Deuteronomy 4:1-49, Luke 6:39-7:10, Psalms 68:1-18, Proverbs 11:28
Today is the 25th day of March welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is wonderful to be here with you today as we continue to sail through this week, sail through this month, and sail through this year and sail through the Bible. And, so, let’s dive in. In the Old Testament we…we’re getting ourselves moved into the book of Deuteronomy. We’ve had a couple of days in Deuteronomy, we’re kinda familiar with what’s going on now. Deuteronomy is the last things that Moses has to say to the children of Israel. And, so, there’s plenty of reminders in there, plenty of things that we may kinda be like, “haven’t I heard that before?” And yes, you probably have. This is what Moses has to say to remind the people because he is about to recede, and Joshua is about to take over and Moses will disappear from history. He is about to die. And as I’ve said, we’ve been with Moses for quite a while now. He’s been a very major figure in the story. And, so, it does us good to honor the book of Deuteronomy, to honor his last words as if we were among the children of Israel and putting ourselves in their story. And, so, let’s pick it up. Deuteronomy chapter 4 today.
Commentary:
Okay. So, in the book of Deuteronomy as we said…well…I mean I guess this our fourth…is this our fourth day in Deuteronomy? I think it is as. As we’ve said every day since we’ve been in Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy is these three speeches or talks or discourses, like the final important things that he has to say to the entire congregation of…of Israel as he prepares…as he prepares to die, as Joshua prepares to take over and take the people cross the Jordan River. So, we concluded the first of those talks today and we may have noticed that because we got to the end of that talk and then we began this sort of introduction, like where we’re going next, the next things that Moses is going to say. And in this first talk Moses reminds the people of their covenant with God and that there is no other God that they are in covenant with because there is no other God. And if they are to attempt to chase after other gods that going to destroy themselves because they are in covenant. They are under authority. They belong to God. They are His people. And this will be evidenced by their obedience to what they have been told, the way that they are to set up their culture as they go forward. But if they choose not to listen, not to obey, not to heed then things are not going to go so well. And we’ll get a front row seat of watching that struggle as we continue our journey through the Scriptures.
But it’s kind of stark similarity when we turn into the New Testament and we hear Jesus saying, “why do you call me the Lord and not do what I tell you?” And if we had to think both of what Moses is trying to instill in the people of Israel and look at what Jesus is saying to His hearers, what are they cautioning against? Generally, they’re cautioning against our propensity to put ourselves on the throne, that we are the sovereign, and that we will worship whoever, however, whenever, wherever we like, which is in stark contrast…contrast to being utterly and hopelessly dependent. One of the greatest battles in the human heart is who sits on the throne, right? Because the whole system is set up that if you can be sitting on throne then you are in control and you are in charge of your own destiny, you make of it what you will when the way of the kingdom is there is a sovereign God and that is something you are not. You are not the creator. You are the created. So, you can try to build your own small kingdom, be your own small God but that will lead to your destruction or you can just simply live as you were intended to be free, free, free from the entanglements of culture, free from having to try to measure up, free from trying to pretend you’re something you’re not, free to not have a closet full of masks that you have to put on every time you go in to public depending on what you’re going to do, free to be utterly and completely and hopelessly dependent among God who will care for you, who knows what you need before you ask, free to let go of expectations, free to simply be here. So, we’ll watch all this play out as we continue to move forward. But there are so many junctures along the way in the Scriptures where the mirror comes up and we have to look at ourselves and we kind of have to look at where we’re going. like where the road that we currently are on is headed and is it headed toward life, will it get us there? And if we think we can be our own sovereign and just keep dodging we’re gonna eventually hit a brick wall or fall into a pothole. We have a choice. And the way of the kingdom is a choice to surrender and come under the protection of the mighty hand of God.
Prayer:
Father, we see this, we see this in Old and New Testaments, so we see this spanning thousands of years from each other and now we are thousands of years from the New Testament, the beginning of the New Testament era. And, so, we’re talking about thousands of years these things have been true and we’re still…we’re still struggling because it is so counterintuitive to the way that the world system is built up and made to work. And You invited us to be aware that we’re here, we’re in it, but we’re not of it and there are other ways to be on this earth. Give us eyes to see we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.
Announcements:
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And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Community Prayer and Praise:
I want to pray for Steve from Maryland. And you explained that you’re a widow and you’re… you’ve adopted five children and there are quite a few struggles going on right now. So, let’s pray. Heavenly Father I pray for Your strength I pray for Your blessing upon Steve. I thank You God for the work that he and his wife started together, and he finds himself in a lonely and falling apart place. And I pray Lord that…that You would just comfort him and help meet his needs. Help him to grieve and get the support he needs to grieve the loss of his wife and help each of those children Lord to know that their loved. I pray that You’ll bring supportive people from the church into their lives to work to walk right next to them and to show them the love that they need God. Fill the void and fill the place where mom was and now is not and…and help the church to just wrap loving arms around them and love them well. Help each one to get their needs met in You and…and give him strength for the journey Lord. None of us can do this alone but we can rely on You and we can take one step at a time and so I just pray that over my brother, and I pray for success and love and each one to continue in Your loving arms in Jesus’ name I pray.
