Sermon Tone Analysis

A people holy to the Lord

His treasured possession

!!! /21-05-06pm/

!!! Announcements

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Call to worship

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

(Psalm 19:14)

!!! Blessing

Grace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

!!! Prayer Confession of sins

Loving heavenly Father,

David in Psalm 130 speaks of your mercy.

He said, “If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?

But with You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared.”

You don’t keep a record of sins, but it doesn’t mean that we do not need to acknowledge and confess our sins and sinfulness.

Your Word states that “if we confess our sins, You are faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Furthermore, if we claim we have not sinned, we make You out to be a liar and your word has no place in our lives.

You knew that value in teaching your disciples to daily pray, “Forgive us our trespasses, even as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

In our heart we feel the pain of disappointing You, sinning against You and grieving the Holy Spirit.

We admit that we have sinned, not in the first instance because we feel bad about it; this is what your Spirit convinces us of.

Our old nature makes us your enemies, alienating us from You and bring shame to your Name.

We pray for the sanctifying work of your Spirit in our lives; and we plead that the blood of Jesus Christ, your dear Son and our Saviour, will wash us clean from all unrighteousness.

With You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared.

We praise, thank and glorify You for your loving-kindness, mercy and grace.

Instil in us a holy fear and awe for You and help us to have victory over sin as You give to us the righteousness of Jesus Christ, who paid the price as the last sacrifice and High Priest, satisfying your demand to atone for sins.

Hear our prayer.

Amen.

!!! Declaration of pardoning

“Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord.

“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

\\ If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.”

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

(Isaiah 1:18-20)

!!! Hymn No 385:                            /“What shall I do my God to love?”/

!!! Prayer of Adoration and Invocation

!!! Hymn No 96:                               /“God we praise You” (Tune 24)/

!!! Prayer for others

!!! Scripture Reading                     /1Peter 1:13-2:3/

!!! Offering and Dedication

All remaining seated sing:

!!! Hymn no 364:                              /“Almighty God of all created things”/

!!! Scripture Reading                     /Deuteronomy 14:1-21/

!!! Sermon                                          /“A People holy to the Lord”/

!!!!!! Introduction

My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,

The declaration of the Lord in verse 1 of Deut 14 is profound:  “/You are the children of the Lord your God/.”

Moses addressed the Israelites as they are about to enter the Promised Land.

He did not ask them, “Are you children of God?”; he made a statement and then he provided the reason for what he had stated: “/Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you be his treasured possession/.”

And then right in the middle between these statements he states the position of God’s people and God’s purpose with his people in this world:  “/You are a people holy to the Lord your God/.”

The rest of this paragraph of chapter 14:1-21 describes the way in which they had to display their relationship with the Lord as his holy people in the way they live in the land God would give them.

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You are the children of God

Of course, in the immediate sense of the word, God addressed the /Israelites/ by declaring “/You are the children of God/”.

; In the immediate sense of the word they were chosen by God to be his treasured people.

They were living under the covenantal promises of Abraham.

They were the nation rescued from Egypt and they were the ones who would now enter into the Promised Land which God had promised to their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Surrounding them were the heathen nations of which we read some months ago in the article prepared by Kwangho in our monthly magazine.

There were the seven nations which God wanted Israel to dispossess:  Canaanites, Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites, Hittites, Perizzites; but there were also the surrounding nations like the Moabites and the Ammonites.

It was God’s purpose with his people ; to live differently from all these nations.

Because He called them and blessed them above all the nations on the face of the earth, made a covenant with them, gave them his Law of the Covenant, and gave them a land to live in, He wanted them to live lives holy unto Him.

This means that their lives and conduct would be determined by God’s standards; they were in no way to be trapped into the detestable religious practices of the any of the nations which they had to drive from the land.

They were God’s Old Testament Church.

They had the calling to be priests of the Lord and witnesses of the holiness of God.  ; As such they would be instruments in the hands of God to draw the heathen nations unto the Lord.

In her bosom Israel would carry the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ, and in Him God would continue his church to become the universal church, a church not defined by national heritage or bloodline, but by faith in the Messiah who would become the Passover Lamb of God, the light of God to the nations and the Doorway to God.

It was therefore not meant for Israel to forever be the chosen nation of God.

They would be the channel through which God build his universal church in and through Jesus Christ.

Those whom God calls to Himself from all eternity in Jesus Christ are members of this church.

The New Testament is a continuation of the church of the Old Testament.

Old Israel now became New Israel and both have the covenantal father Abraham and become children of God through Jesus Christ.

This means that what verse 2 of Deuteronomy says about Israel is now applicable to the church today, but then as understood through the salvation of Jesus Christ.

This verse reads:

“… you are a people holy to the Lord your God.

Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be his treasured possession.

(Deuteronomy 14:2)

1Peter 2:9 puts it this way:

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

(1 Peter 2:9)

!!!!!! His treasured possession

The word used here in verse 2 means personal property and is also used to describe the ; transfer of ownership after a certain price is paid.

In Psalm 135:4 the Lord declares:

For the Lord has chosen Jacob to be his own, Israel to be his treasured possession.

(Psalm 135:4)

When some of God’s people in the Old Testament in the time of Malachi doubted God’s faithfulness, other rested in the fact that God paid the price to make Israel his own.

Listen:

Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard.

A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name.

“They will be mine,” says the Lord Almighty, “in the day when I make up my treasured possession.

I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him.

(Malachi 3:16-17)

To be God’s treasured possession is to ; enjoy the protection, grace and compassion of the Lord.

The New Testament passage for tonight reads:

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

(1 Peter 1:18-19, 21)

The apostle Paul puts it this way:

“… we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

(Titus 2:13-14)

God bought his church, both Old and New Testament, with the blood of his dear Son Jesus Christ.

He marked us to be his own with the blood of his Son and He poured out his Holy Spirit upon us.

Hear the Word of God:

“…those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.