2/3/2018. Rainbow Forest 2018 Theme Displaying God s Goodness

Transcription

1 Rainbow Forest 2018 Theme Displaying God s Goodness 1

2 Romans 12:1-2 & 21 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Rainbow Forest Mission Statement Connecting the Disconnected to Christ, Community and the Call Our Purpose To glorify God in everything we say and do 2

3 Connecting Through the Word The Worship That God Seeks From Us Deuteronomy Deuteronomy 18:9-22 John 4:22-24 John 4:22-24 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. 3

4 Deuteronomy 12: These are the decrees and regulations you must be careful to obey when you live in the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. You must obey them as long as you live. 2 When you drive out the nations that live there, you must destroy all the places where they worship their gods high on the mountains, up on the hills, and under every green tree. 3 Break down their altars and smash their sacred pillars. Burn their Asherah poles and cut down their carved idols. Completely erase the names of their gods! 4 Do not worship the LORD your God in the way these pagan peoples worship their gods. 5 Rather, you must seek the LORD your God at the place of worship he himself will choose from among all the tribes the place where his name will be honored. 6 There you will bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, your sacred offerings, your offerings to fulfill a vow, your voluntary offerings, and your offerings of the firstborn animals of your herds and flocks. 4

5 7 There you and your families will feast in the presence of the LORD your God, and you will rejoice in all you have accomplished because the LORD your God has blessed you. 8 Your pattern of worship will change. Today all of you are doing as you please, 9 because you have not yet arrived at the place of rest, the land the LORD your God is giving you as your special possession. 10 But you will soon cross the Jordan River and live in the land the LORD your God is giving you. When he gives you rest from all your enemies and you re living safely in the land, 11 you must bring everything I command you your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, your sacred offerings, and your offerings to fulfill a vow to the designated place of worship, the place the LORD your God chooses for his name to be honored. 12 You must celebrate there in the presence of the LORD your God with your sons and daughters and all your servants. And remember to include the Levites who live in your towns, for they will receive no allotment of land among you. 5

6 13 Be careful not to sacrifice your burnt offerings just anywhere you like. 14 You may do so only at the place the LORD will choose within one of your tribal territories. There you must offer your burnt offerings and do everything I command you. Moses was a wise instructor In (Deut. 1-5) he reviewed the past and to help the new generation appreciate all that God had done for them. In (Deut. 6-11) he told the people how they should respond to the goodness of God and why they should obey Jehovah. Moses was helping his people develop hearts of love for the Lord, because if they loved Him, they would obey Him. 6

7 Deuteronomy Moses builds on this foundation and applies the law to Israel's new situation in the Promised Land. He sets before them the responsibilities they had to fulfill if they were to live like God's chosen people and be faithful residents in the land, enjoying God's blessing. They Were to Purge the Land Deuteronomy 12:1-3 2 When you drive out the nations that live there, you must destroy all the places where they worship their gods high on the mountains, up on the hills, and under every green tree. 7

8 They were to Worship only the True and Living God His Way Deuteronomy 12: Do not worship the LORD your God in the way these pagan peoples worship their gods. The Jewish faith and the Christian faith came by revelation, not by man's invention or Satan's instruction (1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Tim. 3:5-7). The most important activity of the church is the worship of God, because everything truly spiritual that the church does, flows out of worship. The One Place of Worship Deuteronomy 12:5, 8-11a 5 Rather, you must seek the LORD your God at the place of worship he himself will choose from among all the tribes the place where his name will be honored. 8

9 God Has But One Altar For Sacrifices Deuteronomy 12:6-7, There you will bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, your sacred offerings, your offerings to fulfill a vow, your voluntary offerings, and your offerings of the firstborn animals of your herds and flocks. The burnt offering - total dedication to the Lord (Rom. 12:1-2) The peace offering or fellowship offering (Lev. 3) spoke of communion with God They were to Respect Life by Understanding The Significance of Blood Sacrifices Deuteronomy 12:15-16, But you must not eat the blood. You must pour it out on the ground like water. Leviticus 17:1-16 The Lord introduced this theme after Noah and his family came out of the ark, for it was then that He permitted mankind to eat meat (Gen. 9:1-7; and see 1:29; 2:9, 16). In the Genesis legislation, God prohibited the shedding of human blood and the eating of animal blood, whether the animal was domestic or wild. 9

