Hold Onto God’s Covenant, Time Schedule and Plan (Deuteronomy 4:15-24)
We’ll share the grace of God today with the word about idols in Deuteronomy 4. Deuteronomy is a book where the word that was given to the first generation is imprinted, rooted, and has natured into the next generation. This means that, once the first generation receives the Word, it doesn’t just end there, but the next generation must continuously receive it.
There was someone who asked me a question, “The Bible is so long and complicated; how can we know all of this content?” I told them, “It may seem that the Bible is so long, but if someone is born, God gives them the Word from the moment they are born until they are 100 years old. Then the next person is born so it’s the same Word God has given us for thousands of years.” The only difference is the age and the culture and the kings of the world, but the Word God has given to us is consistently the same.
Exactly as in today’s Deuteronomy 4, they are telling the people the exact same Word that God told the first generation, and that means God is telling us these same words too. That’s why God is unchanging. Once you realize this, you’ll realize that the Word of God is fulfilled in your life and it will become your Word.
Who is God? John 1:1 says that God is the Word, and John 4:24 says that God is Spirit, and God is the savior. Because God is Spirit, we cannot see Him, and He is working even now, invisibly, through the Holy Spirit. Because we cannot see Him or feel Him or touch Him, God is giving us his word of the Rhema through the logos words of the Bible.
Even now, God is doing the ministry of salvation. As these people prepare to go into the land of Canaan, God is telling them how they must live. Deut. 4:15 says, “on the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire,” that means God approaches us with His Word because the LORD spoke. People who don’t understand this will fall into idol worship today, and these are words given to the Israelites. That means, even though we go to church, we can still serve idols. These are not words given to unbelievers, these are words given to the people of God.
“You saw no form of any kind that day. Therefore, watch yourselves very carefully, so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol.” Do you think these words are irrelevant to us today? Back in the Biblical times, they couldn’t overcome nature. Now, because of scientific advancements, there are places where we can conquer nature, but back in the Biblical times, people worshiped natural idols, and that’s because they could not overcome nature with the strength of man.
“Do not make an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman.” What kind of people do we think we would make? Very renowned leaders and kings. Deut. 4:17-18, “Or like any animal on earth, or any bird that flies in the air, or any animal moves along the ground, or any fish in the waters below.” This means, do not make an image, whether it’s a living person or an animal or not. Deut. 4:19, “When you look up at the sky and see the sun, moon and the stars, all the heavenly array, do not be enticed into bowing down apportioned.” God created everything in the heavenly array, the sun, moon and stars however, people became enticed by these and worshiped them.
The reason God told them this is because when they went into the land of Canaan, all the people there were idol worshiping people, so why do you think God is emphasizing this to the Israelites so much? Later on, He tells us, “You guys are bound to worship idols, too.” Thousands of years ago, the culture of these peoples worshiped gods, but that’s different from today’s culture. So, 5000 years later, today, it’s possible we read this passage and think, “Why would we do something like that?” Do you think people have changed from back then until now? People are the same; it’s simply a difference in culture.
What do you think the idols of today are? That’s what’s important, don’t you think? Why do we serve idols? It’s talking about worshiping or serving anything that is not God. Then, do you think, as we go to church, we don’t serve idols? If you hold onto anything other than God, that’s an idol. Back in the biblical times, they were enticed by the idols that the Gentiles worshiped, and worshiped that instead, but the idols we worship are the same today.
There are a lot of idol worshipers inside the church, and God says they will fail; they will be destroyed. Then, why are believers destroyed and failed? It’s because they have lost hold of God, and held onto idols, but the idols are invisible so only they personally know, and God knows, and the devil knows, and that’s where the game is finished. There’s no need to go outwardly.
Jeremiah 2:13 says, “My people have committed two sins, ” the first is that they have forsaken him which means they have forgotten him, the living spring of water, and the second is that they have dug their own broken cisterns that cannot hold water. The first sin is that they have forsaken Me, the Spring of living water. The spring of living water is the Triune God, and they have forsaken Him. “Oh, but I worship!” The Israelites in the biblical times worshiped, too. Even as they were worshiping, they served idols. Even today, as we go to church and worship, we don’t realize we’re worshiping idols.
What does it mean that we have forsaken God? God is His Word, and through God’s Word, God has a covenantal relationship with us, but we have lost hold of that covenant. We threw away the covenant and held onto something else. That’s what it means to be separated from God. God is not giving these words to unbelievers; He’s telling them to His own people. God is His Word, and God gave us His Word as the covenant, but we have discarded His Word. In other words, our spiritual state is separated from God, spiritually.
