Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: The Hallelujah of Confession

The Testimony of the LORD

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Covenant Theology

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2007-01-14

Synopsis: John Weaver expounds Psalm 81:8-16, emphasizing the principle that blessings follow obedience and curses follow disobedience. He explains God's testimony against His people for their idolatry and refusal to listen, and the severe judgment of being given over to their own lusts. The sermon contrasts what Israel lost with what they could have enjoyed, and applies these lessons to modern believers, calling for repentance and obedience as the only path to victory and blessing.

[John Weaver] Open your Bibles to Psalm 81. Psalm 81. We're going to read verses 8 through 16, and that will be the text we'll be using today, Psalm 81. Let me tell you the title of the message. I'll give you two different titles. Actually, it's one long one, but you can shorten it if you desire. Actually, the message is entitled the testimony of the Lord, and you will find out why I chose that title and or the correlation between obedience and blessing. So the testimony of the Lord would just simply be the shortened title, or if you want the long title, the testimony of the Lord and the correlation between obedience and blessings. So look in Psalm 81, beginning there with verse eight. God says, Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee, hence the testimony of the Lord. Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee, O Israel, that thou wilt hearken unto me. There shall no strange God be in thee, neither shalt thou worship any strange God. I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt.

[John Weaver] Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. But my people would not hearken to my voice, and Israel would have none of me. So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust, and they walked in their own counsels. Oh, that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.

[John Weaver] The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto Him, but their time should have endured forever. He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat, and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee." I hope you remember that I have repeatedly taught you over the years a simple principle in the Word of God. And that principle is this, that blessings follow obedience and curses follow disobedience.

[John Weaver] Now, Psalm 81, verses 8 through 16, illustrates this principle very clearly. When you look at the mess that we're in in this country, We have to confess and acknowledge we are in the mess that we're in because of our own disobedience and our own failure. The fault is not with God. The fault is with us, and we're going to see that very clearly this morning out of Psalm 81. It is we who have sinned and rebelled and done wickedly against God.

[John Weaver] It's amazing as you read this passage Because you will discover that desire of our Heavenly Father is that He might bless us, and that He might hear us, and that He might give us victory. And He would do so as long as we're obedient unto Him. It doesn't matter if you're considering Deuteronomy 28 or Leviticus 26, which are two tremendous passages on the connection between obedience and blessing, and curses and disobedience. Or if you're just looking throughout Scripture, because you're going to find that one principle over and over. I want you to hold Psalm 81, but I want you to look in your Bibles right quickly to Deuteronomy chapter 11, and look at verses 27 and 28. Deuteronomy 11, verses 27 and 28. And the amazing thing is, it is so clearly specified in this passage, I do not see how anyone could misunderstand or not comprehend this truth. Notice Deuteronomy 11 and verse 27, God says this. In fact, let's read verse 26. He says, Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse.

[John Weaver] So you've got a choice of one or the other. I set before you this day a blessing and a curse. A blessing if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day, and a curse if you will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day to go after other gods which you have not known. So God says I'm setting before you a blessing and a curse. A blessing if you obey and a curse if you disobey.

[John Weaver] Now, inevitably, someone will usually object and say, but Brother Weaver, that verse and those promises were given to Old Testament Israel. Well, let me remind you of two passages which you have heard me quote over and over. And these two passages are found in the New Testament. The first one is Romans chapter 15 and verse 4. There the Apostle Paul said, For once ever things were written aforetime, that is the Old Testament, was written for our learning, and our admonition that we, through patience of the Scriptures, might have hope." Notice what he said. Once ever things were written aforetime was written for our learning and our admonition. So everything that happened in the Old Testament is for our learning and admonition. The second passage is found in 1 Corinthians 10.

[John Weaver] And if you want to look there very quickly, I'm particularly calling your attention to verses 6 and verse 11. Now, the interesting thing about 1 Corinthians 10 is this. Paul is giving the story about the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt And if you'll look in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 1, he says, Go over, brethren, I would not that you should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud and all passed through the sea. And he's talking about deliverance of Israel out of Egypt.

[John Weaver] Then he talks about their wandering in the wilderness. And then he says in verse 6, Now, these things, that is, everything that happened to Israel, were our examples. to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted." Then when you skip down to verse 11, he says, now all these things happened unto them for examples, and they're written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come. What is he saying? He's saying everything that happened to Israel in the Old Testament is for our admonition and our learning.

[John Weaver] And what the Apostle Paul does is this. He takes what happened to Old Testament Israel and applies it to the Corinthian church. in the New Testament. So very obviously there are applications that can be made today because those applications do not just simply apply to Israel in the Old Testament or to the Corinthian Church in the New Testament, but it applies to all of God's people in all ages.

[John Weaver] Now, if you were to examine very carefully the passage of Psalm 81 verses 8 through 16 and comprehend its impact you will discover the reason for individual, family, ecclesiastical, and national judgments. You will find out why God judges and why God curses. May I remind you that God has not changed and that God does not change because God is immutable. And the very things that He judged 4,000 years ago He still judges today. Now, if you look in Psalm 81 and verse 8, I want you to note the sovereign's testimony.

[John Weaver] He says, Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee, O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me. Now, it is not unusual for a ruler to testify against his subjects, especially if that ruler happens to be the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth. So what does God say? He said, listen to me, and I'm going to testify.

[John Weaver] Now the Hebrew word for testify is the word Ud in the Hebrew, and it is translated in our Bibles as testify, protest, witness, record, and charge. So it has the force then of bearing witness, enjoining, giving a warning, or testifying against someone as in a criminal or in a civil case.

[John Weaver] Now, let me just give you several examples. Turn in your Bibles, if you would, very quickly to Deuteronomy chapter 8. Let me show you how this word is used and you're going to see, I hope, the impact of God's testimony. Notice in Deuteronomy chapter 8 and verse 19. Deuteronomy 8 God says, And it shall be, if thou do it all, forget the Lord thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them.

[John Weaver] I testify against you this day, that you shall surely perish. Now what did God just say? I'm warning you. If you disobey me and if you go after other gods, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. Look in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 30 and verse 19. Deuteronomy 30 and verse 19.

[John Weaver] Now God says it a little differently, but it's the same truth. Deuteronomy 30 verse 19, God says, I call heaven and earth to record this day against you that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore, choose life that both thou and thy seed may live. He said, I call heaven and earth to witness or to testify or to record or record against you this day. I've set before you the way of life and death. Look if you would in Deuteronomy chapter 31 and verse 18. Deuteronomy 31 verse 18. Deuteronomy 31. I've got verse 18, but I don't think that's the right verse. It must be verse. What? Verse 12. Verse 12, he says, gather the people together, men, women, and children, and the stranger that is with thy gates, that they may hear and that they may learn and fear the Lord your God and observe to do all the words of this law. Well, that is still not the verse that I wanted, but it does start with gather.

[John Weaver] Let me give you the verse. Let me see if I've just gotten it down. All right. Verse 28. Verse 28, that's the verse I wanted. I put down verse 18. He says, Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them, or to record against them. In other words, God is saying, look, I'm testifying against you. Skip down, if you would please, to Deuteronomy 32 in verse 1. Now look what he says. Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak, and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth." What's he doing?

[John Weaver] He's giving a witness again. He's testifying. He's recording. This is what I've said, and this is what I'm going to do.

[John Weaver] Now, one last passage before we go further, and that's Psalm 50 and verse 7. Psalm 50 and verse 7. Notice how closely this resembles Psalm 81 and verse 8. But in Psalm 50 and verse 7, he says, Hear, O my people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against thee. I am God, even thy God. Now, all through Scripture, you can see how God testifies. He records, He bears a record, He speaks against, Now, go back in your Bible, Psalm 81, and look, if you would please, at verse 8.

[John Weaver] To me, this is absolutely amazing. He says in verse 8, Hear, O my people, and I will testify. And then he says, O Israel, if I will hearken. Is it not amazing to you that God has to look at his own people and say, Listen up, hear me. Give me your ear, hearken unto me. In other words, Israel was so insensitive to God, she would not listen. And therefore, God had to speak to them, get their attention to make them listen. Is it not amazing today that most professing Christians could care less about what God says? And therefore, God has to slap us up against the head to get our attention.

[John Weaver] You've heard that old story about the proverbial mule. And the man bought the mule and said, I thought you told me this mule would obey. And the former owner came and said, well, let me show you. And he picked up the two by four and hit him upside the head. And he says, now he'll obey. You've just got to get his attention first. Well, that's the way it is with us. Now, let me show you what the Lord testifies against His people. There are five things.

[John Weaver] Look in verses 8 and 9 together. First of all, He testifies to the exclusiveness of His covenant. In verses 8 and 9, Here, O my people, I will testify to thee, O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me, there shall no strange god be in thee, neither shalt thou worship any strange god. Let me tell you that verse 9 delineates the core issue of God's testimony against his people. Do you remember when God gave the law in two passages?

[John Weaver] You have it in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy chapter 5. Do you remember how God started out in Exodus chapter 20 verses 2 and 3? He said, I am the Lord. who have brought thee out of the house of Egypt, thou shalt have no other gods before me." And then when you get to Deuteronomy chapter 5, he says it again, I am the Lord thy God who brought thee out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage, thou shalt have no other gods before me. Now, look if you would at verses 8 and 9 together. He says, Hear, O my people, O Israel, if thou wilt hearken, There shall no strange God be in thee." In other words, what God is doing is reminding Israel and reminding His people that they should be contented with Him alone. that they were to be exclusively His people, there was to be no strange God found in them.

[John Weaver] This is the core issue of the covenant. What did God tell Israel? God said, I will be your God and you shall be My people. In other words, here is an exclusiveness. I'm your God and you're My people.

[John Weaver] Now, no man, and I would say no woman, No man especially wants to enter into a marriage covenant with a woman and then find out she's sleeping with all the other men in town. What does the marriage covenant mean? It means that the woman is to belong to the man exclusively and the man is to belong to the woman exclusively. That's what covenants are all about. That's what God's covenant was. I am your God. You are my people. And you know something? God is said to be a jealous God. In fact, jealous is one of the names given of God in the Bible. In Exodus 34 and verse 14, God says this, For thou shalt worship no other God, for the Lord whose name is jealous is a jealous God. In Deuteronomy 4 in verse 24, he says, for the Lord by God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God. I would be jealous over my wife. I would hope she would be jealous over me. And God is jealous over his people.

[John Weaver] We are to be his. Do you remember what God said in Isaiah 42 in verse 8? Now, listen to this. He said, I am the Lord. That is my name, and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise nor graven images." God does not want His people living for, or praising, or recognizing even, false gods. You just stop and think about that. And you know, I've mentioned some things like this to you in time past, and this is not in the message, but it just came to my mind.

[John Weaver] When we talk about our good fortune, Fortunatus was a Greek goddess or Roman goddess. It's not good fortune. It's the providence of God. It's not good luck. It's the providence of God. It's something that God has done. And when we talk about our good luck or our good fortune, we're giving praise to a false God. Instead of thanking the one true and the living God for it, what God is saying is, look, I require you to be exclusively mine.

[John Weaver] I want you to hold Psalm 81, but turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians 6. Because inevitably, some people just cannot think things through for themselves. And I want to show you, because I want to make this exceedingly plain, the same exact thing is said in the New Testament. So if you'll look in 2 Corinthians 6, if you would, and let's begin reading there with verse 14. 2 Corinthians 6 and verse 14. What does God tell his people in the New Testament? Here it is.

[John Weaver] Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. Why? Here's the questions. For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? The answer is none. What communion hath light with darkness? The answer is none. What concord hath Christ with the devil? Or what agreement hath Christ with the devil or with a false god? None. Or what part hath he that believeth in an infidel? None. And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? None. For you are the temple of the living God. Now watch. As God hath said, I will dwell in them and walk in them and I will be their God and they shall be my people.

[John Weaver] Wherefore, come ye not from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you, and I will be a father unto you, and you shall be my sons and my daughters, saith the Lord God Almighty." The same exact thing that he said of Israel in the Old Testament, he says of the church and his people in the New Testament. I'm just simply pointing out, folks, God wants us to be totally separate from false gods and to be totally and completely his. As my wife is to be exclusively my property, and if I am to be exclusively her property, so we the people of God are to be exclusively his.

[John Weaver] So he testifies then to the exclusivity of the covenant. He said this means I am your God and you are to be my people.

[John Weaver] Now look in verse 10 of Psalm 81. He now testifies to the extensiveness of the covenant. Psalm 81, verse 10, not only exclusiveness, but to the extensiveness of his covenant. In verse 10, he says, I am the Lord, thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt. Open thy mouth wide and I will fill it.

[John Weaver] Now, let me just tell you something to me that is very apparent, and yet I really rejoice in this. God's redemption does not simply relate to that which is past, but to that which is present and future as well.

[John Weaver] Now, in verse 10, he gives three arguments as to why his people are bound to him. First, verse 10, he says, I am the Lord by God. In other words, his name, His character, His position. I am the Lord your God. I am Yahweh. I am Jehovah. I am the one true and the living God. I am the being of beings in whom all live and move and have their being. I am the covenant God. And by the way, since He is the one true and the living God, that is reason enough. while we should love Him, and serve Him, and worship Him, and be bound to Him. He is the One true of the living God, and beside Him there is none other. Listen to what He said, Isaiah 43 and verse 11. I, even I, am the Lord, and beside Me there is no Savior. When you get to Isaiah 44 and verse 6, He says this, Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of Hosts, I am the first, and I am the last, and beside me there is no God."

