Obeying God's Commands

Obeying God’s Commands

Deuteronomy 6:1-6:23

OPEN: I once read the true story of woman who had been just learning to golf. She had been at it for about a month or so when her father-in-law invited her to go golfing with him.

After teeing off on one of the holes, her father-in-law was intent on finding the ball he had sliced into the rough. Meanwhile the woman, concentrating deeply on her shot, was unaware of his position. Her shot was a low, whistling ball that passed within inches of his head. He instinctively dropped to the ground.

Almost immediately the woman ran to him and blurted out, "I would have warned you, but I couldn’t remember the number to yell."

APPLY: What "number" was she supposed to yell???

Fore!

Now, of course, we all know that’s not a number. We’re not sure why golfers yell that word ,,, (there is about 3 different theories) but nonetheless... she didn’t.

Why not?

Why DIDN’T she yell FORE?

Well, she forgot.

She was a new golfer... and in the panic of the moment, and because she lacked experience, she froze. And frankly, she endangered her father-in-law (and she knew it) because she forgot.

Forgetting things CAN be dangerous.

If you forget to put oil in your car you can ruin the engine

If you forget to turn off the burner on the stove, you can burn down the house

If you forget your anniversary...

God’s people were about to enter the promised land. They were less than one month away from the death of Moses, and the leadership of Joshua where, in a few more weeks, he would lead them to cross the Jordan river. There were giants in the land. There were over 40 other people groups inhabiting the place where God had promised His people a land flowing with milk and honey. There would be many battles and much anxiety.

What was God’s plan? What was the first and foremost item on the agenda to prepare for this most difficult time?

Did He say increase defense spending? Or stockpile weapons? Did He tell them to roll over their 401K plan, or take out a savings account or a CD to prepare for a possible depression?

No, He says you should diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and teach them diligently to your children. Why? That it may be well with you in order that you may go in and possess the good land which the LORD swore to give your fathers, by driving out all your enemies from before you, as the LORD has spoken.

This promise is for a nation, and it is a conditional promise. It is predicated on parents diligently instructing their children in the Word of God. Seeing to it that EVERY day, God’s Word stays in their hearts.

It doesn’t matter what they teach in school. It doesn’t matter how corrupt the government, or the Judges, or the City council gets, if you aren’t fortifying your family with God’s Word and Godly living, you are just putting a different label on the same bottle of poison.

The greatest problem we have in this nation will not be fixed by who is in the White House, it must be fixed by the parents in our house.

And here in Deuteronomy 6, God is telling us that if we want to have the kind of family that will make us proud; if we want a G-rated (God-rated) home... then you and I need to REMEMBER certain things, and we need to TEACH our families to remember those things.

I. What do we need to teach our families to remember?

ILLUS: A Sunday school teacher asked her group of children if any of them could quote the entire twenty-third psalm.

A little 4 year-old girl raised her hand. A bit skeptical, the teacher asked if she could really quote the entire psalm.

The little girl smiled and said she could. "The Lord is my shepherd, that’s all I want."

We live in an R-rated world that wants to take God out of the government, the schools and out of any part of the public arena. And so, it has become increasingly important that we realize our children NEED to hear that the Lord is their shepherd ,,, and that He can be all they’ll ever want or need in their lives.

God told Israel to teach their families that very concept. He told them to remember:

* That the Lord their God was One God (He wasn’t going to share with any other gods)

* That God had brought them out of slavery

* God had given them blessings they didn’t deserve (wells they hadn’t dug, houses they hadn’t built, fields they hadn’t planted, etc.)

* They were to love the Lord their God with all of their heart, soul, mind