Before you can step forward on mission for God, you need to pause and take stock. Remember who God is; remember who you are. Deuteronomy forced Israel to do just that, and it’s amazingly relevant for Christians today.
According to Jesus, Deuteronomy contains the most important commandment in the whole Bible.
When Jesus was tempted 3 times in the wilderness by Satan, Jesus replied each time with quotations from Deuteronomy.
When Paul wanted to speak about how easy it is for you to come to God by faith, he used the language of Deuteronomy.
Deuteronomy is a revelation about God. More, it’s a message to God’s people that we’re on God’s mission to make him known through our lives of holy living. But we’re in a different era, so we’ll need to think about how these ancient laws apply to us today – so that you can also live out God’s mission to friends, neighbours, family, colleagues.
These notes accompany a sermon on YouTube. You can find more in the series in our Sermon Index.
Step forward on God’s mission (1-8)
The setting for Deuteronomy is quite dramatic.
- Israel spent 400 years in Egypt growing in number, but in slavery to the Egyptians.
- God used Moses to lead Israel out of Egyptian slavery.
- God had promised he would give Israel the land of Canaan, and he told Moses to lead them there.
- As we’ll be reminded in our reading, they got right to the border but then lost faith in God.
- So they ended up circling the wilderness for 40 years.
The setting for Deuteronomy is that they’re at the end of the 40 years and are about to cross the river Jordan into Canaan. They’re about to step forward to take hold of what God had promised them. It was scary. And yet, it was 100% within the will and command of God.
So, before they step forward, they’re reminded of the past.
Remember the journey
Read Deuteronomy 1:5-8.
They’re going to be reminded of two things.
- First, God is powerful and faithful.
- Second, we are weak and faithless.
And yet God, in compassion and grace, continues to use us. We’ll see more and more of how missional it is that God worked through Israel, and that mission had ancient roots in God’s plan for humanity. Plans for blessing to all nations.
The command to go into Canaan wasn’t a whim; it was fulfilling the promise God made back in Genesis 12 to Abraham. The promise was reiterated to his son Isaac, and his son Jacob (who was renamed Israel).
God’s mission to bring blessing to all nations continues still. Today, that blessing comes through you coming to know Jesus Christ.
- In Canaan, Israel were to live holy lives in fellowship with God, making him known to the nations for their blessing.
- The nations were idolatrous and opposed to God and, therefore, in danger of God’s judgment, like our own nation
- Israel messed up in holiness and witness.
- But Jesus succeeded where they failed in every way.
He’s still the message of hope against judgment. - Your sin already condemns you before God.
- But Easter told you that God is ready to absorb your offence by punishing his Son instead of you; you can be forgiven.
We’re not perfect, but God is
Israel weren’t perfect, and neither is the church.
You may know people who’ve been damaged by churches. But churches are just groups of imperfect sinners – don’t confuse us with God. He is perfect in compassion and grace. Go to him in prayer, and he will receive and forgive you.
Israel were to make God known; that was their mission. They were to do it truly with a distinctive holiness out of love for God. So, here in Deuteronomy, they’re on pause. Before you step forward on God’s mission, make sure you know what it is, how you’re to live, and why.
Moses’ message was for everyone in the whole assembly. That’s as true for the church today as it was in ancient Israel. Will you accept that even you have a part to play in God’s mission? You don’t have to do it all on your own:
Step forward with God’s people (9-18)
Moses goes on to remind them of how things were established at Mt Sinai. Read Deuteronomy 1:9-18.
We’re told in Exodus 18 that Moses taught those leaders God’s “statutes and laws…, the way to live and what they must do.” The knowledge and obedience to God’s laws was to be throughout the whole Israelite camp.
Holiness of life isn’t for just a few special people; it’s for you.
These leaders (or “judges”) were to know God’s laws and ensure that they were lived out in the whole community. But they had no authority as such. “Do not be intimidated by anyone, for judgment belongs to God.” This ought to be true for all Christian leaders; authority is delegated from Christ. We are all only his disciples.
We’ll see in Deuteronomy how God’s laws reflect his nature and his mission. So, as every one of his people lives out his laws you will enjoy God’s blessing (his laws are good for us) and you will make him known.
In New Testament terms, remember that Jesus said, “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)
- Notice how the command both reflects God’s nature and effects God’s mission to be known through Jesus.
- And it’s not restricted just to some believers – the command goes to you, and you have a part to play.
It’s also interesting that his command to love can only happen in the context of a local church. The Bible has no category of a churchless Christian.
Teachers appointed by God
Moses appointed those leaders to know, live, and teach the law. Jesus gives pastors and teachers as gifts to his church, to equip you and encourage you into holiness and witness, to faith and obedience.
- Pray for church leaders, pastors, elders.
- Ask the Lord to raise up more godly leaders.
