And before I preach this morning, before I dismiss the kids, I want to sing. And I mentioned in Sunday school, because of where we are in the Sunday school lesson, that it's about the privilege that we have of having the Lamb of God stand between us and the wrath of God, that he ever liveth, as the Bible says, to make intercession for us. And so this hymn is titled, There is a Precious Lamb. God reigns in holy perfection Sinless, so pure, no stains The very thought of sin loosens His anger His thunderous wrath set against hell's domain. My life began in condemnation. Sinful and destined to die. On my own I found no consolation until the day a spotless lamb heard my My blessed Savior is standing in the presence of God, declaring that I've been made clean. This holy God who looks within cannot see my sin. There is a precious lamb who stands in between. Now there is no condemnation. I know of freedom from sin. There's not a doubt. across them is foretold as God declares that I My blessed Savior is standing in the presence of God, declaring that I can be clean. This holy God who lives within, Cannot see my sin There is a precious glam Who stands in between Oh, precious is the flow That makes me white As snow, there is no other pounce I know. There is a precious lamb who stands in between. Praise God for that lamb, amen? Yeah, praise God. All right. We'll dismiss kids 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1. We hope this is short to your class. The rest of us, please open up your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 4 and verses 22 to verse 31. Deuteronomy chapter 4. And verses 22-31, you've got Church Bibles page 211, all right? 211 in the Church Bible. All right, as we come to Deuteronomy chapter 4, Deuteronomy is kind of the second giving of the law, and Moses is reiterating the law for Israel as they get ready to go into the Promised Land. Really, he's preparing them to possess the Promised Land. The term promised land comes from the time of Abraham as God promised Abraham as he was walking through the Canaan land that he would give him the land that he was walking on, Genesis 12 verse 6. And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sikkim, unto the place of Morah. And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the Lord appeared unto Abram and said, unto thy seed will I give this land. And there building he an altar unto the Lord who appeared unto him." So Abraham received that promise. Abraham's the father of the Jews. I mean, he's the one that was given the promise. Also the son. And it was through that son that the 12 tribes came, and all the children of Israel. So they were partakers of that promise of that land that God promised to the descendants of Abraham. When it came time for them to exit Egypt, on their way to the promised land. God raised up a servant, Moses. As God met him at the burning bush, God said to Moses in Exodus 3 verse 8, I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large unto a land flowing. with milk and honey. And as we come to Deuteronomy again, Deuteronomy chapter 4, Moses is preparing the people not just to get that land, but he's preparing them to, after possessing the land, to maintain a possession of that land. And the key It's not military might and it's not military strategy. It's not something that they could do to try to hold on to that land that they would get. The key, and it's the key to what we're going to consider today, is keeping their heart right with God. As long as Israel had a right heart with God, had a right relationship with God, that land would continue to be possessed. And so again, Moses is emphasizing in Deuteronomy the law of God. And so in the beginning of our chapter, Deuteronomy chapter 4, verse 1, he begins the chapter in our text reminding them of the seriousness of God's law. 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 your Fathers giveth you. 2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it, that you may keep the commandment of the Lord your God, which I command you." So he tells them, this is God's law, it is complete, do not add to it, do not take away from it. Why? Because to add to God's law or to take away from God's law leads to sin. It said in the Garden of Eden, the one law that God had given, all the trees of the garden thou mayest freely, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou mayest not eat thereof. And the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. That was the only law that they had. And yet, Eve added to the Word of God, the Bible speaks about it in Genesis 3 verse 2, The woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. What did he do? Eve added to the word of God. You kind of see the heart of man there and God's restrictive and adding to it. God said not to touch it. God didn't say not to touch it. God said not to eat of it. And so she added to the word of God. Satan diminished from God's word in Genesis 3 verse 4. And the serpent said unto the woman, Eve shall not surely eat. God said to David, thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. He took away from them. And so Moses reminds them, look, you can't tamper with the Word of God. To tamper with the Word of God leads to sin. And then he reminded them that God is very serious about sin. And so in verse 3, he says, your eyes have seen what the Lord did because of Baal Peor. For all the men that followed Baal Peor, the Lord thy God hath destroyed them from among you. And so he's going to set before them an illustration about the seriousness of sin and saying these people were taken out because they violated God's law, disobeyed God's law, and went into sin. So what is Baal Peor? Peor is a place, Baal is an idol, and it's the story of the king of Moab coming to, and his name is Balak, coming to the false prophet Balaam and trying to hire this false prophet who had some unusual connection with God. As you read the story, he was a man that got information from God and he faithfully expounded it. But Balaam comes to Balaam to try to get Balaam to curse the children of Israel. And so, several times, as Balaam goes to curse Israel and he can't, all he can do is bless them, because why? Because God was for Israel. So, Balaam thinks to himself, he thinks, the only way we can get the curse that Balak, the king of the Moabites, desires against God's people, is to get God against Israel. by leading Israel into sin and idolatry. And so the Bible says in Numbers 31 verse 16, Behold, these caused the children of Israel through the counsel of Balaam to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord. These gods, false gods, were gods of fertility. There was sexual sin that took place with regard to that. And so as Israel entered into idolatry, they entered into sexual sin and disobedience against God in both regards. And so the Bible says in number 25, verse 1, And Israel abode in Shittim. And the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. And they called the people unto the sacrifice of their gods, and the people to eat and bow down to their gods. And Israel joined himself unto Baal Peor. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. And the Lord said to Moses, take all the heads of the people and hang them up before the Lord against the sun, that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel. And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, slay ye everyone, his men, that were joined unto Baal Peor. And so as Moses begins saying, God's law is very exact. Let me give you an illustration of that, Israel. Remember Baal Peor and what God did to those that violated God's law in a specific regard with regard to what we're going to consider today with regard to idolatry. And so God enforced his law. The second illustration that Moses uses, not only of Belpior, but also of himself, because he says in our text, as we read it here in verse 22, Moses says, but I must die in this land. I must not go over Jordan. Why? Well, we've talked about it recently, haven't we? I think maybe even last week we mentioned that, or two weeks ago. that Moses couldn't go into the land because rather than speaking to the rock that had already been struck and water had flowed out of it, the Bible says he got angry with the people and he struck the rock, remember? And he disobeyed what God said to do. And so Moses himself, as the leader of the children of Israel, that God chose to lead them out of Egypt into the Promised Land, Moses himself, could not go into the land because he had disobeyed God. And what's interesting, if you go back to chapter 3, I wondered when I was studying this, why does Moses repeat himself? He tells the story in chapter 3, but in chapter 3, he also says, I could not go into the land for your sakes. And I believe this, that God was not going to let Israel think there was going to be much mercy extended if they disregarded God's law. And so that truth is very strong. As Moses even says to them, but I must die in this land. I must not go over Jordan. But he's seeking to prepare them, not only to, again, possess the land, but maintain possession of the land. Because in the rest of that verse, which point to you he says, I can't go in. But he says, but ye shall go over and possess that good land. Now, let's just think about it. As they go into the promised land, as long as their heart is right with God, what's going to happen? Well, they're going to take and fight their enemies, and they're going to win. They're going to succeed in battle. There's going to be blessing. It's the land of milk and honey. There's going to be a provision that God gives. And so, as long as they kept their heart right with God, possessed that good land, everything's fine. And it's the same for us. As long as our heart is right with God, we've been talking about it at Sunday school. Some of that truth is going to come out sometime today. I know we're coming back to this idea of all things work together for good to them that love God. But we have the blessing of God. There is a sweetness of God's enablement and God's grace and God fighting for us. But if we get off that place of blessing, then it's very similar to what Israel would face if they're dispossessed from the land. And so this morning, my message is possess that good land. And the question is that we can consider as we come to this, are you living where your enemies are defeated? Are you living in that place where assured, right relationship with God, closeness to God, that as best you know, you can say, you know, there's nothing between my soul and the Savior. I know that I'm right with God, especially in the area that is under consideration this morning of anything taking God's place. And so may the Spirit of God just speak to our hearts as we come to this text. Let's pray and ask God to help us as we consider it this morning. Father, I thank you for the Word of God. And Father, it's a privilege that we have to have a book. Lord, even this past week in witnessing, just speaking to an agnostic, I asked him, how would you communicate to your creation if you had created them? Father, a book makes sense. It's language. It tells us truth. And I'm so thankful that we have a book of truth. And Father, that we can look back, even into the Old Testament, and say, you know, how did God relate to his people in a more visible way, Father, than we experience? We get a glimpse into our relationship with God, even looking back to how, God, you relate to your people. And so I pray this morning as we come to the Word of God, Father, may there be rich benefit given to us through your Word. Father, I can't speak or preach without your enablement. Father, I pray that the Holy Spirit of God would guide me as I speak. I pray that my heart would be tender to you, my mind would be tender to you. I pray, Lord, that I'd be aware of your leading. Father, I pray as I often pray, Lord, help me preach biblically. Father, help me preach practically. Father, help me preach lovingly. And Father, I pray by the grace that you give that you help me preach powerfully as I am to speak as a minister of the Word of God. And Father, I pray that you give us ears to hear this morning. Father, I pray for a quietness in our hearts before God. And Father, may this be of real value to us and not in vain that we sit in the house of God this morning. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. So, possessing the land. We're going to deal with three aspects of that. First, if you're in the land, what to do. Secondly, if you're going out of the land, what to do. Third, if you're outside the land, what to do. And so we start this morning, if you're in the land, be careful. Be careful. If you're in the land, be careful. He says it in verse 23, he says, take heed unto yourselves. As you get into the land, take heed unto yourself. In other words, be very careful about your walk with God. Sadly, it would be very easy in that promised land for Israel to forget God. Deuteronomy, in chapter 6, just two chapters later, verse 10, it says, and it shall be when the Lord thy God shall brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities which thou buildest not. and houses full of all good things, which thou fillest not, and wells digged, which thou diggest not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantest not, when thou shalt have eaten and be full. And it's building up and you're thinking, they've got this, and they've got this, and they've got this, and it's going so good, they should be so thankful to God for his goodness. Then Moses says to them, then beware. lest thou forget the Lord which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage. It's going so well that it's easy to forget the source of the blessing of why it is going so well. Do you remember teaching your kids to ride a bike? Or maybe some of our parents are maybe even still teaching their children to ride a bike. But as you're teaching them to ride a bike, and you're pushing them, and they feel like they're doing so well, and their little legs are going so fast, you know, and now I've got it, I've got it, I've got it. You know, let go, let go, let go, right? They say, until you let go, and then they crash. You take off the stabilizers, you know, take the stabilizers off, I've got it, I've got it, you know. You take the stabilizers off, and then they crash, and then they're begging you to put the stabilizers back on. It could be like that with us and God. It's going so well, it's going so well, and we just feel like, I'm doing it, I'm doing it, I'm doing it, I'm fine, I'm fine, and we forget the source of our stability is God. And so Moses reminds them what the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 10-12, That we've stopped right now and remembered that stability, that maybe it's coming into our life, coming into our family, coming into our environment, that stability is something that is given to us by God and we need to guard that stability. And so he reminds them to remember God's covenant. And so verse 23 says, take heed unto yourself, lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you. Now these were very precious people. These were the children of God. These were the people that, when they come into the promised land, Rahab and Jericho would say, we have seen what your God did. Why? Because God fought for Israel. God was on Israel's side. They had a very precious covenant agreement relationship. with God. We just saw, by the way, Jamie and Rebecca on Friday, I guess it was, in Cassia, the little baby. Several of us were there last year when Jamie and Rebecca entered into a marriage covenant. A marriage covenant is a covenant agreement between us and somebody, our spouse, that we're going to be faithful before God. We're going to be faithful to one another till death does us part. It's that agreement. And it's a precious privilege. It's a wonderful thing to get married and to have that relationship. But it's a sad thing when somebody despises that relationship and becomes unfaithful. and commits the sin of adultery against that person. That's a very sad thing that breaks into that covenant agreement that they had with one another. And so the Bible speaks about, with regard to man's covenant with God, there is such a thing as spiritual adultery. There is such a thing as something that enters into that, what should be that close and unique and only relationship, and drives man away from God. So James speaks it out in James 4 verse 4, he says the adulterers Know ye not that friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be the friend of the world is the enemy of God. And you read that and you think, wow, they were involved in sexual sin. No, they weren't. Well, they might have been, but that's not what James is dealing with. He's dealing with the fact that their heart has been taken away from God. They're committing spiritual adultery against God. Because they love that which God despises. They love that which is against God. They love that which is not God. And it separated them from God. And so as we think about being in the land, maintaining possession of the land, we need to be reminded, look, we are in a covenant relationship with God through the precious gift that He gave, that we talked about in Sunday School, of His only Son that purchased that relationship. We need to remember that covenant agreement that we have with God. Secondly, remember God's law. And so he says in verse 23, towards the end, lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord your God which he made with you and make you a graven image for the likeness of anything which the Lord thy God hath forbidden thee. And specifically, you're going to see this in this text, the main thing that Moses is guarding him against is against anything that would draw their heart away from God. And the main thing that would do that is idolatry. Worshipping anything other than God. Now let's stop and think about it. God gave ten commands. And we could look at the Ten Commandments and think, you know what? Those commands are about guarding relationships. The command against adultery is to protect the marriage relationship, right? The command against murder is to protect the relationship with that person, that family, that individual. The first two are to protect man's relationship with God. And so Exodus chapter 20, verse 1, God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which hath brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of anything that's in heaven above, or that's in the earth beneath, or that's in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them. For I, the Lord, thy God, am jealous, God. And you're going to see these ideas coming out even in our text. But God says, no idols. Why? Because just like adultery breaks the covenant relationship between a man and his wife, Idolatry, if you stop and think about it, is the main thing that separates the heart of man from God. In humanism, it's the idolatry itself, I guess. But it's idolatry, it's worshipping something other than God, giving glory to something other than God. And you think about, what is an idol? An idol is anything that steals men's hearts away from God. And so we think it's something men honor or obey instead of God. In other words, if God says to do something and this says the opposite, if we're responding to that, that's idolatry. If it's something other than God telling us what to do or getting the honor that God deserves, it's something that takes God's place. No time for God. Because I've got time for this instead of God. My interest in God isn't there because I'm more interested in this, to be