Episode 29: 1 Corinthians and Deuteronomy

In this episode, Pastor Rodney and Pastor Sawyer Wilson explore key themes from 1 Corinthians and Deuteronomy. They discuss the importance of discipleship, the significance of communion, the role of spiritual gifts in church unity, and the centrality of love in the Christian faith. The conversation also emphasizes the resurrection of Jesus as the cornerstone of hope and the call to live in obedience to God's commands.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:09

Good day, everybody, and I'm so glad that you're joining us for another episode. Actually, it's number 12 for 2026 of North Bobble Recap. And again, I am glad to have Pastor Summer Wilson with me.

SPEAKER_02 0:24

Glad to be here, excited to talk about God's word with our church and what we're reading together. You didn't change clothes. You didn't change clothes, but my water spill dried this time. So I look like I'm a new man and I'm ready to dive into it today.

SPEAKER_00 0:37

Yeah. As you can see, we're doing some back-to-backs right now. So thank you very much. Absolutely. I enjoyed um episode 11 with you. Now let's dive into chapter 12, okay?

SPEAKER_02 0:48

Let's do it.

SPEAKER_00 0:48

All right. So today we're looking at first Corinthians chapters 11 through 16. Okay. Deuteronomy chapters 9 through 24. And then also Psalms chapter 45, 46, 47, no, 46, 47, 48. Right. And no Proverbs this week, okay? No Proverbs this week. We'll get wisdom next week. We'll get wisdom. I'm just kidding. Just kidding. So hey, well, let's, let's, let's dive right into it. And why don't you take off and go with uh 1 Corinthians?

SPEAKER_02 1:18

Absolutely. First Corinthians 11 through 16. So reminder, this is Paul riding to one of the churches that he planted as their spiritual father, helping them with discipline. And like we've talked about in previous episodes, there have been some divisions that have happened in this church, some issues, sex and food, what we talked about last episode. This set two of the sections we're going to talk about today, one is over divisions when it comes to the worship gathering, the corporate gathering. And Paul teaches in this section, chapters 11 through 14, that because of the gospel, we are called to love others as greater than ourselves. Chapter 15 is all about the resurrection, the resurrection of Jesus, resurrection of believers. What is that? And Paul just reminds us and the Corinthian church that because of the gospel message, we have hope for victory over death. And then chapter 16 is Paul's final greeting and his closure there. So I kind of want to jump into one of my favorite verses, a verse that you actually introduced me to some years ago, Pastor, 1 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 1. We'll start with just one verse. Paul writes this follow my example as I follow the example of Christ. Such a great verse for discipleship. Other translations say, imitate me as I imitate Christ. So what's key to note is that at this time, the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, most likely hadn't been written down yet. And for certain, they hadn't been widely circulated yet. So this church in Corinth, they didn't have a Bible like you and I have that they could pull up and learn what Jesus did. They're hearing from other people and they're also imitating other people like Paul. Pastor, you've taught that our life may be the only Bible that somebody ever reads. D.L. Moody said, out of a hundred men, one will read the Bible and 99 will read the Christian. So in this statement, when Paul says to follow him as I follow Christ, he's saying, Let me set the example for you and what it means to follow Jesus. And he also isn't saying, hey, I'm perfect, I'm Jesus. He's saying, follow me as I follow Christ. So in the ways that you see me being like Christ, be like Christ as well. Jesus is the standard. And this shows us the importance of discipleship. Part of our framework of faith at North Church is the people of God. So for me, this verse brings some questions. Who am I following? Are they worth following? Who are you following? Are they worth following? And second, who's following me? Who's following you? And am I worth following? Are you worth following?

SPEAKER_00 3:44

So, 1 Corinthians chapter 11, verse number 23 through 26 is very powerful.

