Sermon – “The Covenant Promise”

9 Hear, Israel: You are now about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities that have walls up to the sky. 2 The people are strong and tall—Anakites! You know about them and have heard it said: “Who can stand up against the Anakites?” 3 But be assured today that the Lord your God is the one who goes across ahead of you like a devouring fire. He will destroy them; he will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly, as the Lord has promised you. 4 After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, “The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.” No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is going to drive them out before you. 5 It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 6 Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people. 7 Remember this and never forget how you aroused the anger of the Lord your God in the wilderness. From the day you left Egypt until you arrived here, you have been rebellious against the Lord. 8 At Horeb you aroused the Lord’s wrath so that he was angry enough to destroy you. 9 When I went up on the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that the Lord had made with you, I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water. 10 The Lord gave me two stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God. On them were all the commandments the Lord proclaimed to you on the mountain out of the fire, on the day of the assembly. 11 At the end of the forty days and forty nights, the Lord gave me the two stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant. 12 Then the Lord told me, “Go down from here at once, because your people whom you brought out of Egypt have become corrupt. They have turned away quickly from what I commanded them and have made an idol for themselves.” 13 And the Lord said to me, “I have seen this people, and they are a stiff-necked people indeed! 14 Let me alone, so that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven. And I will make you into a nation stronger and more numerous than they.”

4 For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me. 5 I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me,

12 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.[a] 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”[b]

16 The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,”[i] meaning one person, who is Christ.

12 But God said to him, “Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring[b] will be reckoned. 13 I will make the son of the slave into a nation also, because he is your offspring.”

And Karen just. Eluded to looking out and seeing the tears and a lot of them tears mornings been mine. We might be in trouble as morning. You know. Sometimes you have some weeks or a week that’s just. You know the word says in this world you have trouble. But you know he’s always with us His grace is always with us you always see it through and you know I’ve had one of those weeks and not just the things at home just I’ll get to that but you know even at work has been a very trying week but guess what at the end of the week I still got to get up there and bring a message so I might be in trouble this morning. So let’s with that please let’s just begin with prayer. Heavenly father we do thank you and praise you that you are always with us I know that your spirit will guide us and directness and what I do know and believe your presence is here today Father we need your presence bother not just today on the Sabbath day but every day we need you Father we need your strength to get through the day we need your power in order to lift us up and we just sank you that you were always there father and I know that no matter what comes upon us you’re always with us you’re always faithful your word tells us you will never leave us never psychosis and we thank you for that we thank you for your love that you demonstrated towards us and that you allowed your son to come and die that we can have life by that that’s the hope that we have no matter what we face in this earth we know that we have that hope of eternal life with you and may that joy just fill us fill our hearts and our minds and while there may encourage us and may we always look to you May we always lean upon you and trust in you to know that you are there. And we thank you in Jesus’ name amen All right help me Lord the covenant promise. Whenever God makes a promise you can count on it. You know when it comes to man he says I’m going to promise I’ll do this for you you can’t always depend on it but when God says I will when God promises when God makes a covenant you can count on it it is true it will. Come to pass because God cannot lie he will not live. The covenant promise the heading and many Bibles now some don’t all have these but many Bibles that will pick out of certain passage in a budget will have a heading to describe what this passage is going to be about where the heading above the passage that we’re going to be reading from a dram this morning says Israel’s rebellions review. So it’s kind of like it’s a review Moses is saying I’m going to remind you of your Rebbe and I’m going to remind you of your wickedness I’m going to revive and remind you of all the mistakes you’ve made in the past and how many likes to hear about all the mistakes they made in the past. Hundred I’ve made up a bunch see I was going to say a few but I don’t want a lot of small stand up here. I’ve made a bunch but there we like to be reminded of him he would like how do you remember back when. We don’t like that doing. Well but Moses is going to remind Israel of all the mistakes but you know as long as we look at this with the right mindset. That he’s reminding us of how bad we are but how wonderful God is even with all the mistakes of Israel my friends even with all of my mistakes. God still loves me God still loves you he cares for each. And every one of you and he will forgive you of your mistakes no matter how great they are as long as we cry out to him so now get to the scripture Deuteronomy Chapter nine versus one through fourteen. Here or Israel your to cross over to the Jordan today and go into dispossessed nations greater greater and mightier than yourself cities great and fortified up to heaven a people great and tall the descendants of the a Nikken whom you know of whom you heard said who can stand before the descendants of a neck the descendants of a not my friends are the ones that were referred to as the Giants remember