honest, than I am interested in God. God's just not my priority because this is my priority. So it's something that has taken the place of God. It's something that controls men's actions. You know, I mean, the main thing, that we have a pretty guy gotta help me to respond this way, but the main thing ought to be my love for God determines what I do. But for many, it's not. And it's an idol that has crept in that controls them, that they bow down to, that they yield to, that they respond to. It's something that is dearer to men than God. Again, they enjoy it more than they enjoy God. Now, as I preach this morning, I know as we come to this point, I'm not picturing in my mind anybody in our church or maybe even many people in our community that actually have in their cupboard an idol or something, an icon that they bow down to or that they worship. But again, an idol is just anything that has taken God's place in my life. And so it could be family. For a lot of people it's family. Well, and this idol doesn't have to be something bad. It doesn't have to be something that is not something that's good. It could be something that's good, but it's just taking a place that it ought not to have. And so it could be family. There's many people that family is the thing that determines what they do or don't do, rather than, at times, God. And so we could ask the question about family, do you obey them or God? Have they taken God's place? Do they control your actions? Are they dearer to you than God and what God desires? And you think about it, you think, Pastor, come on, somebody that's saved, you never think you have to tell them, you know, family is less important than God. We all seemingly know that, and yet Jesus himself said in Matthew 10, 37, he that loveth father or mother more than me. is not worthy of me. And he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. What's that mean? That means that my family could be given deference instead of God. And I've got to stop and think about the actions that I take, and the places that I go, and the things that I do, and why I do what I do. And if it's a question between God wants me to do this, or my family wants me to do this, I've got to evaluate it and say, does God understand why I obey my family rather than Him? Or do I need to change and obey God rather than my family? and see a family even. It could be work. It's too demanding. It's taking too much time. And it's a job that I need because I want it, because I need those finances. It may not be the job that God intends me to have, because why would God intend me to have a job that usurps His place, where I'm more living my life for my economics and my wealth, rather than living my life for God? There's a man that, as Jesus offered to have him follow him, Luke 14, 19, another said, I bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them. I pray they have an excuse. It's a work excuse. I'm sorry, I just don't have time. I don't have time to follow God. I've got to go to work. It could be work. It could be cherished sin, sin that's harbored. Not sin that is something that comes along, but something that's cherished and something that is dearer to that person than a right relationship with God. Isaiah 59 verse 2 says that your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you that He will not hear it. And maybe some of that just loves alcohol, and they say, you know, they know that God is against it. In the Word of God, wine is a locker, strong drink is raging, whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. But rather than get right with God about alcohol, they go after alcohol instead of continuing to follow after God. The lust of flesh, the lusty eyes, the pride of life, the things that are drawing that person in their lust and their desires away from a right relationship with God. They're yielding to that rather than to God, and it's separated them from God. It could be hobbies. It could be pleasures. It could be entertainment. It could be sports. It could be digital devices. By the way, mine's not in my pocket. I always go get it out of my pocket. It's always behind me. But we've got idols. I would say this, even as godly people, if we stop and evaluate how quickly we turn to social media, how quickly we turn to texting and email, and I mean, we're just, we're controlled by that, versus how often are we going to God in prayer, how often are we concerned about reading the Bible, reading what God says, and spending that time with God. We've got plenty of time for social media, but no time for God. and to think what God thinks about that idol that's coming to our life. And so remember, remember God's covenant, and then remember God's law. God said no idols, no idols. And then remember God's power, remember God's power. It says in verse 24, for the Lord thy God is a consuming fire. Now that's an awesome picture, right? If we had a furnace up here today, and we had a roaring blaze beyond this wall, that statement is a very strong statement about the power of God. And it's a statement that ought to put the fear of God into the heart of any wise person. Psalm 111, verse 10, says, for the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. A good understanding have all they that do His commandments. It's a good thing today if in your heart, there's a fear in your heart for God. There's a young man in church today, up in Pachelbel's, that I got to speak with a week ago. And he said to me, he said, do you fear God? And he said, I fear God. I said, well, look. I said, fear in God is not, oh, I fear God. Fear in God is obeying God, just like love in God is obeying God. And I said, for instance, I said, where should you be on the Lord's Day? And he looks at me, 17 years old. Church? I said, yeah. If you fear God, yeah, because that's what God said. That's what God expects because God is God and God is powerful. If I fear God, I'm not gonna disobey God easily because I fear him. By the way, he was in church last Sunday and I had a text on my phone saying he was to be there today as well. Praise God, huh? Because he's fearing God and obeying God. And so, but as Israel heard this truth, your God's a consuming fire, Israel, they could think back and oh yeah, Mount Sinai, Exodus 19, 17, Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God. And they stood at the bottom of the mount. And Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire, and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace. And the whole mountain quaked greatly. I mean, that's awesome, the visual