Enjoy the Blessing of God

Deuteronomy 33: 1

“This is the blessing that Moses the man of God pronounced on the Israelites before his death.” (Deuteronomy 33:1)

The book of Deuteronomy records the last words of Moses to God’s people as they stood on the cusp of entering the Promised Land. Moses, after 40 years of service, leadership, and delivering God’s law, faced his mortality. Before his death, Moses ascended Mount Nebo, where God revealed the Promised Land to him, but also affirmed that he would not enter it. Moses passed away and was buried in Moab, his grave remaining unknown.

The 33rd chapter of Deuteronomy contains the blessings Moses bestowed upon the Israelite tribes, with his final words emphasizing the unique blessing of being saved by the Lord. This blessing, according to Moses, surpasses all earthly circumstances and is the highest form of being blessed.

What does it mean to be blessed?

For Moses, true blessing meant knowing God—whether from the opulence of a palace or the desolation of a desert. The sermon challenges us to grasp the depth of being ‘saved’ and the irrevocable commitment God has made to those He saves. The essence of eternal life lies in knowing God, which would be impossible without God revealing Himself to humanity.

God speaks to us in language we can understand

To convey His word, God uses language and imagery drawn from our world, allowing us to understand Him through anthropomorphism and reflections from nature, using terms of genuine human experiences.

God’s Hand (security)

“Surely it is you who love the people; all the holy ones are in your hand.” Deuteronomy 33:3

Moses assures that we are securely held by God’s hand, protected from the randomness of life and upheld even when our faith wavers.

God’s Feet (wisdom)

“At your feet they all bow down, and from you receive instruction, the law that Moses gave us.” Deuteronomy 33:3

We gain wisdom and guidance as we sit at the feet of God, absorbing His teachings and navigating life’s decisions through His Word.

God’s Shoulders (strength)

“The one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders.” Deuteronomy 33:12

Just like a father carrying his exhausted child, God offers His shoulders as a resting place, illustrating His enduring support.

God’s Arms (deliverance)

“The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” Deuteronomy 33:27

God’s arms represent the ultimate safety net, symbolizing the ever-present rescue even in the descent toward life’s end.

The blessing of knowing God is ours through Jesus Christ

The sermon concludes by establishing Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of the blessing Moses described, offering Himself as the ultimate revelation and path to the promised salvation. The blessing that was once the Israelites’ through Moses is now extended to all through Christ. Accepting Christ’s salvation brings us into the proximity of His divine presence—into His hands, at His feet, between His shoulders, and on His arms.

In sum, to be blessed is to be saved. Salvation through Jesus Christ ensures that irrespective of life’s ebbs and flows, the believer is held, taught, supported, and eternally embraced by God. Embracing Christ as Savior brings the fulfillment of Moses’ blessing into the present.

WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 –> 00:00:07.020 You’re listening to a sermon from Col. Smith of OpenTheBible. 00:00:07.020 –> 00:00:12.680 To contact us call us at 1-877-OPEN-365. 00:00:12.680 –> 00:00:15.800 Or visit our website openthebible.org. 00:00:15.800 –> 00:00:20.500 Let’s get to the message, here is Pastor Collin. 00:00:20.500 –> 00:00:25.040 You know by now if you’ve been here that these are the last words of Moses all the way through 00:00:25.040 –> 00:00:33.700 this book, but coming to Chapter 33 they really are the last recorded words of Moses before 00:00:33.700 –> 00:00:35.779 God’s people entered the promised land. 00:00:35.779 –> 00:00:38.840 Do you remember the broad sweep of the story? 00:00:38.840 –> 00:00:42.700 That moses had served these people now for forty years. 00:00:42.700 –> 00:00:47.759 He had led them out of Egypt, he was the one who had given them the law as he received 00:00:47.759 –> 00:00:54.500 it on mount Sinai, he had endured forty years leading them in the desert. 00:00:54.720 –> 00:01:01.060 But now, Moses is going to die before the people enter into the promised land and so 00:01:01.060 –> 00:01:05.660 if you have your bible open there, you’ll see that in chapter 34, the book ends with 00:01:05.660 –> 00:01:06.919 the death of Moses. 00:01:06.919 –> 00:01:14.139 Moses climbs mount Nebo, chapter 34 verse 1 and God shows him the promised land. 00:01:14.139 –> 00:01:18.639 And in verse 4 of the last chapter there, God says to him, 00:01:18.639 –> 00:01:22.620 This is the land that I promised on oath to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. 00:01:23.139 –> 00:01:28.720 I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it. 00:01:28.720 –> 00:01:34.959 And then chapter 34 and verse 5, we read that Moses the servant of the Lord, he died there 00:01:34.959 –> 00:01:36.760 in Moab, right there. 00:01:36.760 –> 00:01:41.099 As the Lord had said, the Lord buried him in Moab. 00:01:41.099 –> 00:01:43.360 That’s a sort of a BIble quiz question. 00:01:43.360 –> 00:01:44.980 Who buried Moses? 00:01:44.980 –> 00:01:50.180 God himself buried Moses, that’s what the scripture says, I tried to picture what that 00:01:50.180 –> 00:01:51.519 exactly was like. 00:01:52.139 –> 00:01:54.239 We’re not given any detail, God buried him. 00:01:54.239 –> 00:02:01.080 And for that reason to this day, the scripture says, no one knows where his grave is. 00:02:01.080 –> 00:02:05.440 So that’s chapter 34 is the death of Moses before God’s people going to the promised 00:02:05.440 –> 00:02:06.440 land. 00:02:06.440 –> 00:02:13.339 So chapter 33, and especially the end of chapter 33, these really are the last recorded words 00:02:13.339 –> 00:02:14.339 of Moses. 00:02:14.339 –> 00:02:19.639 Now, if you look at the beginning of the chapter, you’ll see in verse 1, that it begins there 00:02:19.699 –> 00:02:22.740 with Moses giving a blessing. 00:02:22.740 –> 00:02:27.160 This is the blessing that Moses, the man of God, pronounced on the Israelites before his 00:02:27.160 –> 00:02:28.220 death. 00:02:28.220 –> 00:02:31.679 And then if you just look over the chapter as a whole, you’ll see that there are particular 00:02:31.679 –> 00:02:35.520 blessings for each of the tribes of Israel. 00:02:35.520 –> 00:02:41.559 So there’s a blessing in verse 6 for Reuben, verse 7 for the tribe of Judah, verse 8 for 00:02:41.559 –> 00:02:47.199 the tribe of Levi, verse 12 from the tribe of Benjamin and so forth and so on. 00:02:47.240 –> 00:02:52.839 And all of these blessings that run through this chapter 33, they sort of rise together 00:02:52.839 –> 00:03:01.779 in a great crescendo, that comes to its climax in verse 29, which is our focus today, where 00:03:01.779 –> 00:03:08.199 Moses almost seems to explode out of this list of blessings and he says, gathering it 00:03:09.000 –> 00:03:20.399 Blessed are you, O Israel. Who is like you? A people saved by the Lord. 00:03:20.399 –> 00:03:26.000 Now I want us to see in this last message of this series that this blessing is not only 00:03:26.000 –> 00:03:33.440 theirs, but it is yours or it can be yours through Jesus Christ. 00:03:33.440 –> 00:03:34.600 Now let’s ask this question? 00:03:34.600 –> 00:03:36.559 What does it mean to be blessed? 00:03:36.919 –> 00:03:41.339 What is this great blessing that Moses is speaking about? 00:03:41.339 –> 00:03:45.419 And remember, as Moses says these words, that this is the man who was raised in a palace 00:03:45.419 –> 00:03:47.399 in Egypt. 00:03:47.399 –> 00:03:52.639 He was surrounded by opulence and wealth in his early years. 00:03:52.639 –> 00:03:56.360 Is that what it means to be blessed? 00:03:56.360 –> 00:03:58.779 Then at age 40, everything changes for Moses. 00:03:58.779 –> 00:04:02.320 A sudden calamity means he leaves Egypt. 00:04:02.320 –> 00:04:06.600 And for the next 40 years, he scratches a living in the desert. 00:04:06.600 –> 00:04:09.399 He’s a shepherd. 00:04:09.399 –> 00:04:13.199 So for 40 years, this man has experienced life at its very best. 00:04:13.199 –> 00:04:18.119 For 40 years, this man then experienced life material in this world, at its very hardest, 00:04:18.119 –> 00:04:19.679 at its very lowest. 00:04:19.679 –> 00:04:25.480 Then everything changed again, and God called Moses, you remember, to confront Pharaoh, 00:04:25.480 –> 00:04:30.239 then to lead his people across the Red Sea, then to go up the mountain and to be in the 00:04:30.239 –> 00:04:32.000 presence of God in Sinai. 00:04:32.239 –> 00:04:39.079 And for 40 years, Moses experienced God as nobody else had known him. 00:04:39.079 –> 00:04:46.160 And so at 120 years of age, three equal periods of his life, the old man looks back over everything 00:04:46.160 –> 00:04:50.820 that he’s experienced, and this is his wisdom. 00:04:50.820 –> 00:04:56.000 He’s saying the greatest blessing you can know in life in this world, no matter how 00:04:56.000 –> 00:05:01.279 rich or how poor, and I’ve seen both, Moses could say, the greatest blessing you can know 00:05:01.279 –> 00:05:07.760 in this world is to know God himself. 00:05:07.760 –> 00:05:16.559 Whether you were born in a palace, whether you’ve eked out an existence in the desert, 00:05:16.559 –> 00:05:22.720 he says to God’s people, I’ve seen both and I tell you, nobody else has got what you’ve 00:05:22.720 –> 00:05:24.279 got. 00:05:24.279 –> 00:05:30.000 Who is like you, oh Israel, a people saved by the Lord. 00:05:30.019 –> 00:05:31.959 Let’s just pause here for a moment. 00:05:31.959 –> 00:05:34.540 He says, who’s like you, you’re a people saved. 