The Heart of the Law - Pr Rian van Deventer - GTAN2524

Jesus said in Matthew 28 verse 19, Go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Welcome to Go Teach All Nations, bringing you Christ's teachings through Australian and international speakers. And here is today's presenter, Pastor Rian van Deventer. SPEAKER 2 I think we're going to be okay. Now asking the question why? Why has God asked us to do this? Well probably because he's took the first two when he came down from the mountain. It's going to make sense. But here's the interesting thing. God is willing to write on the two stone tablets again. And why? Because there is no visible wall anymore. It's been broken. So God says, In order for this covenant to work, I've got to reinstate the terms. The terms are needs to be in a place where people can see them. So the law needs to be restored as this part of the Covenant. This person, this person, this person. It's about restoring the kind of a concept, right? It's the first thing you look at. What do I need to do? He carries on and says this in verse 3 and 4. He says, no man shall come up with you and let no no man has seen throughout all the mountain, left neither flocks nor herds feed before the mountain. Why? Because God promised he would cut it down. He's only present in verse 4. It says so he cut the cedars for stone like the first was. Then Moses rose early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him. And he took in his hand the two tablets of stone. And the people wanted to leave. what is the lesson? Why did he have to take those two tablets of stone? Why? Why did I should cut Nuance? SPEAKER 3 Right? SPEAKER 2 We have to always God. What is that Bible to do with it? I want to talk to you this morning. 50. Moses is going to go. we have broken this, but we are willing to bring the tablets again. So write to them again. And we're willing to follow it. And this is our willingness by bringing these two tablets to you. It's important. Think about this. In order for us to experience the life changes God, we should be willing to follow his life-changing words. He's one thing to say, I know about God and not to follow him and hear his experience. SPEAKER 3 Right? SPEAKER 2 There's a risk for it. People like to call you that. So whenever we like to say you believe in something that you don't do. so we're going to experience this life-changing God. And all we do is we're going to follow what he says. It's life-changing wisdom. Ezekiel 36: 36-37. It's about stones. Ezekiel. Just before the book of Daniel. Ezekiel 36: 26-27. It says this. It says, I will give you a new heart. heart and put a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of what? Of stone. Okay. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you and cause me to walk in my statutes and you will keep my judgments and do them. What does this mean? Try to translate. Festival of New. Do you agree with me? God's not saying there's something wrong with this current way you're carrying on. You need a new experience. A new start to life. Festival's got a heart of stone. Why? Why is it got a want of flesh? Well, it's hardened by this problem of sin. And the heart that God wants to give us is one of flesh. who desires to do what God asks us to do. What that is. If you say to somebody, you've got a hard time to use, they're very hard person, they're very hard on their love, the way they are, you know, they're just very difficult person to get along with. But sometimes you meet people, loving people who go far out, you know. SPEAKER 3 And. SPEAKER 2 They can so there needs to be a new desire to do what God asks us to do, right? A new lease on living. In John 14, verse 15, if you love me, keep my words. Okay, we sometimes mix those two up, don't we? you think if we hit the Commandments, then God will love us? No, no, no, no. It's come up to work. It's God's law. Same way when you've got Norris. No one forced us. No one forced us to step back to that church and say, I do. No, most of us made that decision because we really love that person. SPEAKER 3 Right? SPEAKER 2 Because we love that person same way. We really love God. We want to want to do what he's asking us to do. This is the interesting thing about basketball. We talk about the things that we do. What is obedience? It's obedience is having a willingness to surrender and follow Jesus. So the question I am asking you this morning at this stage is, have you brought your heart of stone to God for transformation? Remember the Lord's prayer? Verse 5-7 says, Now the Lord descended on the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the Lord. Isn't this interesting? Yes, note. Verse 6. And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering and abounding in goodness and what? and the Lord and keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgressions and sins by no means, hearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and