aspect. And by the way, we're removed from this, and I prayed about it. We don't see God as they saw God. We walk by faith, not by sight. But God hasn't changed. That same God that they would have had a holy fear about, oh, God is a consuming fire. The God that they witnessed when Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, were judged because of their false fire that they offered before God as priests of God. The Bible says they went out fire from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. I remember my dad having a visual illustration for us as kids. By the way, those are dangerous sometimes. I had a principal at my school that taught his boys not to gamble. When they were in Casino Las Vegas, they went into a restaurant on the way through. All the restaurants have slot machines and things. He's going to teach them it's a waste to gamble. So he takes a quarter out of his pocket, puts it in the slot machine, runs the thing, won $5. So those don't always work. This one worked. My dad took our Christmas tree every year. We had a live Christmas tree. Well, dying. But we had a live Christmas tree. It wouldn't even dry out. If you've ever lit a Christmas tree on fire, it's just like a torch. And so dad would teach us not to mess with fire by every year lighting that Christmas tree on fire. And I mean, it would roar, just like, and be gone. It's good for us to end up with a fear of fire in our hearts. It's good for us this morning to stop and think, you know, do I really fear God? See, I could take the idea of idolatry as pastors preach it this morning with a grain of salt if I don't really fear God. If I fear God, then I stop and I examine it, and I say, look, is my mobile more important than God? Is my sin more important than God? Is my family more important than God? Are my hobbies more important than God? How important is God to me? Because God is a consuming fire. And Moses says, remember God's power. But then he goes on, remember God's jealousy. It says, even a jealous God. You know, when somebody comes to you to say, you know, that they tell you they've got a boyfriend or a girlfriend, you don't say, how many do you have? Alright? Why? Because it's an exclusive relationship. We understand that. I mean, that's just expected, that even in that infancy of that relationship, that you don't have more than one boyfriend or girlfriend, because You're preparing for some day where it's a totally exclusive relationship of husband and wife. Anybody that has somebody say to them, you don't mind, do you? If I date somebody else at the same time is obviously going to have problems with that because of the jealousy that, no, that is my girlfriend, that is my boyfriend. Certainly when it comes to that is my wife, that is my husband, we understand that there is jealousy that is right to have in that regard. And so the Bible says in Proverbs 6, 34, for jealousy is the rage of a man, therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. Jealousy is a rage of a man. He's not going to be content if somebody comes and says, well, I'll give you this. No. What you give me doesn't matter. I want that right relationship. You know, God is not pleased today if somebody comes and says, well, God, I'm going to tie. Well, God, I'm going to do this. God is not pleased with that if that relationship is not right with him. And if it's not right with him, consider this. How does he view that which has store in your heart? And if it's such a problem to him in his relationship with you, what is he going to do about it because of the power that we just talked about that he possesses? You see, Moses is trying to put in their heart and understanding, God has a law. God is serious about his law. God is a covenant relationship that you have with God. It's a privilege. Guard that privilege. Guard that relationship. Don't let any idol into that. Because God is a jealous God. And God is going to do something about it. then remember God's knowledge. If you're in the land, remember God's knowledge. And I suppose an Israelite could think through the whole argument that Moses is given, God's covenant, God's law, God's power, God's jealousy, and think, well, as long as God doesn't know about it, I guess it'd be alright. It's just a little isle, just in a little corner of my tent that I have, and I just bow down to it when nobody else is looking, and if it's secret, then it's okay, and yet Moses takes away that argument by reminding them of God's knowledge. And so verse 25 says, We now shall beget children, and children's children, and ye shall remain long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image for the likeness of anything. and shall do evil in the sight of the Lord thy God, to provoke him to anger." And Moses is reminding them that God is omnipresent and God is omniscient. And as parents, we're not always with our kids and we don't always see what our kids do. And as a church, we don't always see what one another does. But there's a God in heaven this morning that is very aware of every aspect of every human's heart. And every idol possess. And God's not ignorant of it. And so that is a reminder again to make people, Israel aware of the need to guard their heart because there's a God that is observing them. had a good name for this God in Genesis 16 verse 13. And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, thou God seest me. For she said, have I also here looked after him that seeth me? And in her case, it was good. I mean, it was positive. God knew about her. God knew where she was. But in the same sense, thou God seest me. God knows the very secret recesses of man's heart. And so guard that relationship with the covenant-making God so carefully under great scrutiny because of that. So if you're in the land, be careful. Maintain possession of the land. Remember God's covenant, God's law, God's power, God's jealousy, God's knowledge of where we're at. And if someone's careful about those truths, they stay in the land. That's it. But if somebody disregards that, say somebody is thinking about that thing, right, Moses, I don't think God's that serious about it, and maybe I can get away with a little bit of idolatry and it'll be okay, that brings us to the second point. If you're departing the land, be concerned. If you're departing the land, be concerned. And the thing is this, a person's departure from the land begins as soon as they depart from God. Verse 25, it says, when thou shalt beget children, and children's children, and ye shall remain