“Choose Life! (Deuteronomy 30)", Will DuVal | 1/18/26
Deuteronomy 30 | 1/18/26 | Will DuVal
INTRO: Did you know that God is pro-CHOICE? Probably not the opener you were expecting on Sanctity of Life Sunday, but it’s true. In the most literal sense, our God is pro-CHOICE; the Bible says He DELIGHTS to give us - humanity - the dignity of CHOICE. God could very well have created us as ROBOTS, and simply pre-programmed us for OBEDIENCE to His WILL. And frankly, if He HAD, He wouldn’t have had to put up with NEARLY as many MESSES from us. But instead, God made the CHOICE to create us in His own IMAGE, with the capacity for making our OWN choices.
The choice to listen to and follow our HEARTS… or to trust HIM.
The choice to conform our lives to those around us… the world… or to conform our lives to God’s WORD.
We can choose LIFE… or choose DEATH; God’s BLESSING… or His CURSE.
And the message of ch30 in the book of Deuteronomy for us this morning is simply this: “Choose LIFE!” Choose OBEDIENCE to God, and His BLESSING that comes with it: LIFE.
Our God is a God of LIFE:
-He CREATED life, in the beginning, with Adam & Eve.
-He PRESERVED life, through the Flood, for Noah’s family.
-He PROMISED life - offspring and blessing - to Abraham.
And time would fail us to run down ALL of the passages in God’s word that REMIND us of His great LOVE for LIFE:
-God gives us life:
-Job 33:4 “the breath of the Almighty gives me life.”
-Ps 36:9 “with you [O Lord] is the fountain of life”
-God, therefore, hates DEATH, even that of the WICKED:
-Ezekiel 33:11 “As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked [would] turn from his way and live”.
-2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is… patient toward [us], not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”
-And that’s exactly why God sent us JESUS: to bring us from death to life:
-Jn 1:4 “In him was LIFE”
-Jn 10:10: “I came,” Jesus announced, “that they may have life and have it to the FULLEST. ”
-Even ETERNAL life:
-John 3:16 “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
-And Jn 11:25- ““I am the resurrection and the life,” Jesus assures us, “Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (Jn 11:25).
-And because God loves life so much, He charges US to be ambassadors for life:
-Prov 24:11 “Rescue those who are being taken away to death”
-Prov 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue,” so SPEAK life.
-God calls us to speak UP on behalf of life, for those who cannot speak for themselves:
-Prov 31:8 “Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are dying.”
So that’s what I intend to do this morning. Because in the time that’s passed since I stepped into the pulpit, 10 babies in our country have lost their lives to ABORTION. And that’s just in the U.S.; globally, the number’s more like 730 babies, who’ve been slaughtered, in the last 5 minutes.
Did you know that since the overturning of Roe v Wade, in June of 2022, the average number of abortions per month in the U.S. has actually increased from 79,600 to 98,800.” Abortions have gone UP almost 25%. (Alex Ward, “How Law… Abortion Conscience”, TGC, 2026; citing WeCount report)
That’s because public OPINION on abortion has changed so drastically. 15 years ago, Americans were split 50-50 on whether we thought abortion should be LEGAL vs. ILLEGAL in most or all cases; today, TWO-THIRDS of those polled believe abortion should be LEGAL in most or all cases. (Pew, 2025; https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/fact-sheet/public-opinion-on-abortion/)
And here’s the SCARIEST part about it: more than a QUARTER of self-identifying evangelical Christians now support the legalization of abortion. 27% of those who claim that the BIBLE is their HIGHESTauthority in life, have apparently never OPENED it, cuz you can’t really get past page ONE without seeing God’s heart for LIFE. Yes, God is pro-choice… so long as the choice is for LIFE!
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And I guess this always needs to be said as WELL whenever we’re having this discussion: this isn’t POLITICAL. Despite what the enemy would like us to believe, so as to sequester the Church - keep us on the sidelines - abortion has NEVER been primarily a “political” issue; it’s a MORAL issue… a BIBLICAL issue! It’s a simple matter of obedience to God’s word. We must speak out and speak UP.
Even as it gets increasingly RISKY to do so. Not just because of “popular opinion”... out THERE. How’s this for timing: in the last 2 weeks, the first 2 Sundays of this new year, I’ve had FIVE different young women approach me in the foyer between services, three of whom wanted more information about joining the church, TWO of whom wanted to talk about becoming a CHRISTIAN! We’ve been praying for this for YEARS at West Hills! I’m not sure we’ve had 2 people check that box on our Connection Card - “I’m interested in becoming a Christian” - in the past two YEARS; NOW all of a sudden, we’ve got two young ladies in just two WEEKS!
