Episode Transcript
[00:00:05] Good morning.
[00:00:06] Good morning. Good morning. Hey, if you have a Bible, would you open up to the book of Deuteronomy specifically? We're going to be in chapter three this morning, and I want to ask you a question to kind of set up our time.
[00:00:20] How. How do I.
[00:00:22] How do you respond to God when he allows things in my life that I hate?
[00:00:33] Has anything come up in your mind about your life? Like, some of you are, like, I've been around for decades. There are a whole bunch of things that God has allowed in my life that I'm like, lord, I hate that this thing is here or these things, and I would love to talk to you about it. And if you could take them away, that would be wonderful. How do you respond in those moments? So it's honestly a deeply emotional question, and people don't usually ask it like this. So the questions that people usually ask, they go like this.
[00:01:00] Why did God allow this to happen?
[00:01:04] Does God hate me?
[00:01:06] Is God punishing me?
[00:01:09] Does God care?
[00:01:12] Wouldn't a good God want me to be happy?
[00:01:15] Why didn't God stop this? And I have a great answer to every one of these questions. Ready for it?
[00:01:23] I have no idea.
[00:01:27] Many of you, we've sat down and I have quoted to you Deuteronomy 29, 29. And here's what the Lord says.
[00:01:34] The secret things belong to the Lord our God.
[00:01:40] I want to know the secret things.
[00:01:43] I want to know those things. But he says, the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. And so when you don't know why the people of God, what we do is we obey what the Word says.
[00:02:02] I'm also reminded of Isaiah 55, verse 8, 9. And maybe Deuteronomy 29, 29 isn't what you need in that moment. So some of you, I've sat with you in these moments and I've read to you this passage.
[00:02:14] For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways. My ways? And how many of you have been tempted to say, like God, you should take into consideration my ways? I think they're pretty genius, to be honest. Right. It says, neither are your ways. My ways, declares the Lord. I just love how the Scriptures put us in our place and put God in his place.
[00:02:35] For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways. Well, it's exaggerating. No, it's not. And my thoughts are higher than your thoughts. And I'm going to repeat a handful of Things that we've said here in the past couple months. But God is rarely ever going to tell you or what he is up to in the moment because you're like, I don't like that. Because he is building trust in you in that moment. Apparently, more valuable to God than your ease today is your confidence in him later.
[00:03:14] That's not what I value in the moment. What I value in the moment is my ease today. But God is up to something bigger than what we are up to usually in these difficulties times. So time passes and people begin to see that God is actually using this difficulty or this challenge in your life. And you're starting to maybe for the first time, see God's secret plans unfold. And you're thinking to yourself, this is starting to make sense.
[00:03:44] And then this is where I remind people of this truth. If you knew what God knew, you would do what God does every single day.
[00:03:54] You guys have heard me say this a thousand times. God is a genius.
[00:03:59] He is smarter than you and me.
[00:04:01] His plans, his ways are so much more strategic and better and more unbelievable than anything that you and I could possibly come up with. He somehow has this way of working everything out for his glory and for your good eventually. And sometimes when the thing, the difficulty is past enough, you begin to see, like, God, wow, I didn't even have an imagination for how you might use this for your glory and my good. And then when a challenge is past tense, you've kind of learned the lessons you need to learn. You've grown your confidence in God. This is the time when I would share with you this truth. God allows, ordains or permits all things for his glory and our good. Okay? When somebody's in the thick of it, you don't just drop this bomb on them. I mean, it's true, right?
[00:04:47] But that's typically not what most people wanna hear. They're like, be quiet, give me something else. Right, I get it.
[00:04:52] But when you've kind of like you seen the genius of God play out, you can kind of step back in that moment of confidence and say, you allow ordainer to permit all things for your glory and my good. You truly are a genius. And now that your confidence has grown, your trust in him has grown. Enter the next difficulty. Welcome to the rest of your life. Praise God.
