Pause for just a moment.  How at peace are you?  I heard a testimony from somebody just recently, and they were saying, “I listened to what you were saying a couple of months ago.  So, I determined to no longer involve myself in the daily news.  At the same time, I determined to go off the social media stuff.”  Facebook, I think it was, but don’t hold me to it.  And I was thinking to myself as they were sharing this, “Let’s see, you turned off the news, and you went off social media at the same time.  This is like coming off heroin, man, just cold turkey.”  They said that it was harder than quitting smoking.  “You’re addicted.”  “No, I’m not; I can stop anytime I want.”  Are we to be under the power of anything?

It’s all lawful, but if you’re under the power of it, don’t you think that’s questionable?  Do you think that maybe it’s one of these distractions?  Pavlovian?  I watch people respond to those beeps.  Can I remind us that God is “beeping” you constantly, and you’re not responding the way you do to that one.  This world has gotten more power over us than we want to admit, and it’s choking the Word of God out of our lives.  We need to flee for our lives.  Flee youthful lusts.  Shun the very appearance of evil.  Dear God, especially don’t go down and sit at the gates like Lot did!

So, we’re here, and God is trying to get this Word in our hearts that we wouldn’t sin against Him, to let it become the light unto our paths.  Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his ways?  It’s vanity, it’s vexation.  All we can do is see it with our eyes.  It’s difficult for a rich man to get into heaven.  We seek more and seek more and seek more.  The Bible says there’s not anything wrong with being rich, there’s not anything wrong with having abundance.  It overtakes you; you don’t chase it, amen?  Blessings should overtake you.  God will open doors and make provisions for you.  God can open doors; He can close doors.

There’s a whole teaching on spiritual guidance that, if you’re in the throes of making weighty decisions, I’d advise you to read it again.  In that particular teaching, one of the things that we reveal is that the least trusted form of guidance should be what you’re sensing in your spirit.  We think that’s what confirms the Word.  Let me remind you that it’s the Word that confirms any sensing or what you believe you’re hearing, amen?  Because very frankly, most of us are way more entuned to our voice than we are to God’s voice as it speaks internally.  In fact, most of us, at one time or another, experience the deception to where we believe our voice is God’s voice, and therefore, we’re totally resistant to counsel.  “God spoke.”  Well, yes, He did because you’ve usurped the throne back in your life.  God did speak and will answer you according to your idols.

There are many other forms of God speaking and directing the course of your life that are far surer than, “Well, I just believe God’s saying this to me.”  If you believe that’s the voice of God, and you’re going to act on that, why weren’t you so quick to act on all of those other things God told you?  Another subject, but still dealing with the cares of this world and trust in God.  Look at what He said: take no thought for your life.  And then, He clarifies a little bit.  What you’ll eat, what you’ll drink, what you’ll put on.  So, obviously He’s talking about the natural course, the things that we need.  We see already, and God’s dealing with His covenant with Abraham, the Mosaic covenant, all of the admonitions that came to us from the Decalogue onto many of the Levitical ordinances are all there to protect us, amen?

Even the dietary laws were there at that time to help bring safety in the environments they were living in.  Those dietary laws were done away with, fulfilled in Christ later, and he said everything is to be taken with thanksgiving, amen?  Notice that I said, “Done away with in Christ.”  People today, they get locked up in legalism, as I was talking about those that are immature in dealing with legalism, people wanting to hold to the Sabbath today and these different things.  Let’s remind ourselves that Jesus is the Sabbath, (amen?) and the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath.

So, all of these things that were set in place were there so that the people of God, the covenant people of God, would have assurance in God’s care.  As we read through all of these different aspects and we read into Deuteronomy 28, we see the blessings and the cursings.  As Deuteronomy begins, we see God speaking to them, saying, “I’m taking you into a land that flows with milk and honey.  Just be careful of this, guard yourself of this one thing, that when you go in, you don’t say, ‘Look what I’ve done in my own strength,’ and forget Me.”  Amen?