Confessions of a Church: Tell The Future

The Psalm writer wrote: Open my eyes, that I may behold
Wonderful things from Your law. As we come before a Holy God and hear
his word, may we have eyes open to the wonderful and fearful things from
his law. May it move us to repent and seek forgiveness, fear disobedience,
and live in light of the grace we have received. This is the word of God. It
is eternally true and applicable for all of life.

Deuteronomy 18:9-22 “When you enter the land which the Lord your God
gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those
nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his
son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one
who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11 or
one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the
dead. 12 For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord; and
because of these detestable things the Lord your God will drive them out
before you. 13 You shall be blameless before the Lord your God. 14 For
those nations, which you shall dispossess, listen to those who practice
witchcraft and to diviners, but as for you, the Lord your God has not
allowed you to do so. 15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet
like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him. 16
This is according to all that you asked of the Lord your God in Horeb on the
day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord
my God, let me not see this great fire anymore, or I will die.’ 17 The Lord
said to me, ‘They have spoken well. 18 I will raise up a prophet from among
their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall
speak to them all that I command him. 19 It shall come about that whoever
will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will
require it of him. 20 But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in
My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks
in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ 21 You may say in your
heart, ‘How will we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’ 22
When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come
about or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The
prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.

You shall not learn to follow these abominable practices of those nations. If we have learned anything from the repetition of the scriptures it should be clear that we really never remember anything. There is a reason we’re told repeatedly not to do what the heathen nations do. The biggest contributing factor is that we look at the wealth of the blasphemer and think we have to copy them in order to be wealthy. (Who told you that being wealthy was the goal?) Sometimes we’re clever enough to relabel the sin and dress it up so its appearance is more palatable. I haven’t passed any of my children through the fire to Molech for economic gain because misoprostol is far more sophisticated and its safer than an actual fire. You could get burned passing your kids through fire. Didn’t anyone tell them not to play with fire. And going to necromancers and fortune tellers is just stupid. My horoscope could have told you that. Any Capricorn or Scorpio is going to avoid such nonsense anyway.

If you want to know what your future is read the Bible. It’s appointed unto man once to die and then the judgement.

God has raised up men for you to listen to. You can choose to listen to men who tell you the truth or you can prop up men who tell you what your itching ears want you to hear. If you bury a St. Christopher in your backyard and then thank God when your house sells you are missing the point. Did you know that was a thing? I had a supposed Christian realtor tell me to do that
once. Maybe it was her enneagram personality shining through. Have you heard about that? Do yourself a favor. Avoid it. Or how about this. I’m telling you as an ambassador for God don't bring any of that bilge into this fellowship.

vs. 20. But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name
which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the
name of other gods, that prophet shall die.

Well as long as I don’t profess to be speaking for God I’m good right? Wrong! If you profess Christ Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

If you are able please kneel as we confess how we have failed to keep
God’s commandments.

Our Father if we could see the future -if we could carefully plot out our neighbors every move and position ourselves according to our plans we would avoid every event that causes pain and discomfort. And then we would wrap it all up and call it a great big religious act of service. Lord please give us hearts that trust you. Give us a desire to say that even if You don’t rescue us from the fire, it’s better to serve you in the flames than to serve others by avoiding the hard trials. Give us a passion to trust what you have already said and a conviction not to commingle it with the world. Please forgive us for bringing our unbelief into your holy temple. It’s in the name of Word who became flesh and dwelt among us -The way the truth and the life we pray. Jesus Christ amen.

Leader: Listen now to the comforting assurance of the grace of God,
promised in the gospel to his church:

Titus 2:11-14 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.

To all those who thus repent and seek Jesus Christ for their salvation, your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Lift up your hearts!