[00:05:16] So with this context in mind, Deuteronomy chapter three is where we're gonna be at. And I have good news. And we are starting a new series this morning, the Book of Deuteronomy. And I can already Hear you. If you've been around for a little while, you're like, michael, I don't have the energy for a whole year in the book of Deuteronomy, because we did Genesis and then we did Exodus, and then we did Leviticus, and then we did Numbers. And they were a long series. Fret not, my friends. This will be a short series. So we're gonna spend about a month on the death of Moses. And then in the new year, we're gonna spend about a month looking at the biggest kind of encouragements that Moses gives to the nation of Israel. And then we'll spend one more final month looking at how Jesus uses the Book of Deuteron. He loves this book. He loves to quote this book. He wields this book like a sword. And I wanna show you how he uses this book. And then some of you might say, but, Pastor Michael, what about all the rest of the book of Deuteronomy? Deuteronomy literally means second law. So Moses is retelling the stories, particularly of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, and he's retelling the laws. So we've actually already taught on most of the content that's in Deuteronomy. So what we're gonna do is kind of finish off and then we will have taught through Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Praise God. If you want to go back and hear any of those, they're all online. Leviticus is the best, in my personal opinion.
[00:06:35] I joke one sermon, someone said, no, it wasn't Deuteronomy. Chapter 3.
[00:06:44] Moses is going to die, and there is nothing that he can do about it.
[00:06:51] He, if you remember, he sinned publicly.
[00:06:55] He was at the waters. The rock, was supposed to speak to the rock and said he beat the rock multiple times and then yelled at it. And then he proceeded not just to disobey God and disrespect God, but then he proceeded to use words that articulated that he was going to take personal responsibility along with God for the provision of water for the people.
[00:07:14] Just for what it's worth, don't take credit for what God did. I don't think he enjoys that. And so did Moses have any part or any power whatsoever to make water come out of a rock? And the answer is no. And so Moses takes credit publicly for this, and God disciplines him severely.
[00:07:31] He tells him, you are going to die and you are not going to go into the promised land. This miserable group of people that you've been leading for 40 years, all with this destination, this Hope we're gonna go into this land.
[00:07:44] You forfeited those blessings. You're not gonna be able to do that. And listen, sometimes people sin. They sin big, and God chooses in that moment to do nothing. You know what I'm saying?
[00:07:55] And then sometimes people sin big and God comes down hard. You can't always choose the moments of discipline.
[00:08:04] But my advice would be, generally speaking, try not to sin and to provoke God's discipline, and you'll be better off. But such is life. Deuteronomy, chapter 3, verse 23. Moses is retelling the story of how he personally responded to God's disciplining him.
[00:08:20] Verse 23. Moses says, and I pleaded with the Lord at that time. Sang. I'm going to pause there.
[00:08:29] When Moses learned the consequences of his sin, it was understandably devastating.
[00:08:38] It appears that there was something about this that he could not let go of. They were too much for him to bear. And the word pleaded, and this is important in the Hebrew language, it means literally, show me favor. This isn't a demand. Whatever he's about to ask of God, he is coming to God humbly. And this is important, saying, would you show me favor? Verse 24. Moses shares with us the details of how he responded to God. And his prayer here is honestly just so good. He says, o Lord God, you have only begun to show your servant, your greatness and your mighty hand, for what God is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as yours. And I have to say this, Moses is not patronizing God. He's not buttering God up for the request. God is not insecure. Amen.
[00:09:32] Amen. That was a little slow. But God is not insecure, okay? He doesn't fall for flattery. He hears right past our words and looks right into the depths of our heart. He knows what's motivating us. And in this moment, Moses is articulating something that is really true. Despite the 40 years of misery with his people, He's also seen 40 years of God do unbelievable miracles in his presence. And Moses knows that God has only just begun to build this nation. And they have stood against foe after foe, challenge after challenge. And every time, God miraculously intervenes. And now they are going into the promised land that is filled with the most evil people in the world, probably the strongest armies in the world. And you might say Egypt, but a whole bunch of them died. They're rebuilding, fine, maybe the second strongest armies in the entire world. Oh, yeah, and there's giants. And Moses is saying to the Lord, you have only begun to show your greatness. You are gonna take this ragtag group of people, you're gonna bring them to a land where they should be eaten and devoured, and they are going to be victorious. And we are gonna see your power on display. And. And Moses is like, I want to see it. Wouldn't you want to see that?