Goliath they believe the Goliath came from this the send in the people so they are great in mighty people so you wonder why when the spies came back prior to the wandered in the wilderness that they said we are like grasshoppers in their sight because these were giant people they were huge imagine going up against a nine foot or ten foot man and thinking you’re going to defeat them. So they were afraid. They were like giants says therefore understand today that the Lord your God is he who goes over before you as a consuming fire. Let that sink in for a moment see we might be as small as a grasshopper but my God will take care my God will provide my God will deliver a man. He will destroy them and bring them down before you so you shall drive them out and destroy them quickly as the Lord has said to you do not think in your heart after the Lord your God has cast them out before you say because of my righteousness the Lord has brought me in to possess this land but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out from before you. It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you go in to possess the land but because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord your God dries them out from before you and that he may fulfill the word which the Lord swore to your fathers to Abraham Isaac and Jacob therefore understand that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess it because of your righteousness for you are a stiff necked people. How many times in Moses have to tell them that you are a stiff necked people many times. Remember do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness from the day that you departed from the land of Egypt until the until you came to this place you have been rebuilt use against the Lord Nama tell you is not I’ll get back to it not just a few times that they were rebellious If I were going to stand up here and read all the times that Israel was rebellious against God we’d be here till the same afternoon or the same name because they were very rebellious against God it’s not just a few times from the time they left agent until the day they entered into the Promised Land they rebelled against God. They turned from him. Also going to verse eight in Horeb you provoke the Lord to wrath so that the Lord was angry enough with you to have this story do you when I went up into the mountain to receive the tablets of stone the tablets of the covenant with which the Lord made with you then I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights I neither ate bread nor drank water then the Lord delivered to me two tablets of stone written with the finger of God and on them were all the words which the Lord had spoken to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly and it came to pass at the end of the forty days and forty nights that the Lord gave me the. Two tablets of stone the tablets of the covenant then the Lord said to may arise go down quickly from here for you are people whom you brought out of Egypt have acted corruptibility they have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them they have made themselves a mode and image Furthermore the Lord spoke to me saying I have seen this people and indeed they are stiff necked people let me alone that I may destroy them and blot them out or blot out their name from under heaven and I will make of you a nation my dear in greater than they. How many of ever experience or witness a parent whenever a child did something wrong and I did and the one that comes in my memory is an uncle an aunt and uncle and it was a cousin of mine he had been Henri did something bad in the mom said that son of yours to just see what he did. That son of yours but now if he does something good it’s like it my boy great. And not the way it works yeah whenever your child misbehaves it’s like that son of yours you know this is I guess I’ll go there I was thinking of that all the old movie many won’t even remember smoking abandon and. You are mad Garry remembers the sheriff was Jackie Gleason and his son his son was a doofus and he was there you know I tried to party collective stupid so they’re looking for the Bandit and he’s standin up on the hood of the car looking over the bank and he’s like What do you see oh daddy it’s a ball game can we watch. And he said use their watch I’m going he says when I get home gonna slap your mom in the face he said you can’t be a Molloy means but that’s the way it is he was bad that you’re son that son of yours but you know I kind of when I read dad now thought of that something that’s what God saying to Moses here that people of yours that you brought out of Egypt that pay. Bill look what they have done they are your people. But they’re God’s chosen people so I can’t think God Second at the Moses that son of yours that daughter of yours. And I was a of forty five or forty five it says for Jacob my servants sake and Israel my lect I have even called you by your name I have named you though you have not known me I am the Lord and there is no other there is no God besides me I will gird you though you have not known Me Yes we laugh at that what I just share in it you know it’s like you are people but they are truly God’s people god named them it was them that have not known him. God will never leave us nor for sake of this he will always know who we are you know there are so many passages in the Bible that refer to Israel as God’s chosen people. The first point I want to make today that Israel is not God’s chosen people because they were worthy of being his chosen people they were not worthy. There were so many times that God had to discipline them and discipline them harshly because of their own faithfulness and it began at the foot of the mountain as it were referred to for forty days you know how many times we’ve we’ve seen and we’ve even did a forty day challenge you know would you be faithful to pray for forty days you’ll be faithful to read the word for forty days will be faithful forty days good God saying they could even be faithful to me for forty days. While you’re up on that mountain Moses for forty days they could not be faithful and they are they molded the golden calf because they thought Moses was lost the God that brought them out of age it went before them in a cloud by day and fire by night. And already they gave up they couldn’t last for forty days. So they were not worthy. God said to Moses just leave me alone with them that I might block them out that I might be stronger them. That’s how angry God was with