Well, if you would grab your Bibles and open them up to Deuteronomy chapter 29. Deuteronomy chapter 29 will be the chapter for us this Lord's Day morning. Deuteronomy 29, our ambition is to cover the entire chapter. As I usually remark, we shall see, although I do think we've done so more times than not lately. No one's paying attention to the time we conclude, are you? Deuteronomy 29, and though we're covering the entire chapter, I'm going to read for us verses one through 15, and then we will skip to the last verse. Verses one through 15, and then we will skip to the last verse. And whoever's running the slides, it is not their fault, because they didn't get a heads up on this. So verses one through 15, and then we will read verse 29 of Deuteronomy 29. Because this is the word of God, and you are the people of God, on the Lord's day, if you are able, would you please stand? Signifying, of course, your readiness to hear from your Father in heaven. Moses writes, as he's carried along by the Spirit, these words. These are the words of the covenant that the Lord commanded Moses to make with the people of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant that he had made with them at Horeb. And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, you have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, and to all his servants and to all his land, the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs and those great wonders. But to this day, the Lord has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear. I have led you 40 years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you. Your sandals have not worn off your feet. You have not eaten bread, and you have not drunk wine or strong drink, that you may know that I am the Lord your God. And when you came to this place, Sihon king of Cheshbon and O king of Bashan came out against us, came out against us, sorry, to battle, but we defeated them. We took their land and gave it for an inheritance to the Reubenites. the Gadites, the half-tribe of the Manassites. Therefore, keep the words of this covenant and do them that you may prosper in all that you do. You are standing today, all of you, before the Lord your God, the heads of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, all the men of Israel, your little ones, your wives, and the sojourner who is in your camp, from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water. so that you may enter into the sworn covenant of the Lord your God, which the Lord your God is making with you today, that he may establish you today as his people, and that he may be your God as he promised you and as he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. It is not with you alone that I am making this sworn covenant, but with whoever is standing here with us today before the Lord our God, and with whoever is not here with us today. Now jump to verse 29. The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God will stand forever. You may be seated. As a pastor, I have the privilege of officiating wedding ceremonies from time to time. Fairly regular basis, not long ago, However, I was asked to officiate a vow renewal ceremony. I had done this before, but not many of them. A dear couple in our church family had married a few years ago and desired to renew their vows with the involvement of their pastor. And of course, I was privileged to be a part of this. This is one of the great privileges of being a pastor, being invited into the most intimate of moments and the most sacred of moments in the lives of church members. The ceremony was similar to a marriage ceremony. And by exchanging vows, or the renewal of vows, the husband and the wife committed to one another afresh. It wasn't the first time they had committed to one another, but they committed to one another there before God and before others who were gathered afresh. Well, Deuteronomy 29 is, I think, similar in many ways to a vow renewal ceremony. On the one hand, Israel was already in a covenant relationship with the God who had rescued them out of Egypt. They had seen firsthand, many of them, God perform miraculous deeds as he rescued Israel, judged Egypt, judged Pharaoh and his army, and preserved Israel throughout their wilderness wanderings, including actually his judgment falling on an entire generation on account of their disobedience. And so in this sense, Israel was already in a relationship with the Lord. You might say they were already married to the Lord. They were already his people. On the other hand, this chapter, that is Deuteronomy chapter 29, provides a description of the occasion in which Israel enters into a covenant relationship with God afresh. So there is some newness to this. And yet, this is nothing new after all. In fact, Moses begins this chapter in verse one. These are the words of the covenant that the Lord commanded Moses to make with the people of Israel in the land of Moab. Now notice, besides the covenant that he had made with them at Horeb. Throughout Deuteronomy, he's been showing us that there's continuity between what God is doing now on the plains of Moab and what God did then at Horeb or Mount Sinai. Sinai is just known as Horeb throughout the book of Deuteronomy. But in this verse, chapter 29, verse 1, we see a contrast. Something