I love a good story. I also like to tell a good story. You can just ask Margie, I treasure the opportunity to spin a good yarn. Even as a 5th grader I somehow found myself in a U.I.L. event called storytelling. The entire competition was a judge reading you a long story and then you would retell as much of the story as possible from only memory. Knowing myself I probably got points deducted for adding to the story instead of forgetting some of the story. There’s just something about a great, well told story that we all love.
Here in the Fort Worth Stockyards every year we even have the Red Steagall Cowboy Gathering where one of the main events is storytelling. Imagine sitting around the campfire in 1870’s Texas and the only entertainment to be had before hitting the bedroll was a good story. You see, a good storyteller can engage listeners, hold their attention, prove a point, drive home a moral and even teach a valuable lesson. But folks, do you know who the absolute best storyteller is? Yep, Almighty God.
Today we have the privilege of starting a new book in the Word of God, Deuteronomy. There’s 34 chapters in Deuteronomy and that means I’m gonna be spelling this long word for the next 5 weeks. First world problems, right? Deuteronomy is a conjunction of two Greek words, “deutero” meaning two and “nomion” meaning law. It basically translates to “second law.” This is Moses’ fifth and final book and by now He has had quite the 40 year journey walking with God. The only problem? The people Moses gave the law to 30 years ago are all dead. Now their sons and daughters are growing up in their place and Moses needs to give the law again. Folks, if there is one constant in this life, it’s that we crazy humans needs clear and precise directions over and over. And not new directions, the same directions. We need repetition in our instructions for life and so we see here Moses doing just that. He is giving out the law and telling many stories a second time. And sometimes like stew or chili, the second time serving it up is the best.
Here in chapter 1 we see Moses retell two major stories. The leaders being appointed to help Moses run the over 2 million people that were constantly bickering and fighting with each other and then the debacle at Kadesh-Barnea. Recall that Kadesh-Barnea was a small city that sat right on the Jordan River adjacent to Canaan. Canaan was across the river and was in the Promised Land. God told them to march over there and claim Canaan, the land He had reserved for them, but they got cold feet, sent in spies and then decided it just wasn’t the right time. I was visiting with my Grandad one time and asking him about doing something and about it being the "right time." He looked me in the eye and said, “Dan if you wait for the right time to act, you’ll never act.” Such wise words of advice, thanks Grandad.
Folks, when God calls you into action, just do it, it’s the right time because it's His time. As a result of the people’s unbelief, God sends them back into the desert for a 40 year hike and on that hike the unbelieving hearts die in the sand. Their dry bones scorch in the desert sun, rebellious lives that will never see the abundant land God had given them and greatly desired for them. A perilous correlation here to rejecting the gospel of Jesus, wouldn’t you say?
So why do you think God is such a good storyteller? I mean some of the most adventurous and exciting and heart wrenching stories ever told reside within the pages of the Bible. Dramatic miracles such as parting entire seas and rivers, fish swallowing whole people, boats with the animals of the world aboard. Devastation such as a flood that destroyed the entire world, plagues that killed entire nations, battles that killed entire cities and in Revelation a tribulation period that will chill your bones in its brutality. There are heart wrenching stories as you draw near to characters and see their hearts for God and then see them die to their family and their ministry. And of course, there’s the stories of Jesus. The miracles, the hope, the joy, the pain and the sacrifice. The stories of Jesus will make you cheer, weep, applause and mourn all within mere paragraphs. God, the master storyteller, tells us stories because He knows that’s how we relate to our world.
Today if you want a good story you can easily find it. Movies, TV dramas, video games and even YouTube clips can offer you an intriguing story that will entertain you and occupy your mind. But when Marge and I watch a movie, the ending is always the same for us. We turn off the TV and we walk away. Not changed, not altered, not motivated to change our world. Folks, that’s where the stories within God’s Word are different. God’s stories will enthrall you while changing your heart. They will teach you while they move you. They will shift your perspective in a way that will inch you ever closer to the storyteller. You see, to hear a story from God is to be around the campfire with God hanging on His every Word. You can’t hear the story without hearing the voice of the teller.
I pray today that you are hearing the stories of God and allowing their power to change you. To do that you have to open the book. I encourage you to spend some time in God’s Word each and every day. In fact, that’s the entire reason the 5MC exists, to encourage people to spend at least 5 minutes a day in God’s Word for 30 days in a row. You might say, Dan, the time is not right, work is super busy, the kid's ball games are way too hectic, I can barely even get dinner on the table every night. It’s just not the right time to start reading the Bible every day.
I’ll be praying for you. Praying that you will talk to God and learn that if you wait for the right time, you’ll never act. Make today the day that you start an intensive thirst and hunger for the truth, wisdom and goodness of God’s Word. Who knows how God will use it to change you and how He will choose to use you as a result. Maybe one day, you’ll be the storyteller. And you'll look back and tell somebody the great story of this day and how God's Word changed your very life.
Become a storyteller to the world…tell the greatest story ever created…the story of Jesus Christ.
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