them and you know as I read it and I’ve been pondering that all week in the midst of all the other stuff in my mind this week and I’m thinking you know there are so many times in the Bible were we know that God tests a man’s faith remember how God tested Moses I mean Abraham. Tested Abraham that child that he longed for for all those years and finally the promise came in and God says I want you to take him up or I’m sacrificing. And Abraham was faithful he had him or not altar and ready to killing God tested his faith God allowed job to be tested. Everything that he had was taken away but his life in his wife in it ended in a double attack his body God tested his faith. I wonder as I read this now this is just me I didn’t get this out of any commentary was God testing the love of Moses Moses love for the people I mean to say it was God testing how much he loved them. When he said get away and let me destroy the make of make of you a great nation. I have to wonder an ass now this is just me forgive me God one of Moses would have said God you’re right they are a bunch of stiff necked people destroy them a go ahead make a great nation of May God might have said get your pride self away from me. But God was say and do you love this people enough to go to fight go fight for them to stand up for them we know in the beginning we did Moses couldn’t live the life in Egypt in luxury in pleasure but he chose to go out and be among his people we know that he killed in the Gyptian because an Egyptian was abusing a an Israelite. So we know that he loved them. And this was the true test of his love. A true test of his love for his people. And I’m going to now share a little bit about my. Week. You know everyone knows I work at the railroad in my own and in the main is group and we’re a small group of about eleven people within that larger group of people and we’re a close knit group we take care of one another we work together we work hard together and with all the changes and all this stuff going on our manager our immediate manager is not there very often it’s like in the last three weeks we may have seen him three or four days at the most so when he’s gone being the senior employee in the mains a lot of times they come to me when we have an issue so a couple of weeks ago almost probably three weeks ago one of our fellow main US guys was driving a one of our mechanical golf course you drive around has a windshield and he made a U. turn any barely bumped into something and it broke the windshield so he comes to me what do I do I’m thinking well go down and see that our mechanic Manus see if they can order windshield for not just replace it because it’s a new buggy we don’t want to let it go so said all that to say this My boss of course our bosses out of town. Winchell gets order. I had no clue that this went for a material bug it was going to be almost thirteen hundred dollars yes that’s a shocker So anyway i’m thing in a car when they you know you can buy a two hundred hours but anyway so the boss comes back and he sees the buggy with the broken windshield. He’s upset he thinks we were trying to hide it from him we weren’t trying to hide anything yes there was some miscommunications there we didn’t call him let him know but anyway so it all. That to say this my boss took that employee out of service. I was. Yes Thank you Scott extremely upset so I’ve had a bad week. In the bosses the managers of their over the shop that run the shop they knew it and I have a pretty good relationship with these guys but when I’m mad enough when they’re coming to me I just walk away from and they know that I was upset so I had a lot of conversations up stairs this week with the management. So I happen I had a great week but I’ll say this said that to say this you know that’s one of my friends my hope my coworkers I went to fight for me. Most is what the fight for the nation of Israel that’s why I shared all that do you love your brother and sister enough to go to fight for me to stand up for the. Crowd to God for them. To have their backs. Of course we’ve used the term this week not to stab you in the back but the have your back so again it’s been a trying week but God will test our faith God will see what we’re made of we’re going to have weeks like that where there’s things that come against us but how do we come out at the other end do we trust God do we lean upon him do we seek his peace do we seek his comfort and that’s just not even adding the other stuff in the week which we know I’m going to try not to go there because I get emotional. This relates are called God’s elect. The word election itself is derived from the Greek word ecclesial Mia which means literally to choose something for oneself This in turn corresponds with the Hebrew word by a car the objects of the vine selection so the nation of Israel are the objects of God’s divine selection he selected them elected them at the root. The whole process of God electing the nation of Israel is the plan and purpose of salvation that’s the whole purpose of God choosing Israel was to bring salvation to his people and to the whole world Amen they are the people he chose to bring about his will upon the earth it all began with Abraham in Genesis twelve versus one through three now the Lord said to Abraham get out of your country from your family and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you I will make you a great nation these I will zur important I will bless you and make your name great and you shall be a blessing I will bless those who bless you and I will curse him who curses you and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed we better say amen to that because it’s through him that all the family all the nations of the earth or blessed every I will in this passage is a promise as I said in the beginning when God says I will bless you many times there is a you know if you keep my statutes I will bless you if you walk in my ways I will bless you but when God says I will bless you or I will watch over you I will be with you he will he will it is a promise it is a covenant promise if you will because God cannot lies I said God had a very direct path and plan and he did not leave it deviate from it when he called Abraham his plan was that Abraham and Sarah would have a child in her old age. And through his lineage his heritage would come the Messiah it was not Jewish male. The child of the bondwoman was only through Isaac in Genesis twenty one twelve and thirteen but God said to Abraham Do not let. Be displeasing