new is happening. This is a kind of renewal, but in some respects, we can talk about it being a different covenant altogether, and we'll get to some of that here in just a moment. Well this morning we're going to unpack Israel's renewed relationship with God as instructive for us. And you know this if you come to First Baptist Powell on a regular basis. We don't read our Old Testaments or any portion of the Bible for that matter merely as given to us some ancient historical facts about an ancient people concerning an ancient God. It is indeed that, but it's more than that found throughout Scripture. We read all of Scripture as instructive for us as followers of Jesus Christ. And we'll do the same thing this morning. We'll read Deuteronomy 29 Christianly. We will read it as filled with instruction for God's people today through Jesus Christ. If you're taking notes, we are going to do this in three stages. and really we could call them three different truths. We will identify three truths in this chapter that together, by the way, form a paradox. By the end of the sermon this morning, you'll realize that all three truths, when placed together, really appear to be a contradiction, but I think we'll find that there is a remedy and a resolution to this apparent paradox. contradiction or paradox. So three truths this morning concerning Israel and concerning us that appear to be contradictory but in fact are equally true. The first truth we discover in the text is simply this. Israel should obey the Lord. This speaks to oughtness. Israel should obey the Lord. Look with me at verse nine. Therefore, keep the words of this covenant and do them that you may prosper in all that you do. There is nothing new about this truth in Deuteronomy, is there, church family? We've seen this time and time and time again, really stretching all the way back to Deuteronomy chapter one, and especially Deuteronomy chapter five and following. Here we are reminded of this same truth. Moses will not have us forget it now. Israel should obey the Lord their God. Now there are a few reasons for this. Perhaps I should have warned you. about this initial room in the house is a bit larger than the other couple of rooms in the home. And you're thinking, now he tells me. Perhaps you can make room in your notes for this. We'll spend a little more time on this first point, Israel should obey the Lord. There are three, really three sub-points here, a few reasons Israel should obey the Lord, Moses tells us. First of all, Israel should obey the Lord because they had observed the Lord's power and presence for them. But don't miss this. Israel should obey the Lord because they had observed the Lord's power and the Lord's presence for Israel. It would have been one thing, right, for Israel to observe the Lord's power and presence against Israel, but they had observed the Lord's power and presence in their favor for their good. This included the Lord's judgment against Egypt, as Moses recalls, In the second part of verse two and in verse three, look with me, you have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt. There, of course, were some alive as the 120-year-old Moses is preaching his last sermon. who were present when God had called Israel out of Egypt. And so Moses here says, you yourselves have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt. To Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, verse three, the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs and those great wonders. Additionally, Israel had experienced God's powerful presence throughout the wilderness. God speaks in verses five and six. I have led you 40 years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you. Your sandals have not worn off your feet. And then notice verse six. A bit of a shift here. You have not eaten bread. You've not drunk wine or strong drink. Why? Because they had no land through which to grow the items necessary for making these things. Notice that God says that you may know that I am the Lord your God. So God had sustained Israel, but he had not given them abundance throughout the wilderness. He had given them sufficiency. He had met their needs. He had not given them too much, and he had not given them too little. Why? To show them that he alone was their sufficiency, that He finally was to be their inheritance, that they actually could live without these things in relationship with the God who was the source of life itself. That was the point. In fact, you may recall all the way back in Deuteronomy chapter eight, these words really are a repetition of phrases, sentences, and verses that we found back some time ago in Deuteronomy chapter eight. And then finally, Moses reminds Israel that God had granted them victory over a portion of their enemies in the land already. Notice verses seven and eight. When you came to this place, Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan came out against us to do battle, but we defeated them. We took their land and gave it for an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of the Manassites. recalled from Numbers, Numbers 21, 22, I believe, and then again in Numbers 32, where God allots a portion of the land, the land they had already conquered, to two and a half tribes of the people of Israel. God was faithful