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Speaker 1: Hi, this is John Stongy, and I just wanted to

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Speaker 1: remind you about my newest podcast, the Chapter a Day

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Speaker 1: Bible Study. In it, we're looking at every chapter of

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Speaker 1: the Bible, one day at a time, giving a thorough

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Speaker 1: explanation of it, and showing how every chapter of the

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Speaker 1: Bible points to Jesus. You can listen to it on

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Speaker 1: every major podcasting app if you just type in my

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Speaker 1: name John Stongy, it'll show up in the search results.

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Speaker 1: But that being said, if you haven't listened yet, I'm

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Speaker 1: almost finished with the Book of Deuteronomy and I thought

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Speaker 1: you might enjoy a sample episode. So here it is Deuteronomy,

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Speaker 1: chapter thirty from the Chapter a Day Bible Study. You're

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Speaker 1: listening to the Chapter a Day Bible Study. I'm John Stongy,

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Speaker 1: and today we're in Deuteronomy thirty, returning to the Lord

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Speaker 1: and choosing life. Deuteronomy thirty feels personal and highly applicable.

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Speaker 1: After chapter that were filled with warnings about blessings and curses,

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Speaker 1: the Lord now speaks with specific compassion and hope. He

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Speaker 1: knows his people will fail, he knows the wander, but

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Speaker 1: he also makes it clear that failure isn't the end.

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Speaker 1: Of their story. Restoration is possible, life is still available.

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Speaker 1: Moses begins by describing a future moment. Israel will experience

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Speaker 1: the consequences of disobedience and find themselves scattered among the nations.

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Speaker 1: And yet even there something important will happen. Their hearts

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Speaker 1: will turn Verses one through three. Say this, and when

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Speaker 1: all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse,

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Speaker 1: and you call them to mind among all the nations

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Speaker 1: where the Lord your God has driven you, and return

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Speaker 1: to the Lord your God. Then the Lord your God

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Speaker 1: will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you. The

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Speaker 1: turning begins in the heart and mind before it shows

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Speaker 1: up in behavior. They call them to mind, then they return.

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Speaker 1: That's repentance. It isn't just outward correction. It's inward recognition

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Speaker 1: that leads to a changed direction. And God responds to

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Speaker 1: that repentance with mercy. He doesn't say you had your chance.

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Speaker 1: He says he will restore, gather and bring them home.

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Speaker 1: Even if they're scattered to the ends of the earth,

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Speaker 1: he will bring them back. That's the heart of God.

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Speaker 1: He disciplines, but he doesn't abandon. And then comes one

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Speaker 1: of the most attention getting promises. In this chapter and

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Speaker 1: verse six we read, and the Lord your God will

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Speaker 1: circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so

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Speaker 1: that you will love the Lord your God with all

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Speaker 1: your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

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Speaker 1: This is powerful because it acknowledges something Israel couldn't fix

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Speaker 1: on their own. External obedience wasn't enough. They needed internal transformation.

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Speaker 1: They needed new hearts, and this promise points us straight

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Speaker 1: to Jesus. Through Christ. God does what the law alone

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Speaker 1: couldn't accomplish. The law could instruct, it could warn, and

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Speaker 1: it could guide, but it couldn't change the human heart.

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Speaker 1: Jesus brings the transformation that Deuteronomy thirty anticipates. Through his

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Speaker 1: death and resurrection, and through the work of the Holy Spirit,

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Speaker 1: our hearts are made new. The prophet Ezekiel reiterates the

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Speaker 1: same promise when he speaks of God giving his people

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Speaker 1: a new heart and a new spirit. We actually see

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Speaker 1: that in Ezekiel chapter thirty six, and the apostle Paul

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Speaker 1: later explains that true circumcision isn't merely outward but inward,

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Speaker 1: a matter of the heart by the spirit. We see

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Speaker 1: that in Romans chapter two, verse twenty nine. So Deuteronomy

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Speaker 1: thirty is actually planting seeds that fully bloom in the Gospel.

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Speaker 1: And Moses continues by reminding the people that God's commands

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Speaker 1: aren't out of reach. In verse eleven and verse fourteen,

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Speaker 1: he says this, for this commandment that I can command

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Speaker 1: you today is not too hard for you, neither is

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Speaker 1: it far off. But the Word is very near you.