00:05:34.540 –> 00:05:39.760 Isn’t that a wonderful Bible word, saved. 00:05:39.760 –> 00:05:44.200 Not being saved, not hoping that one day you might be saved. 00:05:44.200 –> 00:05:48.320 You are a people saved, you’re blessed. 00:05:48.320 –> 00:05:53.359 In new Testament terms, we can say we are blessed because there is no condemnation 00:05:53.359 –> 00:05:57.760 now for those who are in Christ Jesus. 00:05:57.760 –> 00:05:59.399 And then Moses says something even better. 00:05:59.399 –> 00:06:04.299 He says, not only are you saved but you’re blessed because you’re saved by the Lord. 00:06:04.299 –> 00:06:05.739 Do you say that there? 00:06:05.739 –> 00:06:08.920 It’s God who stepped into your life. 00:06:08.920 –> 00:06:14.040 It’s not that you’re saved by some sort of system or some kind of religion, some kind 00:06:14.040 –> 00:06:15.200 of mechanical process. 00:06:15.200 –> 00:06:17.040 No, here’s what has happened. 00:06:17.040 –> 00:06:21.779 God has stepped into your life, God has seen your plight, God has come down to deliver 00:06:21.779 –> 00:06:24.600 you, God has committed himself to you forever. 00:06:24.600 –> 00:06:28.459 Israel, he says, you are blessed like no one else. 00:06:28.459 –> 00:06:33.980 And when you talk about the richest or the poorest, nobody’s got what you’ve got. 00:06:33.980 –> 00:06:37.519 You are a people saved by the Lord. 00:06:37.519 –> 00:06:39.200 Now, this is his conclusion. 00:06:39.200 –> 00:06:42.859 And of course it fits exactly with what our Lord Jesus says. 00:06:42.859 –> 00:06:48.079 Do you remember in his prayer to the father in John 17 and verse three, the Lord Jesus 00:06:48.079 –> 00:06:52.320 says this, this is eternal life. 00:06:52.320 –> 00:06:54.339 You say, what’s eternal life? 00:06:54.339 –> 00:06:56.600 What’s the greatest thing I can ever know? 00:06:56.640 –> 00:07:06.940 Jesus says to know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 00:07:06.959 –> 00:07:19.679 Now, you may think knowing God sounds easy, but I tell you that by nature it is impossible. 00:07:19.679 –> 00:07:23.940 How can you know God since you cannot see him? 00:07:23.940 –> 00:07:27.679 God is invisible, God does not speak in an audible voice. 00:07:27.679 –> 00:07:28.679 God is spirit. 00:07:28.679 –> 00:07:31.839 God is eternal. 00:07:31.839 –> 00:07:37.420 Everything about God is beyond the range of our five senses. 00:07:37.420 –> 00:07:44.720 So knowing God would be absolutely, completely and utterly impossible unless God had made 00:07:44.720 –> 00:07:47.839 himself known. 00:07:47.839 –> 00:07:49.179 And that is where Moses begins. 00:07:49.220 –> 00:07:54.760 If you look back in verse 1 of chapter 33, he’s talking about the blessing that is Israel’s 00:07:54.760 –> 00:07:56.779 and here’s where he begins. 00:08:07.660 –> 00:08:12.399 See, he’s saying, understand, this is the great blessing that is uniquely yours, oh 00:08:12.399 –> 00:08:13.399 Israel. 00:08:13.399 –> 00:08:14.399 God came. 00:08:14.399 –> 00:08:18.239 This God that you could not otherwise have known. 00:08:18.720 –> 00:08:20.160 He came to you. 00:08:20.160 –> 00:08:25.640 The invisible God made himself known at Mount Sinai, he came down. 00:08:25.640 –> 00:08:29.019 And his Glory, it was revealed right there on the mountain. 00:08:29.019 –> 00:08:32.200 This God who inhabits eternity, here’s what he did. 00:08:32.200 –> 00:08:33.979 He broke into time. 00:08:33.979 –> 00:08:35.979 And he spoke! 00:08:35.979 –> 00:08:39.679 And myriads of angels, notice that phrase in verse 2. 00:08:39.679 –> 00:08:40.960 They were there in attendance. 00:08:40.960 –> 00:08:44.380 The whole event was glorious when God came down. 00:08:44.419 –> 00:08:49.340 It was unlike anything that had ever happened before. 00:08:49.340 –> 00:08:57.260 Now, as Moses begins to explain this marvellous blessing in which these people have come to 00:08:57.260 –> 00:09:01.580 know the God who saves them. 00:09:01.580 –> 00:09:07.380 Here’s something marvellous for us to grasp today, that it’s often neglected. 00:09:07.380 –> 00:09:14.260 That in order for God to make himself known to us. 00:09:15.179 –> 00:09:21.080 He speaks to us in language we can understand. 00:09:21.080 –> 00:09:26.479 Now, this is a marvellous truth and I want to take just a moment on it, and you’ll see 00:09:26.479 –> 00:09:27.479 why. 00:09:27.479 –> 00:09:32.719 Let me begin with trying to set this up for you this way. 00:09:32.719 –> 00:09:41.460 Years ago, I heard Professor Don Carson from Trinity University ask a fascinating question. 00:09:41.840 –> 00:09:52.599 He said, if you were challenged to explain to a group of Stone Age people what an electric 00:09:52.619 –> 00:09:59.239 light bulb is, and how it works, and what it does, how would you go about doing it? 00:09:59.239 –> 00:10:02.559 You begin to think about that, you know you’re transported back in time and you’ve got to 00:10:02.559 –> 00:10:04.979 explain to people in a Stone Age culture. 00:10:04.979 –> 00:10:10.659 So they don’t have metals, wires, or anything like that and your challenge is to try and 00:10:10.659 –> 00:10:15.739 explain to them an electric bulb that lights your house or lights your room. 00:10:15.739 –> 00:10:17.679 How would you go about it? 00:10:17.679 –> 00:10:21.059 They’ve never seen a light bulb? 00:10:21.059 –> 00:10:25.320 They have never seen a piece of wiring or a cable? 00:10:25.320 –> 00:10:27.479 So how would you explain this to them? 00:10:27.479 –> 00:10:29.739 Well, surely what you would do is something like this. 00:10:29.739 –> 00:10:34.380 You would look around at their world and you would see they have no cables, but they do 00:10:34.380 –> 00:10:38.840 have vines and vines have long, thin sort of trailers going there. 00:10:38.960 –> 00:10:43.979 And so you might say, well, you know, here in the world from which I come, there are… 00:10:43.979 –> 00:10:48.840 It’s like vines that come along on poles and they come into your house. 00:10:48.840 –> 00:10:54.340 Well, if you think you can do better, you tell me later. 00:10:54.340 –> 00:10:56.679 And then you’re trying to explain a light bulb. 00:10:56.679 –> 00:11:00.179 How do you explain a light bulb to people in a stone age culture? 00:11:00.179 –> 00:11:05.799 And you look around and you see the sunrise and you say, well, you know, it’s as if a 00:11:06.580 –> 00:11:14.780 we’re in your room at night so that you can see even when it is dark. 00:11:14.780 –> 00:11:18.000 The point is a very simple one. 00:11:18.000 –> 00:11:24.640 If you want to communicate to people who know nothing about the world in which you live, 00:11:24.640 –> 00:11:28.900 you have to use language that people, these people can understand. 