[John Weaver] Then in Isaiah 45, verses 5 and 6, he said, I am the Lord, and there is none else. There is no God beside me. Huh. God alone is God. that we may know him from the rising of the sun to the setting of the sun. There is no God but God. That is reason enough to serve him and to worship him. When you understand that he's the one true and the living God, that means he's the creator. He's the sustainer. He's the preserver. He's the Lord. He's the savior. He's the provider. He's everything.

[John Weaver] So he says, first of all. You know who I am. I've revealed myself to you. That's reason enough to serve him. But second, look what he says in verse 10, I'm the Lord by God who brought thee out of the land of Egypt. Now, his claim of delivering his people from Egypt was a claim of his people's allegiance, and God usually pleads this. What he's saying is you are morally bound to worship me and to be mine because I am the one who delivered you. Now, you say, Brother Weaver, I was never delivered out of Egypt. Ha!

[John Weaver] That happened thousands of years ago. Oh? Well, I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Peter chapter 1. The truth of the matter is this. You may not have been delivered from physical Egypt, but you certainly were delivered from spiritual Egypt if you are a child of God. And by the way, your deliverance from spiritual Egypt is far greater than the deliverance from physical Egypt. You remember what happened in the Exodus?

[John Weaver] What did they have to kill? A lamb? And they put the blood over the doorposts. Well, look if you would please, in 1 Peter 1, I believe it is, 1 Peter 1, that's what I want, verses 18 and 19. He says, for as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition of your fathers, no, no, no, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. In the Old Testament, they used the blood of the Lamb. In the New Testament, it was the blood of the Lamb of God. If physically delivering Israel out of Egypt morally bound them to serve God, how much more does spiritually delivering us through His only begotten Son morally bind us to worship and serve Him? Our redemption through Christ is far greater than the redemption that was through the blood of the physical Lamb. By the way, I want you to note that Paul's argument for our serving God is based upon this.

[John Weaver] You know, all of us can quote Romans 12, 1 and 2. Where Paul said, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service and be not conformed to this world, but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind. I want you to go back to verse one. He said, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God. That's Romans 12. Verse one, isn't it amazing that in Romans three through chapter eight, he talks about our justification. In chapters nine and 10, he talks about our election, our predestination, our calling, Our regeneration. Oh, and now he gets an 11 and chapter 11 deals with that as well. Then you get a chapter 12 and he says, I'll be seeing you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, what mercies is he talking about? All those mercies that he's displayed through the previous 11 chapters. Based upon that, he says, you present your bodies a living sacrifice.

[John Weaver] It is God's mercies that He has redeemed us and saved us and called us and chose us. Therefore, he says, you have an obligation to God to present your body as a living sacrifice. We are even greater, in a greater sense of the word, morally bound to God. He is not just our Creator. He is our Redeemer, our Savior, our Lord, as well as our Provider. Then thirdly, if you look at it in verse 10 of Psalm 81, here's the third claim. He says in verse 10, I'm the Lord thy God who brought thee out of the land of Egypt. Open thy mouth wide and I will fill it.

[John Weaver] Now, you remember I said earlier, That God's redemption is not confined to the past. It includes the present and the future. God controls all providence. Are you listening? There is nothing that happens by chance in a world that is ruled by God. God says, open thy mouth wide and I'll fill it. What is he saying? I'm able to supply your every need. I'm able to give you more and over and abundantly over that which you need or could possibly want. What God is saying is I am the all-sufficient God.

[John Weaver] I will be nigh to you as long as you are nigh to me. As long as you obey me, I'll be your kind and gracious benefactor. Do you remember the argument that Moses used in Deuteronomy 4 and verse 7? Let me just read it. Here's what Moses said, For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon Him for? So God then does more than deliver us spiritually. God doesn't just save us and drop us.

[John Weaver] What He is saying is, I'm willing to bless you. I want to bless you. Open your mouth wide and I'll Fill it. Are you listening? Our insufficiency, our lack is not any trouble on God's part. He is able. The trouble is on our part. We're disobedient. What is God saying? God said, I want to give you the fulfillment of my covenant blessings. Open your mouth wide. I'll stuff it full.

[John Weaver] You know, there was an old Persian custom. That when the king was pleased with one of his servants or his ambassadors. He would call him into his presence and tell him to open his mouth. And he would then stuff his mouth full of either sweet meats or sometimes jewels. as much as he could hold in his mouth. That's what God is saying. Open your mouth wide. I'll give you not just a stomach full, but more than you can chew on. I'm willing.

[John Weaver] So he gives then and he testifies to the extensiveness of his covenant. It goes far beyond spiritual salvation. It includes that, but includes so much more as well. Notice thirdly, In Psalm 81, he testifies to their enmity to his covenant. Now, the word enmity is a strong word for hatred. Look at it in verse 11. Look what he testifies against his people. But my people would not hearken to my voice, and Israel would have none of me.

[John Weaver] You know, That is an astounding situation. A people who owed so much to God and yet thought so little of Him. They thought so little of Him, they didn't even want to hear Him. They not only did not want to hear Him, they wanted nothing to do with Him. Some parents get just a little smattering of this. When we raise our children and we bless them and we give them things and then they turn and rebel against us, they won't listen to us, they hate us, they despise us. That's just a little tiny smattering of what it must be like. to grieve the heart of God when we, his people, refuse to listen to him. Have you ever noticed in the Bible, over and over, how God says, hear my words. Hear, O my people. And isn't it interesting that when the prophets would always preach, they usually began with these words, hear ye the word of the Lord. We want you to listen to what God says. I want you to look in your Bibles, whole Psalm 81, but turn to Jeremiah chapter 11 and verse 10.

[John Weaver] Jeremiah 11 and verse 10. And let me show you how God testified against his people in one instance here. Jeremiah 11. And notice, if you would please, verse 10. Jeremiah 11 and verse 10. Look what he says. Jeremiah 11, verse 10, they are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers who refuse to hear my words. And they went after other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant, which I've made with their fathers.

[John Weaver] Now, I find this interesting. He says they are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers. And then he says, who refuse to hear my words and then notice And they went after other gods who served them. Do you realize that when you refuse to hear the Word of God, you always go into idolatry? Always! Let me make it even more plainer. Not just plainer, but more plainer. Heaps of pluralities up. Much more plainer. When you refuse to hear God, You not only go into idolatry, that is idolatry. Because you've already set yourself up above God and determined that you are God and you don't need to hear him. So anytime you refuse to hear God, it's not that you're just going into idolatry, it is idolatry. And God says.

[John Weaver] My people who should have loved me, hated me. You talk about ungratefulness, unthankfulness, insensitivity. They wouldn't even listen to Him. So God then testifies to their enmity to His covenant. Then fourthly, if you look in verse 12, he testifies to their exclusion from his covenant. So I gave them up unto their own hearts lusts. And they walked after their own counsels.

[John Weaver] Now, let me tell you, you may not recognize this instantaneously, but this is an awful and horrendous judgment. He said, so I gave them up to their own heart's lust and they walked after their own counsel. Have you ever noticed as you read through, especially the Book of Judges? Many times when Israel sinned, he gave them into the hands of the Amorites or the Philistines or the Etites or some other nation.

[John Weaver] Now, that was bad, but it was not as bad as this. Not even being delivered over to Satan is as bad as this. See, when you get to 1 Corinthians chapter 5, when you're talking about the discipline in the New Testament church, Paul told that church to deliver such a one over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh. Then he added that the Spirit might be saved. You see, so when God delivers you over to chastisement, even to nations, or when God delivers you over to Satan, there is, in one sense of the word, hope, because there may be salvation in that. But when God delivers you over to your own heart's lust to walk in your own counsel, that is damnation.

[John Weaver] There is no deliverance from that. There is no salvation from that. It is the righteous judgment of God to deliver people over to their own haunched lust, who do not want to hear God. Let me show you. Turn in your Bibles, whole Psalm 81, but turn to Romans chapter one. You know this passage, and I'll show you another passage. But look in Romans chapter one, verse 24. Romans one, verse 24. In fact, let's begin reading with verse 21. Romans 1 verse 21. You there? Romans 1 verse 21. Watch carefully. Because when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, Neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

[John Weaver] Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like a corruptible man to birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things." What did they do? They didn't want to listen to God. They refused God. They turned from Him. They turned into a gross idolatry. Verse 24,"...wherefore God also gave them up." to the uncleanness through the lust of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves, who change the truth of God into a lie, and worship and serve the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. For this cause God gave them up to vile affections, For even their women did change the natural use of that which is against nature, and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lusts one toward another, men with men, working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meek. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient."

[John Weaver] Three times God gave them up. Why? They did not like to retain God in their knowledge. They wanted their lusts. If you will turn in your Bibles to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. And notice verses 11 and 12. You'll see the same truth. 2 Thessalonians 2 verses 11 and 12. In fact, we'll begin reading in verse 10. 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 10, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish, because they received not the love of truth, that they might be saved. Notice, they would not receive God's truth. Now notice verse 11, And for this cause, because they would not receive God's truth, God shall send them a strong delusion that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. They didn't want to hear God. They didn't want to do what was right, they wanted their lusts. God says, have at it.

[John Weaver] I'll let you have them. The Hebrew word for gave back in Psalm 81 is the Hebrew word shalach, which is variously translated in our Bibles as to send away, to send out, to put away, to cast away, to let loose, to divorce. Notice what the Bible said. So he gave them up. What did he do? He divorced them. I don't want you. You can go. When God gives up a people, he withdraws his restraining grace from them.

[John Weaver] He takes the bridle off of them. And he allows them to do as they will. But we've got to remember something, folks. When God allows the people to do as they will, that does not negate the fact that God can still do as He wills. And therefore, in Hosea 4 and verse 17, he said this. Listen carefully. Ephraim is joined to idols. Let him alone. He doesn't want me to interfere in his life. Don't worry, says God. I'll not interfere.

[John Weaver] He can follow all of his counsels and all of his heart's lust to his heart's desire. But the end is damnation. Not salvation. God said my people would not listen to me. They would have none of me. All they wanted was their sins and their rebellions. So I gave them up. I let them have what they wanted. Listen carefully. God's grace is his own. He is debtor to no man. God never gave his grace to any who deserved it. And he never took it from anyone except those who forfeited it.

[John Weaver] So he says, you don't want it? Fine. Do what you will. No greater judgment can fall upon man than to be left alone by God. Let them alone. You know, I'm going to preach on that sometime, but you know, our Lord said that in Matthew. He said, the blind lead the blind, and if the blind lead the blind, they shall both fall in the ditch. Let them alone. When God lets somebody alone, it's just merely damnation. No greater judgment.

[John Weaver] Now, look in your Bibles to Psalm 81 and verses 13 through 16, 13 through 16.

[John Weaver] I want to read this and then I'm going to come back and comment on it. Look at it. God says, Oh, that my people had hearkened unto me. And Israel had walked in my ways. I should soon have subdued their enemies and turn my hand against their adversaries. The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto him, but their time should have endured forever. He should have fed them also with the finest of wheat, and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied them."

[John Weaver] Now in verses 13 through 16, God testifies, listen, to the enjoyments of His covenant. To the enjoyments of His covenant. In this passage, God shows Israel what might have been. If they had obeyed Him, they would have enjoyed the fruits of His covenant.

[John Weaver] Now, I find this so astonishing that God begins verse 13 with a conditional particle, O. O. He says, O, that my people had hearkened unto me.

[John Weaver] Now, the Hebrew word is the word Lu, which means, are you listening? Would God, or O that it might be, or if haply, or peradventure, here's what God is saying, O I would to God that my people had listened to me. That's what he's saying. The mood in the Hebrew is in the optative mood. It may not mean nothing to you, but when you see something in the optative mood, it means this, it is a wish. contrary to reality or a wish contrary to fact. We've just found out that the fact is they would not listen to God. They would not have anything to do with God.

[John Weaver] They wanted no part of Him. And now He comes and He says, Oh, I wish that my people had hearkened unto me and Israel had walked in my way. Let me tell you. There is no easy way to say this. But God's people sometimes are dumber than rocks. I know they're dumber than animals. You say, how can you say that, Isaiah one in verse three, God says this, the ox knoweth his owner and the master his crib, but my people doth not know, my people doth not consider.

[John Weaver] I got news for you. I call my cows and they come. They see that golf cart and they come running. And you let General Farr see that big white bucket and I guarantee he'll come on the run. He knows where he's fed. But God said, my people do not know. They don't consider. We don't even consider what might have been. To me, when you get to verse 13, it is an amazing fact of God's condescending love.

[John Weaver] And then he expresses great pain at his people's disobedience. Oh, I would to God. Basically, that's what he's saying. I would to God that my people had hearkened to me and Israel had walked in my ways. Now, wait a minute. Let me show you one other passage, whole Psalm 81, and turn in your Bibles to Matthew 23, because you're going to find the Lord Jesus Christ using exactly the same expression. Notice, if you would, Matthew 23 and begin reading there in verse 37. Matthew 23, verse 37. Look what our Lord says as he laments over Jerusalem. He says, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee. What's he saying? You won't hear the word of the Lord. You won't listen. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee.