long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of anything, and shall do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke unto anger. And so Moses warns them, maintain possession of land, guard that covenant relationship, but, When you depart from God, I want you to know that in departing from God, you're departing from the land of God's blessing. And so, he calls heaven and earth to witness against them that he's telling them this. And he tells them, you won't be able to stop it. He says in verse 26, I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land, whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it, ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed. And again, I think that you could get in the land and think, well, things are going well. I don't really feel like I need God as much. I needed God to get here. And you know what? Idols are fun. I see other people, other nations that were conquering. They have idols. And I'm just going to do what they did. And because I want to get what they got, but I'm going to stay in the land. And God says, you can't have both. And if you think that you can somehow stop this, the Bible says, you shall not prolong your days upon him, and you're gonna lose God's blessing. Now, in Deuteronomy chapter one again, Moses has already prepared them for the idea that without God, you're nothing. And so in chapter one, he reminds them of the time that, by the way, where we're at in Deuteronomy, This is getting ready for the second attempt to go into the land. All right? This is past the 12 spies. The 12 spies failed. They came back with a 10 with a bad report. Joshua and Caleb with a good report. And they rebelled against God. And Moses said, OK, God's going to judge you. Everyone here is going to die. That's 20 years old and upward. That wouldn't go into the land. But then they decided, no, I want to continue and let's go onto the land. And Moses tells them. In our text, further back, chapter 1. The Lord said unto me, Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight, for I am not among you, lest ye be smitten before your enemies. So I spake unto you, and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord, and went presumptuously up into the hill, and the Amorites which dwelt in the mount came out against you, and chased you as bees do, and destroyed you, and seared you, even unto Hormuz." In fact, they thought, we can do this. Why? Because we're Israel. We've seen great things. But it was great things when God was with them. It's like Samson, where he goes, I'm going to shake myself, I'm going to rise up, and his hair had been cut. He lost the power of God, and he lifts nothing, but the spirit had departed. And it's us thinking, I can make my life work okay without God. No, we can't. And so, again, we've got to be so careful about idols. Why? Because idols steal away our heart from God. When we get away from God, we don't have God's blessing. If we don't have God's blessing, we don't have God's power. and we're departing the land. In fact, God's putting us out of the land, because God would be behind their departure. Verse 27 says, the Lord shall scatter you among the nations, and shall be left few in number among the heathen. With it, the Lord shall lead you. And you turn from God, and God just goes, okay, it's gonna be rough. It's gonna be rough, because I'm no longer for you. In fact, I'm against you. And so, God was behind their departure. And then he tells them, your false gods aren't going to be able to help you. Verse 28, it says, Have you ever heard the saying, it's like talking to a rock? That's really like talking to a rock. It's like talking to a rock. It's like talking to a metal. It's like talking to something that can't help you. But they, in their departure from God, they think, I'm going to be okay. But they're getting moved off the land. But they still have their idols. But they're nothing. And so it could be like this. Somebody thinks, well, I may not have God, but I've got my family. I may not have God, but I've got my entertainment. I may not have God, but I've got my whatever. I can get on. I can make it without God, but nobody can make it without God. It's empty, it's that which does not satisfy, it's that which does not meet our needs. My mobile does not know my heart, my whatever item that may be, does not know my heart, does not know my need, cannot meet my need. But God can. And so, this morning, if in our heart we start to think, you know what, my heart is departing from God, we ought to be concerned. We ought to be concerned, stop and think, you know what, I can't have what I need if I don't have God. And so that too, I motivate us back to God. And so, if you are in the land, be careful. If you're going out of the land, be concerned. But that brings us to the third point, or final point. If you're out of the land, be converted. If you're out of the land, be converted. There could be a process of time. You'll notice in the text that Moses says, even if generationally it's much later and you get idols in your life and you depart from God, That generation needs to turn back to God and can turn back to God. Or if it's you and you've gotten out of the place of God's blessing, you too can turn back to God. And you probably noticed as we read the text earlier in the service, the precious truth is about getting back to God. You need to be converted. To convert, is to change their religious faith or belief. It's to go or get back to God. James speaks about it in James chapter 5 verse 19. Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth and one convert him, let him know that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death and shall hide a multitude of sin. And it's a good thing when somebody goes and reaches their brother and says, brother, you're getting away from God. Come back to God. Or goes and reaches a person that has never known God. Because generationally, they fell away from God and their family. And that person can then come to God. So let's think about this idea of conversion this morning. Conversion is possible when far away from God. Conversion is possible when far away from God. They could find God. Verse 29 says, But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him. Here it is, they had the blessing of God, they despised it, they went to idols. They got over here, away from God, under God's judgment. But God says, if you stop and think about it there, and you want it back in a right relationship with God, you can have it, even from that place far away from God. You ever told a