You wanna guess - demographically - who “abortion rights” are MOST popular with?
If you were the pastor, and you came to me and told me, “Hey, we’ve got some brand new Christians at our church - young WOMEN - still acclimating to their new faith, and the LAST thing we wanna do right now is risk pushing them AWAY from the Church; any TOPICS you think we oughta stay away from, maybe not FOREVER, but at least for a LITTLE while, just to be SAFE, until we can disciple them a bit more…?”
What do you think the NUMBER ONE TOPIC on that list would have to be?
But Church: we’re not here to be SAFE; we’re HERE to be LIGHT and SALT, in a world that is DARK and DECAYING. In a culture of DEATH.
1.2 MILLION deaths last year in our country because of abortion. And the number is RISING. Because young women AND men are being “discipled” by the WORLD to believe:
-“My body, my choice.”
-”Abortion is just HEALTHCARE for women.”
-”Therefore anyone OPPOSED to “abortion rights” must be ANTI-women.”
But God warns us NOT to “be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your minds”; be formed instead by God’s word, which teaches us:
-These are HIS bodies; so HIS choice how we use them; “You are NOT your own” - GOD created you - “so glorify GOD with your body” (1 Cor 6:19-20)
-God’s word teaches that He intimately “knits us together” in our mothers’ wombs (Ps 139); that a person is a person, no matter how small. Which means abortion is the taking of an innocent human LIFE.
-God’s word is NOT anti-women; it is PRO-babies, because GOD is pro-LIFE.
And He’s calling US this morning to the same: “Choose LIFE!”
So here’s the PLAN for today: we’re gonna skip AHEAD; if you were with us LAST week you know we just started a brand new sermon series in Deuteronomy. And as I was preparing for Sanctity of Life Sunday, I thought, “Man, it would be great if I didn’t even have to leave this book,” and as I was scanning it over, ch30 quickly rose to the top, as the best avenue for tackling this issue. You certainly can’t beat the TITLE!
But I do want to be careful about not REDUCING Deuteronomy 30’s “pro LIFE” message to just the issue of abortion. Contextually speaking, this chapter doesn’t actually mention the sanctity of life in the womb explicitly. Other passages do. We could have stayed in the Torah and flipped back to Exodus 21, where God commanded Israel: ““When two men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her child come[s] out… if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life” (vv22-23). God treats the unborn child’s life with the exact same dignity - VALUE - as He does her mother’s ATTACKER, who must PAY for the offense with his OWN life. So there are LOTS of other passages that are far more DIRECT when it comes to this issue.
But I thought this might be an opportunity for us to think about it more HOLISTICALLY. Because “choosing life”, as we’ll see, doesn’t just mean ‘protecting the lives of the unborn’; it’s not LESS than that; it’s just far MORE than that. “Choosing LIFE” is a choice that we ALL must make, every single DAY, with every single DECISION: are we gonna do things GOD’S way (the way of LIFE), or not (and choose DEATH instead)?
God invites us here to choose LIFE by making three RELATED choices, as we’ll see. But with EACH, we’re going to consider 1) the text’s ORIGINAL context (“How did God’s call to ‘choose life’ apply in ancient Israel’s context?”); we’ll consider 2) the ABORTION context (“What are the implications of these 3 principles for the PRO-LIFE movement today?”); and finally, and perhaps MOST importantly, we’ll consider 3) our own personal, SPIRITUAL contexts (“How is God calling US to ‘choose life’ - really, in EVERY realm of life; we’ll focus especially on the spiritual, but choosing life should affect the way we EAT, the way we DRIVE, the way we handle SPAM calls from TELEMARKETERS… ALL of life!)
So we’ll seek to make ALL these principles PERSONAL, and practical.
I invite you to STAND with me for the reading of God’s word. As I said, we’re skipping ahead towards the END of Deuteronomy; we’ll actually pick up in ch29, v29; but to quickly orient you to where we’re at in the outline of the book: Deuteronomy is all about OBEDIENCE. “Remembering God’s faithfulness, that we may RESPOND in OBEDIENCE.” So
Chs1-4: give us the CASE for obedience (by reminding us of God’s faithfulness)
Chs5-26: list the COMMANDS for obedience (199 laws to obey)
Chs27-28: list the CONSEQUENCES of obedience (and the OPPOSITE)
And now Chs29 & especially 30: are gonna offer us a CALL to obedience. (“Choose it!”)