Then, the result of that is that they dig their own cisterns. They leave God and then they try to dig their own cisterns to gather their own water, that is idol worship. What do you think idol worship for us today is? We lose hold of God’s covenant, and instead, we hold onto something else, because we think that if we do this then we can save up a lot of water. That’s what you call an idol. Why do you think the Israelite people went to the king of Azarites and worshiped idols. As a result of the fact that they lost hold of the covenant, they started to look at the idol worshiping nations and thought, “I can become rich and live a good life,” that’s how they became separated from God. But this cistern is broken and cannot hold water.
If we separate from God’s covenant, then rightfully, we hold onto what we consider to be our greatest value, and we hold onto this ourselves because we think this will bring us life, blessings, and prosperity. However, all of that is in vain, so do not worship idols.
Why do we worship idols? If our spiritual state is separated from the covenant of God, then we’re seized and deceived by Satan, and we follow His idol worshiping ways. That’s idol worship. Then, He says, “later on, only a few, a minority will remain, scattered among the nations.” Then from there, if you seek God with all your heart, God says He will find us. I’m sure there are people who do not seek God, and that’s how they will die.
God is saying the same words from Genesis to Revelation. From the beginning, you were created in the image of God as spiritual beings, so you cannot live separated from God. That’s the word from the beginning. This is where we receive the spring of living water in order to rule, subdue, and conquer the world. This is our blessing. However, we were separated from this Word of God. Did human beings leave God on their own volition? No, they were following the temptation of Satan who is the source of sin and evil that makes us disbelieve God.
Even though God doesn’t talk about it when He talks about the land of Canaan, he already gave us that word in Genesis 3. He was a liar from the beginning. We lose hold of the covenant so that we’re tempted by lies. That’s why, if we don’t have the word of God, we’re bound to hold onto idols. The issues are not the problems you see with your eyes, but the fundamental problem we are already lost in, that’s why there’s no other way to go back to God without Jesus Christ.
In the Old Testament, it was only the blood sacrifice. Once we’ve become children of God, we only look at the Triune God and follow His Word, but the field of the world isn’t easy. If you lose hold of God’s covenant, then you have no choice but to be enslaved and dragged into the world. That’s the land of Canaan and the field of the world we are living in currently.
If you’re trying to do well on your own without the Triune God, then you may do well physically. There are even unbelievers who do well, but I’m sorry to say this, they’re already finished; it’s just a matter of time. Because they’re separated from God’s covenant and holding onto something else, they’re already dead. Eventually when the time schedule comes, you’ll see with your eyes that they are really destroyed.
It might be problems with their business, or their health or their family, but the spiritually dead things will be revealed physically over time. God tells us, “For sure, if you lose hold of the covenant, then you will be dragged off to other nations,” these are the results we can see with our eyes, and when we’re dragged off by other nations, it’s not just simply that, but it’s always through war. At that time, we think, “This is a problem,” but that’s already too late. It’s a problem that started a long time ago, and this is just the time schedule now.
So if somebody sees a problem, the spiritual problem was actually prophesied long ago, and now revealed. Yes, it may be important to solve the problem you see with your eyes, “What should I do with my business? Should I get treatment for my cancer or not?” But the fundamental thing is more important. Quickly, find out what your idol is, throw it away, and go into God’s covenant.
Then, it’s possible that the things we see with our eyes may not go the way we want, but if you keep holding onto the covenant, then the answers will be revealed according to God’s time schedule. What does this mean? We’re reading through Deuteronomy and today is the same because these words are talking about humans and humans were in the same state back then as today, God is the same and people are the same.
The only thing that is different is the external appearance but the internal human is the same. If you look at this incorrectly, you’ll say, “Times are different now, people are so much smarter,” but the inner spiritual things are the same. God’s covenant is the same and the result of losing hold of God’s covenant is the same. You have to know this to realize why God is the word, why did God give me the word as the covenant, and why must I hold onto this covenant.
Because I’m a child of God, God gives me his word as his covenant. He doesn’t just give random words, sprinkled, but it’s a covenant given to me. If you lose hold of the covenant God gave you, you have no other choice but to hold onto something else. You’re going to create the life you want. “Oh, by this time, I should have this kind of life, but I don’t,” and that’s when you get conflicted.
