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495 | Perfect with the Lord (Deuteronomy 18) · The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast

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  God is in control.
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  She's a happy girl. Hello, friends, and welcome back to another podcast of Woman
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  at the Well Ministries, where we believe that all of us have to come to Jesus
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  like the woman at the well in John chapter 4.
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  Our highest priority is making God real in your life.
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  Whether you are listening in our app, in your favorite podcasting app,
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  or on our website at watwm.org, we invite you to sit down with us as we look
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  to the scriptures to learn more about God and to strengthen your daily walk with Jesus Christ.
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  Living her life for Christ She's a happy girl.
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  Music.
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  She's a happy girl,
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  Have you ever wondered what it really means to be set apart for God?
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  Deuteronomy chapter 18 paints a powerful picture of what holiness looks like among God's people.
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  It begins with the Levites, men chosen and sustained by God to serve Him alone.
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  While every other tribe received land, the Levites' inheritance was far greater,
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  the presence of the Lord Himself. But this chapter also comes with strong warnings.
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  God's people were not to imitate the nations around them with sorcery,
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  witchcraft, or consulting the dead.
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  Instead, they were to be blameless before him, fully devoted and set apart.
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  And then comes one of the most remarkable promises of the Old Testament.
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  God would raise up a prophet from among his people, one who would speak his words with authority.
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  This prophecy points directly to Jesus, the Savior, who would come to fulfill
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  God's word and call us to obedience.
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  Join us for this episode of the Woman at the Whale Ministries podcast as Erica
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  Close teaches from Deuteronomy 18.
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  Together, we'll see what it means to support God's work to guard our hearts
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  from the enemy's lies, and to look to Jesus, the prophet, the Savior,
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  and the one who speaks God's word into our lives today.
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  What an exciting idea that we get to see the presence of Jesus way in the Old
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  Testament in the book of Deuteronomy.
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  Join with me as we read Deuteronomy 18, verses 1 through 22.
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  The priests, the Levites, and all the tribe of Levi shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel.
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  They shall eat the offerings of the Lord made by fire and his inheritance.
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  Therefore shall they have no inheritance among their brethren.
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  The Lord is their inheritance, as he hath said unto them.
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  And this shall be the priests due from the people, from them that offer a sacrifice,
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  whether it be ox or sheep.
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  And they shall give unto the priest the shoulder and the two cheeks and the
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  maw, the first fruit also of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil.
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  And the first of the fleece of thy sheep shalt thou give him.
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  For the Lord thy God hath chosen him out of all thy tribes, to stand to minister
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  in the name of the Lord, him and his sons, forever.
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  And if a Levite come from any of thy gates, out of all Israel,
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  where he sojourned, and come with all the desire of his mind unto the place
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  which the Lord shall choose,
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  then he shall minister in the name of the Lord his God, and all his brethren,
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  the Levites do, which stand there before the Lord.
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  They shall have like portions to eat, beside that which cometh of the sale of his patrimony.
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  When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee,
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  thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.
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  There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter
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  to pass through the fire, or that useth divination,
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  or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer,
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  or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
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  For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord,
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  and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
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  Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God.
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  For these nations, which thou
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  shalt possess, Hearken unto the observers of times, and unto diviners.
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  But as for thee, the Lord thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.
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  The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee,
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  of thy brethren, like unto me, unto him ye shall hearken.
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  According to all that thou desirest of the Lord thy God in Horeb in the day
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  of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God,
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  Neither let me see this great fire any more that I die not.
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  And the Lord said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken.
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  I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren like unto thee,
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  and will put my words in his mouth.
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  And he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
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  And it shall come to pass that whosoever will not hearken unto my words,
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  which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
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  But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name,
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  which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of
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  other gods, even that prophet shall die.
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  And if thou say in thine heart, how shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken?
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  When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not,
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  nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken.
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  But the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously, thou shalt not be afraid of him.
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  Well, welcome to chapter 18 of the book of Deuteronomy.
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  Following a chapter on giving God our best and living lives of integrity,
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  chapter 18 is what about ensuring that the holy men of God among the Israelites
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  were provided for, that the Israelites themselves were living holy lives that were set apart,
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  and that God would set up a prophet for the Israelites, Jesus himself.
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  This chapter opens with eight verses devoted to the Levites.
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  Deuteronomy mentions the Levites often, and so far in the book of Deuteronomy,
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  they've been mentioned more than 15 times.
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  Their repeated inclusion makes it clear that the Levites held a significant
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  place in God's design, and their care and protection were a priority in his
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  instructions to his people.
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  While all the other tribes of Israel received land in the Promised Land.
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  The priests of the tribe of Levi had no land-based inheritance,
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  but their inheritance was the offerings of the Israelites themselves.
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  Their greatest possession was the presence of God Himself.
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  Verses 3 and 4 describe the offerings that the Israelites were to make.
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  Specific pieces of the ox or the sheep were set apart for the Levites,
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  along with the firstfruits of the corn, wine, oil, and fleece.
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  Just as God desires our first and our best for His glory, our first and our
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  best are to take care of those that God has called to share His message.
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  The call of God on the lives of the Levites is clear in verse 5.
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  They were chosen to stand and to minister in the name of God.
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  This chapter makes it clear that these provisions for the Levites were important,
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  even if the Levites were on the move.
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  Verses 6-8 make it clear that if a Levite left his normal place of service to
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  go to another place of the Lord's choosing, he would still be a minister of
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  the name of God and he would still receive his portion of the tithe.
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  As we move out of the section about the Levites and how God provided for them,
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  Deuteronomy chapter 18 shifts.
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  The focus returns to the command of the Lord that when the Israelites entered
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  the new land, they were not to live as the people already there.
