God's Word Is Very Near

GOD’S WORD IS VERY NEAR

DEUTERONOMY 30:9—14 AUGUST 3, 2003

DEUTERONOMY 30:9-14

9Then the LORD your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land. The LORD will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your fathers, 10if you obey the LORD your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

11Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. 12It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, "Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?" 13Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, "Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?" 14No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.

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Dearest Christian Friends and Fellow-Redeemed:

When we look at Jesus’ life, we find many teachings of His and many examples that stand out in our memory. One of those is the teaching of the seed and the sower. The Lord describes for believers how the sower goes out to plant the seed. The seed falls on all kinds of soil. In fact, some of it doesn’t fall on soil at all; it falls on the rocky path. When Jesus comes to the end of that parable which seems very clear, the disciples still wonder what He means. Jesus then explains it very carefully so that the disciples would not miss the point. That seed, which is the Word of God, is scattered throughout the world. Some believe the Word, some do not believe. For those who believe there is great blessing as Jesus describes at the end of that parable. "But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown"(MATTHEW 13:23). That’s the point of Moses today – the same as Jesus – that the Word is very near His believers. As the Word is very near His believers, they will produce a crop of a hundred, sixty or thirty. We will use those last words of Moses, combining it with the thoughts of Jesus’ parable as we learn how

GOD’S WORD IS VERY NEAR

I. Planted into faithful hearts

II. To grow into faithful living

I. Planted into faithful hearts

Moses was coming to the end of his life. As he was coming to the end of his life, he was also coming to the end of his ministry. The Lord had called him to lead the people of Israel through the wilderness. They had traveled for a whole generation – forty years! A generation had come and gone, lived and died. They were now at the Promised Land. Moses was about to hand over the leadership of God’s people to Joshua, God’s next great prophet. As he reminds the people of everything that took place, he tells them now they are going to enter the Promised Land. Things were going to change for them. When they wandered in the wilderness, during the day they saw the pillar of smoke that went before them to guide them. It was the glory of God. At night they saw the column of fire also to lead them and to remind them that this too, was the glory of God.

Now, when they would get to the Promised Land, they would not see this glory of God day in and day out. They would not be forgotten nor would they be forsaken. The fact is, Moses says, “The LORD will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your fathers.” Even though they wouldn’t see this presence of God so visibly, God would be with them. Moses reminded them that they were going to enter into the Promised Land. It was called the Promised Land because it had been promised to their forefathers. Generations ago the Lord said He would provide for them. Now these children of Israel were going to inherit the land. They were going to live there and dwell there. They would remember the Lord their God because He had planted that Word of God into their hearts. He says, 10if you obey the LORD your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law…Of course we know he says as they obey the Book of the Law, he reminded them of the tablets of stone so that they would have no question. It was ‘chiseled in stone’ what was right and good, what was wrong and evil. There was not a single one of them, if they wanted to live by the law, who would have any excuse. If they were going to live by the law, they would find their life blessed because they would be doing what is right and good.