Page 8 - Florida Sentinel 10-4-19

Sunday School
Obedient Faith DEUTERONOMY 4:1-8, 12-13 (KJV)
Deuteronomy 4:1 Now therefore hearken, O Is- rael, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fa- thers giveth you.
2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye di- minish ought from it, that ye may keep the command- ments of the LORD your God which I command you.
3 Your eyes have seen what the LORD did because of Baalpeor: for all the men that followed Baalpeor, the LORD thy God hath de- stroyed them from among you.
4 But ye that did cleave unto the LORD your God are alive every one of you this day.
5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judg- ments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.
6 Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wis- dom and your understand-
ing in the sight of the na- tions, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
7 For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for?
8 And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?
12 And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice.
13 And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to per- form, even ten command- ments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.
Background
This week’s lesson begins the study of Unit 2, “Responses to God’s Faithfulness.” The last Unit was about “God’s Faithful-
ness.”
In Unit 2, we will study the
reactions to the many benefits accrued to humans because of God’s grace through the stories of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath and Jesus healing the centurion’s servant and blessing the sinful widow.
Obedience to God reflects His glory!
Obeying God’s Word Brings Life Deuteronomy 4:1-4
Teaching every new genera- tion must also take high priority in the Christian church. The church that ignores its responsi- bility to teach God’s Word sys- tematically will eventually find its doctrinal foundations eroded away.
Only those who continued to obey God would live to possess the land. It was theirs poten- tially as a divine gift, but actu- ally possessing it depended on a proper relationship with the Lord.
Moses warned the people to neither detract from nor add to those commands.
Moses reminded the people of what happened to those who disobeyed God’s command- ments (see Exodus 20:1-5) by referring to the Israelites most recent sins they committed when they spent time at Shit- tim.
Obeying God’s Word Bring Wisdom Deuteronomy 4:5-7
Moses was faithful in teach-
ing the people God’s “statutes and judgments.”
Moses was careful to teach only what he was commanded. Then Moses gave the reason why he was so diligent in teach- ing the people God’s commands.
Moses revealed the impor- tance of obeying God’s com- mands
God’s presence with Israel was more than a formal appear- ance as a cloud. He was with His people to help whenever they called upon Him. They had already had many occasions to call on Him in the wilderness, and those who went on to con- quer Canaan would do so often again.
Obeying God’s Word Brings Power Deuteronomy 4:8, 12-13
We should give the Lord praise, worship and gratitude for what He has given us so that we can develop an obedient faith.
Moses outlined a plan by which God’s people can bring the past and the future to- gether. God’s past acts are the basis for a present obedient faith, which in turn can be com- municated to keep future gener- ations strong. Our faith will release God’s power in us, and our children will be able to see obedient faith in us.
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