[00:10:46] And so he's looking at God and saying like, I want to be. I want a front row seat to watching you do what only you can do. What's interesting is that when people are facing imminent death, they become palpably aware of all the things that they're going to miss.
[00:11:04] And they become palpably aware of just all of the relationships that are going to go away, all the milestones they're not going to be able to see. Kids, grandkids, et cetera. And so Moses is stopping in this moment, and he is well aware. What he wants to see are some of the greatest acts of Yahweh's divine power on display for the entire world. He knows that what Yahweh's going to do is going to even overshadow what he's already seen him do. And he wants to see it.
[00:11:31] Verse 25. We get to Moses specific request, Please let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon.
[00:11:46] So I've observed not just three, but I'm sure with you three, three observations, kind of patterns about people when they are reaping consequences and fair warning. These two of the three won't be popular. But here we go.
[00:12:04] Number one, most people will victimize themselves as they reap what they have sowed. And I want to be clear. I am talking to you and to me. I am not above this.
[00:12:20] Most people will act shocked and surprised and even offended when they are forced to reap what they sow.
[00:12:32] And so we live in a cultural moment that I think honestly probably took most of us by surprise, where it is applauded culturally to be a victim.
[00:12:44] And so you understand that we're living in this moment where the cultural ethos, the cultural impulse inside of us is to always play the victim card. Woe is me. And then the people around us applaud us and go, yeah, you are, because you get it.
[00:12:58] And sadly, too many Christians are kind of taking on this spirit of the age, if you will.
[00:13:05] There is no biblical evidence to suggest that God responds to victim mentality well at all. In fact, I would say there's ample biblical evidence that he doesn't respond very well to this. And I want to share with you a scripture. And this is a scripture that is probably one you're aware of, but I don't think most people are aware of how many times this principle is taught and reiterated in the Bible. But as you grow in spiritual maturity, as you become a mature Christian, this is one of those scriptures that we kind of just begin to come to grips with and we come to accept. And it's very simple. It comes from Hosea8.7, but it says this.
[00:13:39] If you sow the wind, you will reap the what?
[00:13:43] The whirlwind. If you sow the wind, you will reap the whirlwind. Okay, so let me give you an illustration.
[00:13:51] Dandelions. They're so beautiful. I know as a kid, all the kids here are like, dandelions are the best, right? Dandelions are weeds, though.
[00:13:58] And when you take a dandelion seed and you sow it, what does it reap?
[00:14:03] Lots of dandelions.
[00:14:06] Not immediately, right. One dandelion grows, and then one becomes like 5,000, and 5,000 becomes your entire yard, right? And then what do dandelions do? They kill all of the good, healthy grass around it. That's the very nature of a weed. And you sow one thing, and then it reaps something far worse. You sow the wind, and then you reap the whirlwind. And when people are sinning, I'll speak for myself and for you, I think for most of us, most of us are not thinking that this momentary joy or pleasure or sin or whatever we get out of this thing is going to reap exponential consequences. Most people are thinking, well, I did this thing, and then this should be the result of it, right? But when you sow the wind, when you sow sin, often what you reap is something way bigger than a breeze, and you reap a whirlwind. And I want to just show you a handful of scriptures here just to kind of make the point. And to be clear, this is not the totality of anything. I am cherry picking, like, off of a whole bunch of more scriptures. But I want to show you this principle in Scripture. So Job four, eight. Those who plow iniquity and sow trouble, what do they reap? They reap the same thing. Or Proverbs 22, 8. Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity. Hosea 10, you have plowed wickedness, you have reaped injustice.
[00:15:19] Proverbs 1, 31. You shall eat the fruit, or they shall eat the Fruit of their way. Galatians 6. Whatever one sows that will he also reap. Psalm 7. The evildoer's mischief quote returns upon his own head.