to give them military success over these enemies, to provide land for some of the tribes already. They could trust him to continue to make good on his promises for the remainder of the tribes. So God had already done this. He had demonstrated his power and his presence for Israel. This happens time and time again throughout scripture, doesn't it? Trust in the God who has proven himself trustworthy. And time and time again, isn't it true that we doubt and are oftentimes incredulous in relationship to the God who has proven himself always? trustworthy. There have been times when my wife and I have pulled one another aside. Perhaps it's more often times my wife pulling me aside and saying something like, you know it was occurring to me as we were doubting the Lord earlier today, that he has always proven himself trustworthy. How foolish we are to doubt him. And this is the appeal in the text. Israel, you have observed God's power and presence for you. It would have been one thing, of course, to be speaking to the Egyptians. You have observed God's power and presence against you. But in this case, God was apparently for his people Israel. rescuing them, sustaining them, granting them his kind presence throughout the 40 years in the wilderness. And now they're on the brink of inheriting the land God had promised to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. Trust and serve the Lord, the old man Moses says in his last sermon. So Israel had observed God's power and presence. Secondly, again these are sub-points, under the first truth. The first truth being, Israel should obey the Lord. Why? First, because they had observed God's power and presence for them. Second, because they were entering into a fresh relationship with the Lord. We've already seen this, but let's point it out. It bears repeating now. They were not operating on their parents' or grandparents' relationship with God. There was something fresh about this. Notice in verses 10 and 11 that all Israel is gathered, including the leaders, the men, the children, and the sojourners. You see how God makes it apparent that every facet of the congregation is gathered in his presence. And take note of the recurrence of the qualifier today. You see this? Look at verse 10. You are standing here when? Today, not that occurred one time, it would be nothing. But actually, it occurs many times. In fact, this is one of Moses' favorite terms as he preaches. He loves to use the word today in Deuteronomy. Verses 12 and 13 speaks about the sworn covenant, which, here's the language, the Lord your God is making with you, when? Today. Why? So that he may establish you today as his people. So they weren't entering into a relationship, as it were, with the God of their fathers exclusively. Or the God of their grandfathers exclusively. They were entering into a relationship with their God. And this was happening today. So Israel had observed God's power and presence, and they were entering into a fresh relationship with the Lord, and then third, Israel should obey the Lord because, and we've seen this, Moses says it again, because their disobedience would result in God's judgment. And this really does occupy verses 18 through 28. Almost through the remainder of the chapter, beginning in verse 18. Look with me at verses 18, 19, and 20. Beware, lest there be among you a man or woman or clan or tribe whose heart is turning away today from the Lord our God to go and serve the gods of those nations. Beware, lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit. Verse 19, one who, when he hears the words of this sworn covenant, blesses himself. And blesses himself in his heart saying, I shall be safe. although I walk in the stubbornness of my heart. It's not a big deal. I'll be okay. This will lead, God says, to the sweeping away of moist and dry alike. God will not overlook disobedience, and we've seen this as a theme throughout Deuteronomy. Though God's people are indeed his people by means of his grace and on account of his grace, he calls them to a life of submission, surrender, and obedience. And he doesn't mince words about this. If you disobey, you will receive my curse. And we saw that especially. and vividly in Deuteronomy 27 and 28, which really is occupied and consumed by this consistent theme of disobedience will result in divine curse. And we find it even here again in our text. And the disobedience of one, I want you to notice, the disobedience of one actually jeopardizes the life and health of all. Because it appears that such a poisonous root will bear fruit throughout Israel, leading to the judgment of both the moist and the dry alike, which is, I take it that's what the image means. Everyone's gonna be judged if this thing takes root, if rebellion takes root in the hearts of my people. Hebrews chapter 12, actually verse 15, quotes from this passage, Deuteronomy chapter 29 verse 18, as a warning against sin that infects other members of the church. The Hebrews author, writing in the New Testament after the coming of Jesus Christ, takes up this verse as a warning to followers of Jesus Christ to do war against their sin because their sin infects others. And I think this is worthy of a couple of reflections for us as followers of Jesus Christ today. First of all, remember, sin is never