Let's read the first three verses
again. I want to say just a few things
about this before we go on in our study. Let's read the first
three verses in Deuteronomy chapter 12. These are the statutes and
the judgments which ye shall observe to do in the land which
the Lord God of your fathers giveth thee to possess it all
the days that ye live upon the earth. Ye shall utterly destroy
all the places wherein the nations which you shall possess, serve
their gods, upon the high mountains, upon the hills, and under every
green tree. And you shall overthrow their
altars, break their pillows, burn the groves with fire. You
shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the
names of them out of that place." Now, this was very radical. We
looked at this last week, and we won't go back over that, but
this was very radical action that they were to take. going
in there and making war on these people, when they'd finally overcome
them, came and destroyed all the places. I mean, when they
were finished, you could not find where a false god had been
worshipped in that place. They were very thorough in tearing
down their altars and their images, burning up their robes. But I
would imagine that passages like this and other places through
the scriptures have been used probably in the New Testament
time to start wars, vigilantism, going on crusades, and you ask
them why they would do such things, they would probably point to
passages, something like verses 2 and verse 3. So, how Does this
apply to the New Testament Church? And I'm sure that we can apply
it to the New Testament Church. If we can't, there's no use even
studying. If we can't find some way to apply it to our time,
the New Testament Church. And it does apply to the New
Testament Church. But how does it do it? Are you
and I to take up arms as Christians, as the Christian Church, and
literally go out and fight people? Start wars? But you know people
think that, don't they? And if you've talked to anybody
much about Islam and how violent it is, they point to Christianity
and say, why, look at the Old Testament, what Christians did
in the Old Testament. And they did. They did. But we
studied that out too, haven't we? These were ungodly nations. God took the country from them
and gave it to His people and said they were idolaters. Wipe
these idols off of the land. But this applies to our day,
to the New Testament church, in a spiritual manner. You may be in the armed forces,
and I know some of you here were in the armed forces, and some
of you literally took up weapons and went off to war to fight.
You did that because your country called you to do that. That's
an honorable thing. That's fine. If you're a police
officer, there's occasions where you may have to get out your
weapon and combat evil physically. But it's not that way with the
Christian church. We don't take our torches and
go down here to the Kingdom Hall of the Jehovah Witnesses and
say, you bunch of cultish people, and set the building on fire
and burn it to the ground, do we? We might do that, but we'd
be put in jail, and rightfully so. Rightfully so. So how do
we apply this to the New Testament church? Well, let me show you
one or two places before we get into our text. Look in 2 Corinthians. Hold your Deuteronomy 12 and
look in 2 Corinthians 10 and look in verse 3. 2 Corinthians
10 and verse 3. 2 Corinthians 10 and verse 3. For though we walk in the flesh,
we do not war according to the flesh, after the flesh. And then he explains that in
verse four. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. They're not carnal. Not carnal. They're not physical. Not a literal
sword or a pistol or a rifle. But they're mighty through God. to the pulling down of strongholds. What kind of strongholds? Well,
he gives us one in verse 5. Casting down imaginations, evil
imaginations, and everything that exalt itself against the
knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought
to the obedience of Christ. They tore down idols. And they
cast down these images. We seek to cast down evil imaginations. They destroyed these high places
up in the mountains and in the hills. But you and I deal with
the heart, don't we? They dealt with the fruits of
sin. You and I go right to the root
of sin. The heart. They dealt with the
flesh. You and I deal with the spirit.
That's the difference between them and us. They fought against
heathens because they were heathen. And you and I fight against heathenous
doctrines. So this is the way we do it.
Look here at another scripture in Ephesians chapter 12. Look
at Ephesians chapter 12. Ephesians chapter 6. Ephesians
chapter 6 and verse 12. Look at this. We wrassle not against flesh
and blood. See that? We wrassle not against
flesh and blood. We don't need to get in shouting
matches. We don't need to have our fists clenched. We don't
need to have our pistols cocked. That's not the mode of our warfare.
