I've never attended an Anglican Church, so obviously this was the first time I have ever preached in an Anglican Church.. This was also the first time my text was taken from the lectionary. We usually have three scripture readings appointed each Sunday. Our Old Testament reading for that day was Deuteronomy 4:1-14 and I chose that for my text. Since we are currently not recording the messages I will offer my notes (the light version!).
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Take heed to thyself, lest thou forget
Deuteronomy 4:1-14
This is a great chapter! Moses is preparing them for a renewal of the covenant . . .
1-14 Hearken and take heed lest thou forget
15-24 Take heed you make no images of God v 24
25-40 When you stumble 29-31 ... Conclusion 39-40
41-49 Cities of Refuge
We will concentrate on 1-14. We will look first at what the passage meant to Israel and then ask if it says anything to us.
1 Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do [them], that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you.
hearken – big word in the Old Testament. “Listen, pay attention, obey”
Similar to when we say to our children, “Listen to me!”
statutes — The laws which concern the worship and service of God.
judgments — The laws concerning your duties to men.
So these two comprehend both tables, and the whole law of God.
Hearken to the statutes and judgments and do them.
2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish [ought] from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.
Don’t add to the Word. Don’t remove anything from it. Just do it.
He is talking about the written Word. Then he suddenly changes direction.
3 Your eyes have seen what the LORD did because of Baalpeor: for all the men that followed Baalpeor, the LORD thy God hath destroyed them from among you.
4 But ye that did cleave unto the LORD your God [are] alive every one of you this day.
Now he appeals to their experience. Balak, Balaam, Phineas ...
5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.
6 Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
7 For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for?
8 And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?
He returns to the authority of the written Word. “Keep and do them; for this is your wisdom.” (6)
7 For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for? AMEN!
9 Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;
Now the other half of his charge. This verse is powerful:
- this passage we are looking at begins with an imperative, hearken, and here we find, Take heed to thyself, keep thy soul diligently
- lest thou forget what thine eyes have seen: their experience
- thou
Ah, the KJV, with its thee and thou and ye and you! What’s up with this? Is it some kind of archaic ‘holy speak’? No. It is actually very helpful. It is the way older English differentiated between 2nd person singular (thou) and 2nd person plural (ye). In the first 8 verses he has been addressing Israel as a people, and in v 9 he speaks to the individual. It is neat to follow this in the chapter:
Hearken to the written Word and don’t forget your experiences with God.
Now, this is the Old Testament, the Law, does it have anything to say to us today? As Paul said, Much in every way!
1st HEARKEN TO THE WRITTEN WORD
Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture
Listen to it, Pay attention to it. Be intent on doing it. How blessed we are! We have it read every Sunday. We have it preached. Don’t forget what you’ve heard. Don’t forget what you’ve been taught.
Don’t add to it or diminish it. Real problem today – diminishing it, taking away from it as in, "This is no longer part of the Word"; "This no longer applies to us"; "We have a new way to explain this".
Don’t forget the faith we declare every Sunday (Nicene Creed)
2nd DON’T FORGET YOUR SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES
Is it even biblical to put such stress on experience? Yes.
Philippians 4:9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.
Take prayer. The Bible has a lot to say about prayer. A lot! But what is the best way to learn to pray? With others in a prayer meeting.
Now, let’s consider some specific examples of this.
Romans 5:5 the love of God shed abroad in our hearts
1 Corinthians 11:20-22 Lord’s Supper – not all experience is good; theirs was wrong and they needed to repent so they could experience the truth (see also James 4:1-3)
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 And such were some of you
We are the fellowship of the used to be. We all have a story of how we came to Christ. Have you come to Christ?
We had a song we used to sing:
Once I was a sinner
But Jesus set me free (3x)
Singing glory, hallelujah
Jesus set me free
And I'm gonna sing, sing, sing
And I'm gonna shout, shout, shout
I'm gonna sing, I'm gonna shout
"Praise the Lord!"
When those gates are open wide
I'm gonna sit at Jesus' side
I'm gonna sing, I'm gonna shout
"Praise the Lord!"
1 Corinthians 14:26 Have you received a spiritual gift? Exercised a gift? No? Ask God for them.
Galatians 3:2 Received ye the Spirit . . . Have you been baptized with the Spirit?
Galatians 3:5 worketh miracles among you – at the very least, answers to prayer
Amen! We are people of the Book, but we are not simply people of the letter: Say the right thing, pronounce it correctly, give the right answer to each question. No. We have a relationship with the resurrected and living Jesus! John Wesley expressed it well:
What Christianity promised is accomplished in my soul.
This is experience. We can demonstrate the truth of the faith from the Word and from the history of the church, but the easiest and most powerful is when we experience it. As Wesley said:
How plain and simple is this -- 'One thing I know; I was blind, but now I see'!
So, Hearken to the Word and don’t forget what thine eyes have seen. And once again in the words of John Wesley, let thy testimony be
What the Scripture promises, I enjoy.
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