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
* They were to obey all His commands, decrees and laws
* And above all else, they were never to take Him lightly,,, God is a merciful God, and He loved them very much... but they were always to remember that their God was not a "safe" God... they didn’t want to mess with Him.
In other words... God was asking them to put Him 1st in every area of their lives. In their public lives, and their private lives,,, In their schools and their work place. In their past ,,, in their present ,,,and in their future.
This commitment to Him (they were told) would give their families advantages no other nation experienced...
And that promise is true for us as well.
But by contrast, if we don’t make this our priority - it’s possible to set your family up for failure:
I read in a bulletin insert the other day entitled
THE TOP 10 WAYS TO TURN OFF YOUR KIDS TO CHURCH
I’m grateful we don’t experience this type of thinking in our congregation... but it’s always wise to examine ourselves anyway to make sure these are not true of us:
10. Schedule personal or family events to conflict with church services and activities.
9. Don’t get too close to anyone in church. Refrain from developing relationships with Christians lest your children learn the joy and benefits of fellowship with other believers.
8. Look often at your watch during worship and complain bitterly, look annoyed, or freak out when church lasts longer than you think it should.
7. Tithe and financially support your church and its missions with the same enthusiasm you pay taxes.
6. Do the best you can to make sure the kids arrive on time to soccer lessons and school events, but don’t worry if they miss or are late to church.
5. Bring you family to church only when a.) you have nothing better to do; b.) you have a personal need; c.) you feel really guilty.
4. Don’t volunteer for anything or make any kind of long term commitment at church. Remember, you’ve got to keep your options open to do things that are more important.
3. Change churches every few years.
2. Remind your kids how imperfect your church leaders are and regularly point out their mistakes.
1. And whatever you do, don’t let church influence the way you live your life.
ILLUS: A young Jewish boy who grew up in Germany many years ago. This boy had a profound admiration for his father, who saw to it that the life of the family revolved around the religious practices of their faith. The father led them to the synagogue faithfully.
In his teen years, however, the boy’s family was forced to move to another town in Germany. This town had no synagogue, only a Lutheran church. The life of the community revolved around the Lutheran church; all the best people belonged to it.
Suddenly, the father announced to the family that they were going to abandon their Jewish traditions and join the Lutheran church. When the stunned family asked why, their father explained that it would be good for his business. The youngster was bewildered and confused. His deep disappointment soon gave way to anger and a kind of intense bitterness that plagued him through his life.
Later he left Germany and went to England to study. And while he was there, he began to write a book. In that book he introduced a whole new worldview and conceived a movement that was designed to change the world. He described religion as the "opiate for the masses." He committed the people who followed him to live their lives without God.
His name? Karl Marx, the founder of the communist movement. The history of the 20th Century was significantly perverted by Marx’s teachings... because his father sold out his faith.
When we sell our faith to the highest bidder - we set our families up for discouragement ,,, and failure.
II. But God promises that if we put Him first in our family He will give us certain blessings
Now, that DOESN’T mean that bad things aren’t going to happen to us.
Jesus Himself said that "...in this world you will have trouble."
We’re going to face sickness, loss, hardship and death because we live ,,, in a fallen world.
BUT, what these promises in Deuteronomy 6 mean is that - when bad things happen to us - God promises He will be right there giving us the strength to face whatever this world throws at us.
And if we strive to put God 1st in our family life God promises these blessings: (reflect on these verse )
* It will go well with us (vs. 18)
* We will prosper (vs. 24)
* We will eat and be satisfied (vs. 11)
* We will receive righteousness (vs. 25)
* God will deal with our enemies (vs. 19)
III. So, all that we need to think about then is... how do we put Him 1st? How do we structure our family life so that God comes 1st in our priorities?
Deuteronomy tells us: DO your faith,,, ALL the time
"Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates." Deuteronomy 6:7
In other words... don’t make your faith a once a week thing. Your kids need to see how much you love God every day...
Church is important, and your preacher, and youth minister and Elders, and Sunday School teachers are all here to help you and encourage you and reinforce your efforts in your home. But we can’t do your faith for you.
And Deuteronomy 6 is telling us we can’t expect our families to catch our faith by osmosis. We can’t expect them to just stand around us and absorb our belief because we think Godly kind of thoughts. Notice the way we’re told to share our faith with our families:
IMPRESS your faith on your children
TALK about your faith at home/ on the road/ when you go to bed/ when you get up.
TIE it to your hands
BIND it on your forehead
WRITE it on your doorframe...
These are action words,,,
God is not calling for a mumbled piety... He wants a SHOUTING faith,,,(will that teach ,,, or what)
And this shouting faith has got to be your true faith. It dare not be a put on. It dare not be something that you wear on your sleeve. Because if your faith is not real your family will know it - and they’ll have a word to describe who you are... hypocrite.
And you don’t want that to happen: that will defeat the entire purpose ,,,
So how do I actively make my faith real for my family???