child that they're looking for something, and they come to you, and they say, I can't find it. And you say, have you looked for it? And the answer is, no. How do you expect anybody to find something that they're not looking for? I meet people all the time that are far away from God, and they'll say something like, God has not revealed himself to me yet. They'll say, well, I'll find out when I get there. But there's no investment of anything of seeking God. The Bible says here that if you seek Him, you'll find Him, as it says elsewhere. But they're not looking. But God is findable. But He's only findable to those that diligently seek Him. It says, if thou seek Him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. So I have a question for all of us this morning. How diligently are you seeking God? What's the extent of your investment of time, energy, and effort in seeking God? I read a story this past week of a lady in England that, I think it was last weekend, she was redecorating her bathroom, and in the bathroom there was a candle, and it was a candle, but she kept a wedding ring. She apparently lost some weight since she got married, and so she put her ring there, and it didn't fit that well, so she kept it in the candle. And that's just where it was. But as they cleaned, they just binned everything and took it out. They took it to the TIF. And that night, at some point, she went, I went angry. The TIF was closed. So she spent hours in tears. And then the next day, her husband goes down. And two guys from the TIF, council workers, went. And they knew it was in a black bag. And for four hours, they tore open bags looking for the stuff from the bathroom. When they found the stuff from the bathroom, they very carefully laid it out, and thankfully, they found this woman's ring. But that's diligence. That's intelligence. I mean, that's saying it's so important to me that I give myself to it. I would just say to somebody that is away from God, look, you know what? Have you picked up the Bible? Have you asked somebody that's godly some questions about God? Have you prayed to God and said, God, I need you. I want to get in the land of blessing. I want to get in that place of knowing God. God, I want to find you. And have you spent time praying? And if not, how could you be converted? It's hard today. I mean, admittedly, as we do evangelism, what's the hardest thing? They're not seeking God. If you seek me, you should find me. If you search with all your heart, I tell that, I do, I tell that to unbelievers. And I give them genuine moments. And by God's grace, I believe some of them are gonna get saved. But they're gonna get saved when they get in the word of God and they begin to speak after God. How important is God to you? And then conversion is possible when things are really bad. It's possible when people seek God, but it's possible when things are really bad. Verse 30 says, when thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee. Again, they're in God's judgment. It's not, it's awful. And they could feel like this, and sometimes people feel like this. I don't want to call out to God when things are bad. Because they feel like it's hypocritical. They feel like, you know what? I didn't call upon God when it was good. Why should I call upon God when it's bad? But the point is this. It's bad probably because I got away from God. Make sense? And so it's a great place. And don't let that be your excuse today. You know what? Well, my life's tough and I hate to cry out to God for help when life was good and I didn't cry out to God. But listen, it's tough because you're away from God. That's why it's tough. You think about people in the Bible. The apostle Paul, he was struck with blindness. But that's when he found God. Jonah, out of the belly of hell cried I. What a statement. You know, I don't know how I'd describe being in a fish's belly. But out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my cry. It's an OK thing if you're in a really tough spot, and it's difficult. Like the Philippian jailer, he's about ready to commit suicide and fall on that sword because he thinks his prisoners have escaped. It's okay at that time to cry out to God and to get right with God. Why? Because conversion is possible when things are really bad. And that conversion is possible even in the latter days. Even in the future at some point, we went two weeks ago to Burger King after church, Sunday night. Wouldn't invite it to you, but no. We had some vouchers. And those vouchers, sadly on the way there, I said to my wife, I said, you better check the expiry. And sure enough, they expired three months ago or something. Those promises were no good anymore. Why? because they expire. You know, I want to rejoice with us today that the promises of God have no expiry. Somebody could think, I put God out for so long, but I had such an obstinate, you know, I wasted 20 years, I wasted 30 years, what does it matter? God here puts no time table on it. Even in the latter days, you can find God. Think about the thief on the cross. He's dying. He's a thief. But at his death, Lord, remember me in paradise. And Jesus, this day, thou shalt be with me in paradise. Conversion is possible, even in the latter days. Then conversion is possible if you're ready to follow God. It says, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice. And so they couldn't come back to God with their idols. I mean, if they had a cart behind them and it's got their idols in it, then they're not ready to get back in the land of blessing because they're still idolaters. And so I can't say to anybody today, you know, God will accept you as you are. No, God will accept you if you reject who you are. Those things that have stolen you away from God and have turned you away from God, that have kept you from obeying God with liberty and quickness, when God said to do something, that excuse that you have put before God and said, this is more important to me than God. You've got to chuck it and destroy it and say, God, I will follow you. Conversion is possible if you're ready to follow God. And then conversion is possible because God is merciful. Verse 31 says, For the Lord thy God is a merciful God. He will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers, which ye swear unto them. See, God wasn't being mean to Israel and banishing them and turning them away from the land. He is a holy God and he's an exclusive God. God doesn't share his throne with any idol. But as he put them away, so he's there and he's waited. They departed off