There was a young adult who texted me on Sunday. I spoke with this young adult yesterday or today, they told me that someone who practices black magic was looking down on him, “You don’t even have a job and you don’t accomplish anything,” and this young adult was shaken because they didn’t have assurance in God’s Word. The thing is, even if the person who practices black magic had not said those words, the young adult still had the same heart inside.
I asked them, “Weren’t you dating girls at this time?” He said, “Yes.” I said, “Just hold onto anyone. It’s not that God didn’t allow you to get married but you didn’t want that, so now you’re just waiting. It’s the same with your job, you had a job previously, right?” He said, “Yes.” “you left that company on purpose because you wanted to do something else, and that isn’t taking place yet, right? Aren’t you curious about why God is doing this to you?” Because the Word had not yet gone deeply into this individual, I told them until they understood.
“God is not someone Who would prevent you from getting married or having a job, right? That’s not the type of God He is, so why do you think God is delaying this time? Don’t you think there’s something God wants more? What do you want to do if you get married or have a job? God is already telling you with His Word, there’s something you need to seek first. Is there something you’re seeking before you get married or get a job? Why don’t you try praying about that? God brought you all the way here to America, and it wasn’t for no reason.”
He asked, “How do you know what that is?” and I said, “God will reveal it to you through only worship, the word of God and prayer” and even if you’ve heard it all already, perhaps it didn’t stick because it wasn’t God’s time schedule. God gives us His Word through worship and it’s not that God is powerless; God is giving us the mission first because we are not just people who live at the level of getting married and getting a job. Because he’s quite innocent, he said, “Okay.”
What is an idol? If we lose hold of God’s covenant, then we’ll hold onto the life we want. We have no choice but to rightfully do this because we lost God’s covenant. So, even though I’m not worshiping anything, I keep imagining the life I want from myself, and I head in that direction. Then, what does it mean to hold to the covenant? If you’re holding onto God’s covenant, it’s not about me. God is my complete Master; He is my God, and I’m following His time schedule and His plan. If we’re not able to do that, we have no choice but to worship idols.
The thing called “me” is an idol. We have no choice but to hold onto “me” if we lose hold of God’s covenant. Simply put, demons are bound to work and Satan makes us so that we’re constantly dragged into that direction. Positively put, we call that a religious life, but in reality, that’s idol worship, and God is telling the Israelites not to worship idols. He didn’t say this to unbelievers, He is telling the people who go to church today to throw away their idols.
Throw away the idol of loving yourself more than you love God. The outer form is one of godliness, but you have no power because of idol worship, and that’s the way to bring yourself suffering. It’s the same Word. If you worship idols, then God will drag you into all these idol worshiping nations and everyone will die; only very few will remain and they will suffer.
That’s why, if you’re holding onto anything other than the word of the Triune God, that’s evidence that you’re being dragged by the devil. Once time passes, you’ll see that you’re seized in a visible way.
There was one time a message was given in Hawaii, “Don’t worship idols in the church.” What Christian would worship idols but when you realize what an idol is, we are worshiping idols. An idol is not just talking about raising up figurines for Peter or Paul; it’s about, “for yourself.” The Triune God is taking perfect and complete responsibility over us but if you don’t believe in that, you have to live for yourself.
“I want to be like this, I want to live like this.” Then, beyond what God has made for you, you have to make something for yourself and you hold onto that and go. That’s why you go that direction even as you go to church, then in reality, it’s not God; it’s me. The devil knows this and drags this person. Holding onto their thoughts, heart, and emotions, until one day, they are completely seized, even physically. Only then will they suffer. Don’t do that.That’s why God is telling the future generations again through Moses.
Deut. 4:20, “But as for you, the LORD took you and brought you out of the iron smelting furnace, out of Egypt, to be his people and his inheritance as you are now. God took you and led you out of the iron smelting furnace of Egypt, and God made us into the people of inheritance, just as we are today.
In Exodus 19, God told them, you are, a holy nation of priests. Are we God’s people just because we say we’re His people? God has to give us that covenant or promise, and then the Israelites have to accept it as truth in order for that relationship to work. That is why God is the God of the covenant, He is a God of the Word. God is invisible; however, He is a God who makes a relationship and promises with us. If you forget or forsake God it means you’ve lost hold of His Word. I’m not talking about the word from the Bible you read from a long time ago, but the word He is giving to you right now that you have lost hold of.
There’s some people who only hold onto the Word that gave them grace 30 years ago, then that person only knows God from 30 years ago, and right now, they’re just keeping God as a reference, but they are moving their own life forward with what they want. When this person struggles, they ask God for help. There’s so many people like that, especially in America, they’re all over the place. But they’re going without even realizing they are wrong.
