Perfect Peace in Obedience

Perfect Peace in Obedience

(Deuteronomy 10:12-22)

Yearly Theme:  “Peace is…”

Series Title:  “Perfect Peace”

January 31^st, 2021

Something to think about:

Perfect peace cannot be found apart from a relationship with God. 

This one statement seems bold, but it’s true!  Sure, a person can have peace apart from God, but not the kind of peace that God gives.  There is a “peace” that is temporal and fleeting, this is the peace the world offers.  However, the peace that God offers is real, true, eternal peace and a line of hope through salvation and life everlasting. 

In the Old Testament there is evidence of this type of peace scattered all over.  In our passage of Scripture for today, we look at the perfect peace that comes through obedience to God, and in so doing we learn what it means to be conduits of that love and peace to others.

We pick up the Biblical narrative of the Israelites at the edge of the Promised Land once again, after having spent 40-years of camping out in the wilderness.  The book of Deuteronomy (which means “second law”) was Moses’ final words to the Israelites before they entered the Promised Land.  These words were reminders to a new generation of Hebrews who needed a crash course in living according to God’s commands and purposes. 

Moses would not be going with them, and so he gives them these words as a foundation to build the nation of Israel upon, and a reminder of who they are and who they represent.

With this in mind, let’s consider the instructions of Moses to the people of God:

Deuteronomy 10:12-22 (NLT),

¹²  “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the LORD your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul. ¹³  And you must always obey the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good.

¹⁴  “Look, the highest heavens and the earth and everything in it all belong to the LORD your God. ¹⁵  Yet the LORD chose your ancestors as the objects of his love. And he chose you, their descendants, above all other nations, as is evident today. ¹⁶  Therefore, change your hearts and stop being stubborn.

¹⁷  “For the LORD your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords. He is the great God, the mighty and awesome God, who shows no partiality and cannot be bribed. ¹⁸  He ensures that orphans and widows receive justice. He shows love to the foreigners living among you and gives them food and clothing. ¹⁹  So you, too, must show love to foreigners, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt. ²⁰  You must fear the LORD your God and worship him and cling to him. Your oaths must be in his name alone. ²¹  He alone is your God, the only one who is worthy of your praise, the one who has done these mighty miracles that you have seen with your own eyes. ²²  When your ancestors went down into Egypt, there were only seventy of them. But now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky!

So, what’s the main takeaway from this passage?

Key Point:  “Peace is a result of love and obedience.”

So, how is peace a result of love and obedience?  Let’s break down this passage into some manageable chunks and see what we can learn today.  The processes by which obedience and love lead us to peace are…:

• To fear,  , serve, and  .

Deuteronomy 10:12-13 (NLT), …What does the LORD your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the LORD your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul. ¹³  And you must always obey the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good.

• To change your  and don’t be  .

Deuteronomy 10:16 (NLT), Therefore, change your hearts and stop being stubborn.

• To promote  .

Deuteronomy 10:17-19 (NLT), ¹⁷  “For the LORD your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords. He is the great God, the mighty and awesome God, who shows no partiality and cannot be bribed. ¹⁸  He ensures that orphans and widows receive justice. He shows love to the foreigners living among you and gives them food and clothing. ¹⁹  So you, too, must show love to foreigners, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.

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2.  :
3.  :

Something to take home:

If we are to experience the peace of God, we must learn the way of humility and submission to God.  This is required of us not as a punishment, but as a means of liberation and freedom.  Though this is counterintuitive to the world, its truth and worth is eternal. 

Our obedience to God and His ways, is the first step in a lifelong journey.  It’s not easy, but rather difficult much of the time for it puts us squarely in opposition to the world and its standards.  But, as we continue our faithful walk of obedience toward God, we learn that our walk isn’t just for our benefit, but also for the benefit of others; for the life lived only for the self is set for destruction, but the life lived for God and others finds true fulfillment, joy, purpose, and peace.

Is your life all about you?  Who are you obeying?  What are the results?

Point:  “Peace is a result of love and obedience.”