the land. They could come back because of the mercy of God. You know, like the father and the prodigal son, if they came back, he'd do something undignified and run to meet them. He'd do something unexpected and throw a party. Why? Because God is merciful. Praise God. So let me ask you this morning, are you off the land of God's blessing? We've got to value where we're at this morning. And to say I'm in the land is to say the battles are being won because I'm fighting with God, and I stand with God, and there is no idol in my heart. There's nothing that I obey rather than God. That's the place God demands. He hasn't changed in the New Testament from what he was in the Old Testament. Ananias and Sapphira, by the way, this is what they've got in the New Testament, and God destroyed them. God's the same. So we've got to evaluate this morning. What about it? Have I really remembered that I'm in a precious covenant relationship with God and that God demands that I have Him as first in my life? Have I forgotten God's law against idolatry? God's power God's knowledge that God does not accept my excuses. If I have a reason for why I disobey God, that is my idol. God does not accept that. So if I'm in the land of blessing, I keep knowledge of that. I say, by the grace of God, I just want to stay there. I want to guard that relationship. And we ought to, if that's you today, you ought to grab on and say, I want to stay in the land of God's blessing. So God is first. I'm going to keep him first. By the way, I didn't share this. Let me share it real quick. I read William Borden's biography this past couple weeks. William Borden, I think it was Yale that he went to. He went to a couple actually well-known schools. He was academically very gifted. He was well respected among the student body. He was wealthy. He was a millionaire a hundred years ago. But God worked in his heart and William Borden became a missionary to Muslims. He wanted to go to the hardest people to reach. So he was going to go to China and reach Chinese Muslims. On the way to the field, he stopped in Egypt to study Islam and the Islamic language. He contracted a disease and he died. His biography is the fact that he was a young man that lived his life with complete abandonment from things. He could have had a car. He didn't even buy a car because he didn't want it to be an idol in his life. He gave away tons of money to the Lord's work. When he died, his will, you should read his will, what he gave to the Lord in his death as a young man. But the main thing that I came away with from his life and reading it is the statement that he said regarding this verse. Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. And for him, it was a decision to, every day, get up and live his life completely for God. There are several people that said when they wrote about him and how he impacted their life, they wanted a picture of him to remember him by. But the way they pictured him was kneeling with a drunkard with his arm around him, speaking to him about the Lord. He was young. He was in his twenties. But he had a big heart for God. So we stop and think about it this morning, that's a life that's rightly related to God. I think all of us could look at our life and go, you know what, I'm not as close to God as I ought to be, and I need to get in the land of God's blessing. Secondly, are you departing from the land? You can't stop it. I mean, if you wanted to, you wanted to, you know what, you want to keep the blessing that God gives and have idols? It's not possible. And maybe this morning you find yourself outside the place of God's blessing. But the thing to remember is, you know what, even if I'm far away from God, things are really bad, and I put it off much of my life, I can still turn to God because God is merciful. But I have to obey. And that would be me today, taking those idols that are in my heart, in my life, and saying, God, right, you put your finger on it, that's gotta go. And may God bless His word to our hearts as we've heard it this morning. Let's bow our heads and pray. Father, I pray that your Spirit would take the precious truth of the Word of God and put it deep into our hearts. Father, as the song says, nothing between my soul and the Savior. Not in this world's delusive dreams. Well, I suppose it would be possible for some to think, Pastor, you're really serious today. Father, I can't think of a more serious topic than the topic that we can take for granted things that have come into our life, but they have separated us from God. And we don't even know it. We wonder why we're not in the land of blessing anymore. But it's because idolatry has come into our hearts and into our lives. And so I pray, Lord, you've spoken my heart about it. I pray, speak to every heart. Surely there's things that we can look at and say, you know what? Father, just frankly, if somebody's not spending time in the Bible, they're not faithful to the house of God. And Lord, I prayed about it this morning. We've got four services at a church. We've got Sunday school, Sunday morning, Sunday night, Thursday night. And Father, I can think of very few good reasons to miss church unless it's a providential hindrance. And Father, just examining that aspect of our lives as a church, we desire to please God. Father, we've got to consider that, you know, there's things that are creeping in. And Father, by the grace of God, we need to get on our knees as believers and say, God has to be first. He's got to be first. And Father, you understand if there's legitimacy in missing our devotions and prayer time daily. You understand if there's legitimacy in our social media imbalance in our walk with God. You understand, Lord, if there's a valid reason, but Father, frankly, often it's just an excuse. And so I pray, Father, speak to our hearts. By your grace, we need to be a church that God is first. Father, that we're right with God. Father, I know today we're not going to raise God with kids without God being first. We're not going to have a Godly ministry without God being first. We're not going to impact our community without God being first because we can't possess the land, because we have no right to it, because we've departed from God. And so I pray, may we understand the sober intent of Moses' instruction. And Father, I pray that we examine our lives accordingly. It's in Christ that we pray. Amen. In 389, as you're all in the altar. 389, good question, isn't it? Isn't it all for Jesus? Let's stand in the same place. 389, as you're all in the altar. 389.