merely a private activity. Never. Sin harms you, and it harms others around you. In fact, I do wonder at times if the Lord will at some point show us the ramifications of our sins, which extend, I would imagine, far beyond the boundaries of our own imaginations. We are created communal beings. We know this, we know this because no one can exist without some level of sufficiency coming from outside of him or her. You don't have life in yourself. You can't create life. You depend on other people, and you depend, of course, ultimately on the God through creation who provides for you what you need. And so it shouldn't surprise us that when we sin, there is a sense in which we are harming other people around us, and perhaps even people we don't even know because we're members of a community. By the way, the biblical authors assumed this. This is perhaps why they didn't have as much difficulty as we Westerners do, talking about the ways in which the first sin committed by humanity, Adam and Eve in the garden, infected all their posterity. We know this as Christians, don't we? But it rubs us the wrong way. The reality is this, the sin and the brokenness and the rebellion of Adam and Eve in the garden resulted in the condemnation of all the human race and the guilt of the entire human race. By the way, the remedy for that is that the righteousness of one extends to all through faith in Christ. I'll never forget someone telling me, don't look, be cautious. If you're too bothered by Adam's sin infecting you, perhaps you're also bothered by Christ's obedience benefiting you. But that's the gospel, isn't it? So through the sin of one, the many were made sinners and condemned. Through the obedience of the one, many will be made righteous. That's the language of the apostle Paul. And we find this throughout scripture. And so here in our text, in Deuteronomy 29, sin is never merely a private activity. It has contagious and insidious effects. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians chapter five, verse six, that a little leaven leavens the whole lump. Similar concept, I think, to what we find in Deuteronomy 29. And by the way, this is one of the reasons why it's so terribly important that we fight sin together. Sin thrives in the dark. The irony of it is this, though my sin is never really private, if it can cause me to keep it private, or at least in my own mind as it were, keep it in the dark, it dominates me. But sin dies in the light and it dies in community. It dies in accountability. It dies when we come alongside of one another and we wage war by the power of the Spirit against it. This is actually the language of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter three, verses 12 and 13, one of my favorite passages concerning how it is we ought to be fighting our sin. Because we tend, as evangelicals, to think about waging war against our sin in our prayer closet, which is, of course, one of the ways we wage war. Or waging war against our sin as we do our own private Bible study, which, of course, is one of the ways we wage war. But we don't oftentimes remember that one of the primary ways we wage war against our own sin is in community. And so the Hebrews author writes in Hebrews chapter three, verses 12 through 13, take care, brothers. lest there be in any of you an unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God, which by the way is very similar to the warning in Deuteronomy 29. So what's the solution? What's the solution to the unbelieving heart leading us to fall away from the living God? Verse 13, but exhort one another. There's community. The Hebrews author doesn't say, take care, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, so go to your prayer closet. Don't tell anyone about it. Wage war alone. Fight through just the reading of Scripture. Don't confess that sin to anybody else. Don't misunderstand me. There are facets of truth in those practices. Yes, spend time in your prayer closet alone. Begging God to do this work in you. Yes, spend time in the word of God, but if we're going to actually fight against our sinful tendencies according to scripture, we will do it together. We'll do it in community. Exhort one another, and the Hebrews author, this is an exposition of Hebrews 3, 12 and 13, but it's related to Deuteronomy 29. The Hebrews author says exhort one another every day. Exhort one another every day as long as it is called, and I love this, today. It's almost like the Hebrews author is familiar with certain Old Testament passages. And you would think if you didn't know better, there was actually only one author of all of scripture. And he goes on to say, so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness. of sin. If I recognize sin to be deceitful, I don't trust myself to evaluate it. If I recognize sin to be deceitful, I need other brothers, other sisters in my life saying to me, dear brother, you're being deceived. That's the idea of Hebrews 3, and I think that grows out of this reality in Deuteronomy 29. And then additionally, another reflection I would have on this section for us as followers of Jesus, in verse 19, we are warned, and we'll get back on track in just a moment, but I had to point these out. We are warned that assurance without characteristic obedience is a false assurance. Let me say that again, because we need to hear this time and time and time again. Assurance that we are in a right relationship with God without characteristic obedience to God is a false assurance. This is true today, it was true then. 1 John 1, verse 6, actually John has written about this, but 1 John 1, verse 6 says, if we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. By the way, I don't interpret having fellowship with God as some kind of a spiritual elite status among Christians. having fellowship with God throughout Scripture is having a right relationship with God through Christ. And if you question that, we could keep going in 1 John. 1 John 2 verse 3 uses similar language but different language to say the same thing. 