Transcription
Welcome to Chapter by Chapter for your journey [music] through the greatest book given to the human race, the word of God, the Bible. We get to go through it chapter by chapter. 7 minutes a day and 7 days a week. Join us each day and share it with others so they can join this journey that will be life-changing.
We'll stop at unexpected places on the journey and be challenged. Some verses will create awe and wonder. We'll have chapters that will be instructive and in others we'll find joy and comfort. We will occasionally be convicted and want to change, but all in all the journey will be worth it.
Once in a while we may take a detour on the journey and hear from some of God's servants on their favorite passages from a chapter of scripture and let them give you their insight. Every journey needs a small detour occasionally. The best way to get the most from this podcast is read the chapter we're discussing before or after. It's His word that transforms. You'll find more and see more than I can ever articulate.
Welcome to Chapter by Chapter and today's chapter is Deuteronomy 33. My God with me at 33,000 ft. I was recently reading about the American President Grover Cleveland. There are a number of things about this president that stands out. He dedicated the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. He was the only president to get married in the White House. His bride was only 21 years old making her the youngest first lady.
Grover Cleveland was a preacher's kid who loved the word of God and grew up under the word of God and he needed to because of what he would deal with in office. While facing a national financial crisis, he was diagnosed with cancer. He said his secret to facing life's challenges was on a picture directly over his bed. It was that framed verse that would be his life verse. He would see it every morning when he started his day and it would be the last thing he would see at night when he retired. It was the words from Deuteronomy 33. That framed verse said this, "Your strength will equal your days." Deuteronomy 33:25. I have made that verse a key part of my life. I think you should, too.
Deuteronomy 33 is the end of a great life. It's the final chapter of us hearing Moses' speak. It says in Deuteronomy 33:1 these words, "Now this is the blessing with which Moses, the man of God, blessed the sons of Israel before his death." It's considered to be a blessing he will pronounce on the people, but more specifically, it's a blessing on the tribes. Moses seems to take a page out of Jacob's final words in Genesis 49.
There is a significant difference between Jacob's tribe by tribe and Moses' tribe by tribe. Jacob revealed the sins of his sons. It was a sobering final words of this father. Moses' tribe by tribe is significantly different. He led with prophetic insight for their future and how they would walk with God and be a blessing. They both start with the eldest, Reuben. Jacob ends with Benjamin and Moses ends with Asher. It is Asher where Grover Cleveland found his life-giving verse.
It was here that Deuteronomy 33:25 encouraged me, but Deuteronomy 33:26 and 27 rescued me. The Asher prophecy will forever hold a special place in my heart. It's hard for me to read Deuteronomy 33 without being grateful and a little emotional. This chapter delivered me from a paralyzing fear. I've flown millions of miles and in the middle of flying, I was struck with a debilitating fear of death every time I stepped onto a plane. It seemed to come after we had our first child. I think it was because I thought I want to be alive for them and so, it opened up a door for a fear of death in me.
It stayed with me for a few years until I spoke at a men's conference in California, and in comes Deuteronomy 33. I remember the night session and the altar call. I was speaking, but thankfully God was speaking, too. He was talking to one of the leaders about me. A man randomly came up to me at the end of the service and said the Holy Spirit wanted me to give you this verse. It was a verse to fight fear and the fear of flying. It was Deuteronomy 33:26. Listen to this. "There is none like the God of Jeshurun, who rides the heavens to your help, and through the skies in his majesty. The eternal God is a dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms, and he drove out the enemy from before you."
I don't know how to tell you, but that fear broke instantly in me. I was a white-knuckled traveler on takeoffs and touchdowns. It was gone when I read those words. Deuteronomy 33 broke that fear of death that would not let go of me. I kept thinking over and over, he is the God that rides through the heavens for my help. And the picture was forever in my spirit that 30,000 ft above the ground is me and God. We were both in the skies at the same time. The promise of Asher really drove out all of my fear.
From the chapter that I was promised to have the strength to equal my days, it would only take the next few verses to give me that strength to step on a Delta flight fear-free. I had one other promise as we zoomed through the skies at hundreds of miles an hour. Buried in the promise of riding through the heavens to my help is the promise of having God's everlasting arms underneath me. The image is unforgettable. The great 20th century British preacher G. Campbell Morgan makes it come alive to me. Morgan said, "Underneath us are the everlasting arms. These are arms that even at your lowest point, they are still underneath. No matter how low you go, his arms are still lower to carry you home."
I got really low sitting on those planes. The fear was hurting me emotionally and physically. The blessing of Moses would become a young man's blessing for the rest of his life. My God was in the heavens with me and my God's arms were underneath me. That was the strength to equal my flying days.
Thank you for joining Chapter by Chapter. Every chapter from the greatest book, the Bible, the word of God. 7 minutes a day, 7 days a week. We'll see you tomorrow.