We wrestle not against flesh and blood. What do we wrestle
against? Principalities, powers, against
the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual
wickedness in high places. That's the way we bring this
to the New Testament and apply it to the New Testament. Theirs
were physical. Ours is not physical. Ours is
spiritual. Now, we have a state. And I'm
glad it's this way. I'm glad the Lord saw fit to
separate the church and the state. I do think our country's carrying
it too far right now, but the Deuteronomy that we're reading
about, they had a theocracy. They had no king. They had no
government. The church and the government was one. And the Lord
changed that, didn't He? When He comes to the New Testament,
He changed that. Well, not long after this, He changed that.
But the state has a sword. They're to punish evildoers. That's what the state is there
for. The church has a sword. It's the word of God. Where the
state punishes evil actions, you and I preach repentance and
salvation to the heart. That's the difference between
the church and the state. The state says we're going to
punish you because you did evil actions. And here we come along
with the gospel and say we're going to preach forgiveness to
you because you're an evil person. They have a place that they're
to stay in. That's the state. It's not to
tamper with the church. And the church has a place it's
to stay in and don't tamper with the state. You don't go, this
is the trouble we see in a lot of religions today and the church
and state getting mixed up together. When the state tries to get involved
with the church, and you can't do that. States stay out of the
church's business. But when the church tries to
get in the state's business, and you've got some murderer
that they sentence to death, and the poor church goes down
and tries to say, well, you ought to be pardoned or you ought to
be lenient with him. No. The state bears not the sword
in vain. You go preach salvation to him
and forgiveness, but leave the state alone and let the state
punish him. See what I'm saying? So this
comes over to the New Testament and the weapons of our warfare
are spiritual. We fight against principalities
and against powers and wickedness in high places. It's not always
been that way. Mainly Catholicism had their
crusades. I doubt if there's ever been
many real God-fearing people, any real Christian, who went
on some of these crusades to other countries and other cities
and made war against those people in the name of Jesus Christ to
kill them and cut them up. I just doubt there's been many
Christians who did that. The Pope went down in South America
around 1100 or so. I saw the place down there where
he sent his army down to the Mayan Indians. slew a bunch of
them, destroyed all of their history, and baptized them at
the point of a sword. That's a Christian principle,
ain't it? Yeah, he's going to help them a little bit. But see,
the church doesn't do that, does it? That's not what this means. So I just wanted to explain that
just a little bit further. Now let's go back to our text.
Let's begin here in verse 4. And look at some of these things.
Let me read some here to you. But we'll have to hurry on because
I don't want to keep you too long. We looked last week at
this uncompromising religion. And boy, it was. That's what
it was supposed to be. Let's look a little bit further
now in verse 4. And ye shall not do unto the
Lord your God. Don't do unto the Lord your God
as you did to the heathen and their idols and so on. But unto
the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your
tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall
ye seek, and thither shall thou come. And thither ye shall bring
your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes,
and your heave offerings of your hand, your vows, and your freewill
offerings, and the firstmens of your herds and of your flocks.
And there ye shall eat before the Lord your God, and ye shall
rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto you and your household
wherein the Lord thy God hath blessed thee. Ye shall not do
after all the things that ye do here this day, every man whatsoever
is right in his own eyes. For ye are not as yet come to
the rest and to the inheritance which the Lord your God giveth
you. But when ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the land which the
Lord your God giveth you for to inherit it, and when he giveth
you rest from all your enemies round about, so that you dwell
in safety, then there shall be a place which the Lord your God
shall choose to cause his name to dwell there, thither shall
you bring all that I command you, your burnt offerings, and your
sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offerings of your hand,
and all your choice vows which you vow unto the Lord. And you
shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you, and your sons,
and your daughters, and your menservants, and your maidservants,
and the Levite that is within your gates, forasmuch as he hath
no part in our inheritance with you. Take heed to thyself, that
thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou But
in the place which the Lord shall choose in one of thy tribes,
there thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, and there thou shalt
do all that I command thee." Now here we see an exclusive
worship, don't we? We saw an uncompromising religion
last week. This week we see an exclusive
worship. Take heed to yourself that you
offer not your burnt offerings in every place that you see.