1.Simply put,,,, it’s just a matter of being FAITHFUL in doing the basics:
* Going to church regularly
* Reading your Bible
* Praying
* And taking communion ,,,, and letting them see you do these things ...
1 Corinthians 11:26 tells "For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, YOU PROCLAIM the Lord’s death until he comes."
ILLUS: Larry Crabb told about the time when he was only 4 yrs old, he watched his father pray. "It was Sunday morning, and about 50 people gathered in a circle at our (Lord’s Supper) service. The elements, covered simply with a white cloth, were on a table in the middle. The arrangement was intentional: it spoke of Christ as the center of our thoughts.
"Dad stood to pray. I was lying on the floor, looking up at him. Even now, the memory is clear. I thought to myself, ’He actually thinks he is talking to Someone. And whoever it is means more to him than anyone else...’"
Now, Larry Crabb’s father probably wasn’t thinking about the impression he was making on his son... he was simply doing his faith (publicly and actively) with his son there with him.
Doing the basics is critical to impressing your children with how much God means to you. But as significant as that can be, it’s even more important to make sure we share our faith with our kids deliberately and intentionally.
Deuteronomy 6:7 says we need to IMPRESS our faith on our children
1. This can be as simple as telling your kids how much God has blessed you because of them. In doing this, you’re telling your children that you love them and you’re telling how grateful you are to God for His blessing you.
2. Or you could take your kid out for breakfast like I did my son Jonathan. Ever since he entered 6th grade, we use to go out once a week to eat breakfast and then read the Bible together. That was my way of telling him that this was our special time together and that I wanted to focus this time on the thing that is most important to me: God’s Word ,,, The other week while in Miami , I got a chance to see him because he was there ,,, and the memorable moment of that reunion was when he ask was , I still in church,,, was I still Preaching...
3. Another thing I’ve done is to try to use every day conversations with my kids to create "teachable moments."
4. Most importantly, the one thing you really must share with your children is "God stories". These are the stories that tell how God has worked in your life.
Deuteronomy 6:20-23 says: "In the future, when your son asks you, "What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the LORD our God has commanded you?" tell him: "We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Before our eyes the LORD sent miraculous signs and wonders - great and terrible - upon Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land that he promised on oath to our forefathers."
So God is saying "tell you kids what I’ve done for you in the past." Tell your "God stories".
ILLUS: When my father was alive he told me his "stories". He told them over and over and over again. But I never tired of hearing them. Now, they weren’t "God stories"... they were stories of his youth. His days playing basketball, and baseball and farming, etc. And these stories shaped the way I looked at life and the world, and myself.
What we need to realize is the significance of sharing our stories with our families... especially the stories of what God has done in our lives.
CLOSE: My main point is this:
When we’re dealing with our kids/ grandkids/ and nephews and nieces, it is critical that we share our faith with them. We must tell them of our faith. We must be so driven in this purpose that nothing will stop us from bringing salvation to our children.
What we tell our children can shape their futures. They will remember what was important to us... and that which they remember can give them the hope of salvation:
In the country of Armenia, in 1988, Samuel and Danielle sent their young son, Armand, off to school. Samuel squatted before his son and looked him in the eye.
"Have a good day at school, and remember, no matter what, I’ll always be there for you."
They hugged and the boy ran off to school.
Hours later, a powerful earthquake rocked the area. In the midst of the pandemonium, Samuel and Danielle tried to discover what happened to their son but they couldn’t get any information. The radio announced that there were thousands of casualties.
Samuel then grabbed his coat and headed for the schoolyard. When he reached the area he saw Armand’s school was a pile of debris. Other parents were standing around crying.
Samuel found the place where Armand’s classroom used to be and began pulling a broken beam off the pile of rubble. He then grabbed a rock and put it to the side, and then grabbed another one.
One of the parents looking on asked, "What are you doing?"
"Digging for my son," Samuel answered.
The man then said, "You’re just going to make things worse! The building is unstable," and tried to pull Samuel away from his work.
But Samuel set his jaw and kept working. As time wore on, one by one, the other parents left. Then a firefighter tried to pull Samuel away from the rubble. Samuel looked at him and said, "Won’t you help me?" The firefighter left and Samuel kept digging.
All through the night and into the next day, Samuel continued digging. Other parents placed flowers and pictures of their children on the ruins but, Samuel just kept working.
Finally, as he picked up a beam and pushed it out of the way, he heard a faint cry. "Help! Help!"
Samuel listened but didn’ hear anything again. Then he heard a muffled voice, "Papa?"
Samuel began to dig furiously. Finally he could see his son. "Come on out, son!" he said with relief.
"No" Armand said. "Let the other kids come out first because I know you’ll get me."
Child after child emerged until, finally, little Armand appeared. Samuel took him in his arms and Armand said, "I told the other kids not to worry because you told me that you’d always be there for me!"
Fourteen children were saved that day... because one father was faithful.
If you obey Gods Commands , he say he will never leave you nor forsake you ,,, So Do your Faith ,and see the Goodness of the Lord...
Min. Johnathan Hester
