Text: Deut 6:1-25, Title: Your Best Life Now, Date/Place: NRBC, 1/24/10, AM
A. Opening illustration: One writer says that Moses indicates our land and our churches will be as our homes are.” Samuel and Susannah Wesley, see below,
B. Background to passage: Reminder of the presuppositions that I am operating on; see below. At the end of chapter five, God expresses His longing for the people to fear and love Him. And this text we look at today is the first of the great centerpieces in Deut, and it continues the theme from chapter five. In the first couple of verses of the chapter, God lays out His desire for a multi-generational commitment to the faith. And He speaks of the blessings that will follow such a commitment: that your days may be prolonged (doesn’t mean simply individuals, but also family lines), that it will be well with you, and that you will multiply greatly (again another sign of divine favor in the eyes of God and the culture of the time). This is why I am titling the message, “Your Best Life Now,” b/c God gives us instructions as to how we are to have that. Osteen.
C. Main thought: the way to have it is to get our homes in sync with God!
A. The Realm of Sync (v. 4-5)
1. Moses gives us two realms in which we begin to get our homes in sync with God: theological and emotional. First, theological; Moses gives us the summary statement of all Hebrew theology: Yahweh alone is God! This describes the One True God as the only Sovereign Ruler of the universe. All Jews were called to engage in knowing God and knowing about it. Secondly, emotional. Jonathon Edwards wrote a book called Religious Affections. He, and Moses and Jesus believed that the best mark of genuine religion and faith is that one loves God. The principle is that believers should desire Christ above all. We should have an emotional attachment to Jesus Christ, not only to the traditions surrounding Him.
2. Isa 42:8, 44:6, Jer 10:10, Deut 10:12,
3. Illustration: the negative behavior patterns are passed down to succeeding generations…A person’s spirit carries uncounted numbers of scars that exist because of their family’s self-destructive habits. Yet they repeat those exact self-destructive patterns believing they’ll reap a different harvest. Of course they never do and so the pain continues unabated.
4. Make it your aim to know everything that you can about God! Just about every other part of your life spiritually will flow from what you know about God. And the popular diversion is that the church has a person who has the theological knowledge, so we don’t have to. WRONG! Theology leads to practice; knowledge leads to trust and adoration. Plumb the depths of God’s being. This is why the hymns are so important. You must all strive to be theological giants with great depth. We have turned religion into lists of do’s and don’t’s, into routines and rituals, into buildings and budgets, into numbers and t-shirts, into social clubs and places of entertainment; when at the very core it is all about being passionately in love with Jesus! Is Christ your most-valued Treasure, your most satisfying pleasure, your most passionate pursuit? Do you have a love affair with Jesus or a routine to ease the conscience? Religious ritual, legalism, routine in the home kills the transmission of faith. It is so important that your home be a place of theological and emotional commitment to Jesus. Our churches will never be strong without strong families. And everything in our culture fights against a strong family. Just ask the previous too generations, nominal faith is not enough to pass on the faith.
B. The Relatives in Sync (v. 6-9)
1. Moses speaks now to the parents/adults in the crowd. He said that the parental role must be fulfilled, and that it was two-fold. Assuming the role is filled, the first thing that the parents must do is be sold out for Jesus themselves. These commandments, this Word, must be in your heart. The problems in most homes begin with the parents. For next Moses (God) instructs parents to “engrave with a sharp instrument” or “sharpen” (literal translation of ‘teach diligently’) these truths that they have committed to their hearts upon their children. Then he gives seven ways; but the point is not a checklist (although it would probably be helpful if this is not your pattern), but the principle that parents (and grandparents, uncles, aunts, teachers, nursery workers, neighbors) should always be inserting the word of God into conversation and into life. The church is a team in the rearing of its children.