SPEAKER_02 3:50

Very powerful. Paul continues. He's talking about the gathering, the worship gathering, the corporate church service, if you will. And he writes this in verse 23 through 26: For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you. The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, after supper, he took the cup, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this whenever you drink it in remembrance of me. For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Paul's referencing here the Lord's Supper, what we would call communion, or some would call the Eucharist today. This is instituted by Jesus on the night of the Passover meal. We see this in Luke 22 as well as some of the other gospels. The Passover feast, the Passover celebration. It celebrated the deliverance from slavery in Egypt, the Lord delivering his people. And now the Lord's Supper, when we take the bread and the cup, we're celebrating our deliverance from sin by Christ and his sacrifice on the cross. The bread, Paul's teaching here, is Jesus' body broken for us. Jesus taught that as well. The cup is his blood that was poured out for us. Um, the word Eucharist, the other word that we've heard, it actually comes from the word to give thanks. Paul says, give thanks when you do this. And Jesus gave thanks when he did it. We're thanking God for the sacrifice he made. And we're remembering that under this new covenant, we can approach God directly ourselves. And there's a lot of different schools of thought and debates, and even I've seen some arguments about communion, about the Eucharist, about the Lord's Supper, something that we do every single week at North Church because it's what is taught and exampled in scripture, do that with the fellowship of believers. So when Jesus said, eat this bread and drink this cup, and when Paul said, eat this bread and drink this cup, what did that mean? Well, there's one camp that is called transubstantiation. And this is primarily the Roman Catholic Church, some others as well, but they're the dominant one. They hold the this idea of transubstantiation, which is that the bread and the cup, the bread and the wine literally physically become the body and the blood of Jesus. There's another one called consubstantiation. This was taught by Martin Luther when he uh started the Protestant Reformation from the Roman Catholic Church. He held this idea of consubstantiation, which is that the bread remains bread, the wine, the cup remains the wine and the cup, but by faith they're the same as Jesus' body, not physically, but as a very powerful um practice of Jesus. There's other teachers. John Calvin taught that Jesus is Jesus is present when we take communion, but spiritually, not physically. Others have taught that they're just symbols of uh of Jesus and his sacrifice. So is it a symbol? Is it physical? Is it I don't know. I don't know all of the answers, but what I do know is that regardless of what your theological viewpoint is, this is a powerful picture, a powerful practice for us as the church to remember Jesus' sacrifice and what it means to follow him with everything. When Jesus said, Eat my flesh, drink my blood, to eat or drink something meant to take it into your body, to your innermost being and make it 100% part of you. So that's uh communion there.

SPEAKER_00 7:09

And it goes and just when it comes to let me just lean into this just a little bit because you know I think that um we can kind of try to split hairs, but at the same time, uh G Jesus said this, you must, unless you eat my flesh and drink my body, you cannot have any part of me. What was he speaking of? The Bible speaks of communion, the Bible speaks of a marriage uh between husband and wife as a mystery is the two separate individuals becoming one.

SPEAKER_01 7:34

Right.

SPEAKER_00 7:35

Well, what does that mean? Does it mean my wife and I are one now? Um well, in a physical sense that I can see if it we're not, I've been married to her a long time, but in a very real spiritual sense, we are one. Absolutely, and an understanding of when we receive communion of this um literally becoming the the body and the blood of Jesus. Uh, no, but it's also a mystery. So good. It's a mystery that it is spiritual. Jesus is present, he lives in my heart. Absolutely. The same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in me. And so then, as I am taking in, it's a reminder of my death to myself and that I'll no longer live, but Christ lives in me. Amen. And that's reflected in the body and the blood of Jesus Christ. Amen. As um I take of.

SPEAKER_02 8:22

That's so good. And and every time that we do this, it's a time for us to do uh multiple different things. It's not just a time to remember, but we we do remember. We also reflect, we repent, and we respond. What do we remember? Jesus has sacrificed what he did on the cross. We're reflecting on our own lives, ourselves. Are we living up to what Jesus died for? Is what he died for is what I'm living for worth what Jesus died for. We repent. That means to turn, to change our ways, to turn back to him. And then we respond. We leave, uh, we leave that gathering and we live differently because of it.

SPEAKER_00 8:54

And let me just say, um, you know, one of the things that Paul emphasized in his to the um church at Corinth is that, you know, that be careful when you take this that you're not eating and drinking unworthily.

SPEAKER_02 9:07

Right.