Hear the word of the Lord:
““The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.“ And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, 2 and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you. 4 If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there he will take you. 5 And the Lord your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it. And he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. 6 And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. 7 And the Lord your God will put all these curses on your foes and enemies who persecuted you. 8 And you shall again obey the voice of the Lord and keep all his commandments that I command you today. 9 The Lord your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your cattle and in the fruit of your ground. For the Lord will again take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers, 10 when you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, when you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
The Choice of Life and Death
11 “For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 14 But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.
15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. 16 If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 17 But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose LIFE, that you and your offspring may live, 20 loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”” This is the word of God…
Through his messenger Moses, God lays out for Israel - and for US - here a threefold path to choosing life:
For starters: 1) We choose life by choosing REPENTANCE. (vv1-6)
What is repentance? At its most basic, to “repent” simply means to “TURN”; that’s literally what the NT word for it - metanoia - means: I WAS headed in THIS direction; to repent means I STOP, and change course.
That’s what God calls on ISRAEL to do here. He’s spent chs 27 & 28 listing all the BLESSINGS He promises them if they’ll obey Him… and the CURSES He’ll bring upon them if they DON’T, and perhaps TELLINGLY, the list of CURSES is approximately four times LONGER than the BLESSINGS list. And we see WHY now in ch30: Moses essentially foretells their DIS-obedience and subsequent CURSE here, when he says in v1, “when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse [yeah, you may obey for a WHILE, and be BLESSED for it; but I know you all too well, Israel, you stiff-necked, stubborn people; it’s only a matter of TIME til you buck against God’s YOKE, and invite His CURSES instead. And when they DO come upon you, and you REALIZE it] you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you” - what is THAT? What’s Moses TALKING about in vv3-5? “[God] will gather you again from all the peoples where [He] has scattered you… your outcasts… will be gathered in… God will bring you BACK into the land…” – Moses is foretelling God’s specific curse of EXILE. 700 years later, the northern kingdom of Israel would fall away, and worship other gods, so Yahweh let them be conquered and exiled by the ASSYRIANS. Then 130 years after THAT, the southern kingdom of JUDAH did the same THING, so God sent the BABYLONIANS to crush and exile THEM.
But “when that HAPPENS,” Moses is urging God’s people here, CENTURIES beforehand, “just don’t forget: you can always come BACK.” “return,” v2, “to the Lord [YAHWEH] your God”.
And what is God’s PROMISE to those who WOULD turn BACK to Him? v3: “then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you”. And he won’t just RESTORE what you already HAD; v5 promises “he will make you even more prosperous and numerous than your fathers” were! That’s how FORGIVING and REDEMPTIVE our God is, Church: He wants to take even our FAILURES - even our SINS! - and if we’ll REPENT, and change COURSE, LEAVE the path of death that we’re on and RETURN to God’s path of LIFE, He assures us: “I’m so powerful and LOVING, I can use even your DIS-obedience to paradoxically bring about the GOOD plans I have for your life, to BLESS you and PROSPER you.”
Even ABORTION. 1 in 6 churchgoers have personally participated in an abortion: either HAD one, or ENCOURAGED it. This isn’t just an “issue”; this is PERSONAL for some of you - for MANY of you! Statistically speaking, a room this size, that’s about 30 to 35 of you for whom abortion is a part of your past… trauma. But God is offering to “RESTORE” you, to “have MERCY” on you this morning, if you will RETURN to Him.
But let’s be clear: the other 83% of us need repentance just as badly. Because even though “40% of women who’ve had an abortion were [actively attending] church when they ended their pregnancy”, “only 7 percent of those women discussed their abortion decision with anyone at church.” Why? Because “Two-thirds (65 percent) of them said they felt judged” by church members for being pregnant in the first place. “Fewer than half (41 percent) of abortive women believe churches are prepared to help with decisions about unwanted pregnancies.” Only 16% reported experiencing their church as “CARING”, and only 14% said their church was HELPFUL. (Focus on the Family, 2025; https://www.focusonthefamily.com/pro-life/abortion/survey-women-go-silently-from-church-to-abortion-clinic/)
So, Church, abortive women aren’t the ONLY ones who need repentance!
But it can start TODAY. In addition to plugging Reach’s wonderful LIFE-giving ministry, and encouraging you to connect more with them in the foyer after the service and get involved, I also wanna let you know about our very own “Wonderfully Made” ministry here. Cuz we don’t just wanna OUTSOURCE this, like unwanted pregnancies are “someone ELSE’S” problem - that’s what the Church EXISTS for: to CARE for those in greatest need, both scared moms AND vulnerable babies. So we have a team of folks here specifically trained and equipped to walk alongside you: whether you’ve HAD or ENCOURAGED an abortion and you’re seeking healing and restoration; or you’re CONSIDERING an abortion. Maybe you DID “choose life”, and now you’re struggling to make ends meet; kids are EXPENSIVE! But you’re not alone. You can reach out to ME, confidentially, and I’ll connect you with Cassidy Campbell, who LEADS our “Wonderfully Made” team… who also support our FOSTER families; SO many different facets to that ministry. Because “pro-LIFE” doesn’t just mean “pro-FETUS”, Amen? From the womb to the tomb - we care about ALL of life, because GOD cares.
