{"id":21887,"date":"2022-06-05T22:00:45","date_gmt":"2022-06-06T05:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/deuteronomy_3_18-29-copy\/"},"modified":"2022-05-31T17:10:39","modified_gmt":"2022-06-01T00:10:39","slug":"deuteronomy_4_1-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/deuteronomy_4_1-14\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Reasons It is Good to Obey God\u2019s Word"},"content":{"rendered":"

Deuteronomy\u00a0 4:1-14 \u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Hi\u00a0 GAMErs!<\/p>\n

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Today\u2019s passage is Deuteronomy 4:1-14.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Deuteronomy 4:1-5 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the\u00a0LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0your God that I give you.
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You saw with your own eyes what the\u00a0LORD\u00a0did at Baal Peor. The\u00a0LORD\u00a0your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor,
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0but all of you who held fast to the\u00a0LORD\u00a0your God are still alive today.
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the\u00a0LORD\u00a0my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it.
\n<\/em>
\nOn verses 1-5:\u00a0 Moses is about to spell out the decrees and laws that this current generation of Israelites are to follow, but first, expert leader that Moses is, Moses takes the time to explain why this current generation must follow God\u2019s commands.\u00a0 People need to know the\u00a0why<\/em>\u00a0if they\u2019re going to do the\u00a0what<\/em>.\u00a0 The reasons the Israelites should obey God\u2019s commands are the same reasons why we should obey them today.<\/p>\n

The first reason we see in Deuteronomy 4 as to why it is good to obey God is in verse 1: \u201cso that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the\u00a0LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 In other words,\u00a0it is good to obey God because God\u2019s commands are meant to give us life, success and protection<\/strong>.\u00a0 To emphasize this point, Moses contrasts the Israelites who worshiped Canaanite gods at Baal Peor, engaged in sexual immorality and died (v3) with the Israelites who hung onto God and stayed alive (v4).<\/p>\n

God doesn\u2019t give us His commands because He\u2019s a control freak or because He derives pleasure from watching us in pain.\u00a0 Rather, just as a loving parent gives rules for their children to live by not for the sake of rules or control but so that their children can thrive and be safe, God is the same way.\u00a0 God\u2019s commands are not prison bars to take away our freedom; they\u2019re guardrails on a highway to keep us from falling into the ditch.<\/p>\n

We have a choice: we can either choose to follow other gods and die, as did those Israelites who joined in the worship of Canaanite gods at Baal Peor.<\/p>\n

Deuteronomy 4:6-8 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the\u00a0LORD\u00a0our God is near us whenever we pray to him?
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?
\n<\/em>
\nOn verses 6-8:\u00a0 Here we see the second reason:\u00a0it is good to obey God because<\/strong>\u00a0when we obey God well, we show others what God is like, other people will take notice and want what we\u2019re having<\/strong>.\u00a0 In this way, our obedience to God\u2019s Word can lead to other people wanting to know our God as well.\u00a0 There\u2019s something uniquely attractive, refreshing and inspiring about a person who truly lives out God\u2019s Word the way it was meant to be lived out.\u00a0 Case in point: Jesus Christ.\u00a0 No one obeyed God\u2019s Word better than Jesus, and no one attracted and attracts like Jesus.<\/p>\n

Deuteronomy 4:9-10 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Remember the day you stood before the\u00a0LORD\u00a0your God at Horeb, when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children.”
\n<\/em>
\nOn verses 9-10:\u00a0 Here we learn a third reason:\u00a0it is good to obey God\u2019s Word because when we obey God\u2019s Word, we\u2019re able to teach God\u2019s Word to the next generation.<\/strong>\u00a0 You only really teach others, and especially your children, the parts of God\u2019s Word that you\u2019re actually living out.\u00a0 When you\u2019re obeying God\u2019s Word, you have personal experience to share with your children as to what it means to obey God\u2019s Word and why it is important to do so.\u00a0 When you\u2019re not obeying God\u2019s Word, you\u2019ll be hesitant to teach your kids, both because you\u2019re unsure what it means and unconfident about your own example.<\/p>\n

Deuteronomy 4:11-14 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then the\u00a0LORD\u00a0spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice.
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments, which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets.
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And the\u00a0LORD\u00a0directed me at that time to teach you the decrees and laws you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.
\n<\/em>
\nOn verses 11-14:\u00a0 The fourth reason it is good to obey God: because it\u2019s God!\u00a0 He deserves our obedience.\u00a0 Above and beyond the fact that we and our children benefit when we obey God, the fact is that God is worthy of our worship and His Word is worthy to obeyed.\u00a0 That\u2019s why when we refuse to obey God\u2019s Word, it\u2019s not just our own foolish personal choice to do so, but even more it is dishonouring and disrespectful to God.\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s why we obey God: to give Him the worship, the respect and the obedience that He is owed.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Holy Spirit, thank You for showing me through this passage 4 reasons why it is important to obey God\u2019s Word.\u00a0 For all those reasons and more, may I obey You, Lord.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi\u00a0 GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Deuteronomy 4:1-14.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Deuteronomy 4:1-5 (NIV)
\n1\u00a0\u00a0Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the\u00a0LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
\n2\u00a0\u00a0Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0your God that I give you.
\n3\u00a0\u00a0You saw with your own eyes what the\u00a0LORD\u00a0did at Baal Peor. The\u00a0LORD\u00a0your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor,
\n4\u00a0\u00a0but all of you who held fast to the\u00a0LORD\u00a0your God are still alive today.
\n5\u00a0\u00a0See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the\u00a0LORD\u00a0my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it.
\n\u00a0
\nOn verses 1-5:\u00a0 Moses is about to spell out the decrees and laws that this current generation of Israelites are to follow, but first, expert leader that Moses is, Moses takes the time to explain why this current generation must follow God\u2019s commands.\u00a0 People need to know the\u00a0why\u00a0if they\u2019re going to do the\u00a0what.\u00a0 The reasons the Israelites should obey God\u2019s commands are the same reasons why we should obey them today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21889,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21887"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21887\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21890,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21887\/revisions\/21890"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}