SPEAKER_00 9:07

Um, that and and basically, um, so I had somebody ask me really, Pastor, why don't we mention that? Why don't we say that some of you don't drink this you unless you you may be drinking unworthy, right? And um, which I understand that, and that's what Paul mentioned here. But I asked him about the first communion. What did Jesus say? And um Jesus didn't say that. He takes communion with who in front of his disciples, yeah. And knowing that one of them was about to sell him for 30 pieces of silver, right? Knowing that another one was going to deny him three times and even swear and curse just hours later that he doesn't know him, yeah, that all of them were gonna flee and run for their own lives and cover their own back and instead of stand up for Jesus. Absolutely, and yet he still takes communion with them. Absolutely. Uh right there. And so um the thing that we must be careful with every time we come to communion, it's a time of re-evaluation, it's a time of searching our hearts, it's a time of looking deep inside, and it's about like what you just said is that we remember Jesus, we reflect on our own life, we repent of those things that God's calling us to step, you know, into what it means to really be a follower of Jesus and then to live differently by responding like Christ would. So good. So communion is a constant reminder. It's a beautiful, beautiful thing. Absolutely. And so why do we take it every week? Because some people struggle with that. The Bible does not give a time frame that says, oh, you have to do it these, it does say as oft as you come together. Right. What does that mean? For the New Testament church, oftentimes they were coming together weekly, right? And so they were receiving communion weekly. Now, if for churches out there and practices that don't do it, does that mean that they're wrong? No, I'm not saying you're wrong, and I'm not saying that we are right because we do it every week. I'm just saying that we have chosen this method as a church that each time we gather together, we're gonna receive communion.

SPEAKER_02 10:53

So good, so good. And then Paul continues into chapter 12, where he's still talking about this gathering, this gathering of believers. And he he goes into uh a very famous passage uh where he talks about spiritual gifts and gifting in the church. First Corinthians 12, 4 through 11 says this there are different kinds of gifts, but the same spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone, it is the same God at work. Now, to each one, the manifestation of the spirit is given for the common good. To one, there is given through the spirit a message of wisdom, to another, a message of knowledge by means of the same spirit, to another, faith by the same spirit, to another, gifts of healing by that one spirit, to another, miraculous powers, to another, prophecy, to another, distinguishing between spirits, to another, speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same spirit, and he distributes them to each one just as he determines. So these spiritual gifts, first I want to say this isn't an exhaustive list. This is not all of the spiritual gifts. Um, you can find more spiritual gifts listed in Romans chapter 12, Ephesians chapter 4, 1 Peter chapter 4. But in the Corinthian church, the gifts that these believers have been given had led to a great division. They were elevating some gifts over another, essentially saying, I'm better than you because of the gift that God has given me. And it was a competition in the church. And Paul is teaching here that gifts are given to the believers to build up and edify one another in the church. I think back to about a month ago, we had one of our students, an 11th grade girl, her name's Emily, and she was teaching to her peers and her leaders at North Students. She was talking about how we can be generous with our talents, our giftings that God has given us. And she said this and it has stuck with me. Everyone has gifts, and using your gifts isn't about attention, it's about obedience. It's about obeying what God has called us to do. And just because you may have some spiritual gifts and you may be a gifted person, it doesn't mean that you are spiritually mature. It takes discipleship, it takes growth, it takes time in God's word. And Paul isn't here saying you should be ashamed of your gifts, you shouldn't use your gifts, but he wants them to be used in an orderly and unifying fashion in a loving way within the church.

SPEAKER_00 13:12

So that's very good. And I think it's easier to keep the gifts in balance when you are seeking the giver of the gifts. Oh good. Yeah. That's that's we can get so focused on the gift that we miss the giver. It's kind of like you understand what that's like is that the older you get, you care less about the gifts. You want to be with your family, yeah, your kids, and them seeing opening gifts. Yeah, but then for them to not appreciate uh the giver, you and uh your wife, Olivia, yeah. Uh, and you know, your kids are still very small, but as you'll see this more and more played out as you get older, and not being appreciative, sure, and then stirring that gift in a way that honors you, and in if we can think of that in a very earthly term of what fathers and children are, how much more should we in a spiritual manner reflect thanksgiving to God for the gifts that's given to us and then stir those wisely, realizing that my gift that's given to me is not meant to be hoarded from uh other siblings and or flaunted over them. Look at my gift I got from you versus that as a parent, you don't like to see that at all. Absolutely for the heavenly father. Absolutely that gift is there to be used to serve others so together.