Only one place to go to and one place to worship and offer their
sacrifices and keep their feast days. Now let's see some things
in these verses that I just read to you. First of all is this,
they were to be zillious, as zillious in their worship of
God as they were in the destruction of the heathen idols and their
altars. Be just as zillious in the worship
of God as they were in destroying these idols. Now, if you know
human nature, you know where I'm going with this. It would
have been much easier to have picked up the sword and made
war on these heathens and destroyed their altars and burned up the
groves, much easier to do that than it would on these days that
the Lord commanded them and weeks to go up to Jerusalem, lay everything
aside and go up to Jerusalem and worship with their families
and their servants. It would have been a lot easier
to do that, wouldn't it? Other things were going to get
in their way and he knew it and it did. So he tells them here,
I want you to destroy these heathen altars But then, there's something
else I want you to put all your heart into. And that's the worship
of me. The place that I've designated.
Not only to stand against the false worship of God, but to
wholeheartedly embrace the true worship of God. Well, we have
to be careful not to get caught up in fighting. Fighting that
which is wrong. Fighting that which is false.
And then, in turn, we lose our love for that which is right
and that which is good. Listen to Revelation Chapter
2. I'm going to have you turn there because this is a very
familiar passage and it proves the point here. The Lord was
writing to the Ephesian church and He said, I know your works.
I know your labor. I know your patience. I know
how you cannot bear them that are evil. You just can't bear
them with their lies, their falsehoods, their hypocrisies. You can't
bear them. And you have tried them which
say they are apostles, and are not, and have found them to be
liars." Now what they were doing, they were going out, boy, and
they were having discussions with these religious people and
other people. And they were finding out. Are you true or are you not?
Are you a hypocrite or are you sincere? And they were making
war, weren't they? They had invaded the kingdom
of darkness. And they were very zealous for
that. And the Lord said, I commend you for that. I commend you.
You're doing just what I called you to do, to stand against this
power of darkness. Wrestle with them. But then he
stops and he said, I've got something against you. You're so concentrated
on fighting the evil. You're so zealous in fighting
that which is false and wrong. You've done this. You have left
your first love. While you've been so concentrated
on fighting the works of the devil, destroying these idols,
and proving these false apostles, in your heart of heart, your
love for me has grown cold. Ain't that a good example? And
aren't we that way? Aren't we that way? I've often
thought of this. I've seen it. You and I have
seen it. I've seen it in myself. And you notice this. Some who
have great zeal against what they perceive to be evil and
falsehood, have little or no zeal or love for that which is
true." We've seen that in people, haven't we? We've seen that in
people. They go to great lengths to combat
the evil of false religion, but they have a little or no heart
for the true worship of God. That's sad, isn't it? And that's
what He told them to beware of. We need grace. Oh, we need grace,
don't we? All of us need grace to avoid
We need a balance. We need our priorities. And we
need grace. We just need grace. Lord, give
us grace that while we stand against the darkness, we'll love
the light. And while we stand against falsehood
out in the world, when it comes time to worship, well, we'll
be the first ones there. Prepare our hearts to do that.
That's the first thing we see. And we see something else here,
I think, that's very important and very critical. God was slowly
revealing His will in regard to His purpose of redemption. He was slowly revealing His will
in regard to the purpose of redemption. And Israel was to be careful
that they took heed and listened and obeyed His Word as He revealed
what they were to do. You and I look at the Bible and
what do we see? We see a full revelation. He
has written the Bible. He has sealed it. He has closed
it. And you know we are not going to get anything else. That's
it. Don't add to it, he says, when
he finished it. And don't take anything away from it. Don't
diminish it. We know the end has already been written. The
Word has already been sealed. And God slowly, down through
the centuries, added new revelations of His self and His will and
His ways until he had finally completed the body of truth and
he sealed it up. He sealed it up. We don't have
any new revelations. I don't want any. I don't want
any. I've got enough in the blessed
old book of God. We've got enough. But none of
the patriarchs had any specific place designated of God to worship
and offer their sacrifices. From the time that we read that
Abel bought that sacrifice to God, we go on through where Noah
built an altar and sacrificed Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Whenever
they felt like sacrificing, they built an altar and sacrificed.
