Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon Deuteronomy 30:15-20 Life and Prosperity
New Covenant Presbyterian Church
February 12, 2017
Good Morning. My name is Jeff Howard. I am a Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) I am a member of New Castle Presbytery, and currently I serve the church in Ocean City as their interim pastor. Before we begin this morning I would like to talk a little about the transition you are facing.
You have already said goodbye to a beloved founding pastor. I have been friends with Scot for several years and have admired what he was able to do to build this church. I am sure he will be missed. Your session will soon call an interim pastor. This person will look and act like any other pastor. He or she will preach, teach, visit the sick, do weddings and funerals and provide leadership to the church. After you and the interim pastor get to know each other well enough then the church will embark on a mission study. This study will put into writing all you do, the opportunities and problems you face, and your dreams for this church. When this study is complete the church’s nominating committee will find people to serve on a pastor nominating committee. The congregation will meet to approve the mission study and the pastor nominating committee. The PNC will then use the mission study to recruit a new pastor. All of this will take some time. Ocean City has spent two years in this process and they now about to call a new pastor. You are just beginning.
3500 years ago the people of God were also facing a transition. Moses, their founding pastor, had led them for 40 years in the wilderness. Now he is ready to retire and let someone else take the people into the promised land. But before Moses leaves, as the transition begins, he has something important to say. We will get to this, but first let’s pray.
“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety to thy glory and our own edification.” Amen. (Calvin)
When I was 18 I had a choice to make. Like many kids in my generation I went with my family every Sunday for worship and Sunday School. I loved going to church as a kid. But when I went to college I forgot all about that. I lived in a frat house which hosted parties every Saturday night. I slept in most Sunday mornings. God was the farthest thing from my mind. Then ten years later my mother died. And filled with grief I turned back to God. I have worshiped God every Sunday morning for over 30 years. I made a bad choice and suffered for it for a decade. But God allowed me to make a good choice. And with that good choice my life has prospered. I have beautiful wife and a wonderful career as pastor. God is giving you this choice today, a choice to live life and prosper. Moses put it this way:
Deuteronomy 30:15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.16 For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.
17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.
There are two kinds of laws. One type of law comes about because someone wants someone else to do or not do something. The Department of Transportation puts up signs regulating the speed limit to 55mph. They clearly want you to drive no faster than 55. You may agree with them, or you may think that 45mph is more appropriate on this road. Or maybe you think it would be perfectly safe to go 65. You have a choice to obey the law or not. And if you choose not to obey the law you may have to suffer the consequences when you get a ticket.
There is another type of law that does not reflect what someone else wants you to do. Let's look at the Law of Gravity. The water tower near my home in Ocean City came down this week. Men were working on its demolition and I could see them working high in the air. The Law of Gravity says that if one of them jumps off the tower he will not survive the fall. The Law of Gravity is not something that someone came up with to limit your freedom. Rather the Law of Gravity is set in the creation of the world. If we follow it we live and prosper. If we ignore it then we fall to our deaths.
So too with the commands of God. We are perfectly free to ignore God’s decrees, but of course we will suffer the consequences. This is Moses’ point. God’s teachings, the torah, is our user manual. If we follow torah we will life prosperous lives. If we ignore torah life will be short and not so good. Your car comes with a user manual. It tells you to change the oil every 3000 miles. If you follow these instructions your car will take you wherever you want to go for many years. But if you don’t change the oil, well you’ll be scrapping that car and buying a new one. The Bible is our user manual. Follow God’s commands and lead a long and prosperous life. Ignore the Bible and follow your own way then your days will be short. It’s your choice.
The Hebrews had experienced slavery in Egypt. They had been freed from slavery by the God of their ancestors. And they entered into a covenant with God at Mt. Horeb where Moses received the Ten Commandments. They had survived forty years in the wilderness with God’s provision of food and water and protection from their enemies. And now they were ready to enter the promised land. Moses has given them a warning. If they continue to love the God who loved them so much, if they continue to walk in his ways and obey his commands then life in the promised land would go well for them just as it had in the wilderness. Their crops will grow. Their children will prosper. They will live in security without threat from their neighbors. But if they turn away from their God their time in the promised land will be short. Crops will fail. Children will die. Armies will invade. They have a choice.