1 John 2, 3, by this we know that we have come to know him if we keep his commandments. There is this damning error and it is prominent in evangelical circles, that we ought to look back exclusively on a conversion experience, a moment in time when we made a profession of faith, when we said, yeah, I'll accept Jesus. I mean, after all, you told me if I don't accept Jesus, I'm gonna burn in hell forever, so I thought this was a good option. And that's not too far off from many gospel presentations, by the way. And so I walked down an aisle, I said a prayer, I signed a card, perhaps I got baptized, perhaps I joined the church, I don't know how far I went in this process, but now I've gone on to live a life characteristically disobedient to the master I claim purchased me. And I'm told by evangelicals, and God forbid some pastors, Once saved, always saved. And here's the risk. That's a true statement. It just needs qualification. Once genuinely saved, always saved. Moreover, the fruit, the result, of being genuinely saved is a life not of perfection, thank God, but a life characterized by an ever-increasing change, whereby we turn away from the foolishness of our own sin to the wisdom found in obedience to Jesus Christ. And so the person, church family, we've got to get more comfortable having the difficult conversations, especially, especially in the Bible belt. When we lovingly say to someone, dear friend, somebody lied to you. Or perhaps you believe something that was contrary to what the Bible actually teaches concerning genuine conversion. Because God himself says, by this we know we have come to know him if we keep his commandments. We do not preach a bankrupt grace and an impoverished savior. We preach a Savior who authentically transforms those in need of saving. And that grows out of Deuteronomy chapter 29 because there are some people Moses warns against who in their characteristic disobedience say, ah, I'll be okay. God's gracious, right? Once saved, always saved. They don't say that in the text. I'm inserting that, you get it. And God says, no. Judgment will come upon you. As illustrations of God's judgment in verses 22 and 23, Sodom, Gomorrah, Adma, and as this Hebrew word, Tziphoim, or I'm not sure how you would try to say that, Zabbaim or something. It's always easier to say in Hebrew, I think, because no one in the room knows what you're talking about. And they think, he really knows what he's saying. So you just say, for him. But these places are locations where God's fierce judgment fell from heaven against unrepenting sinners. And God says, don't make the mistake of believing that you can be assured of a right relationship with me when you are characterized by disobedience to me. You will fall just like Sodom and Gomorrah. And you will fall just like Atma and set for you. So if God's people refused to obey him, they too would be judged. And then verse 28, we're almost done with our first point. Wow. Somebody change that clock about 10 minutes back, right? Would you do that for me? Verse 28, God describes a scene in the future in which one asks this question. Why has the Lord done this that has judged the land, judged Israel? And the answer is given in this way. The Lord uprooted them from their land in anger and fury and great wrath and cast them into another land as they are this day. All of this communicates the first truth. that we find emphasized in this text. Israel should obey the Lord. It's that simple. They should obey. The second truth I want you to see will be brief. For a couple of reasons, it's brief in my notes and it needs to be brief now. Secondly, though Israel should obey, Israel will not obey. They will not. After all, the chapter concludes with a picture of the nations asking, what happened to Israel when they're dispersed throughout all the various nations and the land of Canaan is no longer occupied by God's people? And this becomes less of a vivid warning and more of a vivid prophecy. A shift is happening in Deuteronomy and we're gonna find it blossom in the coming chapters. This isn't just a warning of what would happen. It's a warning of what will happen. Israel will disobey the Lord. They will not obey him. And why is this the case? Notice verse four. Because to this day, the Lord has not given you a heart to understand, or eyes to see, or ears to hear. So on the one hand, Israel will not obey the Lord. On the other hand, Israel can't obey the Lord. They will not obey because they have not received a heart to understand, eyes to see, ears to hear. And by the