10 This emphasis on the shedding of blood is at the heart of the message of the Gospel. We aren't saved from our sins by the life of Christ or the example of Christ, but by the sacrificial death of Christ, "in whom we have redemption through his blood" (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14). The blood of Christ is precious to us (1 Peter 1:19) because of who shed it the spotless Lamb of God but also because of what it accomplishes for those who trust Him: justification (Rom. 5:9), cleansing (Rev. 1:5; 1 John 1:7), eternal salvation (Heb. 9:11-28), access to God (10:19-20), and reconciliation (Eph. 2:13), to name but a few of the blessings we have through Christ's blood. They were to Bring Tithes and Offerings Deuteronomy 12: There you will bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes 17 But you may not eat your offerings in your hometown neither the tithe of your grain and new wine and olive oil, nor the firstborn of your flocks and herds, nor any offering to fulfill a vow, nor your voluntary offerings, nor your sacred offerings. 10

11 They were to Avoid Contamination of Pagan Practices and Culture Deuteronomy 12:29-13:18; 18: do not fall into the trap of following their customs and worshiping their gods. Do not inquire about their gods, saying, How do these nations worship their gods? I want to follow their example. 31 You must not worship the LORD your God the way the other nations worship their gods, for they perform for their gods every detestable act that the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices to their gods. Moses pointed out four approaches the enemy could use to trap the Israelites into practicing idolatry, and he warned his people to avoid following them. Human Curiosity (Deut. 12:29-32). 30 Do not inquire about their gods, saying, How do these nations worship their gods? I want to follow their example. We don't have to experience sin to learn how deadly it is. 11

12 Temptation From False Prophets Deuteronomy 13:1-5 1 Suppose there are prophets among you or those who dream dreams about the future, and they promise you signs or miracles, 2 and the predicted signs or miracles occur. If they then say, Come, let us worship other gods gods you have not known before 3 do not listen to them. The LORD your God is testing you to see if you truly love him with all your heart and soul. 4 Serve only the LORD your God and fear him alone. Obey his commands, listen to his voice, and cling to him. Temptation From Friends And Relatives Deuteronomy 13: Suppose someone secretly entices you even your brother, your son or daughter, your beloved wife, or your closest friend and says, Let us go worship other gods gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known. 7 They might suggest that you worship the gods of peoples who live nearby or who come from the ends of the earth. 8 But do not give in or listen. Have no pity, and do not spare or protect them. 12

13 Temptation From A Multitude Deuteronomy 13: that scoundrels among you are leading their fellow citizens astray by saying, Let us go worship other gods gods you have not known before. 14 In such cases, you must examine the facts carefully. If you find that the report is true and such a detestable act has been committed among you, Exodus 23:2 "You shall not follow a crowd to do evil" They were to Honor God s Word Deuteronomy 18: I will raise up a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell the people everything I command him. 19 I will personally deal with anyone who will not listen to the messages the prophet proclaims on my behalf. 13

14 They were to Beware of Substitutes Deuteronomy 18: When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, be very careful not to imitate the detestable customs of the nations living there. 10 For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, 11 or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. Satanic Occult Practices Sacrificing Children Divination 14

15 Psalm 106: Israel failed to destroy the nations in the land, as the LORD had commanded them. 35 Instead, they mingled among the pagans and adopted their evil customs. 36 They worshiped their idols, which led to their downfall. 37 They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons. 38 They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters. By sacrificing them to the idols of Canaan, they polluted the land with murder. 39 They defiled themselves by their evil deeds, and their love of idols was adultery in the LORD s sight. The Revelation of The True God Deuteronomy 18:14-19 Israel didn't need to experiment with new religions because the Lord had revealed Himself and His Word to them through Moses His chosen prophet. Once you have the real thing, why go in search of substitutes? Israel could have said to the nations in Canaan what Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, "You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews" (John 4:22). 15

16 Luke 24: Then Jesus said to them, You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. 26 Wasn t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory? 27 Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. The Identification of the True Prophets Deuteronomy 18: But any prophet who falsely claims to speak in my name or who speaks in the name of another god must die. 21 But you may wonder, How will we know whether or not a prophecy is from the LORD? 22 If the prophet speaks in the LORD s name but his prediction does not happen or come true, you will know that the LORD did not give that message. That prophet has spoken without my authority and need not be feared. 16

17 True worship comes from within, from a heart totally yielded to the Lord, and true worship is controlled by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God (Eph. 5:18-21; Col. 3:16-20). Our subjective feelings must be monitored by Scripture and motivated by the Spirit, otherwise we may be engaging in false worship. False worship is dangerous because it may open the door to demonic influences. Satan is a counterfeiter (2 Cor. 11:13-15) who knows how to lead undiscerning people away from Christ and the truth. They think they're filled with the Spirit when they're really being fooled by the spirits. 1 John 5:21 "Little children, keep yourselves from idols" 17

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