[John Weaver] How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under the wings, and you would not. You wouldn't listen to me. You would have none of me. Therefore, in verse 38, he says, Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. When God gave Jerusalem over. What happened in 70 A.D.? Millions, millions killed. I'm just simply saying, folks. Can you not hear The condescension and the love of God in this verse when he says, oh, that my people had hearkened unto me and Israel had walked in my ways. God saying, I'd much rather they had enjoyed the fruits of my covenant. I'd much rather they had been obedient. But now. They're judged. Now, I want you to look in verse 14. You consider what Israel missed and at the same time consider what we are missing by our disobedience. Look in verse 14, God said, I should soon have subdued their enemies and turn my hand against their adversaries. What? All the enemies of his people, he said, I would have subdued them.

[John Weaver] I would have turned my hand against their adversary. They would not have had to lift up a sword. They would not have had to pull back an arrow. They wouldn't have had to shot an AK. I would have subdued their enemies. I would have given them victory. I hope you're beginning to realize our greatest defense is obedience to God. He goes further. Look in verse 15. If Israel had obeyed, he says the haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto him, but their time should have endured forever.

[John Weaver] Now let me explain that. He said. If they had listened, if they had obeyed, he would have subdued their enemies. He would have turned his head against their adversaries to the extent that the haters of the Lord would have submitted themselves.

[John Weaver] Now, their submission may not have been real and genuine, but on the other hand, their submission would have been so real and so genuine, the enemies of the Lord could have never, ever lifted a hand against Israel. And that's what he's saying in the latter part of verse 15, but their time, that is Israel's time, should have endured forever. In other words, everyone would have been seeking to make peace with them because of the blessings of the Lord upon them. He's saying that his blessings would be so thorough, there'd be no rebellion in the land. Hmm.

[John Weaver] Do you remember the passage in the book of Joshua? The book of Genesis? When Jacob went out and when Joshua went out and the power of God was upon them, you remember this passage, it says, and the fear of the Lord fell upon the people of the lands. They feared Israel, they feared the people of God, they weren't about to touch. He says their time should have endured forever, that is, they would have been firmly established, their prosperity would not have ceased.

[John Weaver] Nothing confirms a church or a state. As much as obedience to God and holy walking before the Lord. You remember, the Bible says in Proverbs 14 in verse 34 that righteousness exalted the nation, but sin is reproach to any people. And then look in verse 16. We're talking about missed enjoyments. He said he should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat, and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee. Under the emblems of the finest wheat and the purest honey, he's saying you would have had more than spiritual blessings.

[John Weaver] You would have had physical, financial, any kind of blessing that you could imagine. It would be yours. It would be yours to the extent that you would say, it's enough. It's enough. Don't give me any more. I can't handle any more of it. Let me give you one quote by Spurgeon, and Spurgeon is making a comment on verse 16, and he says this. Luxuries. All of us would like to have luxuries. He says luxuries as well as necessities would be forthcoming.

[John Weaver] The very rocks of the land would yield abundant and sweet supplies. The bees would store the clefts of the rocks with luscious honey, and so turn the most sterile part of the land to good account." Now, if the most sterile part of the... What can grow on a rock? If the most sterile part of the land is abundant and thriving, what must be the fertile part of the land? He said, the bees would store the clefts of the rock with luscious honey, and so turn the most sterile part of the land to good account.

[John Weaver] The Lord can do great things for an obedient people. When His people walk in the light of His countenance and maintain unsullied holiness, the joy and consolation which He yields them are beyond conception. To them the joys of heaven have begun even upon earth. They can sing in the ways of the Lord. The spring of the eternal summer has commenced within them. They are already blessed and they look for brighter things.

[John Weaver] This shows us, by contrast, how sad a thing it is for a child of God to sell himself into captivity and sin and bring his soul into a state of famine by following after another God. O Lord, forever bind us to thyself alone and keep us faithful unto the end." What did God say? God said, if you had obeyed me, I would have given you the finest of wheat and the purest of the honey.

[John Weaver] Let me make just three short applications this morning. Think about these. We could really and truly consider this passage under three points. What we had. What we lost. And what we might have had. You think. Of America. what we had in the beginning of this country. We had a believing people who worshiped the one true and the living God, generally speaking, I mean as a whole. You think of what we lost in the last 150 years and what we could have had today Had our forefathers continued in obedience? The reason we're in such desperate straits in this country. Is because many people.

[John Weaver] Do not even know what we had. They don't even know what we lost. They don't even know how to recover that which was lost and they have no conception of what might have been. Or what we could have by the grace of God. The second application is this. God is teaching us that true religion, and by that I mean true Christianity, begins, continues, and ends with obedience.

[John Weaver] Let me make a statement. It is impossible to belong to the Lord and be continually disobedient. I did not say that you would never be disobedient. All of us are sinners. But if you have constant and continual disobedience in your life, something is wrong with you. What did our Lord say in Luke 6 in verse 46? Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say unto you? In other words, the word Lord means boss, owner, master, sovereign. Jesus Christ saying, if I'm really your boss, you will obey me. And if I'm not your boss, you will not obey me. So disobedience then demonstrates that we are not His. while obedience demonstrates that we are genuinely His.

[John Weaver] And the third application is this, if we want victory over our enemies, and I'll tell you very carefully and very quickly, I want to see old Babylon fall. I want to see her go down. If we want victory over our enemies, it must be on God's terms. And God's terms are repentance and obedience. The use of arms will be useless without repentance and obedience. True victory will come no other way. God said, if my people had just listened to me, if they had just obeyed me, I should soon have subdued their enemies and turned my hand against their adversaries.

[John Weaver] And the haters of the Lord would have submitted themselves. And we would have had peace and victory and prosperity, the finest wheat of the purest honey. Victory only comes on God's terms. And his terms is we must hear and we must obey. Let's pray. Father, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ for your grace and mercy to us. Lord, teach us today the correlation between obedience and blessing.

[John Weaver] If we want greater blessings. We must have greater obedience. If we want greater blessings, we must hear thy word and bring our lives into conformity unto it. Give us grace, Lord, to serve thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear, and give us, Lord, obedience. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

The Testimony of the LORD

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	3707174159
Subject	Covenant Theology
Course	Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: The Hallelujah of Confession
Genre	Sermon
Date	2007-01-14
Dictation Name
Book	Book 042: Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: God's Answer to America's Problems — Chapter 6
Source Timed Segments	82

Formatted Transcript

Introduction: The Principle of Obedience and Blessing

Weaver introduces the sermon's theme: blessings follow obedience and curses follow disobedience, a principle illustrated in Psalm 81:8-16 and throughout Scripture.

Open your Bibles to Psalm 81. Psalm 81. We're going to read verses 8 through 16, and that will be the text we'll be using today, Psalm 81. Let me tell you the title of the message. I'll give you two different titles. Actually, it's one long one, but you can shorten it if you desire. Actually, the message is entitled "The Testimony of the LORD," and you will find out why I chose that title and/or the correlation between obedience and blessing. So "The Testimony of the LORD" would just simply be the shortened title, or if you want the long title, "The Testimony of the LORD and the Correlation Between Obedience and Blessings." So look in Psalm 81, beginning there with verse 8. God says,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 81:8-16

"Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee"

—hence the testimony of the LORD—

Scripture Reading — Psalm 81:8-16

"Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me; there shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god. I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt." "Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels. Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries." "The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever. He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee."

I hope you remember that I have repeatedly taught you over the years a simple principle in the Word of God. And that principle is this, that blessings follow obedience and curses follow disobedience.

Now, Psalm 81, verses 8 through 16, illustrates this principle very clearly. When you look at the mess that we're in in this country, we have to confess and acknowledge we are in the mess that we're in because of our own disobedience and our own failure. The fault is not with God. The fault is with us, and we're going to see that very clearly this morning out of Psalm 81. It is we who have sinned and rebelled and done wickedly against God.

The Sovereign's Testimony

God testifies against His people, calling them to hear and obey. The Hebrew word for testify implies bearing witness or warning, as seen in other Old Testament passages.

He says, "Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me." Now, it is not unusual for a ruler to testify against his subjects, especially if that ruler happens to be the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth. So what does God say? He said, "Listen to me, and I'm going to testify." Now the Hebrew word for testify is the word `ud` in the Hebrew, and it is translated in our Bibles as testify, protest, witness, record, and charge. So it has the force then of bearing witness, enjoining, giving a warning, or testifying against someone as in a criminal or in a civil case.

Now, let me just give you several examples. Turn in your Bibles, if you would, very quickly to Deuteronomy chapter 8. Let me show you how this word is used and you're going to see, I hope, the impact of God's testimony. Notice in Deuteronomy chapter 8 and verse 19. Deuteronomy 8, God says, "And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish."

Now what did God just say? I'm warning you. If you disobey me and if you go after other gods, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. Look in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 30 and verse 19. Deuteronomy 30 and verse 19.

Now God says it a little differently, but it's the same truth. Deuteronomy 30 verse 19, God says,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 30:19

"I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live."

He said,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 30:19

"I call heaven and earth to witness"

or to testify or to record against you this day. I've set before you the way of life and death. Look if you would in Deuteronomy chapter 31 and verse 28. Deuteronomy 31 verse 28. He says,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 30:19

"Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them."

In other words, God is saying, look, I'm testifying against you. Skip down, if you would please, to Deuteronomy 32 in verse 1. Now look what he says. "Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth." What's he doing?

He's giving a witness again. He's testifying. He's recording. This is what I've said, and this is what I'm going to do. He's giving a witness again. He's testifying. He's recording. This is what I've said, and this is what I'm going to do.

Now, one last passage before we go further, and that's Psalm 50 and verse 7. Psalm 50 and verse 7. Notice how closely this resembles Psalm 81 and verse 8. But in Psalm 50 and verse 7, he says,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 50:7

"Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God."

Now, all through Scripture, you can see how God testifies. He records, He bears a record, He speaks against. Now, go back in your Bible, Psalm 81, and look, if you would please, at verse 8. To me, this is absolutely amazing. He says in verse 8,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 50:7

"Hear, O my people, and I will testify."

And then he says, "O Israel, if thou wilt hearken." Is it not amazing to you that God has to look at his own people and say, "Listen up, hear me. Give me your ear, hearken unto me." In other words, Israel was so insensitive to God, she would not listen. And therefore, God had to speak to them, get their attention to make them listen. Is it not amazing today that most professing Christians could care less about what God says? And therefore, God has to slap us up against the head to get our attention.

The Exclusiveness of the Covenant

God demands exclusive worship, forbidding strange gods. This is the core of the covenant, likened to a marriage where God is a jealous God.

Look in verses 8 and 9 together. First of all, He testifies to the exclusiveness of His covenant. In verses 8 and 9, "Hear, O my people, I will testify to thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me; there shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god." Let me tell you that verse 9 delineates the core issue of God's testimony against his people. Do you remember when God gave the law in two passages? You have it in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy chapter 5. Do you remember how God started out in Exodus chapter 20 verses 2 and 3? He said,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 20:2-3

"I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

And then when you get to Deuteronomy chapter 5, he says it again,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 20:2-3

"I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage. Thou shalt have none other gods before me."

Now, look if you would at verses 8 and 9 together. He says, "Hear, O my people, O Israel, if thou wilt hearken; there shall no strange god be in thee." In other words, what God is doing is reminding Israel and reminding His people that they should be contented with Him alone. That they were to be exclusively His people, there was to be no strange God found in them.

This is the core issue of the covenant. What did God tell Israel? God said, "I will be your God and you shall be My people." In other words, here is an exclusiveness. I'm your God and you're My people.

Now, no man, and I would say no woman—no man especially wants to enter into a marriage covenant with a woman and then find out she's sleeping with all the other men in town. What does the marriage covenant mean? It means that the woman is to belong to the man exclusively and the man is to belong to the woman exclusively. That's what covenants are all about. That's what God's covenant was. I am your God. You are my people. And you know something? God is said to be a jealous God. In fact, jealous is one of the names given of God in the Bible. In Exodus 34 and verse 14, God says this,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 34:14

"For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God."

In Deuteronomy 4 in verse 24, he says, "For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God." I would be jealous over my wife. I would hope she would be jealous over me. And God is jealous over his people.

We are to be his. Do you remember what God said in Isaiah 42 in verse 8? Now, listen to this. He said,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 42:8

"I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images."

God does not want His people living for, or praising, or recognizing even, false gods. You just stop and think about that. And you know, I've mentioned some things like this to you in time past, and this is not in the message, but it just came to my mind.

When we talk about our good fortune, Fortunatus was a Greek goddess or Roman goddess. It's not good fortune. It's the providence of God. It's not good luck. It's the providence of God. It's something that God has done. And when we talk about our good luck or our good fortune, we're giving praise to a false God. Instead of thanking the one true and the living God for it, what God is saying is, look, I require you to be exclusively mine.

I want you to hold Psalm 81, but turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians 6. Because inevitably, some people just cannot think things through for themselves. And I want to show you, because I want to make this exceedingly plain, the same exact thing is said in the New Testament. So if you'll look in 2 Corinthians 6, if you would, and let's begin reading there with verse 14. 2 Corinthians 6 and verse 14. What does God tell his people in the New Testament? Here it is.