- And since their authority is only delegated, pray that there will be a growing emphasis on true Bible teaching by men who know God’s word well.
If you have trusted in Christ for your eternity, you are united to him and his people for ever.
He calls you to love his people, and as you obey his commands and live out his holiness you’ll be making him known to others.
Will you think through what Jesus wants you to do as part of this church’s witness?
Go in God’s strength (19-33)
In the next verses, Moses reminds Israel that they’ve been on the border of the Promised Land before, 40 years earlier. How did that go? Will they do the same again? Read Deuteronomy 1:18-25.
- Sending out the spies seemed sensible.
- While God calls you to step forward in faith for him, he also expects you to use your sense and abilities wisely.
- You need to be careful, though. Sometimes our hesitance is really reflecting a lack of faith that God will help us…
Read Deuteronomy 1:26-33.
- Through fear and faithlessness, they rebelled.
- “The LORD your God who goes before you will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt” (v30).
- As we get older, we often find it easier to celebrate God’s faithfulness to us in the past than to step out in faith for the future.
- Hebrews 3 reminds us that we’re no different from those Israelites, still tempted to step backwards instead of forwards.
- There, we’re told to “encourage one another daily” so that none of us will give up. Step forward.
- Will you encourage someone here this week? Who? When? How?
As those people stood at the border and heard scary things, their faith failed.
Failure and success
But entering Canaan was God’s plan. He can’t fail. If you are obedient to God’s plan, you can’t fail.
Paul said, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).
- He didn’t mean 1,000 piece jigsaws or an oil change.
- But he did mean he could do everything God had asked of him, since it is God who works to achieve his plans through his people.
It’s always annoying when you get a shopping trolley with a dodgy wheel. You want it to go this way, but it wants to go the other way. Don’t be that trolley. When God’s will is clear, go in the direction God would have you go. Even if that is towards pain.
You can’t “fail” if you are doing God’s will. But we often measure success and failure according to the world’s standards. Success is doing God’s will, whatever it is.
- For Paul, he knew that travelling to Macedonia was God’s will. That helped when he found himself in prison because he was content to be where God wanted him.
- Paul also had a mysterious “thorn” in his flesh, some kind of illness. It brought him closer to trusting in Christ’s grace and help.
- There have been many martyrs for Christ too. Success is doing God’s will; don’t apply worldly standards to him.
Step forward on God’s mission
You are to go, to step forward on God’s mission. You’re to go as part of the church, making Christ known.
Jesus has sent you his Spirit of power and self-control, and the encouragement of everyone here. You can go, in his strength. Still feel weak and inadequate? That’s because you are. You must pray for help, and he will give it.
Choosing not to pray – choosing never to join the church prayer meeting – means you’re either trying to go in your own strength or you’re not going for God at all. Expect no success.
Will you pray for God’s strength to help you? Will you join with his people to encourage them and pray for strength?
Stay in God’s will (34-46)
There were repercussions for those Israelites who didn’t step forward in faith. Read Deuteronomy 1:34-46.
What a disaster. They should have known from their history that if God is with them they can achieve anything. That would have led them into Canaan with confidence. So when God warned them, “Don’t go up and fight, for I am not with you” they should have realised they were doomed to failure.
In chapters 2 and 3, Moses goes on to remind the Israelites of more recent success – enemies defeated, land taken. They had been humbled, and understood what it is to have God dwelling among them.
So, as they are on the verge of the Promised Land, they’re called to look back.
- God has proven himself powerful and faithful.
- We are weak and faithless, over and over.
So what will you do?
Jesus said, “Apart from me, you can do nothing.” He reminds you to remain in him and he will remain in you (that is, remain in his love, in faith, in obedience – in fellowship with him).
Then, he says, you can ask for anything in his name and it will be granted, precisely because you will ask for what Jesus wants to give!
He has already given you his Spirit, and his words are written down. He has given you the church – as encouragement, backup, and (as needed) recovery.
Look back and learn; step forward in trust
If you’ve been a Christian any length of time, you can do just as those Israelites were doing under Moses:
- Look back on times you’ve experienced God’s goodness, kindness, answered prayer, and power for you.
- Also look back on your own failings, faithlessness, and missed opportunities. You can’t change them, but you can step forward on God’s mission in his strength now.
- You can encourage others too, guiding into righteousness.
- No matter how old you are, you continue to step forward in faith.
You slowly learn that to step forward on mission is the obedience of faith, a natural practical outworking of what you say you believe. Stepping forward to speak to someone about Jesus, to take responsibility for something in church, to join with others in prayer (you’re not alone).
You might feel you can excuse yourself, because of your special circumstances. But no. Your position is known and can be used by the Lord to speak to someone. His idea of success isn’t always what you’d think.
Will you learn from past failures for God, or repeat them? Are you ready to step out in faith for him on mission? Will you make sure to do so in his strength, in his will, in prayerful dependence, in Christ?