We partner here with a national organization called “House of Refuge” that helps EQUIP and RESOURCE us on all this. And I just want to read for you their mission statement, so you know what we ARE committed to here:
“West Hills Church is a House of Refuge. This applies to everyone in this church and people you know who may be experiencing an unplanned pregnancy and needs a place of Refuge.
Here’s what we believe:
Every child, no matter how they are conceived, is an image bearer of God, knit together in the womb by Him. Please know that being pregnant is not a sin, and the child you carry is not a punishment. Regardless of the circumstances, we want you to know that you and your child are loved, and we are here to support you.
While we will never encourage or support the decision to have an abortion, it is important for you to know how our church will respond to those facing an unplanned pregnancy.
Here’s what we won’t do:
This church family will not gossip about you, shame you, or abandon you. This is a House of Refuge. We will not allow the family of God to harm others with words or actions contrary to the love of God as revealed in His Word.
Here’s what we will do:
We will walk with you every step of the way, helping you carry and care for your child both before and after birth. There are people in this church ready to mentor you, throw you a baby shower, and connect you with resources inside and outside of our church. We will also encourage men to become loving fathers who protect women and children.
If you are considering placing your child for adoption, please know that we will be here to encourage and support you as you make THAT loving decision.
If anyone in this church feels led to be involved in foster care or adoption, we will walk with you and provide resources and community to help you answer this call to care for children in need of a family.
Finally, if you had an abortion or been involved in an abortion, we want you to know that abortion is not an unforgivable sin. Proverbs 28:13 says, “Whoever confesses and forsakes their sin finds mercy.” If you have never gone through an abortion recovery Bible study, we will be happy to connect you to one so that you can walk in complete healing and freedom.”
But friends: we’ve got to recognize that it all STARTS with a new HEART. That’s what Moses means here in v6 when he says if you truly repent, “the Lord your God will circumcise your heart… so that you will love the Lord your God… that you may live.”
Choosing LIFE means choosing to love GOD, which we can’t DO without circumcised HEARTS; hearts that have had their SIN “snipped” away. And according to Romans 2 in the NT, there’s only ONE spiritual MOHEL for the job: not the LAW, but the SPIRIT. Only the Holy Spirit, when we come to saving faith in Christ, can circumcize our hearts, and remove ALL our sin, that we might be FREED to love and worship God with NEW hearts.
So I ask you PERSONALLY now - we’ve considered Israel’s context with their exile, and the abortion context and our need for collective repentance when it comes to truly standing for life, but what about in your PERSONAL life? Where is God calling you to “choose LIFE” this morning?
In your FINANCES? Perhaps you’ve been choosing debt and DEATH.
In your MARRIAGE? Perhaps you’ve been choosing bitterness and resentment…
In your PARENTING? Instead of choosing anger and impatience…
At WORK? Instead of choosing laziness or workaholism…
With your FREE TIME? Instead of choosing escapism OR listlessness…
You can choose LIFE today! But it begins with REPENTANCE: “if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face,” God says, “and turn from their wicked ways [REPENT!], then [here’s his PROMISE:] I will hear them from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land” ( 2 Chronicles 7:14). Friends: choosing life begins with US - God’s people - on our knees. In humble, heartfelt, prayerful, actionable REPENTANCE.
And that leads us right into God’s SECOND path of life for us here:
#2) We choose life by choosing OBEDIENCE. (vv7-16)
Obedience is the surest SIGN of true repentance. John the Baptist, in the NT, exhorted his hearers to “bear FRUIT in KEEPING with repentance” (Lk 3:8).
So too does MOSES exhort the ISRAELITES here, in vv7-16 now:
AFTER you’ve turned from your SIN… “you shall again obey the voice of the Lord and keep all his commandments that I command you today… For the Lord will again take delight in prospering you… when you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that are written in this Book of the Law”.
Do we believe that God gives us his LAW for our GOOD? To protect and preserve and promote and PROSPER LIFE for us? Do we believe that God “takes DELIGHT” in prospering us, through our obedience to His word? Or like stubborn, snotty-nosed little TODDLERS who insist on our OWN way instead - like ISRAEL, for MOST of the OT - do we see God’s Law as SQUELCHING our fun; STIFLING our lives and joy?