way, this does not exculpate God's goodness. I'm sorry, God's people, rather. This does not relieve them of responsibility. They are still culpable for their sins. They are doing precisely what they want to do. On the other hand, this actually doesn't leave God guilty of their disobedience. What does it do then? Well, it highlights their only hope for obedience. What is God doing here? He's highlighting that though they should obey, right, point one, this first truth, they should obey, they will not obey because they can't obey. And it highlights their only hope for obedience. And it's a hope that is not found within them, but it's a hope that is found exclusively in the work of God's sovereign grace. And that's where this 120-year-old seasoned preacher goes as a good Baptist. Is that anachronistic, maybe? Perhaps I shouldn't say that. As one who is waiting for the coming of the Messiah, he preaches this faithfully. And the language is very similar to what Jesus uses throughout the Gospels. Jesus constantly speaks about those who have ears to hear. Hearing, right? Let the one who has ears to hear, hear! John uses this language in Revelation. There's this understanding that if you're actually hearing and embracing and believing in the Word of God and your life is being changed, that's evidence, not necessarily of something you've produced, it's evidence of God's sovereign grace at work in you. So this verse, it is back in verse four, their only hope. read alongside the emphasis on a future when Israel is dispersed, causes us to realize that though Israel should obey, they will not obey. And this brings us to our final truth. And we're gonna do it today. We're going to finish. So alongside the two truths, Israel should obey the Lord and Israel will not obey the Lord, we find a third truth that really does form the paradox. Israel will obey the Lord. Israel should obey, Israel will not obey, and they will be judged for their disobedience. And yet, a day is coming when Israel will obey. And this is where Moses goes. This is the subtle truth. in our text that really doesn't blossom until Deuteronomy 30, and I'm just going to mention a verse in just a moment. I thought to myself, don't go too far into chapter 30, because I intend on preaching chapter 30 next Lord's Day, but we'll look at it in just a moment, just one verse that'll help us see this clearly. Look with me first at verse 29, though. Notice how Moses wraps up this chapter. The secret things belong to the Lord our God, But the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children. Now notice the purpose. Notice the purpose for which God reveals that we may do all the words of this law. Fascinating, isn't it? Israel should obey. Israel will not obey. And yet here in the purpose, it seems that they will. That seems to be built into what God is doing. After all, God reveals for the purpose of obedience. For the purpose of causing obedience. And if this purpose is not fulfilled, perhaps God's word returns void. Contrary to what Isaiah will later say. How will this happen? We're not told yet until chapter 30. but just glance over, and I mean glance, don't spend long, because we'll go back next week. Chapter 30, verse six, how is it that the people who should obey and will not obey will someday obey, even when they're incapable of obeying? Deuteronomy 30, verse six, and the Lord your God will what? Circumcise your heart. in the heart of your offspring. Notice, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, that you may live. That's good news. The law God gives to Israel in Moab shows us not simply what we should do, and not simply what we won't do and even can't do, but it also shows us what God must do for us in Christ. That, I think, is one of the reasons why there's a contrast in verse one between the covenant in Moab and the covenant at Horeb, or Sinai. Something's changing here. Something's blossoming here. There's something that's actually going to bear fruit in a way that it didn't bear fruit before, and we're looking ahead at something that is superior. This, of course, is not finally fulfilled until Jesus Christ becomes a completely obedient one for us. dies in our place and for our sins, who's buried. And on the third day, he's raised from the dead in glorious power to secure our life with him. So the work that God did for us in Christ then becomes a work that God is doing in us through the Spirit of Christ. And that's the promise of Deuteronomy 29, 29. that really begins to take shape in Deuteronomy 30 verse six, someday I'm gonna do a work inside of you. I'm gonna alter your affections in my mercy. I'm gonna take your heart of stone and I'm gonna replace it with a heart of flesh. Instead of writing my law on tablets of stone as I did on Mount Sinai. I will with my own finger inscribe my law on your heart. And you will desire finally to please me. And that, God says, will be my work. I will do that for my people. And that's precisely what he has done and is doing in the lives of sinners who repent through Jesus Christ, our sufficient Savior. That can happen in the lives of those who are dead. Look, someone who's dead doesn't need assistance. Someone who's dead doesn't need physical therapy, right? I mean, just try it. Go into a morgue and offer classes 12 steps to a better