SPEAKER_02 14:28

So good. Like you said, it's there to serve others, and that's kind of what Paul is teaching in this entire letter. The purpose of the church, the purpose of gifts is to serve and love one another. And this actually takes us into what I think is the key chapter of Paul's letter to the Corinthians, one of the most beautiful, most well-known chapters in the entire Bible, it's chapter 13. Um, it's known as the love chapter. And I I want to read the whole chapter. It's a short chapter, but it is it is so, so rich and so good. Paul writes this if I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but don't have love, I'm only a resounding gong or a clanging symbol. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but I do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all possessed to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease. Where there are tongues, they will be stilled, where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put on the ways, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror, then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part, then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love. Such a great chapter. So, what is this chapter about? Well, if in case you missed it, it's about love. Love is and always should be our motivation. So it kind of begs the question well, what is love? Paul uses the Greek word for love, agape, agape love. Maybe some of you listening have heard of that. In the Greek language, there were four main words that we would translate in English as love. There was Eros love, that's sexual love, romantic love between uh a man and wife, between a husband and wife. So the love that I have for my wife could be described as Eros love. I Eros love my wife. There's storge love, which is familial love. That could be the love between me and my sons, between me and my parents, right? Then there's file love, that's brotherly love. It means like a deep friendship, deep partnership. That could be the love between me and my best friends. Pastor, between you and I, the love that we have for one another could be uh file love. And then there's agape love, which is unchanging, it's self-giving, it's sacrificial, unconditional love. And that's the way that Jesus loves us. And that's what Paul wrote about right here in this book. Um, and it can be beautiful for us to read this passage at weddings. I've I've seen it so many times. I cry every time that I hear it. Uh, but it's not necessarily the direct application of this text, is for a wedding or something like that. Because you see, when I take this passage and when I put my name in it, if I say Sawyer is patient, sawyer is kind, all of those things, it doesn't always sound a hundred percent true, does it? I don't know if it's if I put Bapterani in there.

SPEAKER_00 17:57

Oh, absolutely. You say that I'm thinking no, no, absolutely not.

SPEAKER_02 18:01

But what about when we put Jesus in there? Yeah, it is a hundred percent true a hundred percent of the time. And you and I, when we love Jesus and we follow him and we put him first in everything, we can love others with this Christ-like agape love, but only through him.

SPEAKER_00 18:21

I like it. I like it. I love how you say I've actually heard that when you're placed and put Jesus there on every single time because you're right. Uh I started laughing when I started hearing your name. Not because I have I can't actually not because of you personally, but because I'm thinking of me. Like I know I can't put my name there. Absolutely. Um there's moments and there's times, and I string together some probably good moments, but um, but not not on a regular basis.

SPEAKER_02 18:49

Yeah. And what's interesting was uh I actually remember being in premarital counseling with my wife, and our our counselor gave us this passage, and our homework was to to go home and uh take the list and pick. I would pick for Olivia, my my fiance wife, uh, and she would pick for me which one the other was the best at, and also which one the other was the worst at.

SPEAKER_00 19:10

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_02 19:11

And I remembered the ones that she said, I won't share them live on the on the air, but I remember the ones that she picked for me. She probably had a hard time picking just one that I was the worst at, but I know that it's only through Jesus I can improve and grow in those things. So that's first Corinthians. The overall takeaway from Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, uh the first one that we have at least is that church order is the goal. To be a unified church is the goal, and love is the only cure, the only method, the only recipe, the only answer for that. Love is the goal. So that is first Corinthians, Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth.

SPEAKER_00 19:50

I do want to wrap up here in um 1 Corinthians with chapter 15. Um, chapter 16 is a is a is a wonderful um as he provides his final greeting, but in chapter 15 is the resurrection. Um because obviously he's pointing back to Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. But the resurrection is so key to everything because then it speaks to obviously in chapter 15 talks about the resurrection of the dead, that all of us, that our hope for the life to come is not found in our good works. It's uh not found that Jesus was a good man, right? Is that Jesus was God, yeah, and that he laid down his life, and that he rose again victorious over death and hell. And in chapter uh 15, verses three, um it just really is so good where he says, I passed on to you uh what was most important. I think it's very important to say, obviously, and uh what has also been passed on to me, Christ died for our sins, just as the scripture said, He was buried and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the scripture said. He was seen by Peter, and then by the twelve. After that, he was seen by more than five hundred of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he was seen by James and later that's his brother James, and later by all the apostles. Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him. For I'm the least of all the apostles. In fact, I'm not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted the church. And to me, this is just the I always want to emphasize because it is the crux of everything.

SPEAKER_02 21:55

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 21:56

It is the hinge point of all. Things that opens, in other words, it opens the door to everything. And when you really embrace the resurrected Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, you'll learn how to love people wise. So good.