Because you and I are similar, they can’t tell the difference, then what happens? They suffer even if they go to church. They’re suffering without even knowing why they suffer. And this doesn’t just end with them, but that state is relayed to their children, and that’s continuously repeated. That’s why we have to tell people the correct gospel, the correct Word. Before you evangelize to anyone, you have to tell them God’s accurate Word of the gospel and tell them who God is in order for their spiritual state to be revived.
In Deut. 4:21, The Lord was angry with me because of you, and says Moses cannot cross the Jordan, because when all of the Israelites were compalonign out of their disbelief, Moses got very angry with them, and he struck the rock with his staff. God said, “These Israelites will not go into Canaan, and neither will you, Moses.” Deut. 4:22, “I will die in this land, I will not cross the Jordan but you are about to cross over and take possession of that good land” meaning, the Word of God will be fulfilled exactly. They are bound to go into the land of Canaan and gain that land, but the problem is, don’t be assimilated into their culture.
When we evangelize, we have to change the culture of Genesis 3 in which the person is so lost. If you don’t change that for them, then even after they receive salvation, they’re going to revert back to their state before they received salvation. Even people who have believed for a long time will revert back to their old state but it’s even worse for new-believers.
Deut. 4:23, “Be careful not to forget the covenant of the LORD your God that He made with you.” If you lose hold of the words of promise that God has given to you, then you are going to go into idolatry. Deut. 4:24, “Do not make for yourself an idol in any forms the Lord has forbidden, for the LORD your God is a consuming fire.” Fire burns things. A jealous God. It means that He loves the Israelites. God is jealous because He loves the Israelites. If you don’t love somebody, then you wouldn’t be jealous but apathetic. That’s how much God loves you, to bring you out of the land of slavery in Egypt and to bring you into the land of canaan which is the covenant land of world evangelism so don’t look at anything else.
Faith in Christ means that your problems of the past, present, and future are all finished. What now? Now, you receive God’s Word. Before this point, you have to live with your thoughts without God’s Word, but Christ has finished all problems of your past, present, and future. Now that your problems are finished, should you now stand still? That’s why you’re attacked, God is alive and is giving you His word and I hold onto this word as my covenant. When I pray, God gives me power, and that’s why if you believe in Jesus Christ, all problems are finished.
But if you don’t apply this at all and you just say, “All problems are finished, all problems are finished,” is it really going to be finished? If you’re holding onto something other than Christ and you say, all problems are finished, Is it really finished? You’ll face problems. If you say “All problems are finished” is it really finished? It’s just like chanting a ritual. That’s not how you should know the gospel. If that’s how you know the gospel, that’s why you’re always seized. What does it mean all problems are finished? If I’m facing these problems, why are all problems finished? Is it enough to just keep chanting this? No. God gives you the answer and the solution to the problem through the Word, and that’s why it’s not a problem.
God gives you the Word through worship and when you pray, God gives you the answer through His Word, and that’s why all problems are finished. If you don’t know that and you just repeat it like a chant, that’s why the person only knows about the gospel of salvation. Then they’re just soldiers for salvation. But God is with me right now. Because God is with me, it’s not a problem. That’s the beginning of salvation. Everything has been prepared by God perfectly to the very end, so nothing is a problem.
Next week, we’re going to live too, and we’re going to face problems. If we face a problem and say, “This is not a problem,” you’re just playing with words. You’re just playing with philosophy. If you don’t have any money and you say it’s not a problem, you have to get an answer about it. It’s only not a problem because God gives you an answer regarding it. But without that it’s not enough to say it is not a problem. That’s why this problem is so wide and deep and high.
There’s a cheap gospel, people cheapen the gospel even though it’s so high and wide and deep. That’s what this means. God is giving us the covenant even now with His Word. Are people the problem? It may be a problem to you, however, for people who know the gospel, it’s not a problem, why is that? Because people are always the problem, that’s why Christ came. Then, if you don’t look at people through the eyes of the cross, everyone will be a problem. Because everybody is measuring up other people and judging them based on their own perspective, nobody is going to get along.
God is using all sorts of types of people to do world evangelization, not just people like you. That’s why we need the church. You need to do this well to do your business well, too. What’s the characteristics of someone who can’t do business? It’s not about the skill; they always try to make the same thing as them, then how many people will stick around? How many people are the same as me? We need to have a diversity of people to race towards the same goal, that’s how we can have a bigger vessel.