00:11:28.900 –> 00:11:35.119 And what that means is that you have to use language that is drawn from their world because 00:11:35.340 –> 00:11:38.559 they cannot penetrate yours. 00:11:38.559 –> 00:11:42.840 Now this is precisely what God has done in the Scripture. 00:11:42.840 –> 00:11:49.840 Because we cannot know, nor begin to imagine eternity, in order that we may know Him, God 00:11:49.840 –> 00:11:56.200 describes himself in language that is taken from His own creation. 00:11:56.200 –> 00:12:03.080 So, Dr. Hermann Bavink says in the classic book that he has written on the doctrine of 00:12:03.159 –> 00:12:04.159 God. 00:12:04.159 –> 00:12:11.159 He says, if God were to speak to us in divine language, no one would understand him. 00:12:11.159 –> 00:12:15.640 And so for that reason, God speaks to us in language that we can understand. 00:12:15.640 –> 00:12:20.299 Now here’s what that means, that once you see it, your eyes will pop when you see it 00:12:20.299 –> 00:12:23.440 all over the Bible because it’s everywhere. 00:12:23.440 –> 00:12:27.760 God describes himself, therefore, in order to accommodate himself to us. 00:12:27.760 –> 00:12:32.979 And so that we can understand Him, we who have not been in eternity and cannot see Him. 00:12:33.200 –> 00:12:39.200 God describes himself in terms of the human body so that in the scripture, for example, 00:12:39.500 –> 00:12:43.099 you read about God’s face, though God is spirit. 00:12:43.099 –> 00:12:44.919 He does not have a body. 00:12:44.919 –> 00:12:48.219 But how else are we to understand anything about the God who is spirit? 00:12:48.219 –> 00:12:50.099 So the Bible accommodates to us. 00:12:50.099 –> 00:12:53.580 God uses language from our creation so that we can understand. 00:12:53.580 –> 00:12:59.140 He speaks about his face, he speaks about his eyes, he speaks about his ear. 00:12:59.140 –> 00:13:01.380 He even speaks about his nostrils. 00:13:01.400 –> 00:13:05.479 You can check that out in Exodus 15 and verse eight. 00:13:06.700 –> 00:13:12.979 Theologians call this, and here’s the big word of the day that you can ignore if you want to. 00:13:12.979 –> 00:13:16.460 Theologians call this anthropomorphism. 00:13:16.460 –> 00:13:21.440 That’s anthropos meaning man, morph, form. 00:13:21.440 –> 00:13:26.099 It is God describing himself in human form. 00:13:26.880 –> 00:13:30.719 And as you begin to think about that, you’ll quickly realize that this goes further 00:13:31.000 –> 00:13:31.900 throughout the Bible. 00:13:32.340 –> 00:13:38.659 God not only describes himself in terms of the human body, but He describes himself in terms of human emotions. 00:13:38.859 –> 00:13:44.900 So we read, for example, of God, rejoicing or God grieving or God having zeal. 00:13:44.900 –> 00:13:48.260 You remember in the Christmas reading the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. 00:13:48.460 –> 00:13:54.559 Or even you read in Deuteronomy 32 and verse six, verse 27, I’m sorry, of God dreading. 00:13:55.219 –> 00:13:58.380 This is an accommodation to human language so that we may know him. 00:13:59.239 –> 00:14:04.080 Or thirdly, God describes himself in terms of human roles or even professions. 00:14:04.419 –> 00:14:06.659 He describes himself as a husband. 00:14:06.979 –> 00:14:09.039 He describes himself as a father. 00:14:09.200 –> 00:14:11.559 He describes himself as a shepherd. 00:14:12.280 –> 00:14:18.960 And more than that, God even delves into the realm of his own created order to give us 00:14:18.960 –> 00:14:22.280 language that we can begin to discover something about him. 00:14:22.479 –> 00:14:24.280 For example, he is a rock. 00:14:24.739 –> 00:14:26.119 He is a refuge. 00:14:26.239 –> 00:14:27.940 He has a strong tower. 00:14:28.000 –> 00:14:29.460 He is a shield. 00:14:29.500 –> 00:14:31.979 He is a hiding place. 00:14:33.219 –> 00:14:36.900 Now, quickly you will realize that that this is all over the scripture. 00:14:37.059 –> 00:14:37.419 Dr. 00:14:37.419 –> 00:14:43.239 Bavink says scripture calls upon the entire creation to contribute to the description 00:14:43.239 –> 00:14:44.460 of the knowledge of God. 00:14:44.700 –> 00:14:49.359 Everything that has breath is to praise the Lord because everything that has breath in 00:14:49.359 –> 00:14:51.179 some way reflects His glory. 00:14:51.460 –> 00:14:57.739 Even the sun and the moon and the stars in Psalm 148 are invited to praise him because 00:14:57.739 –> 00:15:02.179 they are the work off his hands and in some way they reflect his glory. 00:15:02.419 –> 00:15:09.940 So that beautifully John Calvin says there is not an atom in the universe in which you 00:15:09.940 –> 00:15:15.140 cannot see at least some spark of God’s glory. 00:15:15.219 –> 00:15:15.859 Isn’t that beautiful? 00:15:15.900 –> 00:15:22.799 Not an atom in the universe Now the point here is simply that God speaks to us in 00:15:22.799 –> 00:15:25.900 language that we can understand. 00:15:27.799 –> 00:15:33.159 And so when Moses wants to communicate what the blessing of the eternal God actually 00:15:33.159 –> 00:15:44.979 looks like in your life today he uses in this chapter four wonderful anthropomorphisms 00:15:44.979 –> 00:15:52.559 and I hope you will come to love them and enjoy them as much as I do in the 00:15:52.559 –> 00:15:53.359 scriptures. 00:15:53.500 –> 00:15:57.900 Here’s the first verse three, God’s hand, God’s hand. 00:15:57.919 –> 00:15:58.640 Look at this. 00:15:59.840 –> 00:16:09.080 Verse three surely Moses says to the Lord it is you who love the people and all the 00:16:09.080 –> 00:16:13.440 Holy Ones are in your hand. 00:16:15.039 –> 00:16:17.280 Here’s what it means to be saved, folks. 00:16:17.280 –> 00:16:21.320 Here’s why when you know the Lord you are blessed like nobody else. 00:16:21.320 –> 00:16:26.239 When you know God you are in his hand. 00:16:27.799 –> 00:16:32.000 When you know him your life is not a matter of random chance. 00:16:32.400 –> 00:16:35.919 Whatever surprises, whatever disappointments are going on in your life 00:16:35.919 –> 00:16:41.159 or may come your way, you are in the hand of the living God and he cares for you. 00:16:42.159 –> 00:16:47.159 Jesus said, taking up this picture, he said, I give them eternal life and 00:16:47.159 –> 00:16:50.900 they shall never perish, he says, No one shall snatch them out of my hand. 00:16:52.320 –> 00:16:57.719 There may be many failings in your Christian life, there may be many times 00:16:57.719 –> 00:17:03.500 when your faith is running incredibly low but thank God with me today, 00:17:03.500 –> 00:17:09.239 that your salvation, your security does not rest on the strength of your 00:17:09.239 –> 00:17:13.599 hand holding onto God but it rests on the strength of God’s hand holding onto you. 00:17:13.599 –> 00:17:14.660 Isn’t that good news? 00:17:15.099 –> 00:17:19.140 That security in an uncertain world and Moses says 00:17:19.140 –> 00:17:20.420 to the people of God, 00:17:20.420 –> 00:17:22.099 You are blessed. 