Nothing was said about God saying, You do it in this place and this
place only. They did it wherever they wanted
to, didn't they? And offered their sacrifices wherever they
wanted to offer. In the process of time, the Lord
called His people out of Egypt and gave them laws that they
never had before. He gave them a priesthood they
never had before. Sacrifices that they never had
before. He instituted feast days. And
for 40 years they traveled around in this wilderness, and when
it come time to celebrate the Feast of Passover, wherever they
were, they celebrated that Feast of Passover. They traveled all
over the desert. And they sacrificed all over
the place. And now he tells them here in verse 8, look what he
tells them. You shall not do after all the
things that you do here this day, every man whatsoever is
right in his own eyes. He says things are changing.
Things are changing. I am changing some things. I'm
adding some new revelations. I'm giving you more information.
He tells them here in these verses, there's going to be a city chosen in the country where you're going
to. There's going to be one tribe that I choose, and I'm going
to put my name in that tribe. There's going to be a worship
center built, and there is where you're going to come and offer
your choice offerings and celebrate your feast days and in that place
only. This had never happened before.
This had never happened before. And here's where the nation of
Israel in the New Testament made a vital mistake. When this city
was chosen, when the tribe was chosen, they thought, boy, this
will never change. The New Testament Jews thought
they would have the priesthood, the sacrifices, the temple, and
Jerusalem forever. And because they tried to hang
on to these things, even though they'd corrupted it, you know
what they missed? They missed Christ. They missed
Christ. They said, well, surely He ain't
going to change our customs. But He did, didn't He? God was
giving you revelations all through the Old Testament, what He was
going to do, how He was going to do it. And because they didn't
listen, because they didn't read the Scriptures carefully, that
these things were changing, there's coming a time when the temple
would be no more. Jerusalem that's below would
be no more. The priesthood would be no more.
But they could not see that surely God is not going to change these
things. Well, He changed it here, didn't He? You're not going to
do as you did and as you're doing today. I'm going to change things. And God has given revelations.
And this is so critical, brothers and sisters. Let me give you
an example, I think, that will bring this home to us and help
us. There are people, there are some
actual people that believe There are apostles today. Not many
of them left, but there are people, especially in the last century,
that believe there are apostles today. They believe that we still
can't obtain those miraculous gifts that was given to the apostles
in the early church. They say that since the Holy
Ghost gave it to them, is it not available to us? Can't He
do the same thing for us as He did for them? Can't we have these
miracles of healing and signs and wonders? Can't we speak in
tongues just like they did? Can't the Holy Spirit give us
these gifts? Well, He probably could, but
He doesn't, does He? And they said, you're saying
that He's changed? That's exactly what we're saying.
He's not changed, but He's changed the way in which He's doing things. He gave to those apostles in
the early church this great authority as apostles. And he gave them
these signs and wonders to do. He did it by the hands of these
apostles. And by doing that, he sealed the authority of the
gospel. Nobody did that but those apostles.
But when those apostles died, there's been no apostles. There's
been no miracle workers. These signs and wonders and tongues
have ceased. They've ceased. All we've got
today is a bunch of gibberish. I'll be honest with you, it's
a bunch of gibberish. It's not actual languages, it's a bunch
of gibberish. The Lord, the Holy Spirit, can
do whatever He wants to do. He can give all kinds of miraculous
gifts. But He's changed things. He's
changed things. We don't have that now. We've
got it in the Bible. We can go back and say, look
what authority, look what He did. When He gave us the Gospel,
He confirmed it with signs and miracles and wonders of the Holy
Ghost. So we could, the Lord could say
to us in our day, you're not to do, you're not to do like
those apostles did. You're not to be out here speaking
in tongues or trying to and train yourself to do it and all this
stuff. You're not to be praying. to raise people from the dead.