fourth generation. Right, he appears. So for Moses, there's no doubt about who this is, right? He says this, 'Mercy, peace, gracious, long-suffering, goodness, truth.' When I read that list to you, what do you think of? Come on, Bible students, long-suffering, long-suffering. Galatians Chapter 5. The fruit of the Spirit is... you see in order for us to have fruits of God, we need to have God's character. Because this is what God is all about. God is merciful, God is gracious, He's long suffering, He's goodness and He is... Now I love this word. Verse 7 says, Keeping mercy for thousands, that word forgiving is a very important word. If you look at that word in the Greek and the Hebrew, it's called nasa. What does that word is the divine forgiveness. It's called nasa. What does that mean? To lift up or to carry to assume responsibility for sin and taking it upon oneself. what else does he forgive? Forgiving inequity? What is inequity? I'm always thinking about what word rates that are stipulated. What's the same point? No, no, let me understand all this word. Well, inequity is. same as wickedness. SPEAKER 3 To. SPEAKER 2 Do bad things. Transgression meaning rebellion, meaning wanting to stand up against God and sin is the breaking of God. So God is willing to forgive wickedness and rebellion and the breaking of His law. Now it's interesting when you look at this scripture same wording of what? One of the questions that was asked by the people. What is the meaning of the Bible? Let me go. Get your finger there in Exodus 33 and come with me to Exodus 20. Let's read. Let's like in your mind again here. It says, verse four, you shall not make yourself a carved image any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the Earth. You shall not bow down to them nor serve them by the Lord your God. Am I right? Let's go. So what was the sin that Israel committed? They made itself an idol. SPEAKER 3 So. SPEAKER 2 He basically highlights the first commandment here and then he says this:. SPEAKER 3 The. SPEAKER 2 First commandment is to love God. The second commandment is to love your neighbor. it will come and you will suck again in the third commandment. It says, after he says, I am a jealous God, this father says, visiting the inequity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate. You see, God knows the seriousness of the sin. If they continue down with this problem with idol worship, that's just going to be passed on from generation to generation. It is not this book that is the Bible. It is not this book that is the God between him and his people. It is not the thing that heals the Covenant. It is not the thing that says this. But showing mercy to those who are to love me, to love me. SPEAKER 3 To. SPEAKER 2 Love me, and to love me. He's God, the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. The terms of His covenant never change. And we can understand why. Note that God doesn't start writing the Ten Commandments or the stone tablets straight away, didn't he? He didn't say to Moses, 'Put them in those commandments, I've got a different writing thing.' No, he proclaims his name, his character first, and he comes to us with his character first, and then he starts writing. first expression is to Moses and he's really angry. And that is the very God that I believe in. If this God that went to reclaim people, there's only one that's going to be judging people and punishing them. That's not a God that wants to be friends with you. It's like a pokey man. Are you scared when you're young? It's a God. I don't want God to be like that? No one has got hiding from him. Why is this important? Let me tell you why. This is important before we can follow God, we must first be drawn to His character of love and mercy and grace and long suffering and goodness and truth. His willingness to forgive and His ability to bring to those who continue to live a life of inequity or wickedness. Why do I need this? I'll tell you that. Without these benefits, you will never be able to follow Him. You won't be. Because every time you do something wrong, you will go wrong. off my heart as to look at the people of God, thrown without him being brought up on that fair, but actually making it possible for God. So you know what? The only reason why I'm standing here today is because of God's love and mercy and graciousness and long suffering. And that long suffering was not just his patience. I've got a very short fuse. praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Verse 8-9 says this. So Moses made haste and bowed his head for tears and worship. Then he said, if now I have found Grace in your sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray, go among us, even though we are stiff-necked people. Oh, there's that word again. Stiff-necked and pardon our inequity and our sin and take us as your inheritance. Moses realizes the seriousness of this situation, right? He humbles himself