DEUTERONOMY 8: A REHEARSAL ON HOLINESS, A CALL TO FAITHFULNESS

 Contributing commentaries by pastors Sonny Islas, Albert Lopez, and James Fire

DEUTERONOMY 8: “GOD HUMBLES US FOR OUR OWN GOOD” by Sonny Islas, check out the complete teaching here!

INTRODUCTION: We are now in Deuteronomy chapter 8. In this chapter we will find the word “humble” 3 times (in verses 2 ,3 and 16). God is always working on making us humble - He’s in the business of making us humble. Because in our fallen nature, we are naturally prideful and self-sufficient, self-dependent, and self-satisfied. Our sinful nature says, “Alright devil! Give me that forbidden fruit, I’ll be god instead!” Like our first mother.

And one of the main reasons God brought Israel to the wilderness for 40 years and allowed them to experience need and hardship, was to show them that God Himself is man’s greatest need. And that God alone is Sovereign and therefore consequently our faithful provider – He is ultimately the only true provider as He is the maker and source of all things. And that man doesn’t live another day, unless God says so – unless God makes manna come down from heaven and makes water burst from a rock – Israel doesn’t see another day or two or so.

Humility is the crown virtue (character and quality of a Christian). In all your getting, get humility – Christlike humility. Because as you know, Pride cast Satan out of heaven (Luke 10:18) while humility exalted Jesus to the heights of heaven (Phil. 2:5-11). Jesus places humility at the top in regard to Kingdom character and Kingdom status. i.e. in Matthew 18:4 Jesus says, “Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” The more humble you become, the greater in the sight of God, you become!

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WALKING The COVENANT WAY: PART 5 of 8: the MOSAIC Covenant

~ by James Fire

The next examination of the b’rith of GOD, the LORD YHWH is the covenant He made with Israel through the Law; unlike most the covenants treated thus far, this one (like the Edenic) is conditional, and specific and exclusive to the nation of Israel and no other (Gentile) nation. Or the church for that matter.

As the suzerain of Israel, the LORD GOD had pronounced His blessings upon the nation, sworn to prosper them, protect them, provide for them and to perpetuate them; in exchange, as His vassal, Israel was to serve the LORD with wholehearted devotion that would reflect YHWH’s own, being obedient in all things.

Depending on their faithfulness, willing in their obedience to the LORD, there would be blessing, but if they rebelled, GOD had warned that a long list of curses would pursue them. This is what makes this covenant conditional.

But you might ask, didn’t GOD already promise to bless them unconditionally under the Abrahamic covenant?

Yes! However, those unconditional promises are reserved for fulfillment during the restored kingdom of Israel, under the rule of the Messiah.
Under the Mosaic covenant, Israel was to be a proper representative of a nation that serves the LORD and is blessed for it – they were intended to be a kind of role model for other nations, teaching them what obedience to GOD looks like, what it would bring by way of blessings – or curses for their disobedience!

Imagine if the unconditional blessings were granted to Israel (according to the Abrahamic Covenant) to begin with? After a fashion, they could start to think that they deserved those blessings (granted solely by grace)! So, the LORD in His wisdom decided to “run Israel through their paces” to prove to them how able they were to follow the Law – and after seeing their abject failure, they would all the more recognize the undeserved blessings freely given to them during the reestablishment of the kingdom of Israel!

So we will examine two primary chapters from the book of EXODUS in this article:

EXODUS 19 and 24 (with mention of Ch’s. 3 and 12 as well).

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STUDY In The Book of NEHEMIAH – PART TWO: TRIUMPH by TRANSFORMATION

INTRODUCTION: We continue now (from our Introduction and Chapter ONE of this study) with the prayer of Nehemiah, the king’s cupbearer, and servant to the King of kings!

NEHEMIAH 1:8-9
8 "Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations; 9 'but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.'

The passage Nehemiah referred to was written by Moses is DEUT 30:3-4 in regards to national Israel and later it was confirmed by the Messiah Himself in MATT 24:31.

As we saw previously in the first article of this series:

“’They [Nehemiah and Daniel almost a century previously] start off almost identically with homage to the ‘LORD GOD of heaven’: both attribute to GOD His great and awesome character and power Who keeps covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and who keep His commandments, quoting from DEUT 7:9.