"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers." Why? Here's the questions. "For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?" The answer is none. "What communion hath light with darkness?" The answer is none. "What concord hath Christ with Belial?" Or what agreement hath Christ with the devil or with a false god? None. "Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?" None. "And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?" None. "For ye are the temple of the living God." Now watch. "As God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."

"Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." The same exact thing that he said of Israel in the Old Testament, he says of the church and his people in the New Testament. I'm just simply pointing out, folks, God wants us to be totally separate from false gods and to be totally and completely his. As my wife is to be exclusively my property, and if I am to be exclusively her property, so we the people of God are to be exclusively his. So he testifies then to the exclusivity of the covenant. He said this means I am your God and you are to be my people.

The Extensiveness of the Covenant

God's redemption includes past deliverance, present provision, and future blessing. He is the all-sufficient God who invites His people to open their mouths wide.

Now look in verse 10 of Psalm 81. He now testifies to the extensiveness of the covenant. Psalm 81, verse 10, not only exclusiveness, but to the extensiveness of his covenant. In verse 10, he says, "I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it."

Now, let me just tell you something to me that is very apparent, and yet I really rejoice in this. God's redemption does not simply relate to that which is past, but to that which is present and future as well. Now, in verse 10, he gives three arguments as to why his people are bound to him. First, verse 10, he says, "I am the LORD thy God." In other words, his name, His character, His position. I am the LORD your God. I am Yahweh. I am Jehovah. I am the one true and the living God. I am the being of beings in whom all live and move and have their being. I am the covenant God. And by the way, since He is the one true and the living God, that is reason enough why we should love Him, and serve Him, and worship Him, and be bound to Him. He is the One true and the living God, and beside Him there is none other. Listen to what He said, Isaiah 43 and verse 11. "I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour." When you get to Isaiah 44 and verse 6, He says this, "Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God."

Then in Isaiah 45, verses 5 and 6, he said, "I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me." God alone is God. That we may know him from the rising of the sun to the setting of the sun. There is no God but God. That is reason enough to serve him and to worship him. When you understand that he's the one true and the living God, that means he's the creator. He's the sustainer. He's the preserver. He's the Lord. He's the savior. He's the provider. He's everything.

So he says, first of all, you know who I am. I've revealed myself to you. That's reason enough to serve him. But second, look what he says in verse 10, "I'm the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt." Now, his claim of delivering his people from Egypt was a claim of his people's allegiance, and God usually pleads this. What he's saying is you are morally bound to worship me and to be mine because I am the one who delivered you. Now, you say, "Brother Weaver, I was never delivered out of Egypt. Ha!"

That happened thousands of years ago. Oh? Well, I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Peter chapter 1. The truth of the matter is this. You may not have been delivered from physical Egypt, but you certainly were delivered from spiritual Egypt if you are a child of God. And by the way, your deliverance from spiritual Egypt is far greater than the deliverance from physical Egypt. You remember what happened in the Exodus?

What did they have to kill? A lamb? And they put the blood over the doorposts. Well, look if you would please, in 1 Peter 1, I believe it is, 1 Peter 1, that's what I want, verses 18 and 19. He says, "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." In the Old Testament, they used the blood of the Lamb. In the New Testament, it was the blood of the Lamb of God. If physically delivering Israel out of Egypt morally bound them to serve God, how much more does spiritually delivering us through His only begotten Son morally bind us to worship and serve Him? Our redemption through Christ is far greater than the redemption that was through the blood of the physical Lamb. By the way, I want you to note that Paul's argument for our serving God is based upon this.

You know, all of us can quote Romans 12, 1 and 2. Where Paul said, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind." I want you to go back to verse one. He said, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God." That's Romans 12, verse one. Isn't it amazing that in Romans 3 through chapter 8, he talks about our justification. In chapters 9 and 10, he talks about our election, our predestination, our calling, our regeneration. Oh, and now he gets to 11 and chapter 11 deals with that as well. Then you get to chapter 12 and he says, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God." What mercies is he talking about? All those mercies that he's displayed through the previous 11 chapters. Based upon that, he says, "You present your bodies a living sacrifice."

It is God's mercies that He has redeemed us and saved us and called us and chose us. Therefore, he says, you have an obligation to God to present your body as a living sacrifice. We are even greater, in a greater sense of the word, morally bound to God. He is not just our Creator. He is our Redeemer, our Savior, our Lord, as well as our Provider. Then thirdly, if you look at it in verse 10 of Psalm 81, here's the third claim. He says in verse 10, "I'm the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it."

Now, you remember I said earlier, that God's redemption is not confined to the past. It includes the present and the future. God controls all providence. Are you listening? There is nothing that happens by chance in a world that is ruled by God. God says, "Open thy mouth wide and I'll fill it." What is he saying? I'm able to supply your every need. I'm able to give you more and over and abundantly over that which you need or could possibly want. What God is saying is I am the all-sufficient God.

I will be nigh to you as long as you are nigh to me. As long as you obey me, I'll be your kind and gracious benefactor. Do you remember the argument that Moses used in Deuteronomy 4 and verse 7? Let me just read it. Here's what Moses said, "For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for?" So God then does more than deliver us spiritually. God doesn't just save us and drop us. What He is saying is, I'm willing to bless you. I want to bless you. Open your mouth wide and I'll fill it. Are you listening? Our insufficiency, our lack is not any trouble on God's part. He is able. The trouble is on our part. We're disobedient. What is God saying? God said, I want to give you the fulfillment of my covenant blessings. Open your mouth wide. I'll stuff it full.

You know, there was an old Persian custom. That when the king was pleased with one of his servants or his ambassadors, he would call him into his presence and tell him to open his mouth. And he would then stuff his mouth full of either sweet meats or sometimes jewels, as much as he could hold in his mouth. That's what God is saying. Open your mouth wide. I'll give you not just a stomach full, but more than you can chew on. I'm willing.

So he gives then and he testifies to the extensiveness of his covenant. It goes far beyond spiritual salvation. It includes that, but includes so much more as well. Notice thirdly, in Psalm 81, he testifies to their enmity to his covenant. Now, the word enmity is a strong word for hatred. Look at it in verse 11. Look what he testifies against his people. "But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me."

The Enmity to His Covenant

Israel refused to listen to God and wanted nothing to do with Him, demonstrating hatred and idolatry. Refusing to hear God is itself idolatry.

You know, that is an astounding situation. A people who owed so much to God and yet thought so little of Him. They thought so little of Him, they didn't even want to hear Him. They not only did not want to hear Him, they wanted nothing to do with Him. Some parents get just a little smattering of this. When we raise our children and we bless them and we give them things and then they turn and rebel against us, they won't listen to us, they hate us, they despise us. That's just a little tiny smattering of what it must be like to grieve the heart of God when we, his people, refuse to listen to him. Have you ever noticed in the Bible, over and over, how God says, "Hear my words. Hear, O my people." And isn't it interesting that when the prophets would always preach, they usually began with these words, "Hear ye the word of the LORD." We want you to listen to what God says. I want you to look in your Bibles, hold Psalm 81, but turn to Jeremiah chapter 11 and verse 10.

Jeremiah 11 and verse 10. And let me show you how God testified against his people in one instance here. Jeremiah 11. And notice, if you would please, verse 10. Jeremiah 11 and verse 10. Look what he says. Jeremiah 11, verse 10, "They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers."

Now, I find this interesting. He says they are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers. And then he says, "which refused to hear my words" and then notice, "and they went after other gods to serve them." Do you realize that when you refuse to hear the Word of God, you always go into idolatry? Always! Let me make it even more plainer. Not just plainer, but more plainer. Heaps of pluralities up. Much more plainer. When you refuse to hear God, you not only go into idolatry, that is idolatry. Because you've already set yourself up above God and determined that you are God and you don't need to hear him. So anytime you refuse to hear God, it's not that you're just going into idolatry, it is idolatry. And God says.

My people who should have loved me, hated me. You talk about ungratefulness, unthankfulness, insensitivity. They wouldn't even listen to Him. So God then testifies to their enmity to His covenant. Then fourthly, if you look in verse 12, he testifies to their exclusion from his covenant. "So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels."

The Exclusion from His Covenant

God gave them up to their own hearts' lusts, a horrendous judgment worse than external chastisement. This judicial abandonment leads to damnation.

Now, let me tell you, you may not recognize this instantaneously, but this is an awful and horrendous judgment. He said, "So I gave them up to their own heart's lust and they walked after their own counsel." Have you ever noticed as you read through, especially the Book of Judges? Many times when Israel sinned, he gave them into the hands of the Amorites or the Philistines or the Hittites or some other nation. Now, that was bad, but it was not as bad as this. Not even being delivered over to Satan is as bad as this. See, when you get to 1 Corinthians chapter 5, when you're talking about the discipline in the New Testament church, Paul told that church to deliver such a one over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh. Then he added that the Spirit might be saved. You see, so when God delivers you over to chastisement, even to nations, or when God delivers you over to Satan, there is, in one sense of the word, hope, because there may be salvation in that. But when God delivers you over to your own heart's lust to walk in your own counsel, that is damnation.

There is no deliverance from that. There is no salvation from that. It is the righteous judgment of God to deliver people over to their own heart's lust, who do not want to hear God. Let me show you. Turn in your Bibles, hold Psalm 81, but turn to Romans chapter one. You know this passage, and I'll show you another passage. But look in Romans chapter one, verse 24. Romans one, verse 24. In fact, let's begin reading with verse 21. Romans 1 verse 21. You there? Romans 1 verse 21. Watch carefully. "Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened."

"Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things." What did they do? They didn't want to listen to God. They refused God. They turned from Him. They turned into a gross idolatry. Verse 24, "Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient."

Three times God gave them up. Why? They did not like to retain God in their knowledge. They wanted their lusts. If you will turn in your Bibles to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. And notice verses 11 and 12. You'll see the same truth. 2 Thessalonians 2 verses 11 and 12. In fact, we'll begin reading in verse 10. 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 10, "And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." Notice, they would not receive God's truth. Now notice verse 11, "And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." They didn't want to hear God. They didn't want to do what was right, they wanted their lusts. God says, "Have at it."

I'll let you have them. The Hebrew word for gave back in Psalm 81 is the Hebrew word shalach, which is variously translated in our Bibles as to send away, to send out, to put away, to cast away, to let loose, to divorce. Notice what the Bible said. "So he gave them up." What did he do? He divorced them. I don't want you. You can go. When God gives up a people, he withdraws his restraining grace from them.

He takes the bridle off of them. And he allows them to do as they will. But we've got to remember something, folks. When God allows the people to do as they will, that does not negate the fact that God can still do as He wills. And therefore, in Hosea 4 and verse 17, he said this. Listen carefully. "Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone." He doesn't want me to interfere in his life. Don't worry, says God. I'll not interfere.

He can follow all of his counsels and all of his heart's lust to his heart's desire. But the end is damnation. Not salvation. God said my people would not listen to me. They would have none of me. All they wanted was their sins and their rebellions. So I gave them up. I let them have what they wanted. Listen carefully. God's grace is his own. He is debtor to no man. God never gave his grace to any who deserved it. And he never took it from anyone except those who forfeited it.

So he says, you don't want it? Fine. Do what you will. No greater judgment can fall upon man than to be left alone by God. Let them alone. You know, I'm going to preach on that sometime, but you know, our Lord said that in Matthew. He said, "The blind lead the blind, and if the blind lead the blind, they shall both fall in the ditch. Let them alone." When God lets somebody alone, it's just merely damnation. No greater judgment.

Now, look in your Bibles to Psalm 81 and verses 13 through 16, 13 through 16.

The Enjoyments of His Covenant

God laments what might have been: victory over enemies, enduring peace, and abundant provision. The optative mood expresses a wish contrary to fact.

I want to read this and then I'm going to come back and comment on it. Look at it. God says, "Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries. The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever. He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee."

Now in verses 13 through 16, God testifies, listen, to the enjoyments of His covenant. To the enjoyments of His covenant. In this passage, God shows Israel what might have been. If they had obeyed Him, they would have enjoyed the fruits of His covenant.

Now, I find this so astonishing that God begins verse 13 with a conditional particle, "O." "O." He says, "O that my people had hearkened unto me." Now, the Hebrew word is the word `lu`, which means, are you listening? "Would God," or "O that it might be," or "if haply," or "peradventure." Here's what God is saying, "O I would to God that my people had listened to me." That's what he's saying. The mood in the Hebrew is in the optative mood. It may not mean nothing to you, but when you see something in the optative mood, it means this, it is a wish contrary to reality or a wish contrary to fact. We've just found out that the fact is they would not listen to God. They would not have anything to do with God.

They wanted no part of Him. And now He comes and He says, "Oh, I wish that my people had hearkened unto me and Israel had walked in my way." Let me tell you. There is no easy way to say this. But God's people sometimes are dumber than rocks. I know they're dumber than animals. You say, how can you say that? Isaiah 1 in verse 3, God says this, "The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider."

I got news for you. I call my cows and they come. They see that golf cart and they come running. And you let General Farr see that big white bucket and I guarantee he'll come on the run. He knows where he's fed. But God said, my people do not know. They don't consider. We don't even consider what might have been. To me, when you get to verse 13, it is an amazing fact of God's condescending love.