00:17:22.099 –> 00:17:25.719 Why, because of someone who is saved by the Lord 00:17:25.719 –> 00:17:31.400 your life is in His hand and that means you are utterly secure. 00:17:33.040 –> 00:17:37.839 Then look on in verse 3, he speaks about God’s feet 00:17:38.839 –> 00:17:40.760 and here are the references to wisdom. 00:17:40.760 –> 00:17:46.459 At your feet they all bow down 00:17:46.459 –> 00:17:51.800 and from you receive instruction. 00:17:51.800 –> 00:17:54.400 The law that Moses gave us. 00:17:55.459 –> 00:17:56.560 Now you see the point here. 00:17:56.560 –> 00:17:58.640 The people of God are coming to a great change. 00:17:58.640 –> 00:18:01.520 Moses has been with them all of their lives 00:18:01.520 –> 00:18:03.959 and he was the one who always seemed to know what to do. 00:18:03.959 –> 00:18:05.359 Moses knows what to do 00:18:05.359 –> 00:18:08.579 and now what are they going to do without Moses. 00:18:08.579 –> 00:18:10.579 The great question surely for God’s people 00:18:11.119 –> 00:18:11.939 we often ask. 00:18:11.939 –> 00:18:13.099 Where can we find wisdom? 00:18:14.180 –> 00:18:16.020 Who should we trust? 00:18:16.020 –> 00:18:19.619 How can we make good and wise decisions? 00:18:20.859 –> 00:18:23.420 And God’s people received instruction 00:18:23.420 –> 00:18:25.959 from God himself through the law, 00:18:25.959 –> 00:18:30.760 Moses says here, that had been given by Moses. 00:18:30.760 –> 00:18:31.979 Now, you see the point here. 00:18:31.979 –> 00:18:33.239 It’s very wonderful. 00:18:34.260 –> 00:18:36.920 When you read the scriptures, 00:18:37.839 –> 00:18:41.040 you are sitting at the feet of God 00:18:42.680 –> 00:18:45.459 and you are listening to his voice. 00:18:45.459 –> 00:18:47.119 People all the time are asking this question 00:18:47.119 –> 00:18:48.839 and many folks are in confusion about it. 00:18:48.839 –> 00:18:50.199 How do I hear the voice of God? 00:18:50.199 –> 00:18:51.619 how do I hear the voice of God? 00:18:51.619 –> 00:18:53.500 Here’s how you hear the voice of God. 00:18:54.599 –> 00:18:57.239 See, Moses is saying, he speaks, he gives direction. 00:18:57.239 –> 00:18:59.660 How, through the law that he’s given to Moses. 00:18:59.660 –> 00:19:03.140 When you listen to the scripture, 00:19:03.140 –> 00:19:05.579 you are hearing the voice of God 00:19:05.780 –> 00:19:10.780 for this is the word that God himself speaks. 00:19:11.680 –> 00:19:13.979 Think of that beautiful picture in the New Testament. 00:19:13.979 –> 00:19:17.719 Remember Mary, when Martha was busy in the kitchen 00:19:17.719 –> 00:19:18.619 and what was Mary doing? 00:19:18.619 –> 00:19:22.719 She’s sitting at the feet of Jesus. 00:19:22.719 –> 00:19:24.579 She’s listening to the very words of God 00:19:24.579 –> 00:19:26.380 coming from the mouth of the Savior. 00:19:27.359 –> 00:19:29.739 Listen, when you have your Bible open, 00:19:29.739 –> 00:19:32.020 when you are reading the word of God, 00:19:32.020 –> 00:19:34.920 you are sitting at the feet of God, 00:19:34.959 –> 00:19:37.239 at your feet they all bow down 00:19:37.239 –> 00:19:39.180 and from you they receive instruction. 00:19:39.180 –> 00:19:40.020 How? 00:19:40.020 –> 00:19:42.300 The law that Moses gave us. 00:19:42.300 –> 00:19:44.040 It’s beautiful, it’s wonderful. 00:19:44.040 –> 00:19:45.619 You are not left without guidance. 00:19:45.619 –> 00:19:49.099 You have a shepherd and here’s how he speaks to you. 00:19:49.099 –> 00:19:50.540 When you read the Scripture, 00:19:50.540 –> 00:19:52.560 you are sitting at the feet of the Lord 00:19:52.560 –> 00:19:57.560 and you are listening to his voice. 00:19:57.780 –> 00:19:58.859 That’s why we want the word of God 00:19:58.859 –> 00:20:00.540 to be central in our worship. 00:20:01.479 –> 00:20:06.479 So that with the Bible open you can see what God says 00:20:07.339 –> 00:20:11.359 and build our lives upon it. 00:20:11.359 –> 00:20:14.020 So you see what Moses is saying, it’s building here. 00:20:14.020 –> 00:20:16.119 Oh how blessed you are Israel, 00:20:16.119 –> 00:20:18.020 a people saved by the Lord. 00:20:18.020 –> 00:20:19.439 You’re in his hands 00:20:20.359 –> 00:20:23.319 and you’re not aimlessly drifting about in life, 00:20:23.319 –> 00:20:25.839 you’re being taught at his feet. 00:20:25.839 –> 00:20:27.060 You have his word. 00:20:27.959 –> 00:20:31.140 And then thirdly, it gets even more beautiful. 00:20:31.140 –> 00:20:32.459 God’s shoulders. 00:20:32.459 –> 00:20:35.260 Will you look with me at verse 12, I love this. 00:20:36.339 –> 00:20:41.079 “‘The beloved of the Lord will rest secure in him 00:20:41.079 –> 00:20:43.119 “‘for he shields them all day long 00:20:43.119 –> 00:20:48.119 “‘and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders.’” 00:20:50.260 –> 00:20:54.459 Boy, that is a verse to mark and highlight in your Bible, 00:20:54.459 –> 00:20:55.920 it is beautiful. 00:20:55.920 –> 00:20:57.060 You see the picture. 00:20:57.060 –> 00:21:00.099 You think about a father with his son, 00:21:00.099 –> 00:21:04.359 little boy, on his shoulders, and you can picture it. 00:21:04.359 –> 00:21:08.839 It’s been a long, exhausting day of Christmas shopping. 00:21:08.839 –> 00:21:10.239 You know what that is? 00:21:10.239 –> 00:21:12.020 And here’s this little lad, he’s been dragged 00:21:12.020 –> 00:21:15.040 around every department store that you can imagine. 00:21:15.040 –> 00:21:16.959 And it’s six o’clock in the evening, 00:21:16.959 –> 00:21:19.359 and the little lad’s absolutely exhausted, 00:21:19.359 –> 00:21:20.199 and he’s been crying. 00:21:20.199 –> 00:21:22.880 And he looks up at his dad, with that exhausted, 00:21:22.880 –> 00:21:25.839 please help me look in his eyes. 00:21:25.839 –> 00:21:27.040 And what does the father do? 00:21:27.040 –> 00:21:29.920 The father picks him up and sticks him on his shoulders. 00:21:29.920 –> 00:21:32.719 And there that little boy sits like a king 00:21:33.959 –> 00:21:35.599 on his father’s shoulders. 00:21:37.040 –> 00:21:38.619 Now you see what this is saying. 00:21:39.579 –> 00:21:44.060 God will not leave you bedraggled and exhausted. 00:21:45.280 –> 00:21:48.560 You look back even to chapter one, in verse 31. 