So too do we. If we make God the most important thing in our lives we will prosper. I don’t mean we will get rich or win the lottery. We will live the abundant lives God created us to live. But if we turn away from God, walking in our own ways, and ignoring his commands what do you think would happen?
According to Moses there are three things we should do to live long prosperous lives. The first is to “love the Lord our God”. God must be the most important thing in your lives. Some people love money more that God; your checkbook shows your priorities. Some people love coffee or golf more than God; you will see them at Starbucks on the golf course on Sunday mornings. But the people who love God more than anything else will be in church every Sunday, they will participate in small groups and Bible studies. They will tithe. And they will pray every day. If you truly love God more than anything else you will want to be with him and support his church in giving, worship, prayer and Bible study.
The second thing Moses tells us to do is to “to walk in obedience to God”. As you worship, study scripture and pray God will tell you what he wants you to do. To live a long and prosperous life you are to follow God’s instructions, the torah.
Many years ago I took the Bethel Bible Series at my church in Washington DC. After two years of going through the Old and New Testaments I felt a strong call from God to teach Bethel. I had numerous conversations with my pastor about this for over the next year. Then he invited me to attend his Bethel teacher’s class. I loved it and taught in the program for four years. Then I felt a strong call from God to go further. I talked with my pastor. Then, in obedience to God, I went to Fuller Seminary to begin work to become a pastor. I found that when I walk in obedience to God, my life is filled with abundance.
The third thing Moses tells us to do is “to keep his commands, decrees and laws”. What are some of the things God commands us to do? Well, here some of them. Cancel the debts of the poor (Deut 15:1-11). Guard against excessive wealth (16:18-20). Limit punishment to protect human dignity (19:1-7). Restrict who can be drafted (20:1-8). Offer hospitality to runaway slaves (23:15-16). Pay employees fairly (24:15-16). And leave part of the harvest for those who need it (24:19-22). Do these things and life will be good for you.
There is something I need you to remember. We do not obey the law to go to heaven. We do not obey the law to get God to love us. All we have to do is declare Jesus as our Lord and believe that he was resurrected for the dead. This is faith. Faith is what saves you. But now as restored and forgiven sinners we should gratefully love God will all our hearts, souls and minds. We should with gratitude love our neighbors as we love ourselves. We should listen for God in worship, Bible study and prayer and do what he says. And we should obey God’s commands. All of this will bless us so that we can be a blessing for others.
Moses has provided a choice for the people of God. They can choose either to follow the way of God or not. Of course Moses wants his people to choose the way of life. Here is how he put it.
19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
New Covenant church, I urge you to choose life. Love God with all your heart soul and mind. Love your neighbors as you love yourselves. Listen for God’s voice in worship, Bible study and prayer and do what he tells you to do. Keep his commands so that your life will be blessed.
I believe that God is getting ready to bless this church. As I drive around the community I see numerous housing developments with many empty building lots. I see a new road connecting 301 with 13 and going right by the church. I think that this community will be experiencing population growth soon. And this church must be ready. When new people move into the community we must knock on their doors with food casseroles in our hands, information about schools and shopping, and a personal invitation to come to church. Do this and new people will come to New Covenant Church. I believe that this church could double in size very quickly.
For this to happen you will need someone to nurture youth, children and families. As chair of the Church Development Unit of New Castle Presbytery I worked with your former pastor to get you a grant for this position. Hire someone with a passion to bring kids to this church and equip them with Christian education. Do this and this church will be filled with families.
Of course the limiting factor in the size of this church’s membership is its facilities. You have a beautiful Christian education building and fellowship hall. What you are missing is a sanctuary. What if we could raise the money to build a sanctuary and have it ready when road construction ends? What if we are inviting new families to our church? What if we have a great education program for all ages? What if we have meaningful worship, prayers and Bible studies? I think we are on the edge of the promised land. I urge you to enter the promised land and choose life and prosperity. Let us pray.
Father in heaven we choose life and prosperity. We pledge to love and follow your son Jesus. We promise to obey your commands. We ask for the empowerment of your Holy Spirit to allow us to grow this church and expand your kingdom. This we pray in the name of Jesus our Lord and Savior. Amen.
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