And then he expresses great pain at his people's disobedience. Oh, I would to God. Basically, that's what he's saying. I would to God that my people had hearkened to me and Israel had walked in my ways. Now, wait a minute. Let me show you one other passage, hold Psalm 81, and turn in your Bibles to Matthew 23, because you're going to find the Lord Jesus Christ using exactly the same expression. Notice, if you would, Matthew 23 and begin reading there in verse 37. Matthew 23, verse 37. Look what our Lord says as he laments over Jerusalem. He says, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee." What's he saying? You won't hear the word of the Lord. You won't listen. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee."

"How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" You wouldn't listen to me. You would have none of me. Therefore, in verse 38, he says, "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." When God gave Jerusalem over. What happened in 70 A.D.? Millions, millions killed. I'm just simply saying, folks. Can you not hear the condescension and the love of God in this verse when he says, "Oh that my people had hearkened unto me and Israel had walked in my ways." God saying, I'd much rather they had enjoyed the fruits of my covenant. I'd much rather they had been obedient. But now. They're judged. Now, I want you to look in verse 14. You consider what Israel missed and at the same time consider what we are missing by our disobedience. Look in verse 14, God said, "I should soon have subdued their enemies and turned my hand against their adversaries." What? All the enemies of his people, he said, I would have subdued them.

I would have turned my hand against their adversary. They would not have had to lift up a sword. They would not have had to pull back an arrow. They wouldn't have had to shot an AK-47. I would have subdued their enemies. I would have given them victory. I hope you're beginning to realize our greatest defense is obedience to God. He goes further. Look in verse 15. If Israel had obeyed, he says "the haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever."

Now let me explain that. He said, if they had listened, if they had obeyed, he would have subdued their enemies. He would have turned his hand against their adversaries to the extent that the haters of the Lord would have submitted themselves. Now, their submission may not have been real and genuine, but on the other hand, their submission would have been so real and so genuine, the enemies of the Lord could have never, ever lifted a hand against Israel. And that's what he's saying in the latter part of verse 15, "but their time"—that is Israel's time—"should have endured for ever." In other words, everyone would have been seeking to make peace with them because of the blessings of the Lord upon them. He's saying that his blessings would be so thorough, there'd be no rebellion in the land. Hmm.

Do you remember the passage in the book of Joshua? The book of Genesis? When Jacob went out and when Joshua went out and the power of God was upon them, you remember this passage, it says, "and the fear of the LORD fell upon the people of the lands." They feared Israel, they feared the people of God, they weren't about to touch. He says their time should have endured forever, that is, they would have been firmly established, their prosperity would not have ceased. Nothing confirms a church or a state as much as obedience to God and holy walking before the Lord. You remember, the Bible says in Proverbs 14 in verse 34 that "righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people." And then look in verse 16. We're talking about missed enjoyments. He said "he should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee." Under the emblems of the finest wheat and the purest honey, he's saying you would have had more than spiritual blessings.

You would have had physical, financial, any kind of blessing that you could imagine. It would be yours. It would be yours to the extent that you would say, "It's enough. It's enough. Don't give me any more. I can't handle any more of it." Let me give you one quote by Spurgeon, and Spurgeon is making a comment on verse 16, and he says this. Luxuries. All of us would like to have luxuries. He says luxuries as well as necessities would be forthcoming.

"The very rocks of the land would yield abundant and sweet supplies. The bees would store the clefts of the rocks with luscious honey, and so turn the most sterile part of the land to good account." Now, if the most sterile part of the... What can grow on a rock? If the most sterile part of the land is abundant and thriving, what must be the fertile part of the land? He said, "The bees would store the clefts of the rock with luscious honey, and so turn the most sterile part of the land to good account." "The Lord can do great things for an obedient people. When His people walk in the light of His countenance and maintain unsullied holiness, the joy and consolation which He yields them are beyond conception. To them the joys of heaven have begun even upon earth. They can sing in the ways of the Lord. The spring of the eternal summer has commenced within them. They are already blessed and they look for brighter things."

"This shows us, by contrast, how sad a thing it is for a child of God to sell himself into captivity and sin and bring his soul into a state of famine by following after another God. O Lord, forever bind us to thyself alone and keep us faithful unto the end." What did God say? God said, if you had obeyed me, I would have given you the finest of wheat and the purest of the honey.

Applications for Today

Weaver applies the passage to America's spiritual decline, the necessity of obedience for true Christianity, and the condition of repentance for victory over enemies.

Let me make just three short applications this morning. Think about these. We could really and truly consider this passage under three points. What we had. What we lost. And what we might have had. You think of America. What we had in the beginning of this country. We had a believing people who worshiped the one true and the living God, generally speaking, I mean as a whole. You think of what we lost in the last 150 years and what we could have had today had our forefathers continued in obedience? The reason we're in such desperate straits in this country is because many people

do not even know what we had. They don't even know what we lost. They don't even know how to recover that which was lost and they have no conception of what might have been. Or what we could have by the grace of God. The second application is this. God is teaching us that true religion, and by that I mean true Christianity, begins, continues, and ends with obedience. Let me make a statement. It is impossible to belong to the Lord and be continually disobedient. I did not say that you would never be disobedient. All of us are sinners. But if you have constant and continual disobedience in your life, something is wrong with you. What did our Lord say in Luke 6 in verse 46? "Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" In other words, the word Lord means boss, owner, master, sovereign. Jesus Christ saying, if I'm really your boss, you will obey me. And if I'm not your boss, you will not obey me. So disobedience then demonstrates that we are not His, while obedience demonstrates that we are genuinely His.

And the third application is this, if we want victory over our enemies, and I'll tell you very carefully and very quickly, I want to see old Babylon fall. I want to see her go down. If we want victory over our enemies, it must be on God's terms. And God's terms are repentance and obedience. The use of arms will be useless without repentance and obedience. True victory will come no other way. God said, "If my people had just listened to me, if they had just obeyed me, I should soon have subdued their enemies and turned my hand against their adversaries."

"And the haters of the LORD would have submitted themselves. And we would have had peace and victory and prosperity, the finest wheat of the purest honey." Victory only comes on God's terms. And his terms is we must hear and we must obey. Let's pray. Father, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ for your grace and mercy to us. Lord, teach us today the correlation between obedience and blessing.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Obedience and Blessing

Summary: The central principle that blessings follow obedience and curses follow disobedience, as illustrated in Psalm 81 and throughout Scripture.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'blessings follow obedience and curses follow disobedience' and cites Deuteronomy 11:26-28.

God's Testimony Against His People

Summary: God testifies, warns, and bears witness against His people for their unfaithfulness, using the Hebrew word 'ud'.

Evidence: Weaver explains the Hebrew word for testify and cites Deuteronomy 8:19, 30:19, 31:28, and Psalm 50:7.

Exclusive Worship

Summary: God demands that His people have no other gods, reflecting the covenant relationship akin to marriage, where God is jealous for His people.

Evidence: Weaver references Exodus 20:2-3, Deuteronomy 5:6-7, and 2 Corinthians 6:14-18.

God's All-Sufficiency

Summary: God is able to supply every need and invites His people to open their mouths wide, promising abundant provision.

Evidence: Weaver comments on Psalm 81:10 and references Deuteronomy 4:7.

Judicial Abandonment

Summary: The severe judgment of being given over to one's own lusts, which is worse than external chastisement and leads to damnation.

Evidence: Weaver cites Romans 1:24-28 and 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12.

Missed Blessings

Summary: God laments the blessings Israel missed due to disobedience, including victory, peace, and prosperity, expressed in the optative mood.

Evidence: Weaver explains the Hebrew word 'lu' and the optative mood, and cites Matthew 23:37.

Repentance and Obedience for Victory

Summary: True victory over enemies comes only through repentance and obedience to God, not through arms alone.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'The use of arms will be useless without repentance and obedience.'

Key Arguments

The Old Testament principle of blessing and curse applies to New Testament believers.

Summary: Weaver argues that Romans 15:4 and 1 Corinthians 10:6,11 show that Old Testament events are examples for New Testament believers, so the principle of obedience and blessing is universal.

Evidence: Weaver cites Romans 15:4 and 1 Corinthians 10:6,11, stating, 'Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning.'

Refusing to hear God is idolatry.

Summary: When people refuse to hear God's Word, they set themselves up as God, which is the essence of idolatry.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'When you refuse to hear God, you not only go into idolatry, that is idolatry. Because you've already set yourself up above God.'

Being given over to one's own lusts is the worst judgment.

Summary: God's abandonment to one's own heart's lusts is more severe than being delivered to enemies or Satan, because it offers no hope of salvation.

Evidence: Weaver contrasts Psalm 81:12 with 1 Corinthians 5:5 and Romans 1:24-28.

Obedience is the mark of true Christianity.

Summary: Continual disobedience indicates a lack of genuine relationship with God, as Jesus said, 'Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?'

Evidence: Weaver quotes Luke 6:46 and states, 'It is impossible to belong to the Lord and be continually disobedient.'

National decline is due to disobedience.

Summary: America's current mess is a result of disobedience and failure to heed God, not God's fault.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'We are in the mess that we're in because of our own disobedience and our own failure.'

Scripture References

Psalm 81:8-16

Context: The primary text of the sermon, illustrating God's testimony and the correlation between obedience and blessing.

Deuteronomy 11:26-28

Context: God sets before Israel a blessing and a curse, based on obedience or disobedience.

Romans 15:4

Context: Old Testament writings are for our learning, showing the principle applies to New Testament believers.

1 Corinthians 10:6,11

Context: Old Testament events are examples and admonitions for believers.

Deuteronomy 8:19

Context: God testifies that if Israel forgets Him and follows other gods, they will perish.

Deuteronomy 30:19

Context: God calls heaven and earth to record that He has set before them life and death, blessing and cursing.

Deuteronomy 31:28

Context: God calls heaven and earth to record against Israel.

Deuteronomy 32:1

Context: God calls heaven and earth to hear His words as a witness.

Psalm 50:7

Context: God testifies against Israel, similar to Psalm 81:8.

Exodus 20:2-3

Context: The first commandment: no other gods before the LORD.

Deuteronomy 5:6-7

Context: Reiteration of the first commandment.

Exodus 34:14

Context: The LORD's name is Jealous, a jealous God.

Deuteronomy 4:24

Context: The LORD is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

Isaiah 42:8

Context: God will not give His glory to another or His praise to graven images.

2 Corinthians 6:14-18

Context: New Testament call to separation from idols and unbelievers, echoing the covenant exclusivity.

Isaiah 43:11

Context: Beside the LORD there is no saviour.

Isaiah 44:6

Context: The LORD is the first and the last; beside Him there is no God.

Isaiah 45:5-6

Context: There is no God beside the LORD.

1 Peter 1:18-19

Context: Believers are redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, the Lamb without blemish.

Romans 12:1-2

Context: Present your bodies a living sacrifice, based on the mercies of God.

Historical References

Old Persian custom of kings stuffing mouths with sweets or jewels

Context: Weaver uses this custom to illustrate God's invitation to 'open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.'

Destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

Context: Weaver references the desolation of Jerusalem as a consequence of rejecting God, paralleling Matthew 23:38.

Important Quotes

Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me; there shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.

Significance: This is the opening of the primary text, establishing God's testimony and the demand for exclusive worship.

Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.

Significance: God's promise of abundant provision for His obedient people, a key verse in the sermon.

But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.

Significance: Highlights Israel's rejection of God, leading to judgment.

So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels.

Significance: The severe judgment of judicial abandonment, a central point in the sermon.

Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!

Significance: God's lament over missed blessings, expressing His desire for their obedience.

I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.

Significance: The victory God would have given if Israel had obeyed.

He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.

Significance: The abundant physical and spiritual blessings promised for obedience.

Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

Significance: Jesus' challenge that true lordship requires obedience, used to emphasize the necessity of obedience for genuine faith.

Discussion Questions

How does the principle 'blessings follow obedience and curses follow disobedience' challenge or encourage your daily walk with God?

Context: Weaver introduces this as the central theme of the sermon, based on Psalm 81 and Deuteronomy 11.

In what ways might we be guilty of having 'strange gods' in our lives today, and how can we identify and remove them?

Context: Weaver emphasizes the exclusiveness of the covenant and the prohibition of strange gods.

What does it mean to 'open your mouth wide' in faith, and how can we practically trust God for His provision?

Context: Weaver explains God's invitation to receive abundant blessings.

Why is being 'given over to your own heart's lust' considered the worst judgment, and how does this contrast with God's disciplinary actions?

Context: Weaver discusses the severity of judicial abandonment from Psalm 81:12 and Romans 1.

How does God's lament in Psalm 81:13-16 reveal His heart toward His people, and what does this teach us about His character?

Context: Weaver highlights the optative mood and God's condescending love.

What are some 'missed blessings' you may have experienced due to disobedience, and how can repentance restore what was lost?

Context: Weaver applies the concept of missed enjoyments to personal and national levels.

How can we cultivate a heart that truly hears and obeys God, rather than merely professing faith?

Context: Weaver stresses that true Christianity begins, continues, and ends with obedience.