00:21:48.560 –> 00:21:51.260 It’s so beautifully stated there, the same picture. 00:21:51.319 –> 00:21:53.619 Moses says, chapter one, verse 31. 00:21:53.619 –> 00:21:58.619 The Lord, Your God carried you as a father carries his son 00:21:59.619 –> 00:22:02.800 all the way you went until you reach this place. 00:22:02.800 –> 00:22:07.719 All these years in the desert, it was God who carried you. 00:22:09.319 –> 00:22:13.319 There’s a beautiful poem or perhaps a piece of pros 00:22:14.400 –> 00:22:15.760 that many of you will know. 00:22:15.760 –> 00:22:17.839 It’s called Footprints in the Sand. 00:22:17.839 –> 00:22:19.219 Are you familiar with this? 00:22:19.219 –> 00:22:20.280 I just read that to you 00:22:20.319 –> 00:22:24.560 because it just encapsulates the beauty of the God 00:22:24.560 –> 00:22:27.619 who carries his people on his shoulders. 00:22:28.760 –> 00:22:31.380 The author Mary Stevenson writes this. 00:22:31.380 –> 00:22:34.560 One night I dreamed that I was walking 00:22:34.560 –> 00:22:36.160 along the beach with the Lord. 00:22:36.160 –> 00:22:39.140 Many scenes of my life flashed across the sky. 00:22:40.400 –> 00:22:42.040 In each scene I noticed 00:22:42.040 –> 00:22:44.079 that there were footprints in the sand. 00:22:44.079 –> 00:22:46.640 Sometimes there were two sets of footprints. 00:22:46.640 –> 00:22:48.640 Sometimes there was only one. 00:22:49.640 –> 00:22:52.560 This bothered me because I noticed 00:22:52.560 –> 00:22:54.760 that during the low periods of my life, 00:22:54.760 –> 00:22:57.599 when I suffered from anguish and sorrow and defeat. 00:22:57.599 –> 00:23:00.420 I could only see one set of footprints. 00:23:00.420 –> 00:23:03.280 So I said to the Lord, you promised me Lord, 00:23:03.280 –> 00:23:07.619 that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. 00:23:07.619 –> 00:23:10.400 But I have noticed that during the most trying periods 00:23:10.400 –> 00:23:14.160 of my life there was only one set of footprints in the sand. 00:23:14.160 –> 00:23:16.800 Why, when I needed you most, 00:23:16.800 –> 00:23:18.739 have you not been there for me? 00:23:18.739 –> 00:23:21.099 And the Lord replied, 00:23:21.099 –> 00:23:24.939 the times when you have seen only one set of footprints 00:23:26.099 –> 00:23:27.400 is when I carried you. 00:23:29.339 –> 00:23:30.800 Now are you beginning to see 00:23:30.800 –> 00:23:32.520 what the blessing of God looks like? 00:23:32.520 –> 00:23:35.800 Why Moses would say at the end of the chapter, 00:23:35.800 –> 00:23:38.579 Oh, Israel, who’s like you? 00:23:38.579 –> 00:23:40.380 No one has this blessing. 00:23:40.380 –> 00:23:43.260 Apart from it being trusted to you. 00:23:43.260 –> 00:23:44.239 It is amazing. 00:23:44.239 –> 00:23:46.719 You are in the hands of God. 00:23:46.719 –> 00:23:49.540 And you’re being taught at the feet of God. 00:23:49.540 –> 00:23:52.819 And you’re being carried on the shoulders of God. 00:23:54.300 –> 00:23:59.300 And Moses isn’t done because there’s one more verse 27. 00:23:59.540 –> 00:24:00.939 And if you haven’t highlighted this 00:24:00.939 –> 00:24:03.979 in your Bible, oh, this is another verse to highlight. 00:24:05.859 –> 00:24:10.699 The eternal God is your refuge. 00:24:10.699 –> 00:24:14.180 And underneath says Moses are 00:24:14.180 –> 00:24:17.780 the everlasting arms. 00:24:18.719 –> 00:24:22.300 Underneath the everlasting arms. 00:24:23.699 –> 00:24:26.400 No, anyone who’s climbed a mountain knows 00:24:26.400 –> 00:24:28.959 that going up is always easier than coming down, 00:24:28.959 –> 00:24:30.560 isn’t that a principle? 00:24:30.560 –> 00:24:32.739 Going up is challenging, is wonderful, 00:24:32.739 –> 00:24:36.339 but you have a sense of achievement on the way up. 00:24:36.339 –> 00:24:37.939 Coming down is always harder, 00:24:37.939 –> 00:24:40.680 that’s when you’re more likely to slip, 00:24:40.680 –> 00:24:42.439 that’s when you’ll get discouraged. 00:24:43.339 –> 00:24:47.680 C. H. Spurgeon says that this promise in verse 27 00:24:47.680 –> 00:24:50.239 is for times when we face the challenge 00:24:50.239 –> 00:24:51.920 of the downward journey. 00:24:53.079 –> 00:24:56.579 Times in your life where you are brought low, 00:24:56.579 –> 00:24:58.119 and there are times in all of our lives 00:24:58.119 –> 00:25:00.219 where we are brought very, very low, 00:25:00.219 –> 00:25:01.479 in one way or another. 00:25:02.920 –> 00:25:05.119 Spurgeon says it might be material. 00:25:06.560 –> 00:25:07.760 Some of us know about that. 00:25:07.760 –> 00:25:09.540 Your salary was going up. 00:25:09.540 –> 00:25:10.900 Great when it’s going up. 00:25:11.439 –> 00:25:13.300 Your savings were going up. 00:25:14.300 –> 00:25:18.300 Now it’s all down and you have much less 00:25:18.300 –> 00:25:19.140 than you had before. 00:25:19.140 –> 00:25:20.000 That’s not easy. 00:25:20.979 –> 00:25:24.280 It’s going down, Spurgen says, 00:25:24.280 –> 00:25:28.040 it might not only be material, it might be mental. 00:25:29.280 –> 00:25:34.119 Is there anyone else here who has noticed memory failing 00:25:35.280 –> 00:25:36.979 or said in frustration, 00:25:36.979 –> 00:25:39.900 boy, how did that slip my mind? 00:25:41.040 –> 00:25:42.800 And you have felt that your mind is not 00:25:42.800 –> 00:25:45.619 as sharp as it used to be, it’s going down. 00:25:47.119 –> 00:25:49.959 Maybe your influence, it may be your reputation, 00:25:49.959 –> 00:25:51.180 people looked up to you, 00:25:51.180 –> 00:25:52.640 you had a certain position, 00:25:52.640 –> 00:25:54.260 but you’re not in that position now. 00:25:54.260 –> 00:25:55.540 People wanted your opinion, 00:25:55.540 –> 00:25:58.459 but nobody’s asking your opinion now. 00:25:58.459 –> 00:26:01.000 These days are gone, things have changed, 00:26:01.000 –> 00:26:02.520 you’re no longer looked up to 00:26:02.520 –> 00:26:03.959 with the kind of respect 00:26:03.959 –> 00:26:05.640 that you were accustomed to in the past. 00:26:05.640 –> 00:26:08.760 You’re going down and going down isn’t easy, 00:26:08.760 –> 00:26:10.359 so here’s the promise. 00:26:12.540 –> 00:26:15.020 However far you fall, 00:26:16.219 –> 00:26:18.380 however low you come, 00:26:20.500 –> 00:26:24.920 the loving arms of God are always underneath, 00:26:24.920 –> 00:26:26.640 that’s the great thing about this text, 00:26:26.640 –> 00:26:30.920 underneath as you’re falling, 00:26:30.920 –> 00:26:35.839 underneath are the everlasting arms. 00:26:37.359 –> 00:26:40.000 And put yourself in Moses’ shoes, 00:26:40.000 –> 00:26:41.719 because you know what’s going to happen next for him, 00:26:41.719 –> 00:26:44.500 because we’ve already looked at chapter 34. 