[00:15:33] Psalm 9, 15, 16. The nations, this is interesting, they dig pits for their enemies, and then they fall into the very pits that they dug. This is interesting. Proverbs 26, 27, Ecclesiastes 10, 8. Proverbs 28:10. Dig a pit, roll a stone, mislead others, and guess what? It comes back to you. Esther 7, 10. Haman is hanged on the gallows that he built the greatest of ironies. Jeremiah 4:18. Your ways and your deeds have brought this upon you. We could go on and on and on, but the message of Scripture is that if you sow the wind, then you're going to reap the whirlwind. The second pattern that I've observed when it comes to reaping consequences is number two. Divine consequences are designed on purpose in order to target and to Warren. So as moms and dads or grandmas and grandpas or teachers or whatever, we have to discipline behavior. But when God intervenes, when there's going to be like divine consequences on you or I, his consequences are going to be targeted and they're going to be targeted and perfectly designed to number one, to go after the core heart issue that got you into this problem in the first place.
[00:16:41] So God doesn't just random, willy nilly discipline people. What God wants to do is go for the heart issue that got you in trouble in the first place. So for Moses, and this is really important, Moses heart issue was his lifelong struggle with anger. And the very thing that got him running away from Egypt was killing an Egyptian to protect an Israelite slave is the very sin that gets him at the end of his life, that stops him from inheriting the promised land.
[00:17:09] Divine consequences are also perfectly designed.
[00:17:12] When God intervenes and disciplines somebody, it usually has a public aspect to it, meaning people are able to observe what's happening to you in your life. And they are designed by God not just to go after your heart issue, but to warn all the people in your life, don't do this thing against God, otherwise the same thing might happen to you. And so here's what God is hoping to communicate to the people of Israel by disciplining Moses.
[00:17:38] Don't rebel against my word. Because even Moses isn't able to get off the hook for this.
[00:17:45] The third pattern I've observed about watching people reap consequences is, and this is the encouraging one, it is okay to ask God for mercy.
[00:17:57] If you are willing to accept whatever answer he gives you, if you go to God and say, give me mercy, or else, I just wouldn't expect great results from that request.
[00:18:10] But Moses has learned a really important lesson. And actually the book of James articulates this in the New testament perfectly. James4.2 says, you do not have because you do not ask. You do not have because you do not ask. I want my children to be able to ask me for anything they want as long as I have the permission to say, not a ch.
[00:18:33] You do not have because you do not ask. I want to give you just a brief overview of Moses personal experience asking Yahweh for help or mercy specifically. And again, this is not the totality of them. I'm just kind of cherry picking a few to make the point.
[00:18:52] In Exodus, chapter 4, God says to Moses, you're going to go talk to Pharaoh. And he's like, I can't talk. Help me. You know? And God's like, all right, I'll send Aaron to help you.
[00:19:03] Comes to him with a request to do something different. God grants the request. Or here's another one. Exodus 32. The golden calf. Israel sins despicably. One of the worst series of events in the Golden Calf. And so God's going to destroy the entire nation. And so Moses goes to God and says, could you not do that? Could we have a different route? You're holy, your reputation, et cetera. And then God actually grants Moses's request and his wrath is stayed. Another one is Deuteronomy chapter 9.
[00:19:32] Still the golden calf situation, but told from Moses perspective.
[00:19:36] God is going to kill Aaron for his despicable spiritual leadership. And then Moses intercedes with God and says, can you postpone judgment? Can you allow him to live? Will you pardon his iniquity? And God says, I will do that.
[00:19:50] There's a place called Tabora, and there are raging fires that are happening amongst the people. And they're a discipline of God and they all know it. And so Moses goes to God and says, can you put out the fires and pardon this people? And God says, request granted. Or Moses comes before God. And again, remember how annoying the Israelites are. He's like, I can't carry these people. Kill me if I have to keep leading them. And God says, all right, I'm gonna give you help. I'm gonna take some of the spirit that is on you. And we're gonna raise up a group of elders who are gonna come alongside of you and help you lead the people. And so God says, like, yeah, I'm gonna help you. Request granted.
[00:20:24] Or his sister Miriam has leprosy and she's gonna be cast out. And so Moses comes before God and says, would you heal her? And God says, yes, request granted. Korah's rebellion. I mean, a whole bunch of people are gonna die. And then I'm gonna cough. Hold on.