In what areas of our nation or church do we need to repent and return to obedience to see God's victory and blessing?

Context: Weaver applies the message to America's spiritual decline and the need for corporate repentance.

Applications

Examine your life for 'strange gods' and remove them.

Summary: Believers must ensure that no other gods—whether material possessions, success, or false ideologies—take the place of the one true God.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.'

Trust God for abundant provision.

Summary: God invites His people to open their mouths wide, promising to fill them. Believers should rely on His all-sufficiency rather than their own efforts.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.'

Heed God's warnings to avoid judicial abandonment.

Summary: Persistent refusal to listen to God can lead to being given over to one's own lusts, a terrifying judgment. Believers must remain sensitive to His voice.

Evidence: Weaver warns, 'When God delivers you over to your own heart's lust to walk in your own counsel, that is damnation.'

Pursue obedience as the mark of true faith.

Summary: Continual disobedience indicates a lack of genuine relationship with God. Believers should examine whether their lives reflect obedience to Christ as Lord.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Luke 6:46 and states, 'It is impossible to belong to the Lord and be continually disobedient.'

Seek national and personal repentance for victory.

Summary: True victory over enemies and societal ills comes only through repentance and obedience to God, not through human means alone.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'The use of arms will be useless without repentance and obedience.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T19:48:20Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T12:35:48Z

