Joshua 22:5 But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the Lord charged you, to LOVE the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.
Ring-a-ling-a ling! Hear that school bell ring! School’s open Friends! (smile) And we’ll continue today with the unfinished Bit. But let’s quickly review what we learnt yesterday: The first thing is being very diligent in obeying the Lord’s dictates. And we accomplish that by writing them securely in our hearts, minds and souls, by teaching them purposefully and carefully to our children, and continually talking about them whether we’re at home or abroad. Thus our lives will be constantly focused on God and His Word. Then we talked about the actual laws of our God; ‘To LOVE the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keeps his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.’ We discovered that though it seems a difficult row to hoe, once you know the Lord; His unconditional LOVE, filled with goodness and mercy, you should not have too many problems following Him. But because of our natural sinful nature and the enemy’s tempting, we often find ourselves drifting from God’s law. But we noted too that if that law was written securely in our hearts and souls then we’d usually stay on the straight and narrow, and if we do that collectively, then the Lord will cause us to prosper. And that’s wonderful Friends, but remember there’s another side to that coin; the disobedient side, and that comes with a severe warning. ‘Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods and worship them.’ (Deut.11:16) Now that’s a stupid, senseless, disastrous move my Friends, as so many nations have discovered over the years, including us recently. Because then the Lord’s wrath will be kindled against us. He’ll shut up the heavens so no rain falls and eventually the land will become desolate, our prosperity will vanish and we’ll perish. Let’s not forget my brethren that all things come through God; both good and bad. The general principle is if we obey, then good things happen. If we disobey, then bad things do. As simple as that. The Lord might not necessarily send the bad things upon you, but if you displease Him, or He wants to try your faith, He’ll allow them to befall you. So what’s our choice then? ‘To cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.’ Yes my people, if we cling to Him, like a drowning man to a raft, and do His will faithfully, then He’ll bless us and we’ll prosper. It’s the only way to achieve lasting prosperity in this mortal world. And we know that’s the gospel truth since there are so many examples of failed and fallen societies who refused to obey the dictates of the Most High God Jehovah. Just look at His promise to the Israelites if they served Him faithfully. ‘Then will the Lord drive out all nations from before you, and ye shall possess greater nations and mightier than yourselves.’ (Deut.11:22) Isn’t that an awesome promise people? Another example of David felling Goliath; an act the Lord delights in promoting. So Friends, basic Christianity boils down to four things; obey the Lord, focus steadfastly on Him and His Word, serve Him faithfully and LOVE Him wholeheartedly. And the most important of these is LOVE! For if we truly and sincerely LOVE and seek Him, then all the other things will follow automatically. Please, let’s start putting it into practice nuh, for good intentions get us nowhere until we act on them. And like Moses said; ‘Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse. A blessing if ye obey…and a curse if ye will not obey…’ (Deut.11:26-28) Friends, I implore us, let’s choose a blessing today, if not for our sakes, but for future generations. We’re already experiencing our curse of disobedience. Much LOVE!…to obey…and prosper…is much wiser…than to disobey…and suffer…
Ring-a-ling-a ling! Hear that school bell ring! School’s open Friends! (smile) And we’ll continue today with the unfinished Bit. But let’s quickly review what we learnt yesterday: The first thing is being very diligent in obeying the Lord’s dictates. And we accomplish that by writing them securely in our hearts, minds and souls, by teaching them purposefully and carefully to our children, and continually talking about them whether we’re at home or abroad. Thus our lives will be constantly focused on God and His Word. Then we talked about the actual laws of our God; ‘To LOVE the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keeps his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.’ We discovered that though it seems a difficult row to hoe, once you know the Lord; His unconditional LOVE, filled with goodness and mercy, you should not have too many problems following Him. But because of our natural sinful nature and the enemy’s tempting, we often find ourselves drifting from God’s law. But we noted too that if that law was written securely in our hearts and souls then we’d usually stay on the straight and narrow, and if we do that collectively, then the Lord will cause us to prosper. And that’s wonderful Friends, but remember there’s another side to that coin; the disobedient side, and that comes with a severe warning. ‘Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods and worship them.’ (Deut.11:16) Now that’s a stupid, senseless, disastrous move my Friends, as so many nations have discovered over the years, including us recently. Because then the Lord’s wrath will be kindled against us. He’ll shut up the heavens so no rain falls and eventually the land will become desolate, our prosperity will vanish and we’ll perish. Let’s not forget my brethren that all things come through God; both good and bad. The general principle is if we obey, then good things happen. If we disobey, then bad things do. As simple as that. The Lord might not necessarily send the bad things upon you, but if you displease Him, or He wants to try your faith, He’ll allow them to befall you. So what’s our choice then? ‘To cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.’ Yes my people, if we cling to Him, like a drowning man to a raft, and do His will faithfully, then He’ll bless us and we’ll prosper. It’s the only way to achieve lasting prosperity in this mortal world. And we know that’s the gospel truth since there are so many examples of failed and fallen societies who refused to obey the dictates of the Most High God Jehovah. Just look at His promise to the Israelites if they served Him faithfully. ‘Then will the Lord drive out all nations from before you, and ye shall possess greater nations and mightier than yourselves.’ (Deut.11:22) Isn’t that an awesome promise people? Another example of David felling Goliath; an act the Lord delights in promoting. So Friends, basic Christianity boils down to four things; obey the Lord, focus steadfastly on Him and His Word, serve Him faithfully and LOVE Him wholeheartedly. And the most important of these is LOVE! For if we truly and sincerely LOVE and seek Him, then all the other things will follow automatically. Please, let’s start putting it into practice nuh, for good intentions get us nowhere until we act on them. And like Moses said; ‘Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse. A blessing if ye obey…and a curse if ye will not obey…’ (Deut.11:26-28) Friends, I implore us, let’s choose a blessing today, if not for our sakes, but for future generations. We’re already experiencing our curse of disobedience. Much LOVE!…to obey…and prosper…is much wiser…than to disobey…and suffer…
SCRIP-BITS 