[00:20:40] And then God says, you know, let's go about this a little bit different way. And then God actually responds to him and then grants Moses requests. What has Moses experience consistently been when he goes to God and asks him for mercy for others or help for himself? The answer has almost always been, yes, you're my friend. You see me face to face. I love you. And the Lord is never, ever frustrated. It appears that Moses is coming to him and asking him for relief or help or mercy. Well, until this situation.
[00:21:15] And sometimes, and Moses has seen this, and you all know, sometimes the answer is yes. And don't you love when God says yes to the thing you want? Yes. Sometimes the answer is no. No. Sometimes the answer is not yet. Sometimes the answer is a compromise. How about we go about it this way?
[00:21:30] Verse 26. Moses gets a response he's not used to says this, but the Lord was angry with me because of you and would not listen to me. And the Lord said to me, I want you to hear this.
[00:21:48] Enough from you. Do not speak to me of this matter again.
[00:21:54] I want you to notice three things here, okay? Number one, I want you to notice the very last word of the verse again.
[00:22:01] So this wasn't a one time request.
[00:22:05] This was something apparently that Moses had brought up repeatedly, over and over again. And sometimes, you know, my kids, I don't know about you guys, but like, you know, my kids will be like, hey, can we do this thing or have this thing? No, come on, dad, please, no. And then finally I'm like, enough.
[00:22:20] Don't bring it up again. I've spoken. The answer is no. Sometimes, though, they break me down. Sometimes. Sometimes the repeated asks, I'm not irritated. I'm like, fine, just do it. Whatever, I don't care, but don't get in trouble.
[00:22:35] And so, like, this is. This is interesting. And so Moses is sharing with us that there's. This is an ongoing dialogue. And whenever you read any story, it's not the totality of everything said. You're kind of getting summary statements. And so he's giving us this little clue. I want you to note a second.
[00:22:49] There are just some consequences you and I cannot get out of.
[00:22:53] There are Some consequences where the Lord says, no, you're going to reap them.
[00:22:58] And you're gonna look back on reaping these consequences, and you are gonna say, I'm glad you let me reap them. You're not gonna feel that right now. I mean, very few people in the middle of receiving divine consequences are like, yay, Right? But there will come a time where you look back and see it was for your good and the good of everyone around you.
[00:23:16] And then third, I know you haven't missed this, but I want you to notice God's tone with Moses.
[00:23:24] Some of you have had just honestly really bad dads. And so it's really easy for you to transfer maybe your father's anger onto this text. And I. And I want to be clear. Your father's anger was probably unrighteous, but God's anger is always righteous.
[00:23:40] And so this is probably not a berating. It's definitely not abuse of any situation like that. But here's what you find.
[00:23:48] God gets angry.
[00:23:51] If God could look at this world and not be angry at the evil in this world, something would be really broken with God.
[00:23:57] Part of being God holy is that God gets angry.
[00:24:01] And there are times when you and I will do really dumb things, and God will look at that and say, that makes me angry.
[00:24:09] Does that mean, if he's angry, that he also doesn't love you? Of course not. Can anger and love coexist in a human being?
[00:24:17] Yes. How much more? Our infinite God.
[00:24:21] And so God can be angry with something you have done, discipline you for that thing? Does it mean he doesn't forgive you?
[00:24:29] No.
[00:24:30] Discipline rarely has anything to do with forgiveness. Discipline has to do with going after your heart issue and protecting the culture of the people around you. Because again, what happens when somebody sins and they get away with it? Especially if they're in spiritual authority, a mom, a dad, a pastor, a boss, et cetera.
[00:24:47] What happens is that the people under them see that, and then they are enabled and empowered to go do that thing, but worse. And so God's like, listen, I'm not gonna let you off the hook here. I get it. I'm angry at what you've done, and I'm going to discipline you. I'm gonna go after your heart issue. Cause even when you're about to die, is God still. Is God done dealing with your issues yet? So the day you're dead, God's working on you? God is dealing with Moses until the day he's dead.
