Title Deuteronomy 26:12~19 (2011.1.5.19)
Contents
Title: Obedience and Blessing
Main text: (Deuteronomy 26:12~19)
Hymns: 85. Just thinking of the Savior
Date: May 19th, 2011 (Thursday) 5 am
Venue: Jeonju Yebut Church Small Worship Room
The book of Deuteronomy is God's call to the people of Israel for total obedience. Because the sign of becoming God's people is obedience. In today's text, God is speaking about the rules for the use of gifts. How should we use the gifts we give to God correctly?
1. Pay your third tithe
The text is talking about the ‘third tithe’. This tithe is a special tithe given every three years, and is a tithe paid for relief. God said that this tithe should be used especially for the service of strangers, orphans and widows. This is a natural duty of Israel, who experienced slavery in Egypt. It's not just mercy. It is a sense of community that enables us to live happily together with responsibility as brothers and sisters.
Today we too must give our third tithe to God. We should use our gifts for our weak members. That is the way to do the will of God who commanded the third tithe.
2. Don't use it in vain
The third tithe should not be used for any other purpose, and should be used only for God-ordained purposes. Tithes or relics should not be used for the dead. During the seven-day ‘portrait period’, no food or drink is allowed from among the holy things. A person who pays the third tithe as God has commanded must confess to God that he has fulfilled his tithing obligation.
Even today, we must use the tithes and gifts that God has given us according to the will of God. It should not be used arbitrarily as a human wants. Misusing the gift is an act of stealing from God. I hope that you will become a saint who fully returns the things of God to God.
3. Blessings to those who obey
The people of Israel must follow and keep the commands God has given them with all their heart and mind, not only in their offerings but in all areas of their lives. We must acknowledge God as Jehovah, do His ways, and keep His ordinances and laws. When they keep God's word and do it, God will bless them. He will make Israel a precious people and set you above all nations to be praise, honor, and glory. God's heart toward the chosen Israel is that they will live as God's people, and through this, they will be glorified by the nations. God has a heart like this for us too. He wants all nations to know God through us and to broaden the boundaries of God. Do you believe in the revelation of God through us? I hope you will become workers who are not ashamed of God and people.
God has chosen us and made us a people. Therefore, we must live in a way that is worthy of God's people. You can enjoy the grace and blessings that God has given you when you fully do the things God has commanded you to do. I hope that you will become saints who enjoy the blessings and grace of God.
<Prayer>
1. Help me to live a life of complete obedience to God!
2. Let the temporary presbytery of the Jeonbuk Presbytery fulfill the will of the Lord!
3. Heal the weak patients and restore the family!