SPEAKER_02 22:10

So good. Without the resurrection, nothing else matters. I've heard people, well, uh, with the story of Jonah. Is it possible that a man could get swallowed by a fish and live in the belly? You but they say they believe the resurrection. Exactly. And okay, God create the heavens and the earth. And without the resurrection, none of the rest of it matters. And that is what our faith hangs on.

SPEAKER_00 22:29

But Alina, some people they're like, like, well, they believe in the resurrection, but don't believe in Jonah. You believe in a resurrection of a man who stepped. You believe that somebody stepped God, yeah, stepped out of eternity into time to be born like a baby and to grow up, never sin. Yeah, they done is life, but you cannot you but you struggle with the Red Sea being or a fish swallowing a man. Yeah, you gotta be kidding me. You gotta be kidding me. So good. Okay, so Deuteronomy, go for it.

SPEAKER_02 22:57

Deuteronomy. So we are in uh chapters nine through 24. Remember, this is Moses reminding the people of Israel um of the law. It's the second law. That's what Deuteronomy means. He's teaching them that love is the key to the kingdom of God. So in this uh section of chapters, the majority of it is where we're in this collection of laws. Again, some of them are new, but many of them had been given to Israel before. So some of the quick context here where we're gonna be in uh chapter nine, Moses is reminding Israel of their rebellion and how they've messed up, especially um the story of the golden calf. And even though Israel failed time after time after time, God forgave them and he provided a way for us, for Israel, sorry, to be in a new covenant relationship with him. And I want to share this in Deuteronomy chapter 10, verse 12 and 13. And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good. What is this? It's God calling his people to covenant faithfulness. And it summarizes all of the commands here to fear God, to obey God, to love God, and to serve God. What does it mean to fear God? It means that we're gonna have a holy reverence, a respect, an honor of God. It's not necessarily, oh, I'm afraid of God, like get away from me, but it's like you understand that he is God and you are not. That's what fearing God is. Obeying God, following his commandments, living in a way that's pleasing to him. And we may often think, oh, I don't, I'm not hearing from God. I don't know what God wants me to do. Turn to his word. Maybe try doing the last thing God told you to do, and then maybe you'll hear something from him again. Obey God and then loving God. We talked about the Shema from chapter six in the last episode, loving God with everything, and then finally serving God. That's doing everything for him. I think of Colossians chapter three when Paul writes, Whatever you do, whether word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus. So the takeaway from this text is simply to fear God, love God, obey God, and to serve God.

SPEAKER_00 25:10

Deuteronomy is so good. I I really, really do enjoy the book of Deuteronomy. I think it's loaded with a lot of practical wisdom. And um, so it's so good.

SPEAKER_02 25:22

And something that I I've learned is even though these books maybe don't seem like it at face value, Jesus is all over it. And I want to share one of those verses that shows us that Jesus is actually all over this book. In chapter 18, it's all about spiritual leadership and what sort of leadership Israel is to have when they enter the land. I'm just gonna read one verse here, Deuteronomy 18, verse 15. This is Moses talking. Um, he says, The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. Here, God is promising that there's a coming prophet like Moses from within Israel. In case you don't know, Moses is a type in shadow, he's a picture, an imperfect picture of Jesus Christ. Mind you, this is about 1400, 1500 years before Jesus' life on earth. And scripture shows us in the New Testament that Jesus' followers recognized him as this promised prophet 1,500 years before. John chapter 6, verse 14. The people saw the sign Jesus performed and they said, Surely this is the prophet, capital P there, who is to come into the world. Peter confirms it in Acts chapter 3. Stephen confirms it in Acts chapter 7. Jesus himself said that Moses wrote about him. But not only is Jesus the prophet like Moses, he is far, far greater than Moses. Hebrews chapter chapter 3 tells us that uh just uh sorry, it tells us to fix your thoughts on Jesus, who we acknowledge as our apostle, our high priest. He was faithful to the one who appointed him. Just as Moses was faithful in God's house, Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. All the Bible points us to Jesus, all of it Old Testament, New Testament, even the first five books of the Bible, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, all of it points to Jesus. He is the prophet that was promised here in this book 1500 years before, which reminds me that God always had a plan to save his people. He always had a plan to save us.