This is Timberly calling for Steve the adopter…the adoptive father whose wife passed five years ago. Steve I just wanted to let you know that I come alongside you as fellow adoptive parents. We have two daughters that we adopted from the foster care system and I just want to let you know that I’m sure that on many levels we can connect on the unique challenges that present themselves through adoption and especially adopting children who have been through trauma or the foster care system or both. So, I just wanted to lift you up in prayer Steve along with your children. Father God, Lord, I pray for Steve and his children. Father God I pray that You give Steve strength or help him understand the strength that he has through You Father to be able to make wise decisions for himself and his children Father God. I pray a hedge of protection around this entire family Father God, that the forces of evil would not come against them Father Jesus, that You would protect them, Father that Your presence would be palpable, that Your presence would be unmistakable in their lives Father God. Please help them through this journey that they’re on Father God we know that You will organize their paths and we pray…we pray Father for them to understand how fully loved and fully accepted and fully known by You that they are Father God. I lift them up today to You Father and I pray that today is the day that they can see Your Salvation and they can feel Your love and that Steve would be encouraged Father God. Please give him some give him some…help him know Father…help him know Father the good things that he’s done, help him see the fruits of his labor today Father in Your precious son’s name I pray.
Hey Daily Audio Bible family this is John calling from Bethlehem PA it’s the 22nd of March the 81st day of the year and spring is in the air. Brian thank you so much for this program and for the opportunity to dive into God’s word every day. I wanted to give a shout out and say hi to friends here in the Lehigh Valley area in Pennsylvania that have decided to take the journey for the year this year through the Bible and you all know who you are. And I love you and I hope that you’re just hanging in there and taking it day by day and step by step and that…that God’s word is washing over you and having an impact on your lives as it’s had on mine in so many almost indescribable ways. My call this morning is to pray for Steve from Maryland. Steve, I heard your prayer request come in on the community prayer and praise on the 22nd, it aired on the 22nd and you called in asking for prayer for you and your family because you’re going through a lot of struggles right now. You mentioned that you’ve got five adopted children, that you lost your wife five years ago, and you’re struggling right now through with your son with home schooling and just home life with the pandemic and also over that loss of your…of your wife and his mom and then, you know, also with a daughter that’s got herself in a legal jam and a daughter who’s going to be having a baby. You’ve got a lot going Steve. Jesus, thank You so much Father for Steve thank You for what he’s doing in raising this family Lord God. Give him strength. Help him to endure Father God, to stay close to You. Help him to be prayerful, to remain calm and cool and collected. There’s nothing too hard for You Jesus and this isn’t a surprise to You. In Your name I pray. Amen.
Hey DAB family this is Gods Tree but I have many branches but I am yet rooted in the Lord. I’m calling because on behalf of two prayer requests this is March 22nd. This is for Paul in Ohio. Paul you blessed my spirit because you said you’ve been praying for several things and it hasn’t come to fruition yet and you’ve been a faithful man before God praying and, you know, in a routine of giving God what you had and God spoke to you and said, you know, I can do something for you but you need to do something a little different so now you’re setting out to do something different and that spoke to my spirit because I once heard a message said that you have to do something different in order to get something that you never had. And, so, you’ve put that little fire under me to do the same thing because there’s some things I’m believing God for as well. So, I’m going to be doing some things a little different too so that I can see God move. God wants us to work our faith and that’s what I’m going to do. And also I want to honor a prayer request. Tomica, I didn’t get where she was from but I’m praying for the healing in your shoulder and your workman’s compensation go through, but more importantly I’m not only praying for just blessings for your children but I’m praying blessings for yourself because you deserve it. And, you know, you said there’s so many obstacles that’s keeping you from getting the housing that you need. But know this, sometimes the enemy puts obstacles in the way just so he can keep you from seeing the blessings that are on the way. So, don’t give up. Keep praying and keep trusting God. Housing is going to open up for you and it’s going to be a better than what you ever imagine, and your children are going to be blessed more because you’re highly favored and loved by the Lord. And again, I want to thank you all for this ministry and continue to bless for you as I…
[singing starts] why should I feel discouraged? Why should thy shadows come? Why should my heart be heart be lonely and long for heaven and home? When Jesus is my portion my constant friend is Him. His life is on the __ and I know he watched me. His eye is on the __ and I know He watches me. I sing because I’m happy. I sing because I’m free. For His I is on the __ and I know He watches me [singing stops]. And brothers and sisters in Christ just know that the Lord…