[00:25:11] And so here's what we find. Like Listen, you can come to me and you can say, God, have mercy on me. Take this punishment away from me. Please go talk to him. But, like, God actually might be angry, but it does not negate his tone. And does God stay angry with you forever? The answer is no. It is okay if you do great wickedness and God is upset and then disciplines you. And it's also okay in that moment if you come to God and say, would you have mercy on me as long as you're willing to accept whatever his answer is.
[00:25:44] Verse 27. God reiterates the discipline.
[00:25:48] He says, go to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes westward and northward and southward and eastward, and look at it with your eyes, for you shall not go over this. Jordan.
[00:26:03] Conversation over now. Does God storm out of the room?
[00:26:07] No. Does God pout?
[00:26:10] No. Does God cross his arms and turn his back and say, I'm not speaking to you right now? That is not what happens.
[00:26:16] What's actually interesting is that even though the punishment stands, God is not done with Moses.
[00:26:24] And I think this is really, really a meaningful thing for you to know. There's actually one more battle that Moses is gonna lead Israel into fighting.
[00:26:33] There are actually more laws that God is gonna give to Moses to give to the people.
[00:26:38] Moses is still. Even though he messed up and he's not gonna be able to go in, he's still gonna have the honor and privilege of commissioning Joshua to be the new leader of the nation of Israel. And I think one of the neatest is that God still is gonna leave space for Moses to write the entire book of Deuteronomy from his own personal perspective, to shepherd and care for and commission the people of Israel. These last few months, from the time when God says, you're going to die, you're not going over to the actual moment of his death. Probably three to four months. It's the best we can kind of figure out. Moses has a lot of work still left to do. I want to share with you three. So what's number one this side of heaven?
[00:27:21] Sometimes sin disqualifies us from inheriting what God wanted for us.
[00:27:28] Moses was not the only person in scripture to lose the opportunity or the ministry or the blessing that God had for him.
[00:27:39] God's desire was that Moses would lead the people into the promised land. Moses gave up that through his willful sin.
[00:27:48] We also have people like Reuben, who lost his firstborn birthright because of his gross sexual sin. You guys remember King Saul? He forfeited his entire dynasty and kingdom because of disobedience. 1 Samuel 13 says this to Saul. You have not kept the command. Now your kingdom shall not continue. They tore the kingdom away from Saul and then who did God give it to?
[00:28:11] David. Good. Not Jesus, but close. Okay.
[00:28:15] Eli's house. They lost the priesthood because they were corrupt, resulting in both of his sons dying in one day. We could go on and on. Nadia, King, Uzziah, David, etc.
[00:28:26] All of these stories are not written to shame these people, but they're written to warn every single one of us not to sin willfully.
[00:28:36] You can't control when the Lord comes down in divine discipline, but there does get to a point where he says, enough, enough. We're gonna deal with this. And again, my encouragement is learn from story after story after story.
[00:28:52] Whatever stupidity you are considering this week or today, abandon it. Repent. Because there will come a day when God says, enough, enough. And he will divinely discipline because he loves you to go after this heart issue. And we see when God does it, it's never really totally private. Other people are able to see it. And I don't want that for you. I don't want it for any of us. So what Number two, this is going to take a different path here. Embrace now those who will inherit what you have built.
[00:29:24] Because one day, this will all be theirs.
[00:29:28] I don't want to skip verse 28. Verse 28 in Deuteronomy 3 is really important.
[00:29:32] And.
[00:29:33] And I'll give you a summary and then I'll read it.
[00:29:36] When God is rightly upset with our decisions and when we have disobeyed God and we have lost some of the blessings that he wanted to give us.
[00:29:47] If you're in Christ, you still have good, awesome work to do, even if it's not what you expected or wanted. Here's what verse 28 says. His final ministry assignment. But charge Joshua and encourage and strengthen him.
[00:30:05] For he shall go over at the head of this people, and he shall put them in possession of the land that you shall see. Look at these three verbs. Charge, encourage, and strengthen. And these have become the leadership handoff vocabulary for the people of God. For 40 years, Moses has been encouraging and strengthening Joshua as his number two, preparing him for this very moment. And now, 40 years into this, now it is time for the charge where he commissions him and gives him his authority. And Joshua, this great man, takes leadership responsibility for the nation of Israel, and he gets to be the one to lead them into the promised land.