Friends: God wants LIFE for us - life to the FULLEST. And AS God, He uniquely knows how to LEAD us to it, the kind of “abundant life” he CREATED us to enjoy: we find life in obedience to God’s word, His good design of and desires for His children.
““See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. 16 If you obey the commandments of the Lord… by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you”.
It really is that SIMPLE, friends. It’s not EASY. Obedience doesn’t come EASY to sinful, stubborn, self-centered people like us, but it IS simple. Obey God and LIVE; disobey Him and PERISH.
Israel experienced this, BOTH sides of it. AFTER they had rebelled and fallen away to idolatry, and suffered God’s CURSE of exile that He’d warned them of, eventually, they DID repent. And in the book of Ezra, we hear of all the returned exiles gathering together to listen to their leaders read aloud for them… THIS! Deuteronomy! God’s LAW. And call them not ONLY to repentance but OBEDIENCE once more. It’s one thing to turn from sin; that’s an important FIRST step. But it’s another thing to actually walk in OBEDIENCE to God’s word.
It’s one thing for us to stop JUDGING and CONDEMNING abortion-minded mothers, it’s ANOTHER thing to walk alongside them, offering care and support through an unwanted pregnancy. It’s one thing to vicariously REPENT on behalf of our nation for the sin of abortion, boldly decrying it for the egregious injustice that it is, all over social media - that MAY have its place. But it’s a whole NOTHER thing to put your money where your mouth is and start FOSTERING those unwanted kids. ADOPT…
To OBEY God’s command to “CARE for the orphan”.
And once again, this invitation to “choose life” by choosing OBEDIENCE extends FAR beyond the confines of the abortion conversation. Just think back to some of those examples I listed with Choice #1:
It’s one thing to repent of your fiscal IR-responsibility; but it’s ANOTHER thing to actually stick to a BUDGET moving forward. To OBEY God’s command to “Owe no one anything” (Rom 13:8); avoid debt.
It’s ONE thing to repent of that bitterness and resentment toward your spouse; but it’s ANOTHER to actually FORGIVE their wrongs and choose to LOVE them in SPITE of it.
You can TURN from your anger and impatience in parenting, but will you OBEY God’s command to show your kids GRACE and TENDERNESS the NEXT time they throw your toothbrush in the toilet.
Obedience is the PROOF of genuine repentance. And here’s what vv11-14 add about it: obedience is POSSIBLE for us. “this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off”. And that’s Moses reassuring ISRAEL; how much MORE so is obedience to the Lord possible for us TODAY, now that Christ has actually written His law on our HEARTS, and indwelt us with His Holy SPIRIT, who EMPOWERS us to obey God’s commands.
Moses’ reminder in v14 is ESPECIALLY true of us today: “[God’s] word is very near you [indeed]. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it”, brother, sister. Obedience with our WORDS (‘mouth’) our DESIRES (‘heart’), and our ACTIONS (‘that we may DO it’).
In the NT, the apostle PAUL adapts this very passage to make the SAME argument about the obedience of FAITH in CHRIST: did you know that God COMMANDS us to trust in Christ for salvation. And Paul wants us to know that obeying that command is NOT “too HARD” or “far OFF” for us; he says:
“For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. [Obey and LIVE] 6 But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). [Paul’s saying, just like God’s LAW in the OT, so now God’s SON under the NEW Covenant - JESUS - he is not FAR from us!] ….because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved….. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”” (Rom 10:5-13)
It’s really that simple, friends. [Tell story of Ava meeting…]
And that brings us to our third and FINAL choice:
Friends, #3) We choose life by choosing THE LORD. (vv17-20)
Amos 5:6 puts it REALLY plainly for us: “Seek the Lord and live”.
Moses warns Israel AGAIN in v17: “if your heart turns away, and you… are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them… you shall surely perish. ”
BUT, he implores them now in v19 instead, to “choose life, that you and your offspring may live, [and what does it MEAN to live? V20: we truly LIVE when we] love the Lord our God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is our life”.
God isn’t just “pro-life”, friends, He IS LIFE. In HIM we live and move and have our very BEING (Ac 17:28). He is our life.
Are you CONNECTED to your Life-SOURCE this morning, friend? Jesus declared, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the LIFE; no one comes to God the Father, except through ME” (Jn 14:6). Jesus wants to RE-connect you to your loving Father, who GAVE you your life in the FIRST place; now Jesus offers you NEW life - ETERNAL life - this morning.
1 John 5:11-12 declares “God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
Which will YOU choose this morning? In Jesus’ name, I URGE you, friends: choose LIFE!
Let’s pray…