before God. But he pleads for three things. You notice that the first one is God to go among them. Presence. Today we've got the presence of God. We promise you what? The Holy Spirit. He is not Not only the presence, but also the pardon or forgiveness or the iniquity, the wickedness. And sin. 1 John 1:9 says to us, We have a promise. We confess our sins to who? Jesus. He is willing. Willing and just. gives us sense that He cleans us from all. And I want to put you unrighteousness in front of this week. It's the natural way you want to do what is wrong. God is willing to change that. He's willing to forgive us to bring about that change. And not only then, and then He asks, Take them as His own InheriTances. God says, you need to take Lordship over us. You need to be our God. Ownership and Lordship. Right? This means we need to be clear. Jesus is the Lord of all. If God is not Lord of all, He isn't Lord at all. Do you agree? Let me say that again. If God is not Lord of all, He isn't Lord at all. Going back to the Covenant. God spoke about to renew the Covenant. We've got to Exodus 34. I'm just going to highlight some one or two verses through this. Verse 10 to 12 says this. And He said, Behold, I make a Covenant. your people. I will do Marvels such as not been done in all the Earth, nor in any nation and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord. For it is an awesome thing that I will do with you, says God. With who? That's the miracle. Observe what I command you to say. Behold, I am driving out before you the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. So all these nations, you know, some of them there's no trace of them. I can't find through the history of his people, because they completely annihilated them. God said, I'm not driving them out. Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant Covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going. Let it be a what? But I like the two things. First of all, God says the other nations will see the work of the law. Isn't that amazing? So there will be evidence of God, not a fictional character that they believe in, but there will be evidence from him and so much evidence. that's already been given up. Greater wonders than miracles. And I'll tell you what, there's no greater miracle that God can show that a life. It's just the greatest miracle people can see of the reality of Christ. God also says to them, to mind you. the obedience and do what I ask you to do. Why? What happens if you don't? It's just talked about a square. The square is the same as a trap, right? There's a picture of a trap for you up there on the screen there. It says, what now? SPEAKER 3 Right. SPEAKER 2 There's many traps today that we can fall into. It's the media, it's politics, it's our social lives. They're all social norms and ethics that have been re-written. the Nations where we stay. God says, be careful what you watch or read or listen, or by holding, beholding or looking at these things, you will become tainted. And God knows this. He warns him about it. It's all the going to the places. SPEAKER 3 Where. SPEAKER 2 And looking at these things, are we being changed in a good way or in a bad way? We're being changed in what? In a bad way. Very bad. What are some of the things you are concerned about, living with us, and asking? How are they affecting your attitude, your perception, your values and your opinions? What are these things you really want? What are these things you're watching? how are they influencing your faith in God? It says, little or bad for my relationship with God. But always ask that question. In verse 17, it says this. It says, you shall make no more molten gods for yourself. Now, God is reiterating the key problem that they had. SPEAKER 3 Right. SPEAKER 2 And he actually says in the verses. that. If you please, don't act like a woman. Why is this so important? Well, in Revelation, chapter 17, we've got a picture of a woman that was supposed to be God's church. Remember a few verses before we had this beautiful, excuse me, woman question, why representing God's faith for these people and suddenly In Revelation 17, we've got a watch. We've got a prostitute. What happened with that woman? Walked away. So we've got a group of people or a system of religion representing supposed to be the people of God, but they've walked away. God says you are a prostitute yourself. God is trying to reiterate the sin they committed and also the serious softness that then he gets in the morning. Not only does he do that, he also reinstates somebody's feet. Now this might be a boring thing. SPEAKER 3 To you to listen to, but I. SPEAKER 2 Want to highlight a few things. The first one he reenacts is uneven breath. For seven days no yeast was allowed to the intestines or found in the gut. Why? Because it represents the seriousness of concern and the need to turn away from gluten. That's what yeast does. Yeast just