[00:30:48] I want to apply this to village church. Very bluntly.
[00:30:52] Train Young leaders today so that when God calls you out, they are ready for some.
[00:31:04] It might even be more imminent. You might be having a sense that God's like, I really need to prepare someone else to take my position. Some of you are like, oh, no, I haven't even thought about this, which is why we talk about it so that you can start thinking about this.
[00:31:18] One of, if not the most difficult, dangerous moment for any people is when there is a leadership transition. In fact, I think the time of the most demonic attack on a church is when there is a transition in any spiritual community from one leader to another. Which is why the succession process, whether you are in Awana, men's ministry, student ministries, it doesn't matter where you're at, the succession transfer process, whenever there's a transition of leadership, the demonic realm is like, we are ready. Let's go. Divide people and create discontent and assign motivations that aren't even true. And so we need to understand that these succession moments are sacred moments within the people of God.
[00:32:03] I want to share with you just my personal experience with this.
[00:32:07] I was 23 years old when I came on staff at Village Church, and it was here that I have learned to lead.
[00:32:16] It is here that I learned to teach. It's here that I learned to preach. And a whole bunch of you were here when I first came on. And I was just a little boy, right, And I had no idea what I was doing. And I tell people all the time who are in leadership of this church, volunteer or otherwise. I tell people, like, this is the greatest place to cut your teeth in leadership, in teaching, in ministry, because Village Church roots for people. It has space for people kind of growing up and becoming men and women and learning how to lead and do different things. And, like, it has been absolutely one of the greatest blessings that you have tolerated so many bad sermons that I've given.
[00:32:55] So one of the things that I have appreciated, when I was younger, like, again, nobody does anything perfect. But, like, you know, you do get better at things and you get less nervous, which allows you to be more present, et cetera, especially if you're in front of people. And so I remember I'd be teaching and my voice would be quivering, and I would sweat all the way down my shirt, and it was disgusting. And so I just remember how much patient you guys were. And do you know the only way to get over anxiety and fear and things that you're not good at?
[00:33:26] It's to do them? And so one of the greatest gifts that Village Church has Given so many men, women, students, and children, is the opportunity to learn and to grow. And so you might be here and you might see somebody up front who's maybe a little bit pitchy or somebody who stumbles over their words, or you might hear me or anybody give a sermon. It's just like, ah, that was mediocre.
[00:33:48] We just tell people, I'm not at all concerned about perfection. I mean, handle the word of God with clarity and don't ever take that out of context. And if you do, we own it, et cetera. But, like, I'm not concerned about perfection. I'm concerned that we're raising up people and this is a safe place for them to learn, to grow, and to teach. If you want perfection, go someplace else. It's not gonna be here. But when you see younger people learning, whether leading worship or teaching or leading different events or trying different things, the beauty is that they're learning and growing. And this is a space of grace where people can figure that out. What a beautiful opportunity. You guys gave it to me. And I wasn't the first person you gave that opportunity to. The church had been around for 30 some years before I ever got here. And you, you had been doing this with people for decade after decade. And this has been one of the, I think, the most beautiful legacies of village church. And we want to keep that going. But when we look at Moses to Joshua, Moses wasn't thrilled about letting go of the leadership. But when God says, you're done, you're done.
[00:34:45] And you better have a great attitude in that moment and say, you know what? It's time for somebody else to come in and to bless them, to strengthen them, encourage them, and to charge them.
[00:34:53] It was done for me, and it's been done for so many of you, and we want to keep that spirit alive. Finally, number three, you don't get to talk with God like Moses did until you were first reconciled to God through faith in Jesus.
[00:35:08] I think sometimes religious people, cultural Christians, we want a relationship with God where we can be super blunt and candid and God listens to us and gives us what we want.