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  Specifically, they were not to learn or practice the abominations of that land.
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  This command is repeated over and over again throughout Deuteronomy. It was important to God.
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  Verse 10 makes this command unmistakably clear.
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  The Israelites were not to sacrifice their children in fire,
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  nor were they to follow after sorcery, enchantments, witchcraft,
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  anyone who consulted the dead, or practice wizardry.
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  God spelled this out plainly, knowing that such practices would be present in the promised land.
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  His people were to have no part in them.
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  According to verse 12, God's intent was that these abominable practices would
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  be driven out as the Israelites came in.
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  God desires something wholly different for his chosen people.
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  Verse 13 gives a powerful charge. Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God.
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  This stands in stark opposition to the nations that were around them.
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  While others chased after evil, the Israelites were called to be set apart,
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  holy, obedient, and devoted to God alone.
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  As we move into the last section of Deuteronomy chapter 18, there's another shift.
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  The text begins to tell the Israelites that a prophet would be raised up among them.
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  This prophet would have the word of God in his mouth and would speak all that
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  the Lord commanded him to speak.
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  Verse 19 speaks to the seriousness of this role.
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  It says that whoever refused to listen to this prophet will be held accountable
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  for their lives before God himself.
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  Alongside this, verse 20 gives a sober warning about false prophets.
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  A false prophet was one who spoke words that did not come from God.
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  Such a prophet would be punished, and the people were responsible for discerning
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  the difference between a true prophet and a false one.
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  The chapter closes by giving the Israelites a way to know the difference.
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  If a prophet spoke in the name of the Lord and the things he said actually came
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  to pass, then the people could be confident that he was truly speaking from God.
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  What mattered most in that moment was that if the prophet was indeed from the
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  Lord, the people were not to be afraid of him, but were to listen to his words and obey.
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  Deuteronomy chapter 18 gives us three main lessons.
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  The first is about caring for the Levites and what God thought about their role.
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  The second is about how the Israelites were to set themselves apart from the
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  nations around them who were living in ways that were an abomination to the Lord.
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  The third is about the promise of a prophet who would be raised up,
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  ultimately pointing to Jesus himself.
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  It is tempting to think that passages like this do not apply to us because we
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  live on this side of the cross.
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  Yet there are so many truths here that still speak into our lives.
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  When we look at the value that the Lord placed upon the Levites,
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  we see God's desire for there to be people set apart for His service.
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  Their role was to provide spiritual guidance to the people and to lead them
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  to repentance and obedience to God.
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  The Levites were supported through the firstfruits and offerings of the Israelites,
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  which we recognize today as the tithe.
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  This should remind us that our own tithes and offerings are important.
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  They allow for the ongoing work of the church to take place.
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  While much of the Lord's work happens beyond the walls of a church building,
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  we are reminded in Scripture that we are not to forsake gathering together as believers.
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  The tithe continues to be a means by which God supports His chosen work and
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  those who carry it out in His name.
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  The second section of Deuteronomy chapter 18 reminds us of the importance of being set apart.
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  The Israelites were not to follow the abominable practices of the nations living
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  in and around the promised land.
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  We may be tempted to think that things like sorcery, witchcraft,
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  consulting the dead, or even sacrificing children are relics of the ancient world.
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  Yet the truth is that these practices are still present today.
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  Just as the devil worked to draw God's people away in the Old Testament,
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  he is still active now, seeking to turn hearts and minds away from the Lord.
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  It is easy to dismiss sorcery, witchcraft, wizardry, or ghosts as harmless entertainment
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  when they appear in books, movies, or television.
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  We tell ourselves these things are fake and cannot affect us.
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  But the reality is that these ideas represent the very opposite of what God desires for his people.
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  They open doors that allow the enemy to influence our hearts and our minds.
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  As Christians, we're called to guard what we allow into our lives.
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  God's charge to the Israelites was that they were to be perfect with the Lord thy God.
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  If that was true for them, it is true for us as well.
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  There can be no place for practices that oppose God's truth.
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  We must remain vigilant, knowing that if we give the devil even the smallest
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  foothold, he will always take more.
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  This last section is exciting, because while we're talking about a prophet,
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  there were many throughout the
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  Old Testament, this prophet language is specifically pointing to Jesus.
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  This section is a divine prophecy of what Christ would do in our lives and in
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  the lives of those who love him.
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  Jesus would have the word of God in him and would live to share the words of
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  God with all those around him.
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  There would also be consequences for not listening to Jesus.
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  If we do not take him at his word, we will be held accountable for our own sin.
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  The Israelites, and we as well, were given a warning that there would be false
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  prophets who looked as though they were speaking the words of the Lord,
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  but their words would not be from him.
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  Through true discernment and by the power of the Holy Spirit,
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  it would be clear who was truly a prophet and who was not.
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  What is most important here, as this chapter closes, is that when we see those
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  who hear the word of the Lord understand what it means, they should then look.
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  To see how God is bringing that truth to pass in the world around them.
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  Every word spoken by Jesus came true, and all of the Old Testament prophets pointed towards him.
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  The closing verses of Deuteronomy 18 point to the Savior who is to come.
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  As Christians, this chapter holds three powerful lessons for us.
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  We're to remember the tithe and financially support the work of God on this earth.
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  We're to protect what goes into our eyes and our ears and our hearts and our minds.
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  The devil walketh about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.
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  Don't think. He isn't after you.
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  Lastly, we need to be looking to Jesus. Just like the Israelites were instructed
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  to look for the prophet to come, we need to be looking to Jesus.
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  He is working in our lives, but we need eyes to see him at work.
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  Friends, remember that you are loved. Jesus loves you.
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  Music.