SPEAKER_00 27:28

You know, Hebrews, you you read the passage there that Jesus is greater than Moses, but Hebrews is constantly, it goes back all through the um the Torah and the Pentateuch and basically just really lays out He's greater than the sacrifices, he's greater than the law, he's greater than the prophets, he's greater than Moses, he's greater than all of that. Um and it's just I really that's a very important point to understand when it comes to uh when you look at um Deuteronomy and you're reading through is to be able to see Jesus in everything that you're reading. And I think that that's something that the moment that that light bulb turns on for people, that they begin to see scripture in a whole new way because Jesus comes out of every book of the Bible, all 66 of them.

SPEAKER_02 28:21

It's all about him. Uh one more verse from Deuteronomy before we kind of wrap up this section of the book. In chapter 24, uh, God is still reminding his people of how they're going to live in the promised land. It says this in Deuteronomy 24, verse 19. When you're harvesting in your field, you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it, leave it for the foreigner, for the fatherless, and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the works of your hands. You see, throughout all of Scripture, God is telling his people to treat the least, the last, and the lost with care. Now, I'm not a farmer, Pastor Rodney, but I I don't know if I would be leaving things behind for other people. That's probably not my natural instinct. I want to take as much as I can get. But this practice here is something that God taught his people, and this was to leave some grain behind in the fields for foreigners, for widows, for orphans to come get us. And we actually see this played out in the book of Ruth. That's what Boaz was doing. He was obeying this law. He was gleaning uh his field was, which was gathering up the leftovers, was what Ruth was doing, and that was how she lived. And because of this teaching, because of this law, Ruth was able to provide for herself and her mother-in-law. She was able to meet Boaz and able to be one of the ancestors of Jesus Christ. And Jesus taught us in scripture that when we care for the least, the last and lost, it's like we're caring for him. He told his disciples this, and they're like, What do you mean we we visited you when you were sick? We gave you a cup of water. And he said this when you see the sick, uh, he says, Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. God wants to partner with us to change the world. And the takeaway, the application for us is to treat everyone, no matter who they are, whether they look like us, don't look like us, think like us, don't think like us, speak the same language as us, or don't to treat everyone as sons and daughters of the king and to love the least, the last and the lost, just like Jesus did.

SPEAKER_00 30:18

That's so good. Now, I I think throughout the scripture, not just in Deuteronomy, throughout the scripture, all the Torah, it's speaking to valuing those who are what you mentioned, the least, the last, the lost among us. And um, specifically, uh, he mentions here like the foreigner. And that's stuff that we struggle with today in our culture. Absolutely. And so, what does it look like today? Most people don't have fields that they can leave corners, but we still have this sense of responsibility according to God's word, of being aware of those among us and how do we take care of them? Whether they are the widow, whether they are the foreigner, whether they are uh the orphan, uh, the poor, the stranger, whoever it is, we have a responsibility. And don't take that lightly and don't let our hearts go hardened uh to the least lost and uh last. Let us stay sensitive, broken, and how we are to show Jesus to them.

SPEAKER_02 31:15

So, so good. It's being generous, being open hand. It's not ours anyway. It's our it's a resource that God has given us to bless others.

SPEAKER_00 31:22

So let's dive into Psalms chapter 46, 47, and 48. Again, written by who? Sons of Korah. Sons of Korah. Again, we've talked about that. Um, that hey, dad may make a choice, but you've got to make your own choices. And so uh Psalms 46 is about God as our refuge. Um, and it's interesting to me that uh it was a song of the descendants of Korah. It says the heading, I always like reading that. Do not skip past that. Look at look at that little heading there. It says for the choir director, a song of the descendants of Korah to be sung by soprano voices. Interesting. That is interesting. You probably didn't grow up with four-part harmony singing, right? Don't know anything about that. Crystal Crystal is listening in, she's running things behind the scenes, and she knows what I'm talking about. And um, I'm there's nothing more beautiful than some good old four-part harmony. Come on. And as you begin to, and I just think it's great. Uh Soprano, hey, I am not a soprano. Um, but it but it's just interesting how that they note that this is gonna be sung by the Sopranos. So, North Church, we need to break out this chapter sometime and just have the Sopranos uh lead the way. There we go. There we go.

SPEAKER_02 32:35

Directions are right in right in the book, right there.

SPEAKER_00 32:38

Uh Psalms 46 basically is a psalm of confidence in times of upheaval. Okay, and they it emphasized God as our refuge when the world begins to shake. Notice what he says here. He says, God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So he goes on down, he says, so the so we will fear not, we will not fear. And the emphasis here is security is not in the absence of trouble, but in the presence of God.