you. It's not the gospel, is it? And it's not what God promises in Deuteronomy 29 and then in Deuteronomy 30, which we're not there yet, we'll be there next Lord's Day. No, what God promises is precisely what we need, that we're dead in our sins and He walks into the morgue and He raises the dead. That's what we need. We are, and I'm jumping all over Scripture here, in Ezekiel, we are the valley of dry bones. And God, through his word, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and by the power of the Spirit, prophesies over us. And the valley of dry bones becomes a living, breathing army for the Lord. That's what we get in Christ. If you've not come to know Jesus Christ this morning, if you've not come to the end of yourself and recognizing that you really can't solve the dilemma you're in, that there is a root problem that you can't remedy, then no matter how hard you try, at the end of the day, you are someone who will displease the Lord. In fact, you may do the right thing, but for the wrong reasons. And doubtless, you won't do those things in faith in the God who has rescued you. If that's where you are this morning, recognizing that you've come to the end of yourself, and you are in need of something outside of yourself, I beg of you, embrace Jesus Christ. Surrender to Christ, trust in Christ, and serve Jesus Christ. And you'll find, you'll find, I can speak from some experience, and other saints can speak from more experience, but we can certainly speak with the authority of the word of God. You'll find that though you will not be perfect in a moment, and you'll still struggle with various sins, you'll find, I believe, according to the word of God, that there is authentic change. You'll find, according to the words of Romans, that what the law could not do, God has done, and He's done this by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. He's condemned your sin in the flesh, and He's done this in Romans 8, verse four, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in you, as you are slowly learning to walk according to the Spirit, not according to the flesh. There's authentic change taking place because God is at work in you and for you in Christ Jesus. All of this to say, these commands in Deuteronomy aren't simply pointing us to Christ as the obedient covenant keeper. They are, they are. As we read these, we think, that's not me. Oh, there I am, the one being judged for sin. But anytime obedience comes up, we are, of course, to recognize this points us to Christ, the obedient covenant keeper. But there's more to the story than that. These are also a call through Christ's obedience and the enabling of the Spirit to authentically obey the Lord now. We're being changed, brothers and sisters. And you can begin to experience that change even this morning through faith in Jesus Christ. If you'd like to know more about that, or you have questions about Christianity, questions about Jesus Christ, we would love to visit with you after service. So would you consider staying afterward and talking with a pastor as you exit to the left here? There is a room out there on the right called Crossroads. Please consider going to that room and having a conversation with us so we can come alongside of you. and you alongside of us as we learn to serve, treasure, and honor this sufficient Savior, Jesus Christ. In the end, and we'll wrap up. In the end, we find that the relationship God established with his people on Mount Sinai, or Horeb, as we learn in Deuteronomy, did not simply need to be renewed. That's where the analogy runs short, falls short. No, this relationship that God had established needed to be fundamentally changed and improved upon. For God's people to be rescued permanently and genuinely changed, God himself needed to meet his own righteous requirements. And then he needed to communicate that provision to us so that the salvation that was accomplished outside of us would become a salvation God was accomplishing inside of us. He needed to circumcise our hearts. And that's precisely what he's doing. He's doing that so that through Christ's perfect obedience, we would learn to use the language of Deuteronomy to do all the words of this law. A song by Jordan Coughlin says it well. Here's what Jordan wrote. Now, Lord, I would be yours alone and live so all might see the strength to follow your commands could never come from me. Oh, Father, use my ransomed life in any way you choose. and let my song forever be, my only boast is you. And then he wrote, hallelujah, all I have is Christ. Hallelujah, Jesus is my life. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, we thank you this morning for exposing what we ought to do, showing us what we indeed would not and could not do, and reminding us afresh that what we should do and couldn't do, you did through Jesus Christ, your Son. and you are at work in us so that the works of Jesus Christ, the obedience of Jesus Christ is not simply something outside of us, but is becoming something inside of us. That slowly by the work of your spirit, we are becoming characterized by the obedience of Christ. Would you finish the work You began at Golgotha for us and for the glory of your son. We pray these things in his name and in expectation of his return and all God's people said.