Same thing with the church, we need all five fingers, we can’t just have the thumb because it’s the best, when do we only need the thumb? We need the pointy finger, but the thumb says, “I don’t need a pointy finger, I only need the thumb,” and the thumb is going to be all alone and no one will acknowledge it because it needs the rest. Just because someone is different from me doesn’t mean they’re wrong; God made them different.
It’s the same with evangelism. Paul did this well, you have to be able to diagnose the person’s style very well. There are people who are completely different from me, then even before you evangelize to them, you’re going to butt heads because of a difference in style. You have to adjust yourself to match their style. That’s why Paul was a Jew to the Jews. But if Paul were to say, “I have the gospel so I’m not going to follow the Jews anymore,” then that’s not going to fit.
Some people have a very slow personality, but there are some people who give the gospel with a very hasty personality. Then even before the gospel is relayed, the connection breaks down because of a difference in style. Then inside their heart, the person will say, “This person is so slow,” even if they can’t say it with their mouth. Some people are fast; some people are slow, that’s how we all fit together. You have to diagnose their slowness and match yourselves to them, that’s how the gospel goes into a slow person.
If you don’t know evangelism, then you can’t have business, isn’t that right? If you don’t know business, then you can’t evangelize, because if you want everyone to fit with you, then no ones going to fit with you. You might be able to run a hole-in-the-wall shop by yourself , but you won’t be able to have anyone else with you. You can do it by yourself where you run a little store to sell cigarettes, candy, and gum by yourself, but if you want to expand and gain more employees, they won’t stick around because you want them to conform to you.
Same thing with evangelism. Before you testify to the gospel you have to align yourself to them, and I have to adjust myself to the other person for the gospel. It’s so important. You have to be able to diagnose someone well.
If you just take what you grew up with and what you’ve learned and you put it into them, then you’re going to block the gospel. We’ll conclude the word with that.
God gives us the covenant every week. The word of the gospel and the logos has already been given to us through the Bible. In order to fulfill that covenant God gives us his word to us every week so detailed and you need to go forward holding onto that covenant. It’s not about why can’t I do this? It’s about following His covenant, His time schedule. It’s not about whether you can do it, it’s about God’s time schedule. Even more important than whether works or taking place or not is are you following God’s covenant? Otherwise you’re bound to fall into something else. And people hold onto their own personal form of evangelism. What happens if you hold onto it by yourself? Your heart is going to get very frustrated. And you’re going to say “why are things not taking palace?” but if you keep holding onto God’s word, then God is going to keep working according to His time schedule. May we hold onto that blessing and enjoy it.
Let’s hold onto the word God gave us and pray. God what is the covenant you gave me? Christ and world evangelization is obvious, but what is the covenant to fulfill that he has given me? I held onto the covenant of “Let us raise and save together through the cross” Let us hold onto the word together and pray.
Second prayer topic, let us pray for the remnants. Joseph Shin, he did finish his surgery but he is unable to leave the hospital yet, she just told me there’s something going on. I hope you’ll continue to pray that through this surgery, they will be able to come into the spiritual state God desires and be with God covenantally. Is he going to get better? Of course he’s going to get better, but more importantly than that, there’s something God must do. And if there’s any of you that’s sick, don’t be a person who is centered on u healthy mysticism or prosperity based faith, but first center yourself on God’s spiritual mission and plan. This is the result of serving idols in today’s word. So I hope you’ll give them the solution in the fields of God’s covenant.
Let us pray together for our mission fields. Especially Karen. May God raise up the disciples of Karen and train them. Let us also pray for El Salvador. Let is prau like we did in the early morning that they will be constantly rooted and connected to the 237and the church so they may be the disciples who have healing, and do the life movement, and evangelization movement there. The church according to today’s prayer journal message is the place that keeps on creating more disciples for the evangelism camp. Then we raise them up as teams to set them out to regional churches to find their disciples and healing in the field, and centered on that the life movement takes place. And God is continuously raising the church so that we may raise up the disciples, and the workers he desires for the work and the field he desires. That’s what God is doing so we can relay this to the next generation so they know. Let’s pray for the biblical evangelism movement to take place in our fields.
Benediction
Now May the grace of the lord Jesus Christ and the unending love of God. The indwelling, working and guidance and communion of the Holy spirit. Be upon the heads of all the people of God who desire to hold onto the covenant and save those lost in idolatry. For now until forevermore always, amen.