Scripture text
Getting in Alignment with God.  Getting in Balance with God so as not to sway to left or right but remaining focus on God.  That’s what an alignment does   Proverbs 4:25-27

Deuteronomy 10:12-13 (KJV)

Vocabulary: Hebrew - Old Testament, Greek - New Testament
Strong's Greek & Hebrew Dictionary.

Covenant--H1285 from H1262 (barah) (in the sense of cutting [like H1254 (bara')]); a compact (because made by passing between pieces of flesh) :- confederacy, [con-]feder[-ate], covenant, league.
A covenant is a binding agreement between two or more persons in which the following four elements are present:

1.    Participants

2.    Agreement

3.    Results (expectations)

4.    Security

Fear--H3372 (yārēʾ) to fear; moral to revere or reverence with respect by the authority or power possessed.   

Ways--H1869 (darak); figurative a course of life or mode of action, depicted or shown by ones conversation or physical actions or mannerisms and customs

Heart--H3823 (labab); the most interior organ; to apply understanding without any doubt , strong sense of knowing

Soul--H5314 (naphash); properly a breathing creature, i.e. animal or (abstract) vitality; used  widely in a literal sense as the unseen part of man’s being or existence

Commandments--H4687 (tsavah); a command, whether human or divine (collective the Law) :- (which was) commanded (-ment), law, ordinance, precept.
Statues-- feminine of H2706 –H2708 (choq), and meaning substantially the same:  appointed, custom, manner, ordinance, site, statute.

Introduction: certain things—requirements—are necessary in order to maintain any relationship. Certain kinds of behavior are required. Requirements are necessary in order to maintain order and build strength of character. For example, what are the requirements established—what kind of behavior is expected—by your parents, school, employer, wife, husband, neighbor, civic club, or government? We become stronger persons when we fulfill those requirements. But before we can fulfill them, we must know what the requirements are.

This was a great concern to Moses as the leader of the Israelites. Certain requirements were demanded by God. Moses was concerned that the Israelites might not understand God's requirements. Yet understanding was absolutely essential, for the requirements would determine their eternal fate. If they fulfilled the requirements of God, they would live victorious lives. But if they failed in the requirements, they would never enter the Promised Land. They would live defeated lives, becoming engrossed in the world and enslaved by it. They would live immoral, unjust, and corrupt lives and be doomed to face the eternal judgment of God. For this reason, Moses had to make sure—absolutely sure—that the people understood the requirements of God. This is the subject of this great passage of Scripture: The Nine Supreme Requirements of Obedience: What is Demanded by God, 10:12-11:32. For God desires a Relationship not a Religion

1. Pledge allegiance to the Lord (v.12-15).

2. Circumcise or cut sin out of your heart—do not be stiff-necked, stubborn (v.16-19).

3. Keep close to God: fear, serve, cling (hold fast) to God—take oaths only in His Name (v.20-22).

4. Remember what you have experienced; love and obey God (Deut. 11:1-7).

5. Be careful—very careful—to keep all the commandments of God (v.8-15).

6. Guard against false worship and false gods (v.16-17).

7. Be a strong testimony and witness for the Lord (v.18-21).

8. Be victorious over all the enemies of the promised land (v.22-25).

9. Know the consequence of your choices: a blessing or a curse (v.26-32).

1. What does the Lord God require of you?

First, pledge allegiance to the Lord.  In building any relationship, allegiance is an absolute necessity.  Within marriage, the pledge of allegiance is essential.  Friendship requires allegiance; so does belonging to a civic club and especially your church (the Body of Christ).  A person's employer or his job requires allegiance.  A student must give his or her allegiance to the school in order to secure an education.  Nations require allegiance.  Just as American citizens pledge their allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, so the citizens of other nations pledge their allegiance to their national flag.  The point is self-evident: allegiance is an absolute necessity in building any strong relationship.  God wants a strong relationship with His people; therefore, He demands the allegiance of His people.  Note how Moses stressed this fact as he stood before the people preaching.

1.Allegiance is an absolute necessity. Moses shouted out, we must pledge allegiance to the Lord. But what does allegiance mean: What is it exactly that the Lord God requires (Deut. 10:12-13)?

a. We must fear the Lord (Deut. 10:12). To fear means to reverence and honor the Lord, to hold Him in such high esteem that we worship Him. To fear also means to respect the justice and judgment of God, to know that we should shrink back and do whatever is necessary to escape His judgment. The person who pledges his allegiance to the Lord is a person who fears the Lord, truly fears Him.

b. We must walk in all the ways of God (Deut. 10:12). There are many ways in life that a person can take. There is the way of worldliness and of the flesh; the way of greed and of possessions; the way of drugs and of alcohol; the way of lawlessness and violence; the way of pride and unbelief; the way of false religion and false worship. There are many, many ways to walk throughout this life. A person can commit his life, his walk to almost anything. But God demands that we walk in all His ways, that we totally dedicate our lives to Him, commit ourselves wholeheartedly to His ways. We owe our utmost devotion to Him, to walk in all His ways.

c. We must love the Lord (Deut. 10:12). To love God means that we adore and cherish Him; that He is ever so precious to us and that we want a deep, intense, intimate relationship with Him; that we are devoted and attached to Him and that we hold Him ever so near and dear to our hearts; that we trust Him and are captivated by Him; and that we have an undying fervor to be close to Him. This is what it means to pledge our allegiance to the Lord: we love Him.

d. We must serve the Lord with all our hearts and souls (Deut. 10:12). To serve God means to minister and meet the needs of people; to meet their need for the necessities of life such as food, housing, and clothing. To serve God also means to bear strong witness and testimony for Him. A person who pledges His allegiance to the Lord serves the Lord with all his heart and soul.

e. We must keep, obey His commandments (Deut. 10:13). To pledge allegiance to the Lord means obedience, that we do exactly what He commands, that we keep every single commandment.

"And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me" (Luke 9:23).

"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, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" Romans 12:1-2.
 
"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord" (Cor. 15:58).
 
"For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves to day to the Lord, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day" (Exodus 32:29).
 
"And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might" (Deut. 6:5).
 
"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5).
 
"My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways" (Proverbs 23:26).
 
"Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart" (Psalm 119:2).

"Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning" (Joel 2:12).