Somebody told me about a young man going into Hensley and Brown
and there praying that God would raise up a body. Some of you
folks know that. And he left and the guy was still
dead, right? Yeah. Yeah. That wouldn't have happened
if the Apostle Paul wouldn't have went. If the Lord told Peter
to go in there and raise that person, that person would have
raised. But we don't have that anymore, do we? Well, the Lord
changes. He adds new revelations as we
go, doesn't He? And He did that until the body
of truth was finished, and then He sealed it up and said, Don't
you dare take anything from it, and don't you dare add anything to it. Okay? He slowly and surely
was adding new revelations. And along the same line, we have
more proof of that here. Did you notice here that He never
revealed the tribe? that he chose, never said a thing
about which tribe did it, never said a thing about where the
place was, what it was going to be called. Why didn't he tell
them that? He doesn't have to, does he?
It wasn't his will for them to know it. This is the way the
Lord did all through the Old Testament. And He's so excited
to begin in Genesis and read through the book of Malachi and
see how He gives them a little year and He gives them a little
bit better. He keeps advancing the revelation and gives us more
and more understanding. He does it how? And it wouldn't
be right, I guess, for Him to reveal everything at one time.
The Lord Himself said to His disciples, I've got many things
to say unto you and you can't bear it now. We can't bear much,
can we? He teaches us slowly, just a
little here and a little there, as we're able to bear it. Someone gave three reasons for
the Lord not revealing the place, the tribe. He said the Gentiles
would have heard about it, and they'd have concentrated all
their effort on that place. And they probably would have.
Israel would have had a terrible time capturing this place if
the heathen knew where it was. And if they got ready to lose
it, they'd have probably plowed it up and salted the land that
had been fit for nothing. And can't you imagine this? The
jealousy that would have creeped in among those tribes. If he'd
have revealed the tribe that he was going to put his name
in and the place, they'd have all been jealous. Every one of
them would have wanted that track of land. So the Lord is so wise,
He didn't tell them. Does anybody know the tribe?
Tribe of Judah. Know the place where the Lord's
going to put His name? Jebus. Jebus. What's that? Jerusalem?
That's Jerusalem. Jerusalem. You know what the
worship center would be called? Well, we called it the temple.
He called it the house of the Lord. The house of the Lord. I want to read a passage and
we'll close with this passage. I want you to turn over to 2
Chronicles chapter 6. Next week we'll have one more
study of the Lord's Will in this, and we'll get into what some
of these things mean. 2 Chronicles chapter 6. Wasn't
it a joy when it did come time? And you know it wasn't immediately
when they got over there. This didn't really happen until
the day of King David. That's when the Lord chose David,
you know, the tribe of Judah, to be the king. And then he chose
Jerusalem and Mount Moriah. Remember where Abraham went up
on the Mount of Arbor, Isaac? That's where the place David
purchased from Orman. And there's where they built
the temple. And Solomon, son of David, came along. He had
built the temple and was dedicated it. is some of the things that
took place. Let's finish our study just reading
this. What a joy it was to come here
with their families to this place and worship the living God. 2
Chronicles chapter 6. Let's begin here in verse 1.
Then said Solomon, The Lord hath said that he would dwell in the
thick darkness. But I have built an house of
habitation for thee, and a place for thy dwelling forever. This
is what he told him he was going to build and where he was going
to build it. Solomon said, I built it. This
is the house. This is his dwelling place. And
the king turned his face and blessed the whole congregation
of Israel. And all the congregation of Israel
stood and he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who hath
with his hands fulfilled that which he spake with his mouth
to my father David saying, Since the day that I brought forth
my people out of the land of Egypt, I chose no city among
all the tribes of Israel to build my house in, that my name might
be there. Neither chose I any man to be
a ruler over my people Israel, but I have chosen Jerusalem.