00:26:46.079 –> 00:26:48.219 Here’s Moses, can you imagine this, 00:26:48.219 –> 00:26:51.180 after 40 years of ministry with these people 00:26:51.180 –> 00:26:53.060 and all the frustrations he’s endured 00:26:53.060 –> 00:26:56.699 and now he’s at the very verge of the promised land, 00:26:56.699 –> 00:27:01.099 and surely in his heart there must’ve been this sense, 00:27:01.099 –> 00:27:03.699 oh Lord, there’s so much more I want to do for you. 00:27:05.040 –> 00:27:07.199 The last chapter of the book says that his eyes 00:27:07.199 –> 00:27:09.839 were not dim and his strength was not gone. 00:27:09.839 –> 00:27:13.099 Lord, my eyes aren’t dim, my strength is not gone, 00:27:13.099 –> 00:27:14.739 there’s more I want to do for you, 00:27:14.739 –> 00:27:18.239 I’m so close, why don’t you let me finish what I started. 00:27:19.819 –> 00:27:22.180 Anyone here had the experience of not being allowed 00:27:22.180 –> 00:27:23.760 to finish something you started, 00:27:24.579 –> 00:27:25.660 and wishing you could? 00:27:27.660 –> 00:27:30.199 And the reality that Moses faces now is that 00:27:30.199 –> 00:27:33.719 a few hours after speaking these very words, 00:27:35.439 –> 00:27:37.300 he’s gonna descend into the grave. 00:27:39.180 –> 00:27:42.900 And he says, now I want you to know why you’re blessed 00:27:42.900 –> 00:27:45.280 as the people of God and why I’m blessed 00:27:45.280 –> 00:27:47.339 to be one of God’s people. 00:27:47.339 –> 00:27:51.420 As I go down, I’m gonna be buried 00:27:51.459 –> 00:27:56.459 underneath our, the everlasting arms. 00:27:57.719 –> 00:27:58.560 Isn’t that good? 00:28:00.900 –> 00:28:05.900 Spurgeon says, underneath dying saints 00:28:07.119 –> 00:28:08.560 is the living God. 00:28:08.560 –> 00:28:09.680 Isn’t that great? 00:28:10.599 –> 00:28:14.459 Underneath dying saints is the living God 00:28:15.680 –> 00:28:20.339 and he says, I recollect, this is Spurgeon at a funeral, 00:28:20.339 –> 00:28:23.880 when we laid the body of one of our God’s dear saints 00:28:23.880 –> 00:28:27.280 in the grave, you picture they’re at the graveside 00:28:27.280 –> 00:28:29.579 and Spurgeon says, one of my fellow ministers 00:28:29.579 –> 00:28:31.319 prayed like this and he quotes the prayer 00:28:31.319 –> 00:28:33.119 that the guy said by the graveside. 00:28:34.020 –> 00:28:38.219 Lord, we thank you that though our dear friend 00:28:38.219 –> 00:28:41.459 has come so low now as to be in his grave, 00:28:42.300 –> 00:28:44.140 he cannot go any lower 00:28:45.500 –> 00:28:48.180 for underneath are the everlasting arms 00:28:48.180 –> 00:28:51.699 and in due time you will bring him up again 00:28:51.699 –> 00:28:55.780 by these everlasting arms raised to newness 00:28:55.780 –> 00:28:58.760 of life in Jesus Christ. 00:28:58.760 –> 00:29:00.260 Isn’t that beautiful. 00:29:00.260 –> 00:29:01.420 Even in death. 00:29:02.800 –> 00:29:06.900 Underneath are the everlasting arms. 00:29:06.900 –> 00:29:09.420 So here’s the blessing that is so rich 00:29:09.420 –> 00:29:11.699 for those who are saved by the Lord. 00:29:11.699 –> 00:29:14.979 Here’s why Moses is saying, blessed are you, oh Israel. 00:29:14.979 –> 00:29:17.900 Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord 00:29:17.900 –> 00:29:20.180 because this is what it means to be saved by the Lord. 00:29:20.180 –> 00:29:22.239 This is what it means to know God. 00:29:22.239 –> 00:29:24.819 You’re in his hands and you’re at his feet 00:29:24.819 –> 00:29:26.380 and you’re between his shoulders 00:29:26.380 –> 00:29:29.900 and you’re on his arms and there is no blessing. 00:29:29.900 –> 00:29:32.180 There is no richness in this world 00:29:32.180 –> 00:29:33.819 that can come close to that. 00:29:33.819 –> 00:29:35.739 Who is like you, oh Israel? 00:29:35.739 –> 00:29:39.079 That you should have this blessing as yours. 00:29:40.339 –> 00:29:41.900 Now here’s the last thing today. 00:29:42.780 –> 00:29:45.439 This blessing of God, 00:29:46.660 –> 00:29:48.160 to be in his hands and at his feet 00:29:48.160 –> 00:29:49.339 and on his shoulders, 00:29:49.339 –> 00:29:51.359 between his shoulders and on his arms. 00:29:52.260 –> 00:29:55.859 This blessing of God was theirs then 00:29:55.859 –> 00:29:57.780 as it is ours now 00:29:57.780 –> 00:30:00.260 only through Jesus Christ. 00:30:01.239 –> 00:30:02.939 You see what Jesus Christ accomplished 00:30:02.939 –> 00:30:04.619 when he came and was born into the world 00:30:04.619 –> 00:30:07.300 and then when he died and then when he rose again. 00:30:07.300 –> 00:30:11.180 What Jesus accomplished brought the blessing of God 00:30:11.180 –> 00:30:14.219 to God’s people before him 00:30:14.219 –> 00:30:17.719 as much as to all of us who live after him. 00:30:18.839 –> 00:30:21.859 And you see that is the greater significance 00:30:21.859 –> 00:30:26.199 of why Moses died outside the Promised Land. 00:30:26.199 –> 00:30:29.020 This is of huge importance in the Bible story. 00:30:30.060 –> 00:30:32.619 Moses was the law giver. 00:30:33.660 –> 00:30:37.699 And the law gives you a glimpse of the Promised Land. 00:30:37.699 –> 00:30:40.319 The law tells you what a blessed life looks like. 00:30:40.339 –> 00:30:42.199 The problem is the law can’t bring you 00:30:42.199 –> 00:30:44.359 into living that blessed life. 00:30:45.920 –> 00:30:47.760 The law gives you a glimpse of the blessing, 00:30:47.760 –> 00:30:49.520 but it cannot take you in. 00:30:49.520 –> 00:30:51.560 It gives you a glimpse of holiness. 00:30:51.560 –> 00:30:52.579 You read God’s law and you say, 00:30:52.579 –> 00:30:54.319 oh, that’s the kind of man I want to be, 00:30:54.319 –> 00:30:55.920 but it can’t take you in. 00:30:57.699 –> 00:30:58.880 The law brought Moses. 00:30:58.880 –> 00:31:01.359 The law giver came to the edge of the Promised Land 00:31:01.359 –> 00:31:03.920 but that’s as far as the law can take you. 00:31:03.920 –> 00:31:06.079 That is why the Bible says that no one will 00:31:06.079 –> 00:31:08.140 be declared righteous in the sight of God 00:31:08.400 –> 00:31:09.500 by observing the law. 00:31:09.500 –> 00:31:12.979 We need someone better than Moses 00:31:12.979 –> 00:31:16.300 to lead us into the blessing of God. 00:31:16.300 –> 00:31:18.180 Otherwise, we will only be glimpsing it 00:31:18.180 –> 00:31:19.660 as he did from outside. 00:31:21.180 –> 00:31:24.459 And so, of course, the great question of the Bible’s story 00:31:24.459 –> 00:31:27.500 is who then can bring us where Moses could not go? 00:31:27.500 –> 00:31:29.800 Who can bring us right into this blessing? 