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DEUTERONOMY 7: A REHEARSAL ON HOLINESS, A CALL TO FAITHFULNESS

Contributing commentaries by pastors Sonny Islas, Albert Lopez, and James Fire

DEUTERONOMY 7: “A WAR ORDER BY THE LORD” by James Fire, check out the complete teaching here!

INTRODUCTION: As we journey through life with the LORD leading the way, we learn of Him in all of His glory and grace; His love, His tender mercies, His wisdom and knowledge, His truth and His faithfulness, His glory, and His meekness. His holiness, justice, and judgment.

And just as Israel has a history with YHWH, we have a history with our LORD that we can recall from days and years before, how GOD was and is always faithful in coming through for us and blesses us. This gives us hope and courage in facing any challenges that lie ahead which we know nothing about right now, but they are well within the view of the LORD’s eternal eyes!

He not only sees our circumstances but has already made provision for these unforeseen challenges. The LORD has promised to lead the way and provide for our prosperity and protection, amidst problems and persecutions,
We see this very thing in this book. The children of Israel are going from one challenge to the next, ever since the days of their deliverance from Egypt!

In the previous chapter, we see how the LORD revealed Himself and His marvelous ways through the teachings and warnings He gave to His people, which they were to pass on to their children and to every generation going forward! Last time we read:

DEUTERONOMY 6:1-3
1 "Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the LORD your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, 2 "that you may fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. 3 "Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the LORD God of your fathers has promised you-'a land flowing with milk and honey.'

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Daniel, Noah and Job – Special Guest Writer: LAMBERT DOLPHIN

~ By Lambert Dolphin; afterword by James Fire

“Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a reproach to any people." (Proverbs 14:28)

The application of a Proverb such as this to our national life, and the times we live in, should be self-evident. We happen to be living late in world history, late in the history of the church of Jesus Christ, and late in our nation's history. It seems to me very likely that a long-delayed series of judgments on America has already begun.

What remains to be seen is how closely a judgment of our nation may coincide with the end-of-the-age judgment of all the nations. Many passages in the Bible talk about the coming judgment of all the nations.

"The great day of the LORD is near; It is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the LORD is bitter; There the mighty men shall cry out. That day is a day of wrath, A day of trouble and distress, A day of devastation and desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, A day of trumpet and alarm Against the fortified cities And against the high towers. I will bring distress upon men, And they shall walk like blind men, Because they have sinned against the LORD; Their blood shall be poured out like dust, And their flesh like refuse. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them In the day of the LORD'S wrath; But the whole land shall be devoured By the fire of His jealousy, For He will make speedy riddance of all those who dwell in the land." (Zephaniah 1:14-18)

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DEUTERONOMY 6: A REHEARSAL ON HOLINESS, A CALL TO FAITHFULNESS

Contributing commentaries by pastors Sonny Islas, Albert Lopez, and James Fire

DEUTERONOMY 6: “FEARING The ONE TRUE GOD!” by James Fire, check out the teaching on this chapter by pastor Sonny Islas here!

INTRODUCTION: We’ve heard the expression, “No fear!” and deny its effects when it would pounce on us. Too much fear can be destructive and lead to anxiety. Too little fear can lead us into dangers best avoided. For pretended dangers as in movies and thrill rides at amusement parks, those can be fun because we know the danger isn’t real. It’s been said that “Fear is wisdom in the face of [real] danger.”

For a world full of sinners in the hands of an angry GOD, this is good advice. Nobody that’s not redeemed wants to face the Real, Holy GOD on Judgment Day, because it will mean their real eternal damnation (without parole, without bail: upon death, there’s no going back for do-overs!).

Once a soul is redeemed however, there is another kind of fear: it’s a reverential, humble, thankful, and respectful expression in the light of GOD’s sacrificial love Who took our sin, our judgment in our place, not willing that any of us should perish, but have eternal life (JOHN 3:16)!

Because GOD has loved us with this incredibly intense and mind-boggling love we desire to reciprocate and lay down our lives in His service, just as He laid down His life for our salvation!

We fear GOD because He is Holy, and Awesome, and Almighty and All-knowing. We fear GOD because of His heart towards us – such a tender heart of overwhelming love, that we fear to hurt His precious heart by sinning.

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