in your sight because of the latter because of your bond your bondwoman whatever Sarah has said to you listen to her voice for an Isaac your seed shall be caught yet for in Isaac your seed shall be called yet I will also make a nation of the son of the BOM woman because he IS YOUR see. So he still was going to be blessed you know I had the children this morning in the Sabbath school but I was hearing out in the other class you were beginning in Matthew and I thought how funny the book of the genealogy of Jesus Matthew Chapter one The son of David the son of Abraham Abraham be got Isaac Isaac because Jacob Jacob got Judah Judah Big got Pres Presby got has run has run be got ram ram big ol Aminadab Aminadab we got now Sean not Sean B. got Salem so long some on how you say it it’s salmon they got bow as bow as big OTT Oh bed oh bed Big got Jessie and Jessie Big got David you know we re dad we think all that So one important it is important because it’s God fulfilling his covenant promise with Abraham that it would come through this line and only this line through the seed of Abraham Isaac and Jacob he did not deviate from a path that all these are wicked people that are going to go somewhere else God stuck with his plan and his purpose got in his mercy knew that Israel would rebel against him. But he knew that there would always be a remnant that would be faithful to Him God desires mercy God does not desire to destroy he does not desire judgment but he desires mercy and he was merciful to all those who remain faithful to Him we think of Saddam. We think of Abraham bartering with God God revealed to Abraham that he was going to destroy Saddam because they were just completely evil and. And God says they are Abraham says to God Father if there be fifty people in that city that are righteous would you spare the city Well yes I will well God this is me paraphrasing be patient with me but if there be forty would you spare the city Well yes because God is merciful. There were thirty there were twenty all way down to ten. But we all know the story there weren’t ten righteous and so on so destroyed the whole city but God is merciful when there’s around it he will be faithful to them He will bless them. Micah seven verses eight hundred twenty says who is a God like you pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage. He will pass over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage he does not retain his anger forever because he did lights and mercy. He will again have compassion on you on us and will subdue our iniquities he will cast all your sins into the depths of the sea. You will give truth to Jacob and mercy to Abraham which you have sworn to our fathers from days of old friends this is at the end of the Old Testament God has been faithful we know that God is always faithful he is upheld his end of the covenant relationship a coven it is a binding agreement between two parties and God always upheld his covenant promise that’s what this is about today God always uphold his covenant promise my friends if you catch that or sins are cast into the sea of forgetfulness. Caps into the depths of the sea it says you know the main essential word in Israel for Cavaleri for covenant is that bonding and. Raymond you remember not going to bring the scripture out but when God made a covenant with Abraham there was a shedding the blood the killing of the animal in a split in halves and in the passing between that was the covenant that was the covenant promise God promised Abraham that I will be with you I will bless you I will make you a great nation I will multiply you exceedingly God promise that if you are faithful to me I will cause your ground to bring forth the fruit of the land I will cause your livestock to increase and multiply I will bring up bless the fruits of your drawings Abraham bad many children if we are faithful to him to walk in His ways to follow His commandments He will bless us follow that covenant He is faithful he will bless us he says I will do you believe in the covenant promise of God I got a little story about William Penn is a the kids know who William Penn is. Hen. And so Wayne does that help William Penn was a founder of what they call the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania William Penn was well liked by the Indians you know not all Indians were savages. But he was well liked by them and once they told William that he could have as much of their land as he is Couldn’t compas on foot in a single day. So very early the next morning he got up started out and walked until late that night and when he found a train came to claim his land the Indians were greatly surprised for they really didn’t think that he would take them up on that offer. But they kept their promise they kept their promise they kept their covenant if you will and they gave him a large area of land which today is the city of Philadelphia. He simply. Believed what they said. He believed them my friend should we do one of us with God. See that’s the important question today Should we do any less with God I added a scripture that you’re not going to have on the screen. Romans ten. Verses eight through thirteen. Romans ten eight through thirteen but what does it say the word is near you in your mouth and in your heart that is the Word of Faith which we preach that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead you will be saved for with the heart one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made on to salvation for the scripture says Whoever believes on him will not be put to shame for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek for the same lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him forever calls in the name of the Lord shall be saved my friends I believe that God’s word is a promise I believe it with all my heart and I believe when his word tells me that if I call upon him by repent of my sins and call on him that I shall be saved I believe that just as we intend believe those Indians and when walked that ground my friends are you believing God’s covenant promises are you going to stand on it are you going to grab it and grasp it because he wants to give it to you he wants to bless you he wants to poor out his showers of blessings upon. Are you going to receive it that’s the question today receive what God has for you. William Penn could have just couldn’t laid in bed but he got up to receive that blessing. God wants a pour out his blessing on you today so open up your hearts and receive it amen.