00:31:29.800 –> 00:31:32.579 Who can make all that it means to be in his hands 00:31:32.579 –> 00:31:34.699 and at his feet and on his shoulders, 00:31:34.699 –> 00:31:36.300 between his shoulders and on his arms? 00:31:36.300 –> 00:31:39.020 Who can make all that really ours? 00:31:39.020 –> 00:31:40.660 And John puts it this way. 00:31:40.660 –> 00:31:43.180 He says, the law came by Moses, 00:31:43.180 –> 00:31:47.819 but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. 00:31:49.719 –> 00:31:52.260 And I want you to see the beauty of this 00:31:52.260 –> 00:31:54.619 in God’s progressive revelation. 00:31:56.839 –> 00:32:01.839 Moses described God in human terms, 00:32:02.300 –> 00:32:05.459 hands, feet, shoulders, arms. 00:32:07.079 –> 00:32:12.079 Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, 00:32:14.060 –> 00:32:19.060 hands, feet, shoulders, arms. 00:32:20.560 –> 00:32:24.219 The blessings in other words that Moses described 00:32:24.219 –> 00:32:29.099 were theirs and are ours and can be yours 00:32:29.099 –> 00:32:33.439 through Jesus Christ who is God in the flesh. 00:32:33.479 –> 00:32:36.380 That is God coming to actually do 00:32:36.380 –> 00:32:39.680 and accomplish for us everything that Moses described. 00:32:41.500 –> 00:32:44.300 And that is why you see the Shepherds 00:32:44.300 –> 00:32:47.300 gather with Mary and Joseph at the manger 00:32:48.359 –> 00:32:52.280 and they look with wonder at these tiny hands 00:32:53.579 –> 00:32:54.699 and these tiny feet 00:32:54.699 –> 00:32:57.239 and these little shoulders and these little arms. 00:32:58.579 –> 00:33:00.060 And they bow in worship 00:33:00.099 –> 00:33:04.859 because they are looking at the hands and the feet of God. 00:33:07.000 –> 00:33:10.500 Roll the story forward, and this child has become a man, 00:33:10.500 –> 00:33:14.459 his hands are now skilled through his work as a carpenter, 00:33:14.459 –> 00:33:17.660 his feet are worn with many, many miles 00:33:17.660 –> 00:33:20.339 of walking on dusty roads. 00:33:20.339 –> 00:33:23.680 Now look at him, his shoulders are carrying 00:33:23.680 –> 00:33:26.079 a huge beam of wood. 00:33:27.040 –> 00:33:30.619 A crowd gathered and they’re jeering and mocking, 00:33:30.619 –> 00:33:33.079 and knows soldiers they’re taking nails 00:33:33.079 –> 00:33:37.079 and they are piercing the hands and the feet of God. 00:33:38.959 –> 00:33:41.300 And as they do, the arms of God 00:33:41.300 –> 00:33:44.680 are outstretched towards you. 00:33:46.640 –> 00:33:49.380 Friends, Jesus went to the cross 00:33:49.380 –> 00:33:53.099 so that the blessing of God in all its fullness 00:33:53.180 –> 00:33:56.900 that Moses described could be yours. 00:33:56.900 –> 00:33:59.619 So that your life could be in the hands of God, 00:33:59.619 –> 00:34:02.380 not as his enemy, but as his friend. 00:34:02.380 –> 00:34:04.219 So that your life could be 00:34:04.219 –> 00:34:08.520 as one who has taught at the feet of almighty God. 00:34:08.520 –> 00:34:11.000 So that you, when your own strength is gone, 00:34:11.000 –> 00:34:13.879 could be carried on the shoulders of the Almighty 00:34:13.879 –> 00:34:18.219 so that you would be forever secure in the everlasting arms 00:34:18.219 –> 00:34:20.600 no matter how far you may fall. 00:34:20.600 –> 00:34:25.500 And to all of us who belong to this Jesus Christ today, 00:34:25.500 –> 00:34:27.120 I say in the words of Moses, 00:34:27.120 –> 00:34:32.120 blessed are you O Israel, who is like you, 00:34:32.320 –> 00:34:36.280 a people saved by the Lord. 00:34:36.280 –> 00:34:41.280 And do you know, if you’ve come visiting the church today, 00:34:41.800 –> 00:34:45.500 perhaps drawn by the season, drawn by the occasion, 00:34:45.500 –> 00:34:49.080 I want to say, if you don’t yet know 00:34:49.120 –> 00:34:50.800 about this in your own experience, 00:34:50.800 –> 00:34:53.199 this blessing can be yours. 00:34:55.020 –> 00:34:57.580 Christ came into the world to make it yours. 00:34:58.679 –> 00:35:00.399 And here’s what you can do today. 00:35:01.979 –> 00:35:05.080 You can say, Lord Jesus today, 00:35:05.919 –> 00:35:09.060 I place my life into your hands. 00:35:10.239 –> 00:35:11.679 Now be my provider. 00:35:13.439 –> 00:35:17.159 Lord Jesus, today, I’m going to sit at your feet. 00:35:18.159 –> 00:35:19.739 Now be my teacher. 00:35:20.840 –> 00:35:25.739 Lord Jesus, today, I find rest in your shoulders. 00:35:27.520 –> 00:35:29.260 Now, be my strength. 00:35:31.080 –> 00:35:36.080 Lord Jesus, today, I fall into your everlasting arms. 00:35:38.719 –> 00:35:39.860 Now be my savior. 00:35:41.560 –> 00:35:43.179 Let’s pray together, shall we? 00:35:45.399 –> 00:35:46.500 Our Father in heaven, 00:35:46.699 –> 00:35:50.580 we bow before you in worship and in awe 00:35:53.040 –> 00:35:55.780 that you yourself the God, 00:35:57.139 –> 00:36:02.139 invisible, eternal and incomprehensible to tiny human minds 00:36:04.979 –> 00:36:08.340 should have made yourself known in language 00:36:08.340 –> 00:36:10.000 that we can understand 00:36:12.179 –> 00:36:15.100 and more than that, should’ve come to us. 00:36:16.939 –> 00:36:19.780 Not only describing yourself in human form, 00:36:19.780 –> 00:36:23.340 but taking our flesh 00:36:25.739 –> 00:36:27.439 in the man, Christ Jesus. 00:36:29.800 –> 00:36:30.639 We worship. 00:36:32.860 –> 00:36:33.939 We want Father, 00:36:33.939 –> 00:36:36.580 as we see the glory of these things, 00:36:37.500 –> 00:36:39.760 that our lives will be in your hands, 00:36:41.780 –> 00:36:44.080 that wisdom we will learn at your feet, 00:36:44.919 –> 00:36:47.860 strength we may find between your shoulders 00:36:50.159 –> 00:36:53.399 and that salvation will be ours in your everlasting arms 00:36:53.399 –> 00:36:57.919 through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and our Lord, 00:36:59.060 –> 00:37:01.360 in whom we rejoice 00:37:03.260 –> 00:37:06.060 and all of God’s people together said. 00:37:09.479 –> 00:37:10.719 You’ve been listening to a sermon 00:37:10.719 –> 00:37:13.300 with Pastor Colin Smith of Open the Bible. 00:37:14.139 –> 00:37:19.139 To contact us, call us at 1-877-OPEN-365 00:37:19.459 –> 00:37:22.939 or visit our website openthebible.org.

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Colin Smith

Trustee / Founder and Teaching Pastor

Colin Smith is the Senior Pastor of The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. He has authored a number of books, including Heaven, How I Got Here and Heaven, So Near – So Far. Colin is the Founder and Teaching Pastor for Open the Bible. Follow him on X formerly Twitter.

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