expands. those fruits. What is this feast? It's 50 days after the Feast of Unleavened Bread, also known as the Feast of Water. All right. Why is that important? This is the symbol of the first harvest of the early spirit. When the Holy Spirit was poured out in a mighty way, this Feast was all about getting that first fruit of that first harvest. indicating it's God, right? And in the same way, Peter Quast is saying, we can see in the early church that the Holy Spirit has poured out as such a measure. The next piece God talks to in the dark is the piece of two goats. So what's this piece about? The last the eight days as the harvest being a lot. The last bit of Harvest that was gathered in. The last bit. Right. This is the truth. But this point, this represents the closing work of God. The Day of Atonement was celebrated a few days. was the day of Atonement all about? It was the most repenting God cleansing them from that record of sin. Because they were sacrificing the whole year and the day of Atonement was going to deal with all that sin, because they confessed God wants to clean clean, it's clean. And that's what the day of Atonement was about. We who had redpainted all of it. We got three feasts here, first of all, the Passover. we born out about the church. SPEAKER 3 And. SPEAKER 2 And. And at the end of the season of harvest, we've got a day of prayer. It deals with the harvest. SPEAKER 3 It. SPEAKER 2 Deals with the lives of people. God lives in the harvest. It's got a beautiful place. The Feast. were a type of prophetic pointing forward according to God's plan of redemption. There's been other requirements, first of all, if you had clean animals, if they... First of all, the clean animals, the firstborn animals, would have been dedicated to God. First of all, they male humans Donkeys have to be redeemed by Lamb. So we can understand, you know, experiences. We understand Jesus being the Lamb of God. But I'm saying, why donkeys? I don't know. What was God thinking? Guess what? If a donkey wasn't redeemed, his neck had to be broken. That's right. Well, first of all, donkeys are not redeemed. if they weren't redeemed with a. With a lamb, the neck of the animal needed to be broken. They can be stoven and does that ring a bell? A representation of our Lord Jesus. also the wicked Sabbath. Six days that work is forever. It says this. So he was there with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. Isn't that interesting? Similar to what Jesus went through. and he wrote on the tablets the words of the Covenant, as he said what those words were. So God writes on the stone tablets the words of the Ten Commandments, which are the laws of the Covenant. And he gave them to Moses, and Moses gave them to the people. And this is the law of God, verse 29. Verse 30 it says this: Now it was so when Moses came down from the mount Sinai, and the two tablets of the testimony were in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount Sinai, that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. Wow, imagine this. Spending all that time with God had an effect on Moses. Isn't that interesting? His face was being reflected what it's like. It had to be the glory of God. The reflection of that glory resulted into the people being happy. And something happened within when he was falsely accused and also just like Jesus, he's thinking to death by stoning. And it says, and all who sat in the council looking steadfastly at him, this is Stephen, show his face. It is the glory reflected in the countenance of Moses illustrates the blessing to be received by God's command through the mediation of the angels. It is this that the closure, that the closure, our communion with the closer, sorry, our communion with God and the clearer our minds of the more fully shall we conform to His divine image and the more readily shall we become partakers of His glory. If I read this verse correctly, it says this: the shining face reflects God's glory for He is he wants to restore within us. We initially were created in his image, but we soon came in that image got marred. It got stained in the garden of from the time of the Garden of Eden. But through a greater knowledge of his law, we will draw closer to him and reflect what? His glory. this is what Moses said. Verse 33. But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would take the veil off until he came out and he would come out and speak to the children of Israel whatever has been commanded. so the people couldn't stand the shining of Moses' face as sin. Moses put on a veil on his face off his face spoken with God so that the people could bear it. The bearing of the people wise from my face, you see, was being spoken to us three. Come within your Bible quickly. Romans 8:3. Your Bible. Exodus 3:14. SPEAKER 3 It. SPEAKER 2 Says the following. Talks about Jesus, it says, For what the law could not do, and that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin he condemned sin in the flesh. Now I want to Jesus was sent to us as a form or likeness of what? The Bible say, oh, simple slick. What does that mean? Jesus put on a veil to hide the full glory of God. If he didn't do this, we wouldn't be able to stand in his presence. Would he do it? SPEAKER 3 He. SPEAKER 2 Also accepted the limitations of that veil. What are the limitations that you faced this morning in your veil of your sinful flesh? What are the limitations? SPEAKER 3 You know. SPEAKER 2 The thing that we. We cannot always understand. Why would God do these things? It is the greatest gift that has been given to humanity. and he goes through the cross for us, and he knows the penalty for that promise, and he has faith in God that that's going to be. SPEAKER 3 The. SPEAKER 2 Way that he will be resurrected. God asked Moses to tell the people that resting what happens here right after the seventh day, but before the eighth. SPEAKER 3 Day, that was the first day of. SPEAKER 2 The month of Adar, that was the 35th day of the month of Adar, it says, Then Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together and said to them, these are the words which the Lord has committed you to do. Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you. A Sabbath of rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. Not only is God's law important, but it also shows the true worship of Him, doesn't it? It's not just the list of don't do this or that. It's the true worship of God. Verse 1. It talks about gathered. Moses gathering the people. The last time they were gathered together was to make an idol. He built worship. okay, now I'm gonna rest. Rest. I'm gonna gather you together. Okay, this time I'm gonna need you. Seventh day Sabbath. Holy day. A rest day. No work, labor at all. The first three says this, you shall people, though fire, throughout the dwelling on the Sabbath day. Now, this has caused a lot of. Lot of debate. because people try to understand what this means. It's not even like me a fire. So we have to base, you know, within even in the church. Well, what does this mean? What can I do? Can't do on the Sabbath. Now, what's interesting about the fire is a reference to cooking and baking and act regarded as work. It's not God's playing. Well, you. You lift fireplaces and it's cold outside that. No, of course you're going to be put to death. No, no, no, no. This is a reference to doing your work. Because that's what they did. Well, they were traveling through the desert. Both at the top they had to do was gather the manna, bake it and form it and cook it to do whatever, and eat it. It's just not worth it. was the only one before what which is so With was looking he not The different. SPEAKER 3 Is. to. SPEAKER 2 Agree. We'll have a special people who will afflict his glory to the world. Revelation 14, verse 12 says, what does it say? Here is the what? Here is the patience of the space. Here are they that do what? Keep the Commandments of God and the space. That would because we can put the commandments, but we do not have the faith in Jesus Christ. The question then is, I want to leave with you a closing scripture. Do you want to draw closer to God? So what's the divine command? I want to bring to you this morning that the art of the law is the gracious God, merciful and loving God, willing to forgive, quick to forgive, the bounding, the patient and the compassionate. Do you want to be quick to forgive? Do you want him in your life? Do you want to understand those words that Jesus says, if you love him. SPEAKER 3 You will and. SPEAKER 2 I pray that it's your desire that you meet that loving God that was willing to give himself for you. And he continues to look at us. Is that the desire this morning? How a loving, beautiful God you are, Lord. We can't even understand the depths of those words that you speak to us this morning. So we can understand the act that you've done for us. And that's from a cross nearly 2, 000 years ago. It points us to the God who died for us. The God who died for us. that's a God that only God can speak to. And Lord, as within the speaker, says, showing love and mercy from thousands of souls. We want to be living under the great superstorm of love. great gift of your life with Jesus that was given to us to pay that debt that's given to us. It takes away that act of judgment from us. It clears us from all wrong. But not only does it clear us, it sustains us and helps us in our times of need. It helps us to come close to you so that we can relate to you. Not only do you call us. SPEAKER 3 Step. SPEAKER 2 If you call us to step to the Lord of our lives to come to follow him. SPEAKER 1 This message was made available by the Bairnsdale Seventh-Advenist-Church. For more resources like this, visit their YouTube page Bairnsdale SDA TV. SPEAKER 2 It's been a pleasure bringing you this. SPEAKER 1 Program here on 3ABN Australia Radio.