This last Sunday, Pastor Kyle continued in our church’s sermon series through the book of Exodus and into Deuteronomy by opening with the statement that God wants everyone who calls Him the Lord of their life to affirm the reality that every single life is precious in His sight. But that statement doesn’t go far enough for the Christian. Not only is every life precious, but every life has purpose in the eyes of the Lord. God pens a story for every person and before we were born, God knows our end from the beginning and meet us everywhere in between. The purpose is that we should live this life to the praise and the glory of God, enjoying Him forever. And a part of that purpose includes leaving a legacy to the Lord, and not just for ourselves. That meaning that with God, there are no accidental human beings.
Every generation is blessed with some outstanding leaders during their time; people who are extraordinarily gifted, talented, educated, knowledgeable, wise, blessed and greatly used by the Lord. Normal flawed individuals, gifted and used by God in extraordinary ways in spite of themselves. The loss of any legend leaves a ripple all around the world that echoes through the halls of history, including the biblical legend - Moses. He led His people out of slavery in Egypt and wrote the first five books of the Bible and the entire Torah, but his greatness did not come from himself; it came from God. Numbers 12:3 tells us, “Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth.” God used Moses to build the foundation blocks of the “redemption” story that Jesus Christ fulfilled.
It is helpful for us to look at three separate passages that talk about the end of Moses’ life and glean some insights for ourselves; a sense of the legacy that God wants us to leave in our life, along with direction and purpose for the life that we live today, becoming the disciples that He desires us to be.
Deuteronomy 30:11-20 “For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
God Word is near to God’s people’s heart, accessible and simple to accomplish to anyone who was willing to apply them. The first lesson is for us to choose to obey God every day and reap the blessings for the rest of your life. For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. The word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. Every day, God has set before you today life and good, death and evil. Sin will always lurk around the corner, beckoning and tempting us to walk away from the Lord. Choosing to enter into a sinful practice to the repentant and transformed Believer hangs Christ back up on the Cross (if they ever truly repented and accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior in holy reverence and adoration) and carries both visible and soulful consequences in our lives.
Galatians 5:19-21 states, “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 concurs saying, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” Why? Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Sin is wicked, evil, condemning and leads to death. What is sin? Sin is defined as the voluntary departure of a moral agent from a known rule of rectitude or duty, prescribed by God; any voluntary transgression of the divine law, or violation of a divine command; a wicked act; iniquity. Sin is either a positive act in which a known divine law is violated, or it is the voluntary neglect to obey a positive divine command, or a rule of duty clearly implied in such command. Sin comprehends not action only, but neglect of known duty, all evil thoughts purposes, words and desires, whatever is contrary to God's commands or law. Sinner neither enjoy the pleasures of nor the peace of piety. Piety in principle, is a compound of veneration or reverence of the Supreme Being, Almighty Creator God and love of God’s character, or veneration accompanied with love; and piety in practice, is the exercise of these affections in obedience to God’s will and devotion to His service.
Among theologians, sin is original or actual. Actual sin, above defined, is the act of a moral agent in violating a known rule of duty. Original sin, as generally understood, is native depravity of heart to the divine will, that corruption of nature of deterioration of the moral character of man, which is supposed to be the effect of Adam's apostasy; and which manifests itself in moral agents by positive act of disobedience to the divine will, or by the voluntary neglect to comply with the express commands of God, which require that we should love God with all the heart and soul and strength and mind, and our neighbor as ourselves. This native depravity or alienation of affections from God and his law, is supposed to be what the apostle calls the carnal mind or mindedness, which is enmity against God, and is therefore denominated sin or sinfulness. Unpardonable sin, or blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, is supposed to be a malicious and obstinate rejection of Christ and the gospel plan of salvation, or a contemptuous resistance made to the influences and convictions of the Holy Spirit.
In John 8:31-34 the Lord Jesus said to those who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.” The Apostle Paul echoes this in Romans 6:16, “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” Acts 2:38 says, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Let’s continue Pastor Kyle’s message on living and leaving a godly legacy in the next post. In Christ, Brian
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