[00:35:23] But we've never come before God and said, you know what? I have sinned against you and I'm sorry. Let me give you an illustration of what I think many Christians in America, how they think of God, or maybe it illustrates how they approach God. I want you to imagine you have a son or daughter, and they steal all your money, they wipe out all your bank accounts, they take all of your wife's jewels. They sell them online. Then they go away for years. They never call you. They. They never say they're sorry. And then one day, one day we'll call it your son. Your son shows up and says, hey, dad, can I borrow $1,000?
[00:35:57] And you're like, you bankrupted our family. You stole your mother and grandmother and great grandmother's jewels and sold them. And now you have the guts to come here and ask me for $1,000. And then I want you to imagine the kid. The kid says, yeah, but you know what I've been doing for the last couple years? All these little old ladies, I help them across the street every day.
[00:36:21] What does that have to do with our relationship?
[00:36:24] And this is the problem. The lie that permeates cultural Christianity in America is good people go to heaven. As if somehow what you did for the little old lady over here has any bearing on what you did to God by rebellion and sin.
[00:36:40] And so here's the deal. Help the little old lady. And if you're a little old lady, I hope people help you.
[00:36:44] But that doesn't get you into heaven. That doesn't make right what you did against God. And so that Father is going to look at the Son and say, all I need you to do is ask for forgiveness, Take ownership of what you've done, and that father will be inclined to forgive that son if the Son takes responsibility.
[00:37:05] And so you might be here, and you're like, no one's ever told me I have to take responsibility for my sin before a holy God. Well, here I am. And I'm telling you that all of us who have full access to God, who approach the throne of grace with confidence, as the Book of Hebrews says, we all have that access and confidence. Not because we were really good, but because we came to God and we took responsibility for our sin against a holy God that broke our relationship.
[00:37:30] And we agreed with God that we are sinners and that the only way that our sin could be paid for and dealt with and made right was by believing in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus for our sins in our place.
[00:37:42] And every person who comes to God and says, I did it, it was me. I'm sorry.
[00:37:46] Will you forgive me? Jesus? I believe that you're my God. I believe you were raised from the dead. Would you pay for my sins in my place? 100% of the time? If you are sincere and you come to him, God's answer is absolutely 100% yes. And here's what I love.
[00:38:02] So many people go to God as a dad.
[00:38:06] God doesn't become your heavenly father until you trust in Christ, until you are adopted into his family, which. The only way to be adopted in his family, to be a son or daughter, is to tell him you're sorry and be reconciled to him. People approach God like he's their dad, but they've never, ever been reconciled to him. It's like going to some stranger and being like, hey, could I have a $1,000? No. Who are you?
[00:38:29] And here's what I want to tell you.
[00:38:31] If you want the kind of relationship that Moses has with God, even that confidence to go to God and say, mercy, uncle, help, please. It starts with you making things right with the God whom you have broken the relationship through your sin. Awesome news for you, by the way, village church. Whoever you are, if you're visiting here this Sunday, you've never heard this. God's hand is extended. He wants not just to offer you forgiveness, but he wants to offer you adoption into his family, full access.
[00:38:57] God made you, designed you, loves you, and is waiting for you to respond. Amen. Amen. Let's pray together. Father, thank you. For Moses blunt honesty about his own story.
[00:39:10] I think if we're all honest, we'd love to tell stories about how great we are. But Moses, he regularly told stories of how great you are and. And even included his own and many imperfections. Lord, as Moses faces his death, we just see that this is not a discipline that he wanted.
[00:39:29] Lord, we've all been disciplined by you at one time or another. And we admit we don't love it.
[00:39:35] But God, we also admit that when you discipline us, it is for our good.
[00:39:41] So, Lord, I pray you would give each one of us the ability to see your genius, your kindness, your. Your goodness. But Lord, even better than that, would you prevent us from doing dumb things that require you to discipline us, Help us, Holy Spirit, convict us, prick our consciences, bring people around us to help us think truthfully and live in a way that brings you honor and glory. But Lord, for the moments when we don't thank you for the blood of Jesus, we didn't earn our salvation by being good, and we don't lose it by being bad.
[00:40:14] And so I want to just thank you for your kindness and your forgiveness, all through faith in the blood of Jesus. So, Lord, we love you, we pray all of this, and we do it all in Jesus name. Amen.
[00:40:26] Amen.