2. Ps 37:31, 40:8, 2 Cor 3:3, Jer 31:33, Pro 3:1-3, Col 3:16, Eph 6:4,
3. Illustration: one Sunday after a Child Dedication service. As a young family was driving away from church after the dedication of their baby, little Johnny, the older brother, cried all the way home in the back seat of the car. His mother asked him three times what was wrong. Finally, the boy replied, “The pastor said he wanted us to be brought up in a Christian home…and I want to stay with you guys!” Ted Tripp: “We pander to desires and wishes. We teach them to find their soul’s delight in going places and doing things. We attempt to satisfy their lust for excitement. We fill their young lives with distractions from God. We give them material things and take delight in their delight in possessions. Then we hope that somewhere down the line, they will see that a life worth living is found only in knowing and serving God.” Kevin DeYoung, a pastor and author of “Why We’re not Emergent,” also writes a blog. I like what he said in a post called, “Reaching the Next Generation: Amaze Them with God.” Here are some highlights…“I beg of you, don’t go after the next generation with mere moralism…The gospel is not a message about what we need to do for God, but about what God has done for us. So get them with the good news about who God is and what he has done for us…Give them a God who is holy, independent, and unlike us, a God who is good, just, full of wrath and full of mercy. Give them a God who is sovereign, powerful, tender, and true. Give them a God with edges. Give them an undiluted God who makes them feel cherished and safe, and small and uncomfortable too. Give them a God who works all things after the counsel of his will and for the glory of his name. Give them a God whose love is lavish and free. Give them a God worthy of wonder and fear, a God big enough for all our faith, hope, and love.”
4. Many parents in our day refuse to be parents. (And many times children forget they are children) They fail to discipline their kids, educate their kids, train their kids to respect authority, give proper guidelines, etc. You must be a parent to your kids, not their friend. If God wanted you to be their friend, he would have had you born 25 years later. We gripe about our kids having to take remedial math in college b/c they didn’t learn it in HS, but don’t weep at the fact they can’t find the book of Ruth, let alone the Ten Commandments or the Romans Road. Many adults in this room cannot either. How will you inspire your children and grandchildren to love the bible if you don’t? And I realize that nobody may have ever sat down and discipled you, but it is still your responsibility. You must demonstrate memorization of scripture. This is the only way that you can do what verses 6-9 say to do. You cannot pour out scripture if it’s not in you. But once it’s in you, you are commanded to let it flow from you like living water, shaping the rocks to a smooth perfection. Put reminders in your house, car, office; witness at work, school, and play; pray in the morning, noon, and night; worship with your family regularly, listen to preaching and Christian music with them; wear it on your clothes as a testimony; bring them to church (with an attitude of love and expectation); let them see that the Word rules your life. Then pray it through to their hearts! Parents (teachers, aunts, gps, etc.) if you are not praying for these children, this will be for naught. We must constantly saturate their existence with the preeminence of Jesus, and fight the cultural values that seep into our lives so gradually. Don’t get sucked in!
C. The Reasons for Sync (v. 12, 14, 20)
1. In the entirety of this chapter, there are three main reasons that we must get our homes in sync with God. First, Moses (God) warns that they will forget God. They will no longer have bread and quail fall from heaven, the land will be fruitful and abundant with food. They may no longer have a need for Him. They will become self-sufficient, but the commandments will remind them of their need. Secondly and consequently, the anger of a jealous God will be aroused, because they will ignore and no longer fear God. And Moses notes that God will destroy them from the face of the earth. Moses had already interceded for Israel numerous times to preserve them from God’s wrath. But they had also seen it on occasion, and God would show it again when they began to forget their husband. Thirdly, God knew that children would come to a point where they would ask (and genuinely want to know) what is the meaning of these things. And there they would continue to pass on the truth and testimony of how the mighty hand of God brought them out of Egypt and displayed His wonders. The greatest method of evangelization is fathers leading their children to Christ, and ensuring that the faith is passed on from one generation to the next.