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Speaker 1: It is in your mouth and in your heart, so

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Speaker 1: that you can do it at first glance. I imagine

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Speaker 1: that might sound a little surprising, because after all, Israel

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Speaker 1: repeatedly struggled to obey. But Moses is emphasizing that God

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Speaker 1: hasn't hidden his will, He's revealed it clearly. So the

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Speaker 1: problem isn't lack of access, its lack of transformed desire.

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Speaker 1: And this is another place where Jesus specifically steps in

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Speaker 1: in the New Testament. The apostle Paul quotes this passage

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Speaker 1: in Romans chapter ten, and he applies it directly to Christ.

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Speaker 1: The Word that is near is the message of faith

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Speaker 1: or the Gospel itself. We don't have to ascend to

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Speaker 1: heaven to bring Christ down, or descend into the Abyss

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Speaker 1: to bring him up. He's already come. He's already accomplished

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Speaker 1: the work. Salvation is near because Jesus has drawn near. Well,

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Speaker 1: then Moses brings everything to a moment of decision. In

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Speaker 1: verses fifteen and then nineteen through twenty, he says this,

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Speaker 1: see I have set before you today life and good,

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Speaker 1: death and evil. Therefore, choose life that you and your

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Speaker 1: offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice,

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Speaker 1: and holding fast to him. This is one of the

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Speaker 1: clearest calls in all of scripture, choose life. But what

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Speaker 1: does that really mean? Well, it means loving God, it

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Speaker 1: means listening to his voice, it means holding fast to him.

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Speaker 1: Life isn't found in independence from God, It's found in

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Speaker 1: relationship with him. But still, if we're honest, we know

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Speaker 1: how this story goes. Israel doesn't consistently choose life. They drift,

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Speaker 1: they rebel, they return, and then they wander again. And

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Speaker 1: if we look at our own lives, we see the

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Speaker 1: exact same pattern. Left to ourselves, we don't always choose

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Speaker 1: what leads to life. But that's why Deuteronomy thirty ultimately

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Speaker 1: points us to Jesus, because Jesus is the one who

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Speaker 1: perfectly chose life in every moment. He loved the Father

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Speaker 1: with all his heart, soul, mind and strength. He obeyed fully,

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Speaker 1: and then, in an act of grace, he took the

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Speaker 1: death we deserved for our disobedience. He took it upon himself.

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Speaker 1: Through him, the choice of life becomes more than a command.

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Speaker 1: It becomes a gift. When we trust in Christ, we're

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Speaker 1: united to him. His obedience is credited to us. Theologians

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Speaker 1: call that imputed righteousness. His spirit begins transforming us from

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Speaker 1: the inside out. The promise of a circumcised heart becomes reality.

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Speaker 1: We begin to love what we once resisted. We begin

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Speaker 1: to desire what's good, and one day that transformation will

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Speaker 1: be complete. So when you read Deuteronomy thirty, don't just

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Speaker 1: hear a command. Here an invitation. God's saying to us

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Speaker 1: return to me. He's saying I will restore you. He's

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Speaker 1: saying I will change your heart. He's saying choose life.

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Speaker 1: And in Jesus, he's also saying, I've made the way.

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Speaker 1: So that's where this chapter leads us not to self reliance,

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Speaker 1: but to surrender, not to striving harder, but to trusting deeper.

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Speaker 1: Life isn't something we manufacture, it's something we receive as

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Speaker 1: we cling to Christ. So today choose life not in

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Speaker 1: your own strength, but by holding fast to Jesus, the

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Speaker 1: one who is your life. Thanks again for listening to

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Speaker 1: today's episode of the Chapter a Day Bible Study. For

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Speaker 1: more resources to help you in your walk with Christ

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Speaker 1: and your understanding of the Bible, please visit my website

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Speaker 1: at Bible Studyheadquarters dot com, and if you'd like to

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Speaker 1: partner with me by becoming a supporter of this ministry,

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Speaker 1: you'll see a few options to do so again at

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Speaker 1: Bible studyheadquarters dot com or in the description of this episode.

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Speaker 1: As always, thank you for your prayers, thank you for

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Speaker 1: your support, and thank you for your willingness to share

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Speaker 1: this content with others. Have a great day, and I'll

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Speaker 1: see you again right here tomorrow