SPEAKER_02 33:09

So good.

SPEAKER_00 33:11

And I think that anyone who has walked this journey, if you can get to that point where you just learn to rest in him. Um second part of that of that chapter, four through seven, verses four through seven of chapter 46 is God's presence builds stability. It's interesting, he uses things like a river brings joy to the city of our God. Well, the city of our God is speaking of uh Jerusalem, but there's no river that flows through there. But it was um, you know, it it was just a symbol of it was metaphorical of the power of God and the provision of God. God dwells in that city, it cannot be destroyed. Oh good. Okay. And then also uh he emphasizes in 46 be still and know that I am God. Be still and know that I am God. This is about surrender. It's not just relaxing and calming down, it's about surrendering. It's about um realizing that um God is in control, he created the heavens, he's among us, he has this. Chapter 47 is kind of the theme is that God uh moves from refuge to kingship, that he is king of all the earth, not just some of the earth. It's a call to global worship. The first few verses, he crawls out, Come everyone, clap your hands, um, sing unto the Lord. Uh, for the Lord most high is awesome, he is the great king of all the earth. It's speaking to God is not just a tribal deity, he reigns over all nations because he created everything. And then it continues on that God ascends as king. And it's really interesting here. It says, God has ascended with a mighty shout, and it's actually kind of a reference, and some would some would believe, even to uh Acts chapter number one, when Jesus is ascending up to heaven. Now the Bible says that he'll come with a mighty shout too, but I believe on that day when he ascended up, there was a mighty shout. Then it was the angels of heaven that were just shouting. The job had been done, it had been completed. Jesus and his glorified body was ascending back to his rightful place, the right hand of God, to make intercession for us. I think these to me, these things are beautiful. And then God reigns over the nations again. And that um so uh chapter 48 is the beauty of God's city. Okay, um the glory and security of Zion. They basically 48 celebrates Jerusalem as the city of God. Um and then the greatness of Zion, it emphasizes the very first three verses how great is the Lord, he is the city of our God. And it speaks of Zion being beautiful. Um Zion Jerusalem is a beautiful symbolic picture of God's presence of Eden on earth as today. Um but there is coming a time where this world is going to be made new again. When the Bible speaks in Revelation that the city of God will come down, the new Jerusalem. Okay, so you got a symbolic Jerusalem right now, but there is a new Jerusalem come down where God is going to rule and reign on the face of this planet. So good. And then it talks in uh verses four through eight, the defeat of the enemies of God. Uh kings may assemble and attack, but they panic and flee, that they may gather against God, but they'll eventually turn and run from God. We have heard of the city's glory, but now we have seen it ourselves, is the emphasis there. And then also the third thing is there is in chapter number 48 is imitate meditating on God's unfailing love. And I just encourage people to do that. God's faithful. It is so easy to get caught up in what we're dealing with right now that we cannot see anything else. And if we would just stop and focus on the provision of God, the faithfulness of God, it will change um the anxiety, the struggle, the stress, the weight that we are feeling inside of you. He says, Oh God, we meditate on your unfailing love. For this is what God is like. Again, going straight from from this passage. He is our God forever and ever, and he will guide us until we die. And 48 is basically a summary of God's presence creates beauty in our lives, God's power brings protection in our lives, and God's covenant, love, endures forever. So good. And if I were to put it in one sentence, it would be this when the world shakes, remember who reigns and rejoice that he dwells among his people.

unknown 38:03

Amen.

SPEAKER_02 38:03

Amen. So good. God's word is awesome.

SPEAKER_00 38:07

It is, it's not boring. You're boring. Yeah, I'm boring. God's word's brilliant, right?

SPEAKER_02 38:12

So brilliant. So brilliant. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 38:14

Hey, Sawyer, thank you. Yeah. Two weeks. Two weeks.

SPEAKER_02 38:18

Episode 11, episode 12. So great. I appreciate it. Thank you for having me. It was an honor. Okay. It's an honor. Make sure you're reading, reading the Bible. Don't just listen to us. Read it for yourself. Yeah, yeah. We preach from it every week. Not just the adults. What happens to students as well. Students are hearing the reading, uh, hearing the word from the reading plan every single Wednesday, Oklahoma City and Guthrie alike.

SPEAKER_00 38:37

Yep. So join us, okay, as we read along. And until next time on the North Bible recap, we look forward to seeing