2. 1 Kings 18:21, Ex 12:26-27, Ps 78:4-6
3. Illustration: "We can stand affliction better than we can prosperity, for in prosperity we forget God."
4. We live in a society that breathes God ignoring air, and it is very contagious. If we are not careful we get sucked into that mindset. We are consumed with other things that we have from our prosperity. We are distracted by stuff, money, jobs, sex, entertainment, athletics, technology, education, even family. Without God as the sun in our universe, every other thing is out of whack. And if we and family are out of sync with God, sooner or later, we will forget Him. We live in a society that is self-sufficient, especially in America. We can go the store for food, use the credit card if we are out of money, call the mechanic, the tow truck if the car don’t work (or a cab), we can call the police for help, the fire dept for fire, the EMS for medical emergencies, go the doctor or hospital, call an attorney, a plumber, a contractor, etc without ever calling on God. And when this happens for those individuals who really know Christ, the wrath of a jealous Lover will fly upon us. He has bought us at an unimaginable price, and we are not our own. But when we live like we are, judgment and discipline will befall us. And we have no fear of His wrath, but we should. Remember the God who struck down 185K one night, swallowed up Korah + 3000, stoned Achan and the whole family, rained down fire upon Sodom, destroyed both the northern and southern kingdoms of His chosen people, and will one day pour out that wrath upon all unrighteous men destroying large fractions of the population. We fear the work of Satan, but we should fear more the indignation of our God. We must win our children! We must win our grandchildren! We must do all that we can to make sure that they become Christ-followers. This is our no 1 priority! And we must live our lives in such a fashion that the children want to know why they are so different from the others around them. Tell them the stories of faith, of your salvation, of God’s work in your lives, of deliverance, and answered prayer, and leading, and discipline, etc. They will ask, you must be prepared, and you must also be proactive!
A. Closing illustration: a family put back together
B. v. 24 And the LORD commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is this day.
C. Invitation to commitment
Additional Notes
• Print the Proverbs Family Scriptures
• With so many children, Susannah devised a way to spend time with them. She decided to spend one hour each day praying for her 19 children. In addition, she took each child aside for a full hour every week to discuss spiritual matters. She also expected each child to be able to read the Book of Genesis by the time he or she was six years child.
Here are her famous 16 rules of raising children:
1. Eating between meals not allowed.
2. As children they are to be in bed by 8 p.m.
3. They are required to take medicine without complaining.
4. Subdue self- will in a child, and those working together with God to save the child’s soul.
5. To teach a child to pray as soon as he can speak.
6. Require all to be still during Family Worship.
7. Give them nothing that they cry for, and only that when asked for politely.
8. To prevent lying, punish no fault which is first confessed and repented of.
9. Never allow a sinful act to go unpunished.
10. Never punish a child twice for a single offense.
11. Comment and reward good behavior.
12. Any attempt to please, even if poorly performed, should be commended.
13. Preserve property rights, even in smallest matters.
14. Strictly observe all promises.
15. Require no daughter to work before she can read well.
16. Teach children to fear the rod.
1. If you’re married and don’t have kids, or they are no longer in the home, you are still a family.
2. If you are a single parent, you are a family.
3. If you are single, you are not second-class. Scripture celebrates singleness. 1 Corinthians 7:8: “Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am.”
4. Children are a blessing from God, not a burden to bear. Psalm 127:3: “Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him.” That’s why I entitled this message, “Parenting Prerogatives.” It’s a privilege and a responsibility to raise difference-makers for Christ.
5. Parents are responsible for raising children who are spiritual champions. The home is the principal delivery system for the transmittal of God’s truth from generation to generation. I heard a quote this week that rocked me: “The greatest problems we have in this nation will not be fixed by who is in the White House; they must be fixed by the parents in my house.” Or, to say it another way: We need to fight for ‘family values’ but we better make sure we actually value our own families.
6. Everyone in the faith community is to partner with parents in the task of connecting kids to Jesus and equipping them to be growing and faithful followers of Jesus. You may not have children of your own but we need you to plug in to the lives of children in this community because it takes a family and a church to raise a child.
7. There is no fail-safe formula for parenting success. George Barna reports that fewer than one of every five parents of young children believe they are doing a good job of training their children morally and spiritually (“Revolutionary Parenting,” page 10).
8. Every parent can learn how to be a better parent.
9. I’m a parent in process, not an authoritative expert. Just because I’m preaching this morning doesn’t mean that I have it all figured out – just ask our daughters.
10. God wants us to synchronize the efforts of the faith community and the family to make disciples in the next generation. In his book called, “Think Orange,” Reggie Joiner puts it like this: “God has designed the church to shine a light to show every generation the glory of God’s Son and God has designed the family to nurture their sons and daughters passing on the faith.”