Clean Transcript

The Testimony of the LORD

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Open your Bibles to Psalm 81. Psalm 81. We're going to read verses 8 through 16, and that will be the text we'll be using today, Psalm 81. Let me tell you the title of the message. I'll give you two different titles. Actually, it's one long one, but you can shorten it if you desire. Actually, the message is entitled "The Testimony of the LORD," and you will find out why I chose that title and/or the correlation between obedience and blessing. So "The Testimony of the LORD" would just simply be the shortened title, or if you want the long title, "The Testimony of the LORD and the Correlation Between Obedience and Blessings." So look in Psalm 81, beginning there with verse 8. God says, "Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee"—hence the testimony of the LORD—"Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me; there shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god. I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt."
#1 | 0:01 to 1:17 | cleaned
"Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels. Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries."
#2 | 1:18 to 1:41 | cleaned
"The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever. He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee." I hope you remember that I have repeatedly taught you over the years a simple principle in the Word of God. And that principle is this, that blessings follow obedience and curses follow disobedience.
#3 | 1:41 to 2:10 | cleaned
Now, Psalm 81, verses 8 through 16, illustrates this principle very clearly. When you look at the mess that we're in in this country, we have to confess and acknowledge we are in the mess that we're in because of our own disobedience and our own failure. The fault is not with God. The fault is with us, and we're going to see that very clearly this morning out of Psalm 81. It is we who have sinned and rebelled and done wickedly against God.
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It's amazing as you read this passage, because you will discover that desire of our Heavenly Father is that He might bless us, and that He might hear us, and that He might give us victory. And He would do so as long as we're obedient unto Him. It doesn't matter if you're considering Deuteronomy 28 or Leviticus 26, which are two tremendous passages on the connection between obedience and blessing, and curses and disobedience. Or if you're just looking throughout Scripture, because you're going to find that one principle over and over. I want you to hold Psalm 81, but I want you to look in your Bibles right quickly to Deuteronomy chapter 11, and look at verses 27 and 28. Deuteronomy 11, verses 27 and 28. And the amazing thing is, it is so clearly specified in this passage, I do not see how anyone could misunderstand or not comprehend this truth. Notice Deuteronomy 11 and verse 27, God says this. In fact, let's read verse 26. He says, "Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse."
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So you've got a choice of one or the other. "I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; a blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day: and a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known." So God says I'm setting before you a blessing and a curse. A blessing if you obey and a curse if you disobey.
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Now, inevitably, someone will usually object and say, "But Brother Weaver, that verse and those promises were given to Old Testament Israel." Well, let me remind you of two passages which you have heard me quote over and over. And these two passages are found in the New Testament. The first one is Romans chapter 15 and verse 4. There the Apostle Paul said, "For whatsoever things were written aforetime"—that is the Old Testament—"were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope." Notice what he said. "Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning." So everything that happened in the Old Testament is for our learning and admonition. The second passage is found in 1 Corinthians 10.
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And if you want to look there very quickly, I'm particularly calling your attention to verses 6 and verse 11. Now, the interesting thing about 1 Corinthians 10 is this. Paul is giving the story about the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt. And if you'll look in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 1, he says, "Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea." And he's talking about deliverance of Israel out of Egypt.
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Then he talks about their wandering in the wilderness. And then he says in verse 6, "Now these things"—that is, everything that happened to Israel—"were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted." Then when you skip down to verse 11, he says, "Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come." What is he saying? He's saying everything that happened to Israel in the Old Testament is for our admonition and our learning.
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And what the Apostle Paul does is this. He takes what happened to Old Testament Israel and applies it to the Corinthian church in the New Testament. So very obviously there are applications that can be made today because those applications do not just simply apply to Israel in the Old Testament or to the Corinthian Church in the New Testament, but it applies to all of God's people in all ages.
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Now, if you were to examine very carefully the passage of Psalm 81 verses 8 through 16 and comprehend its impact, you will discover the reason for individual, family, ecclesiastical, and national judgments. You will find out why God judges and why God curses. May I remind you that God has not changed and that God does not change because God is immutable. And the very things that He judged 4,000 years ago He still judges today. Now, if you look in Psalm 81 and verse 8, I want you to note the sovereign's testimony.
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He says, "Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me." Now, it is not unusual for a ruler to testify against his subjects, especially if that ruler happens to be the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth. So what does God say? He said, "Listen to me, and I'm going to testify."
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Now the Hebrew word for testify is the word `ud` in the Hebrew, and it is translated in our Bibles as testify, protest, witness, record, and charge. So it has the force then of bearing witness, enjoining, giving a warning, or testifying against someone as in a criminal or in a civil case.
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Now, let me just give you several examples. Turn in your Bibles, if you would, very quickly to Deuteronomy chapter 8. Let me show you how this word is used and you're going to see, I hope, the impact of God's testimony. Notice in Deuteronomy chapter 8 and verse 19. Deuteronomy 8, God says, "And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish."
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Now what did God just say? I'm warning you. If you disobey me and if you go after other gods, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. Look in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 30 and verse 19. Deuteronomy 30 and verse 19.
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Now God says it a little differently, but it's the same truth. Deuteronomy 30 verse 19, God says, "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live." He said, "I call heaven and earth to witness" or to testify or to record against you this day. I've set before you the way of life and death. Look if you would in Deuteronomy chapter 31 and verse 28. Deuteronomy 31 verse 28. He says, "Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them." In other words, God is saying, look, I'm testifying against you. Skip down, if you would please, to Deuteronomy 32 in verse 1. Now look what he says. "Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth." What's he doing?
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He's giving a witness again. He's testifying. He's recording. This is what I've said, and this is what I'm going to do.
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He's giving a witness again. He's testifying. He's recording. This is what I've said, and this is what I'm going to do.
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Now, one last passage before we go further, and that's Psalm 50 and verse 7. Psalm 50 and verse 7. Notice how closely this resembles Psalm 81 and verse 8. But in Psalm 50 and verse 7, he says, "Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God." Now, all through Scripture, you can see how God testifies. He records, He bears a record, He speaks against. Now, go back in your Bible, Psalm 81, and look, if you would please, at verse 8.
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To me, this is absolutely amazing. He says in verse 8, "Hear, O my people, and I will testify." And then he says, "O Israel, if thou wilt hearken." Is it not amazing to you that God has to look at his own people and say, "Listen up, hear me. Give me your ear, hearken unto me." In other words, Israel was so insensitive to God, she would not listen. And therefore, God had to speak to them, get their attention to make them listen. Is it not amazing today that most professing Christians could care less about what God says? And therefore, God has to slap us up against the head to get our attention.
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You've heard that old story about the proverbial mule. And the man bought the mule and said, "I thought you told me this mule would obey." And the former owner came and said, "Well, let me show you." And he picked up the two by four and hit him upside the head. And he says, "Now he'll obey. You've just got to get his attention first." Well, that's the way it is with us. Now, let me show you what the Lord testifies against His people. There are five things.
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Look in verses 8 and 9 together. First of all, He testifies to the exclusiveness of His covenant. In verses 8 and 9, "Hear, O my people, I will testify to thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me; there shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god." Let me tell you that verse 9 delineates the core issue of God's testimony against his people. Do you remember when God gave the law in two passages?
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You have it in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy chapter 5. Do you remember how God started out in Exodus chapter 20 verses 2 and 3? He said, "I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me." And then when you get to Deuteronomy chapter 5, he says it again, "I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage. Thou shalt have none other gods before me." Now, look if you would at verses 8 and 9 together. He says, "Hear, O my people, O Israel, if thou wilt hearken; there shall no strange god be in thee." In other words, what God is doing is reminding Israel and reminding His people that they should be contented with Him alone. That they were to be exclusively His people, there was to be no strange God found in them.
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This is the core issue of the covenant. What did God tell Israel? God said, "I will be your God and you shall be My people." In other words, here is an exclusiveness. I'm your God and you're My people.
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Now, no man, and I would say no woman—no man especially wants to enter into a marriage covenant with a woman and then find out she's sleeping with all the other men in town. What does the marriage covenant mean? It means that the woman is to belong to the man exclusively and the man is to belong to the woman exclusively. That's what covenants are all about. That's what God's covenant was. I am your God. You are my people. And you know something? God is said to be a jealous God. In fact, jealous is one of the names given of God in the Bible. In Exodus 34 and verse 14, God says this, "For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God." In Deuteronomy 4 in verse 24, he says, "For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God." I would be jealous over my wife. I would hope she would be jealous over me. And God is jealous over his people.
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We are to be his. Do you remember what God said in Isaiah 42 in verse 8? Now, listen to this. He said, "I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images." God does not want His people living for, or praising, or recognizing even, false gods. You just stop and think about that. And you know, I've mentioned some things like this to you in time past, and this is not in the message, but it just came to my mind.
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When we talk about our good fortune, Fortunatus was a Greek goddess or Roman goddess. It's not good fortune. It's the providence of God. It's not good luck. It's the providence of God. It's something that God has done. And when we talk about our good luck or our good fortune, we're giving praise to a false God. Instead of thanking the one true and the living God for it, what God is saying is, look, I require you to be exclusively mine.
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I want you to hold Psalm 81, but turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians 6. Because inevitably, some people just cannot think things through for themselves. And I want to show you, because I want to make this exceedingly plain, the same exact thing is said in the New Testament. So if you'll look in 2 Corinthians 6, if you would, and let's begin reading there with verse 14. 2 Corinthians 6 and verse 14. What does God tell his people in the New Testament? Here it is.
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"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers." Why? Here's the questions. "For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?" The answer is none. "What communion hath light with darkness?" The answer is none. "What concord hath Christ with Belial?" Or what agreement hath Christ with the devil or with a false god? None. "Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?" None. "And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?" None. "For ye are the temple of the living God." Now watch. "As God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."
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"Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." The same exact thing that he said of Israel in the Old Testament, he says of the church and his people in the New Testament. I'm just simply pointing out, folks, God wants us to be totally separate from false gods and to be totally and completely his. As my wife is to be exclusively my property, and if I am to be exclusively her property, so we the people of God are to be exclusively his.
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So he testifies then to the exclusivity of the covenant. He said this means I am your God and you are to be my people.
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Now look in verse 10 of Psalm 81. He now testifies to the extensiveness of the covenant. Psalm 81, verse 10, not only exclusiveness, but to the extensiveness of his covenant. In verse 10, he says, "I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it."
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Now, let me just tell you something to me that is very apparent, and yet I really rejoice in this. God's redemption does not simply relate to that which is past, but to that which is present and future as well.
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Now, in verse 10, he gives three arguments as to why his people are bound to him. First, verse 10, he says, "I am the LORD thy God." In other words, his name, His character, His position. I am the LORD your God. I am Yahweh. I am Jehovah. I am the one true and the living God. I am the being of beings in whom all live and move and have their being. I am the covenant God. And by the way, since He is the one true and the living God, that is reason enough why we should love Him, and serve Him, and worship Him, and be bound to Him. He is the One true and the living God, and beside Him there is none other. Listen to what He said, Isaiah 43 and verse 11. "I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour." When you get to Isaiah 44 and verse 6, He says this, "Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God."
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Then in Isaiah 45, verses 5 and 6, he said, "I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me." God alone is God. That we may know him from the rising of the sun to the setting of the sun. There is no God but God. That is reason enough to serve him and to worship him. When you understand that he's the one true and the living God, that means he's the creator. He's the sustainer. He's the preserver. He's the Lord. He's the savior. He's the provider. He's everything.
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So he says, first of all, you know who I am. I've revealed myself to you. That's reason enough to serve him. But second, look what he says in verse 10, "I'm the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt." Now, his claim of delivering his people from Egypt was a claim of his people's allegiance, and God usually pleads this. What he's saying is you are morally bound to worship me and to be mine because I am the one who delivered you. Now, you say, "Brother Weaver, I was never delivered out of Egypt. Ha!"
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That happened thousands of years ago. Oh? Well, I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Peter chapter 1. The truth of the matter is this. You may not have been delivered from physical Egypt, but you certainly were delivered from spiritual Egypt if you are a child of God. And by the way, your deliverance from spiritual Egypt is far greater than the deliverance from physical Egypt. You remember what happened in the Exodus?
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What did they have to kill? A lamb? And they put the blood over the doorposts. Well, look if you would please, in 1 Peter 1, I believe it is, 1 Peter 1, that's what I want, verses 18 and 19. He says, "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." In the Old Testament, they used the blood of the Lamb. In the New Testament, it was the blood of the Lamb of God. If physically delivering Israel out of Egypt morally bound them to serve God, how much more does spiritually delivering us through His only begotten Son morally bind us to worship and serve Him? Our redemption through Christ is far greater than the redemption that was through the blood of the physical Lamb. By the way, I want you to note that Paul's argument for our serving God is based upon this.
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You know, all of us can quote Romans 12, 1 and 2. Where Paul said, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind." I want you to go back to verse one. He said, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God." That's Romans 12, verse one. Isn't it amazing that in Romans 3 through chapter 8, he talks about our justification. In chapters 9 and 10, he talks about our election, our predestination, our calling, our regeneration. Oh, and now he gets to 11 and chapter 11 deals with that as well. Then you get to chapter 12 and he says, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God." What mercies is he talking about? All those mercies that he's displayed through the previous 11 chapters. Based upon that, he says, "You present your bodies a living sacrifice."
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It is God's mercies that He has redeemed us and saved us and called us and chose us. Therefore, he says, you have an obligation to God to present your body as a living sacrifice. We are even greater, in a greater sense of the word, morally bound to God. He is not just our Creator. He is our Redeemer, our Savior, our Lord, as well as our Provider. Then thirdly, if you look at it in verse 10 of Psalm 81, here's the third claim. He says in verse 10, "I'm the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it."
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Now, you remember I said earlier, that God's redemption is not confined to the past. It includes the present and the future. God controls all providence. Are you listening? There is nothing that happens by chance in a world that is ruled by God. God says, "Open thy mouth wide and I'll fill it." What is he saying? I'm able to supply your every need. I'm able to give you more and over and abundantly over that which you need or could possibly want. What God is saying is I am the all-sufficient God.
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I will be nigh to you as long as you are nigh to me. As long as you obey me, I'll be your kind and gracious benefactor. Do you remember the argument that Moses used in Deuteronomy 4 and verse 7? Let me just read it. Here's what Moses said, "For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for?" So God then does more than deliver us spiritually. God doesn't just save us and drop us.
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What He is saying is, I'm willing to bless you. I want to bless you. Open your mouth wide and I'll fill it. Are you listening? Our insufficiency, our lack is not any trouble on God's part. He is able. The trouble is on our part. We're disobedient. What is God saying? God said, I want to give you the fulfillment of my covenant blessings. Open your mouth wide. I'll stuff it full.
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You know, there was an old Persian custom. That when the king was pleased with one of his servants or his ambassadors, he would call him into his presence and tell him to open his mouth. And he would then stuff his mouth full of either sweet meats or sometimes jewels, as much as he could hold in his mouth. That's what God is saying. Open your mouth wide. I'll give you not just a stomach full, but more than you can chew on. I'm willing.
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So he gives then and he testifies to the extensiveness of his covenant. It goes far beyond spiritual salvation. It includes that, but includes so much more as well. Notice thirdly, in Psalm 81, he testifies to their enmity to his covenant. Now, the word enmity is a strong word for hatred. Look at it in verse 11. Look what he testifies against his people. "But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me."
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You know, that is an astounding situation. A people who owed so much to God and yet thought so little of Him. They thought so little of Him, they didn't even want to hear Him. They not only did not want to hear Him, they wanted nothing to do with Him. Some parents get just a little smattering of this. When we raise our children and we bless them and we give them things and then they turn and rebel against us, they won't listen to us, they hate us, they despise us. That's just a little tiny smattering of what it must be like to grieve the heart of God when we, his people, refuse to listen to him. Have you ever noticed in the Bible, over and over, how God says, "Hear my words. Hear, O my people." And isn't it interesting that when the prophets would always preach, they usually began with these words, "Hear ye the word of the LORD." We want you to listen to what God says. I want you to look in your Bibles, hold Psalm 81, but turn to Jeremiah chapter 11 and verse 10.
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Jeremiah 11 and verse 10. And let me show you how God testified against his people in one instance here. Jeremiah 11. And notice, if you would please, verse 10. Jeremiah 11 and verse 10. Look what he says. Jeremiah 11, verse 10, "They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers."
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Now, I find this interesting. He says they are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers. And then he says, "which refused to hear my words" and then notice, "and they went after other gods to serve them." Do you realize that when you refuse to hear the Word of God, you always go into idolatry? Always! Let me make it even more plainer. Not just plainer, but more plainer. Heaps of pluralities up. Much more plainer. When you refuse to hear God, you not only go into idolatry, that is idolatry. Because you've already set yourself up above God and determined that you are God and you don't need to hear him. So anytime you refuse to hear God, it's not that you're just going into idolatry, it is idolatry. And God says.
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My people who should have loved me, hated me. You talk about ungratefulness, unthankfulness, insensitivity. They wouldn't even listen to Him. So God then testifies to their enmity to His covenant. Then fourthly, if you look in verse 12, he testifies to their exclusion from his covenant. "So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels."
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Now, let me tell you, you may not recognize this instantaneously, but this is an awful and horrendous judgment. He said, "So I gave them up to their own heart's lust and they walked after their own counsel." Have you ever noticed as you read through, especially the Book of Judges? Many times when Israel sinned, he gave them into the hands of the Amorites or the Philistines or the Hittites or some other nation.
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Now, that was bad, but it was not as bad as this. Not even being delivered over to Satan is as bad as this. See, when you get to 1 Corinthians chapter 5, when you're talking about the discipline in the New Testament church, Paul told that church to deliver such a one over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh. Then he added that the Spirit might be saved. You see, so when God delivers you over to chastisement, even to nations, or when God delivers you over to Satan, there is, in one sense of the word, hope, because there may be salvation in that. But when God delivers you over to your own heart's lust to walk in your own counsel, that is damnation.
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There is no deliverance from that. There is no salvation from that. It is the righteous judgment of God to deliver people over to their own heart's lust, who do not want to hear God. Let me show you. Turn in your Bibles, hold Psalm 81, but turn to Romans chapter one. You know this passage, and I'll show you another passage. But look in Romans chapter one, verse 24. Romans one, verse 24. In fact, let's begin reading with verse 21. Romans 1 verse 21. You there? Romans 1 verse 21. Watch carefully. "Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened."
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"Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things." What did they do? They didn't want to listen to God. They refused God. They turned from Him. They turned into a gross idolatry. Verse 24, "Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient."
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Three times God gave them up. Why? They did not like to retain God in their knowledge. They wanted their lusts. If you will turn in your Bibles to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. And notice verses 11 and 12. You'll see the same truth. 2 Thessalonians 2 verses 11 and 12. In fact, we'll begin reading in verse 10. 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 10, "And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." Notice, they would not receive God's truth. Now notice verse 11, "And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." They didn't want to hear God. They didn't want to do what was right, they wanted their lusts. God says, "Have at it."
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I'll let you have them. The Hebrew word for gave back in Psalm 81 is the Hebrew word shalach, which is variously translated in our Bibles as to send away, to send out, to put away, to cast away, to let loose, to divorce. Notice what the Bible said. "So he gave them up." What did he do? He divorced them. I don't want you. You can go. When God gives up a people, he withdraws his restraining grace from them.
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He takes the bridle off of them. And he allows them to do as they will. But we've got to remember something, folks. When God allows the people to do as they will, that does not negate the fact that God can still do as He wills. And therefore, in Hosea 4 and verse 17, he said this. Listen carefully. "Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone." He doesn't want me to interfere in his life. Don't worry, says God. I'll not interfere.
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He can follow all of his counsels and all of his heart's lust to his heart's desire. But the end is damnation. Not salvation. God said my people would not listen to me. They would have none of me. All they wanted was their sins and their rebellions. So I gave them up. I let them have what they wanted. Listen carefully. God's grace is his own. He is debtor to no man. God never gave his grace to any who deserved it. And he never took it from anyone except those who forfeited it.
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So he says, you don't want it? Fine. Do what you will. No greater judgment can fall upon man than to be left alone by God. Let them alone. You know, I'm going to preach on that sometime, but you know, our Lord said that in Matthew. He said, "The blind lead the blind, and if the blind lead the blind, they shall both fall in the ditch. Let them alone." When God lets somebody alone, it's just merely damnation. No greater judgment.
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Now, look in your Bibles to Psalm 81 and verses 13 through 16, 13 through 16.
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I want to read this and then I'm going to come back and comment on it. Look at it. God says, "Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries. The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever. He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee."
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Now in verses 13 through 16, God testifies, listen, to the enjoyments of His covenant. To the enjoyments of His covenant. In this passage, God shows Israel what might have been. If they had obeyed Him, they would have enjoyed the fruits of His covenant.
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Now, I find this so astonishing that God begins verse 13 with a conditional particle, "O." "O." He says, "O that my people had hearkened unto me."
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Now, the Hebrew word is the word `lu`, which means, are you listening? "Would God," or "O that it might be," or "if haply," or "peradventure." Here's what God is saying, "O I would to God that my people had listened to me." That's what he's saying. The mood in the Hebrew is in the optative mood. It may not mean nothing to you, but when you see something in the optative mood, it means this, it is a wish contrary to reality or a wish contrary to fact. We've just found out that the fact is they would not listen to God. They would not have anything to do with God.
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They wanted no part of Him. And now He comes and He says, "Oh, I wish that my people had hearkened unto me and Israel had walked in my way." Let me tell you. There is no easy way to say this. But God's people sometimes are dumber than rocks. I know they're dumber than animals. You say, how can you say that? Isaiah 1 in verse 3, God says this, "The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider."
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I got news for you. I call my cows and they come. They see that golf cart and they come running. And you let General Farr see that big white bucket and I guarantee he'll come on the run. He knows where he's fed. But God said, my people do not know. They don't consider. We don't even consider what might have been. To me, when you get to verse 13, it is an amazing fact of God's condescending love.
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And then he expresses great pain at his people's disobedience. Oh, I would to God. Basically, that's what he's saying. I would to God that my people had hearkened to me and Israel had walked in my ways. Now, wait a minute. Let me show you one other passage, hold Psalm 81, and turn in your Bibles to Matthew 23, because you're going to find the Lord Jesus Christ using exactly the same expression. Notice, if you would, Matthew 23 and begin reading there in verse 37. Matthew 23, verse 37. Look what our Lord says as he laments over Jerusalem. He says, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee." What's he saying? You won't hear the word of the Lord. You won't listen. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee."
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"How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" You wouldn't listen to me. You would have none of me. Therefore, in verse 38, he says, "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." When God gave Jerusalem over. What happened in 70 A.D.? Millions, millions killed. I'm just simply saying, folks. Can you not hear the condescension and the love of God in this verse when he says, "Oh that my people had hearkened unto me and Israel had walked in my ways." God saying, I'd much rather they had enjoyed the fruits of my covenant. I'd much rather they had been obedient. But now. They're judged. Now, I want you to look in verse 14. You consider what Israel missed and at the same time consider what we are missing by our disobedience. Look in verse 14, God said, "I should soon have subdued their enemies and turned my hand against their adversaries." What? All the enemies of his people, he said, I would have subdued them.
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I would have turned my hand against their adversary. They would not have had to lift up a sword. They would not have had to pull back an arrow. They wouldn't have had to shot an AK-47. I would have subdued their enemies. I would have given them victory. I hope you're beginning to realize our greatest defense is obedience to God. He goes further. Look in verse 15. If Israel had obeyed, he says "the haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever."
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Now let me explain that. He said, if they had listened, if they had obeyed, he would have subdued their enemies. He would have turned his hand against their adversaries to the extent that the haters of the Lord would have submitted themselves.
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Now, their submission may not have been real and genuine, but on the other hand, their submission would have been so real and so genuine, the enemies of the Lord could have never, ever lifted a hand against Israel. And that's what he's saying in the latter part of verse 15, "but their time"—that is Israel's time—"should have endured for ever." In other words, everyone would have been seeking to make peace with them because of the blessings of the Lord upon them. He's saying that his blessings would be so thorough, there'd be no rebellion in the land. Hmm.
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Do you remember the passage in the book of Joshua? The book of Genesis? When Jacob went out and when Joshua went out and the power of God was upon them, you remember this passage, it says, "and the fear of the LORD fell upon the people of the lands." They feared Israel, they feared the people of God, they weren't about to touch. He says their time should have endured forever, that is, they would have been firmly established, their prosperity would not have ceased.
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Nothing confirms a church or a state as much as obedience to God and holy walking before the Lord. You remember, the Bible says in Proverbs 14 in verse 34 that "righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people." And then look in verse 16. We're talking about missed enjoyments. He said "he should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee." Under the emblems of the finest wheat and the purest honey, he's saying you would have had more than spiritual blessings.
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You would have had physical, financial, any kind of blessing that you could imagine. It would be yours. It would be yours to the extent that you would say, "It's enough. It's enough. Don't give me any more. I can't handle any more of it." Let me give you one quote by Spurgeon, and Spurgeon is making a comment on verse 16, and he says this. Luxuries. All of us would like to have luxuries. He says luxuries as well as necessities would be forthcoming.
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"The very rocks of the land would yield abundant and sweet supplies. The bees would store the clefts of the rocks with luscious honey, and so turn the most sterile part of the land to good account." Now, if the most sterile part of the... What can grow on a rock? If the most sterile part of the land is abundant and thriving, what must be the fertile part of the land? He said, "The bees would store the clefts of the rock with luscious honey, and so turn the most sterile part of the land to good account."
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"The Lord can do great things for an obedient people. When His people walk in the light of His countenance and maintain unsullied holiness, the joy and consolation which He yields them are beyond conception. To them the joys of heaven have begun even upon earth. They can sing in the ways of the Lord. The spring of the eternal summer has commenced within them. They are already blessed and they look for brighter things."
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"This shows us, by contrast, how sad a thing it is for a child of God to sell himself into captivity and sin and bring his soul into a state of famine by following after another God. O Lord, forever bind us to thyself alone and keep us faithful unto the end." What did God say? God said, if you had obeyed me, I would have given you the finest of wheat and the purest of the honey.
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Let me make just three short applications this morning. Think about these. We could really and truly consider this passage under three points. What we had. What we lost. And what we might have had. You think of America. What we had in the beginning of this country. We had a believing people who worshiped the one true and the living God, generally speaking, I mean as a whole. You think of what we lost in the last 150 years and what we could have had today had our forefathers continued in obedience? The reason we're in such desperate straits in this country is because many people
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do not even know what we had. They don't even know what we lost. They don't even know how to recover that which was lost and they have no conception of what might have been. Or what we could have by the grace of God. The second application is this. God is teaching us that true religion, and by that I mean true Christianity, begins, continues, and ends with obedience.
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Let me make a statement. It is impossible to belong to the Lord and be continually disobedient. I did not say that you would never be disobedient. All of us are sinners. But if you have constant and continual disobedience in your life, something is wrong with you. What did our Lord say in Luke 6 in verse 46? "Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" In other words, the word Lord means boss, owner, master, sovereign. Jesus Christ saying, if I'm really your boss, you will obey me. And if I'm not your boss, you will not obey me. So disobedience then demonstrates that we are not His, while obedience demonstrates that we are genuinely His.
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And the third application is this, if we want victory over our enemies, and I'll tell you very carefully and very quickly, I want to see old Babylon fall. I want to see her go down. If we want victory over our enemies, it must be on God's terms. And God's terms are repentance and obedience. The use of arms will be useless without repentance and obedience. True victory will come no other way. God said, "If my people had just listened to me, if they had just obeyed me, I should soon have subdued their enemies and turned my hand against their adversaries."
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"And the haters of the LORD would have submitted themselves. And we would have had peace and victory and prosperity, the finest wheat of the purest honey." Victory only comes on God's terms. And his terms is we must hear and we must obey. Let's pray. Father, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ for your grace and mercy to us. Lord, teach us today the correlation between obedience and blessing.
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If we want greater blessings, we must have greater obedience. If we want greater blessings, we must hear thy word and bring our lives into conformity unto it. Give us grace, Lord, to serve thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear, and give us, Lord, obedience. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T19:48:20Z