There it is. There it is. There's the place.
Jerusalem. That my name might be there. And I have chosen David. He was the tribe of Judah. to
be over my people Israel. Now it was in the heart of David
my father to build me a house for the name of the Lord God
of Israel. But the Lord said to David my father, Forasmuch
as it was in your heart to build me a house for my name, thou
didst well that it was in your heart. Notwithstanding thou shalt
not build a house, but your son which shall come forth of your
loins, he shall build a house for my name. The Lord therefore
hath performed his word that he hath spoken. For I am risen
in the room of David my father, and am set on the throne of Israel,
as the Lord promised, and have built the house for the name
of the Lord God of Israel. And in it I have put the ark,
wherein is the covenant of the Lord that he made with the children
of Israel. And he stood before the altar of the Lord in the
presence of the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his
hands, and he began to praise the Lord. And look in verse 20.
He was speaking of this house, this temple. That thine eyes
may be opened upon this house, day and night, upon the place
whereof thou hast said that thou wouldst put thy name there. to
hearken unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth towards this
place. Hearken therefore unto the supplication
of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make
towards this place. Hear thou from thy dwelling place
even from heaven, and when thou hast heard, forgive." This place. This place. The place. Don't
offer another place, but the place that I shall choose. Well,
here's the place. This was it. Jerusalem. Here at this temple,
they were to come and offer their offerings. Sacrifice. Look over
in verse 36. Solomon was pleading for the
children of Israel. If they sin against thee, for
there is no man which sinneth not, and thou be angry with them,
and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry
them away captive into the land, far off or near, If they bethink
themselves in the land where they are carried captive, and
turn and pray unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying,
We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have done wickedly.
If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their
soul in the land of their captivity, where they have been carried
away captive, and pray towards this land which thou givest unto
their fathers, and towards the city which thou hast chosen,
and towards the house which I have built for thy name, then hear
thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, their prayers
and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive
thy people which have sinned against thee. Now, my God, let
I beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and let thy ears be attentive
to the prayers that is made in this place." See how important
this place was? It's a place of worship. It was
a place of sacrifices. It was a place where supplication
was to be made. And the Lord looked upon this
house and had respect unto it. That was His dwelling place.
He dwelt between the cherubim. That's what the prophets often
identified Him. The God that dwelt between the cherubim. And
in chapter 7, let's go on just a few more verses and look at
this. Now, when Solomon had made an end of praying, he was praying
here at the temple, The fire came down from heaven, and consumed
the burnt offering, and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled
the house. And the priests could not enter
into the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled
the Lord's house. And when all the children of
Israel saw how the fire had come down, and the glory of the Lord
upon the house, they vowed themselves with their faces to the ground
upon the pavement, and worshipped and praised the Lord, saying,
He is good for His mercy endureth forever. Then the king and all
the people offered sacrifices before the Lord. And the king
Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty and two thousand oxen,
and hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the
people dedicated the house of God. Look in verse 12. And the
Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard
thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house
of sacrifice." And wouldn't it have been a blessing? Wouldn't
it have been a great joy? Wouldn't it come time to celebrate
the feast? And you lived all the way up
in Lebanon? Or you lived way down south?
You took a week or you took two weeks to bring your sacrifices
and come up to Jerusalem, to the place that God had chosen
to worship. And you come there knowing the
presence of God was there in the temple. And you worshipped
Him in spirit and in truth. And you had your family with
you. You had your servants with you. And you just stayed there
and relaxed and worshipped the Lord with all your heart. Wasn't
that a joy? Why? when all of them wanted
to come. It would have been self-will
that kept them away. It would have been greed that
kept them away. Our pleasures are concerned about
other things. But what a joy it was to come
here to the place that God had designated and chosen to worship
in. And next week we'll go into the
spiritual meaning of these places, okay? We don't go to Jerusalem
now, do we? We don't go to the temple now.
These things have some wonderful meanings about them, and we'll
go into this next week. The Lord is with us.