Jordan.
Moses and Deuteronomy
Moses reviewed the events and experiences of the past 40 years and gave repeated exhortations to gratitude, obedience, and loyalty to Jehovah.
The Jews selected Deu 6:4-9 for daily recitation as their creed, finding in these words the highest expression of the unity and spirituality of God and of the whole duty of man to his maker, preserver and redeemer.
Moses plead with the Israelites to obey God:
1.      Be grateful to God because God had brought them out of Egypt.
2.      Be obedient to God because obedience is better than sacrifice said the Lord
3.      Loyalty to Jehovah, the One and True God, Creator of heavens and earth.
Jesus quoted the most from Deuteronomy.  He quoted about ten times from Deuteronomy.
Some examples:
1.      Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3 …..man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
2.      When Jesus was tempted by the Satan at the high place, He quoted Deu 6:16…Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah
3.      Fearing the Lord, He quoted Deu 6:13.. Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.
Promises of God
God promised the Israelites that He will bring them to the Promised Land, but not after the death of the older generations who were led out of Egypt had died in the desert.  The new generations were to enter this Promised Land.  This Promised Land was different from Egypt, it was literally a land “flowing with milk and honey”.
Meantime, Bro. Song shared a story from the prison that he and others are ministering to.  He said listening to the Words of God is important.  He shared that once, he and his colleagues wanted to share the Words with the prisoners, but inmates of other faiths including from the majority faith. He asked permission from the Prison Director, and to his surprise he agreed to let the others listen to the Words of God preached there.
At another time, a young prisoner believer was sharing about the miracles that he experienced everyday but those non believers questioned him whether he had experienced miracles that were mentioned in the Bible.  This young man asked them, why don’t you try just stop breathing for a few minutes and see what happen to you!  Our very breath is from God!  Indeed, those who obeyed and follow God’s command will witness miracles daily.
Mt. Gerazim and Mt. Ebal
Mt. Gerazim is where blessings were uttered, and Mt. Ebal was where curses were uttered.
Blessings are like fertile land, bountiful harvest, divine prosperity.
Curses are idolatry, not obeying parents, sexual immorality.

The message is to stand on the promises of God.  We are to be grateful to God, obey Him and be loyal to Him.

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