The Testimony of the LORD

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver expounds Psalm 81:8-16, emphasizing the principle that blessings follow obedience and curses follow disobedience. He explains God's testimony against His people for their idolatry and refusal to listen, and the severe judgment of being given over to their own lusts. The sermon contrasts what Israel lost with what they could have enjoyed, and applies these lessons to modern believers, calling for repentance and obedience as the only path to victory and blessing.

Introduction: The Principle of Obedience and Blessing

Weaver introduces the sermon's theme: blessings follow obedience and curses follow disobedience, a principle illustrated in Psalm 81:8-16 and throughout Scripture.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 81:8-16

"Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee"

—hence the testimony of the LORD—

Scripture Reading — Psalm 81:8-16

"Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me; there shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god. I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt." "Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels. Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries." "The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever. He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee."

I hope you remember that I have repeatedly taught you over the years a simple principle in the Word of God. And that principle is this, that blessings follow obedience and curses follow disobedience.

The Sovereign's Testimony

God testifies against His people, calling them to hear and obey. The Hebrew word for testify implies bearing witness or warning, as seen in other Old Testament passages.

Now God says it a little differently, but it's the same truth. Deuteronomy 30 verse 19, God says,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 30:19

"I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live."

He said,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 30:19

"I call heaven and earth to witness"

or to testify or to record against you this day. I've set before you the way of life and death. Look if you would in Deuteronomy chapter 31 and verse 28. Deuteronomy 31 verse 28. He says,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 30:19

"Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them."

Now, one last passage before we go further, and that's Psalm 50 and verse 7. Psalm 50 and verse 7. Notice how closely this resembles Psalm 81 and verse 8. But in Psalm 50 and verse 7, he says,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 50:7

"Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God."

Scripture Reading — Psalm 50:7

"Hear, O my people, and I will testify."

The Exclusiveness of the Covenant

God demands exclusive worship, forbidding strange gods. This is the core of the covenant, likened to a marriage where God is a jealous God.

Scripture Reading — Exodus 20:2-3

"I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

And then when you get to Deuteronomy chapter 5, he says it again,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 20:2-3

"I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage. Thou shalt have none other gods before me."

Scripture Reading — Exodus 34:14

"For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God."

We are to be his. Do you remember what God said in Isaiah 42 in verse 8? Now, listen to this. He said,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 42:8

"I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images."

The Extensiveness of the Covenant

God's redemption includes past deliverance, present provision, and future blessing. He is the all-sufficient God who invites His people to open their mouths wide.

The Enmity to His Covenant

Israel refused to listen to God and wanted nothing to do with Him, demonstrating hatred and idolatry. Refusing to hear God is itself idolatry.

The Exclusion from His Covenant

God gave them up to their own hearts' lusts, a horrendous judgment worse than external chastisement. This judicial abandonment leads to damnation.

Now, look in your Bibles to Psalm 81 and verses 13 through 16, 13 through 16.

The Enjoyments of His Covenant

God laments what might have been: victory over enemies, enduring peace, and abundant provision. The optative mood expresses a wish contrary to fact.

Applications for Today

Weaver applies the passage to America's spiritual decline, the necessity of obedience for true Christianity, and the condition of repentance for victory over enemies.

The Testimony of the LORD

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	3707174159
Subject	Covenant Theology
Course	Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: The Hallelujah of Confession
Genre	Sermon
Date	2007-01-14
Dictation Name
Book	Book 042: Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: God's Answer to America's Problems — Chapter 6
Source Timed Segments	82

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: The Principle of Obedience and Blessing: Weaver introduces the sermon's theme: blessings follow obedience and curses follow disobedience, a principle illustrated in Psalm 81:8-16 and throughout Scripture.
The Sovereign's Testimony: God testifies against His people, calling them to hear and obey. The Hebrew word for testify implies bearing witness or warning, as seen in other Old Testament passages.
The Exclusiveness of the Covenant: God demands exclusive worship, forbidding strange gods. This is the core of the covenant, likened to a marriage where God is a jealous God.
The Extensiveness of the Covenant: God's redemption includes past deliverance, present provision, and future blessing. He is the all-sufficient God who invites His people to open their mouths wide.
The Enmity to His Covenant: Israel refused to listen to God and wanted nothing to do with Him, demonstrating hatred and idolatry. Refusing to hear God is itself idolatry.
The Exclusion from His Covenant: God gave them up to their own hearts' lusts, a horrendous judgment worse than external chastisement. This judicial abandonment leads to damnation.
The Enjoyments of His Covenant: God laments what might have been: victory over enemies, enduring peace, and abundant provision. The optative mood expresses a wish contrary to fact.
Applications for Today: Weaver applies the passage to America's spiritual decline, the necessity of obedience for true Christianity, and the condition of repentance for victory over enemies.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

The Old Testament principle of blessing and curse applies to New Testament believers.

Weaver argues that Romans 15:4 and 1 Corinthians 10:6,11 show that Old Testament events are examples for New Testament believers, so the principle of obedience and blessing is universal.

Weaver cites Romans 15:4 and 1 Corinthians 10:6,11, stating, 'Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning.'

Refusing to hear God is idolatry.

When people refuse to hear God's Word, they set themselves up as God, which is the essence of idolatry.

Weaver says, 'When you refuse to hear God, you not only go into idolatry, that is idolatry. Because you've already set yourself up above God.'

Being given over to one's own lusts is the worst judgment.

God's abandonment to one's own heart's lusts is more severe than being delivered to enemies or Satan, because it offers no hope of salvation.

Weaver contrasts Psalm 81:12 with 1 Corinthians 5:5 and Romans 1:24-28.

Obedience is the mark of true Christianity.

Continual disobedience indicates a lack of genuine relationship with God, as Jesus said, 'Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?'

Weaver quotes Luke 6:46 and states, 'It is impossible to belong to the Lord and be continually disobedient.'

National decline is due to disobedience.

America's current mess is a result of disobedience and failure to heed God, not God's fault.

Weaver says, 'We are in the mess that we're in because of our own disobedience and our own failure.'

Scripture References

Psalm 81:8-16: The primary text of the sermon, illustrating God's testimony and the correlation between obedience and blessing.
Deuteronomy 11:26-28: God sets before Israel a blessing and a curse, based on obedience or disobedience.
Romans 15:4: Old Testament writings are for our learning, showing the principle applies to New Testament believers.
1 Corinthians 10:6,11: Old Testament events are examples and admonitions for believers.
Deuteronomy 8:19: God testifies that if Israel forgets Him and follows other gods, they will perish.
Deuteronomy 30:19: God calls heaven and earth to record that He has set before them life and death, blessing and cursing.
Deuteronomy 31:28: God calls heaven and earth to record against Israel.
Deuteronomy 32:1: God calls heaven and earth to hear His words as a witness.
Psalm 50:7: God testifies against Israel, similar to Psalm 81:8.
Exodus 20:2-3: The first commandment: no other gods before the LORD.
Deuteronomy 5:6-7: Reiteration of the first commandment.
Exodus 34:14: The LORD's name is Jealous, a jealous God.
Deuteronomy 4:24: The LORD is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
Isaiah 42:8: God will not give His glory to another or His praise to graven images.
2 Corinthians 6:14-18: New Testament call to separation from idols and unbelievers, echoing the covenant exclusivity.
Isaiah 43:11: Beside the LORD there is no saviour.
Isaiah 44:6: The LORD is the first and the last; beside Him there is no God.
Isaiah 45:5-6: There is no God beside the LORD.
1 Peter 1:18-19: Believers are redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, the Lamb without blemish.
Romans 12:1-2: Present your bodies a living sacrifice, based on the mercies of God.

Historical References

Old Persian custom of kings stuffing mouths with sweets or jewels: Weaver uses this custom to illustrate God's invitation to 'open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.'
Destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.: Weaver references the desolation of Jerusalem as a consequence of rejecting God, paralleling Matthew 23:38.

Important Quotes

Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me; there shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.

This is the opening of the primary text, establishing God's testimony and the demand for exclusive worship.

Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.

God's promise of abundant provision for His obedient people, a key verse in the sermon.

But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.

Highlights Israel's rejection of God, leading to judgment.

So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels.

The severe judgment of judicial abandonment, a central point in the sermon.

Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!

God's lament over missed blessings, expressing His desire for their obedience.

I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.

The victory God would have given if Israel had obeyed.

He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.

The abundant physical and spiritual blessings promised for obedience.

Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

Jesus' challenge that true lordship requires obedience, used to emphasize the necessity of obedience for genuine faith.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

How does the principle 'blessings follow obedience and curses follow disobedience' challenge or encourage your daily walk with God?

[Context]

Weaver introduces this as the central theme of the sermon, based on Psalm 81 and Deuteronomy 11.

[Question]

In what ways might we be guilty of having 'strange gods' in our lives today, and how can we identify and remove them?

[Context]

Weaver emphasizes the exclusiveness of the covenant and the prohibition of strange gods.

[Question]

What does it mean to 'open your mouth wide' in faith, and how can we practically trust God for His provision?

[Context]

Weaver explains God's invitation to receive abundant blessings.

[Question]

Why is being 'given over to your own heart's lust' considered the worst judgment, and how does this contrast with God's disciplinary actions?

[Context]

Weaver discusses the severity of judicial abandonment from Psalm 81:12 and Romans 1.

[Question]

How does God's lament in Psalm 81:13-16 reveal His heart toward His people, and what does this teach us about His character?

[Context]

Weaver highlights the optative mood and God's condescending love.

[Question]

What are some 'missed blessings' you may have experienced due to disobedience, and how can repentance restore what was lost?

[Context]

Weaver applies the concept of missed enjoyments to personal and national levels.

[Question]

How can we cultivate a heart that truly hears and obeys God, rather than merely professing faith?

[Context]

Weaver stresses that true Christianity begins, continues, and ends with obedience.

[Question]

In what areas of our nation or church do we need to repent and return to obedience to see God's victory and blessing?

[Context]

Weaver applies the message to America's spiritual decline and the need for corporate repentance.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T12:35:48Z