Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

           Text: Deuteronomy 10:12-21, but especially these words –

And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good...Yet the Lord set his affection on your forefathers and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations, as it is today…Fear the Lord your God and serve him.  Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Dear Friends in Christ Jesus:

           “What do I do now?” People live in the now. The manager is responsible for long-range planning – but when an angry customer storms into his store, he wants to know what to do now. The salesman has a quota for the entire year – but his career depends on today’s presentation. The beginning music student dreams of playing in a symphony – but today’s assignment is to practice the musical scales.

           You and I remember the past with a mixture of nostalgia and regret. We anticipate the future with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. We can’t change the past. And the future is not yet here. All you and I have is now! And yet, what we do today – builds our tomorrow. And God’s Word for today encourages us to build our tomorrows on God’s yesterday.

           While every today is a pivotal point between the past and the future, you and I think about it more at certain times than at others – graduation, starting a new job, marriage, enrolling a child in school, reaffirming our baptismal faith in confirmation, a funeral. Certain dates force us to look beyond today.

           The people of Israel stood at such a pivotal point in their history – so important, in fact, that the Holy Scriptures emphasize the date – on the first day of the eleventh month of the 40th year after the first Passover. Moses spoke words of farewell, for not only was he about to leave the people of Israel – but the people of Israel themselves were about to move into a future very different from their past.  Perhaps, there have never been so many people with so much in common!

           And just look at their past. For 40 years – the people of Israel lived under the direct guidance of God Himself. For 40 years – they ate the manna that He had provided. For 40 years – their clothing and sandals had not worn out. For 40 years – the Lord’s presence was before them as a cloud by day and as a light by night. However, for 40 years – their own complaints against God and against Moses continued.

           The people of Israel listening to Moses also shared a national memory of who they were. They carried the bones of Joseph with them for 40 years because they were sure of the promise of the land in which he was to be buried. They carried the ark of the covenant, in which two engraved stone tablets testified to the agreement God had made with them. Some of them and all of their parents had ratified that covenant, saying – “We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.”

           Moses reminded them that the Lord had kept His part of the bargain – even though they had repeatedly broken theirs. The people of Israel had not been obedient. First, they broke the covenant that God had made with Abraham, and then they broke the covenant made at Mount Sinai. Their long wilderness journey reinforced their consciousness of former slavery. Yes, the people who assembled before Moses in the text shared a common heritage. And you and I here today share a great deal with those people to whom Moses spoke, don’t we? We also have a common heritage as sinners. We have exiled ourselves in the slavery of sin, as the people of Israel had done. We complain at least as much as they did.

           However, the people of Israel shared more than a heritage as sinners and slaves. The Passover festival reminded them of the years of slavery – but it also celebrated their freedom. The Lord their God had reached down and chosen 70 people as His own. And from those 70 He raised up a great nation, the nation of Israel, the people of God. These people shared a God who had fought and had won victory after victory for them.

           And we who are here today share a common heritage as sinners. But by the grace of our merciful God, we also share a common heritage as saints. We have known the blessings of our God in providing for our daily needs. Through no merit or worthiness of our own, we have been lifted out of slavery to freedom in Jesus Christ. We have known His patience with us. Where the people of Israel were baptized into Moses in the Red Sea, we have been baptized into the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ at the font. Where Moses mediated the Lord’s will for His people for 40 years, we have had the Word of that same Lord proclaimed and taught to us. Where they ratified God’s covenant at Mount Sinai, we have confirmed our faith in His sacrifice for us on Mount Calvary.

           As Moses spoke, the people of Israel stood at a pivotal point in their history. The now for them – was that they shared a future. Now they faced the unknown. The immediate future meant facing strong military resistance. They now faced strange gods and new temptations. Now a people always on the move – settling down in the land which God had promised them. And all of this was to be done under the untested leadership of Joshua. Behind Moses’ words of farewell, we can hear the people asking – “What shall we do now?”

           Often, we also ask – “What are we going to do now?” Our future is unknown. New leaders arise before us in government and in the church. Strange gods and new temptations call and make us fear for our children as well as for ourselves. We have grown up in a society that measures progress in the amount of goods produced.  Today, strange weapons, strange ways, strange religions, and strange ideas keep coming at us. What are we going to do now?

           The answer that God gave the people of Israel as they stood at that turning point in their history – is what He also prescribes for us – “Build your tomorrows on God’s yesterday!” Build your future on God and what He has done for you in the past! We’re tempted to trust in ourselves and our own righteousness. We’re tempted to build tomorrow on our own strength and goodness. Listen to what Moses said to the people before him, and what God through Moses says to you and to me today – “And now…what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?”

           This isn’t a requirement to gain salvation. It’s a requirement to live today and to build tomorrow on what God has done in the past. It’s the requirement of response. For what was promised to the people of Israel has been fulfilled for us. The promised Christ came and died on the cross for all people, for you and for me – and He rose again as proof positive that He has made peace between us and our Father in heaven.

           But more, Jesus ascended and rules now as Lord of today and tomorrow. The Lord, who demonstrated His power in freeing the people of Israel from Egypt, has done even greater things for us. His love and power have freed us from the fear of death, from the tyranny of Satan, from guilt over our past, and from anxiety about tomorrow.

           And now God shows us how to build our tomorrows on His past. Remembering what it was to be exiled in sin, remembering what it was to have separated ourselves from our loving Father, we’re to show love for those around us who are still in the grip of sin and Satan. As the Father has loved you in Jesus, your response is to proclaim that love to those around you who have not yet become part of God’s family. And following up on that proclamation, you put the love of God into action by reaching out.

           Yesterday, God in Jesus Christ brought you forgiveness. He set you apart and chose you to be His special people. Today, Jesus rules as Lord of heaven and earth, Lord of the church, and Lord of your lives. He has made you holy. Now, He challenges you to live each day as His faithful people. What Jesus has done yesterday – is the basis for building our tomorrows. What He has done yesterday shows you what to do now. His new command is to love as He has loved you.

           How do we build our tomorrows on God’s yesterday? We live as if our Savior really does matter more than anything else. We live as faithful stewards of the material blessings He has showered upon us. We honor His name in worship, in prayer, and in proclaiming it at every opportunity. For our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. It’s on Christ, the solid Rock, that we stand today. It’s in Christ, that we build our tomorrows on God’s yesterday! Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.