Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
How many of you have a cell phone that you usually take with you wherever you go? Let’s see a show of hands. How many of you know someone who hardly ever goes anywhere without their cell phone? Especially now that cell phones have become smaller, cheaper, and more powerful than ever before many people carry a cell phone—even if it is just for convenience or security. Should an emergency arise while you are out on the highway the cell phone is close at hand and help is only a phone call away. If someone you know is out on the boat fishing the cell phone is close at hand to either find out how the fish are biting or to find out if it’s McDonald’s for supper. For many people that little plastic box filled with micro-chips and electronic circuitry is something that they always want to keep close at hand.
While a cell phone is indeed a very convenient tool for keeping in communication with others as the children of God you and I, my friends, have all been given a communication tool which is far more powerful, far more necessary and far more convenient. Today on the basis of these words from the book of Deuteronomy let’s see how Moses encourages us to always make sure that we KEEP GOD’S WORD CLOSE AT HAND.
The words of our text were spoken by Moses towards the very end of his ministry as the leader of God’s Old Testament people. Moses had watched as the Lord brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt with signs, wonders and mighty power. Moses had watched the people of God rebel, repent and return to the Lord time and time again. He had watched as an entirely new generation arose while an entire old generation died off in the wilderness never to enter the promised land of Canaan because of their disobedience and unfaithfulness.
In fact, Moses himself had disobeyed the Lord and was told that he would not be allowed to enter into the earthly Promised Land. And so now at the end of this long and mostly distinguished ministry, now as he turned the mantle of leadership over to Joshua his God-appointed successor, Moses takes this opportunity to focus the hearts, minds and the lives of God’s people on the glorious covenant which God had established with them. This glorious covenant promised blessings beyond imagination for all those who remain faithful to God.
At the same time a lack of faithfulness to this covenant would most certainly bring with it trouble, sorrow, discipline and judgment as God’s people had already experienced far too many times.
Well then, if faithfulness to the covenant is the key then God’s people need to know in no uncertain terms on what basis this faithfulness is to be measured! How is faithfulness or unfaithfulness to be determined? Moses very clearly addresses this concern when he says to God’s people, "The Lord will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your fathers, if you obey the Lord your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul."
Faithfulness to the covenant is determined by the faithfulness of one’s heart to the holy revealed Word of God. Through this written Word God revealed to his chosen people exactly what he did and did not want them to think, do, say and believe. Faithfulness to the written Word of the Lord was therefore to be a top priority in the hearts and lives of God’s people. Unfortunately, just like the Israelites, here is where we have failed.
False gods and idols constantly led the Children of Abraham astray and we also have fallen into the same trap. Anything we place above God is considered idolatry. It may be our job, money, sports, or even leisure activities, anything that prevents us from making God number one and keeping his word close at hand.
God’s word tells us that we are to regard his word as holy and gladly hear and learn it. Yet our attendance in Bible classes is almost non-existent and we limit our church attendance to when worship services do not interfere with our work, sporting events, or leisure activities.
If we measure our faithfulness to God and his Word according to his law and commandments, we find that we fall far short of what God requires. And according to the law we find that we all deserve only his wrath and punishment.
But our God is a loving God and in his mercy he does not treat us as our sins deserve. Purely out of his eternal grace God has given his written Word to us and his word very clearly reveals how he would provide eternal salvation for a sinful corrupt world.
It is in God’s word that we hear what God has done for us. In God’s gospel message, we hear that in spite of our sinfulness, our unfaithfulness to God and his word, he took it upon himself to come to this world and save us.
God sent his Son to keep his laws and commandments perfectly because we could not. He sent his son to die the death that we deserved for our transgression of the law. And God raised Jesus on the third day to show his approval for his sacrifice; to show us that because he lives we also will live. God did this because of his great love for us and because of what Jesus has done we are now forgiven and have a glorious inheritance waiting for us in heaven. St. Paul in our epistle lesson for today says that God “has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:12-14).
God promises us his blessings if we turn to him with all our heart and soul. And what is truly amazing, my friends, what is absolutely astounding is that God is not asking us to do anything that is too difficult for us to do! By giving us the gift of saving faith in our heart and by giving us the ability to read and accept his Word without adding to it or subtracting from it God has made faithfulness to him as "easy" and as "convenient" as it can possibly be! Moses brings this out right here in our text when he says, "Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, ’Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, ’Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?’ No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it."
I am consistently amazed at how often churches teach and how often people think that faithfulness in their relationship with God is something that is achieved only through great personal efforts. If you asked them to climb the highest mountain or cross the deepest sea or even sign over every worldly possession they have there are people who would do it simply so that they can say that they have "fulfilled their duty."
But salvation is not something that we can accomplish. Salvation does not depend on anything we can do to please God. If it were then we would be lost because sinful beings can never do anything to please a holy and righteous God. But as we hear, read, and learn God’s word, keeping it close at hand, we find out everything we need to know about our salvation and what God has done.
Everything we need to know, my friends, everything is revealed to us right here in his word. Now that does not mean that the Bible answers every last question we can come up with. What it does mean is that every question we need an answer to—such as: Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going?—all such questions are all answered right here in God’s holy Book. A passage that has brought me a great deal of comfort and clarity during some very confusing times in my own life is found shortly before our text for today. In Deuteronomy 29:29 the Lord says, "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of his law."
There are certain things which God in his eternal wisdom has chosen not to reveal to us. They are for him to know. They are for him to take care of. But what the Lord has revealed to us here in his holy Word belongs to us and it belongs to our children so that we might hear, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest God’s Word making it an essential inseparable part of our inner being. This is our motivation behind our Christian day school, our local area Christian high school, and why we have spent this week in vacation Bible school teaching our children about Jesus. Teaching our children to keep God’s word close at hand.
What it all boils down to, my friends, is regular personal use of God’s Word. God’s holy Word is as close as that Bible sitting on your coffee table or on your bookshelf at home. God’s holy Word is as close as the pastor’s voice in your ears when you gather here in the house of the Lord. God’s Word is as close as recalling to mind the portions of Scripture that you have committed to memory over the years. God’s holy Word is as close as popping a cassette into the car stereo and listen to someone reading the Bible for you as you drive to and from work each day.
The covenant which God has established with us, my friends, the New Covenant built upon the rock solid foundation of the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as our only Savior from sin, that covenant is what guarantees to all the faithful a glorious eternity in the Promised Land of heaven above. May God graciously grant that we will all enter into that glorious Promised Land as we strive to remain faithful to the Lord by striving to remain faithful to his Word. To this end may the good Lord be with all of us. Amen
