Mother’s Day
Mothering Godly Children in a godless Society
Deuteronomy 6
May 12, 2002
Intro:
A. [illustration]
A four-year-old and a six-year-old presented their mom with a houseplant.
They had used their own money to buy it and she was thrilled.
The older of them said with a sad face, "There was a bouquet at the flower shop that we wanted to give you. It was real pretty but it was too expensive. It had a ribbon on it that said ‘Rest In Peace,’ and we thought it would be just perfect since you are always asking for a little peace so that you can rest.
1. Of course, mother’s are deserving of a lot of honor.
2. The old saying says that a mother’s work is never done.
3. And I believe that today, parenting may be harder than its ever been.
4. Today is often illegal to discipline children.
5. The media is filling our children’s minds with mush and rebellion.
6. There are few godly parents raising godly children and it is often difficult for children to have friends that are a good influence on them.
7. All of this leaves parents with a lot of frustration.
8. Add to this the dreadful problem of absentee dads and a mother is often left to go it alone in trying to figure out how to raise her children in this ungodly society.
B. So what’s a godly mother to do?
1. Where is a godly mother to turn for advice on how to raise godly children?
2. Well, one of the best places I know is the passage of Scripture that God has lead me to this week: Deuteronomy 6.
C. Deuteronomy 6:1-3, These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. 3 Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you.
D. Of course the commands that Moses was teaching them were the Ten Commandments that he had just recited for them in the previous chapter.
#1 You shall have no other Gods.
#2 You shall not make for yourself an idol.
#3 You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.
#4 Observe the Sabbath to keep it holy.
#5 Honor your father and your mother.
#6 You shall not murder.
#7 You shall not commit adultery.
#8 You shall not steal.
#9 You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
#10 You shall not covet.
E. Those are the commands that God gave Moses to teach to the people and pass down to the children, so that they may enjoy long life.
1. Of course that is what we all want for ourselves and for our children.
2. We want to ENJOY long life in a land flowing with milk and honey.
3. And we want our children to ENJOY long life in a land flowing with milk and honey.
4. I know that Moses was speaking to the Israelites about the Promised Land, but it is certain that America is a prosperous land that could just as easily be said of it that it is a land flowing with milk and honey.
5. We all want to ENJOY long life here and we want our children to ENJOY long life here.
6. I know that our society has all kinds of other "new and enlightened ways" that they say are better than these, but what are the results we are getting from these new and enlightened ways?
a. Increasing teen pregnancies.
b. Increasing sexually transmitted diseases among teenagers.
c. Higher drop out rates.
d. Lower SAT scores.
e. More discipline problems.
f. School shootings.
g. Should I continue?
F. So how does a godly mother go about raising godly children in a godless society?
1. In the rest of this chapter I will show you five time-tested ways to raise godly children in a godless society.
2. Five essentials for raising children and enjoying long life; first…
#1: Love God and His commandments.
Deuteronomy 6:4-6, Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.
A. Just as Moses told the Israelites to love the Lord their God, so too God calls mothers today to love Him.
1. God calls mothers today to love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength—that just makes sense, doesn’t it?
2. How can we ever raise children to love God if we don’t love Him ourselves first?
3. Mothers, do you have a love affair with God?
4. I can say that to mothers because "love affair" means love affair to women.
5. Women do you spend time romancing God?
6. Do you spend time getting to know Him? Do you spend time talking to Him?
7. Women know that it takes time and effort to develop a love affair.
8. Are you putting all of your heart, soul, and strength into developing your own personal relationship with God?
9. We have to be having our own loving relationship with God in order to teach and show our children how to do it, don’t we?
B. Of course part of that love affair is getting to know His ways and His commands.
1. How are we going to pass them on to our children if we don’t know them ourselves?
2. They have to be in our heart before they can be passed to our children, don’t they?
3. Do we know the ways and commands of God? Are they on OUR heart?
a. What does it mean to have no other Gods before Him?
b. How is that different from not having any idols?
c. What are inappropriate uses of His name? What are right uses of His name?
d. How do we observe the Sabbath in the NT? Is it still Saturday? How should this commandment effect the way we work, the way we rest, and the way we worship?
e. How do we honor our parents and does it cease to apply when we leave home?
f. What did Jesus say about murder and what does it have to do with hate?
g. What is adultery? Is it always wrong to have sex outside of marriage?
h. What does the NT say is a the cure for stealing?
i. How do we speak about our neighbors in beneficial way?
j. How do we keep ourselves from wanting more and more in this society?
4. Moses said these commands had to first of all be in the parents and mothers’ hearts.
5. How can we expect our children to understand even the 10 Commandments if we don’t understand them ourselves?
6. We spend time learning how to use the satellite systems and the new bells and whistles in the car, don’t you think it would be important to spend some time learning the 10 Commandments?
7. We must first love God and His commands in order to raise godly children.
8. Once we have His commands on our own hearts, we are then prepared to…
#2: Impress His commands on your children.
Deuteronomy 6:7-9, 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. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
A. Talk about them.
1. When we have the commands of God on our own hearts, we are then able to impress them on our children.
2. The first way Moses said to impress them on our children is to talk about them.
3. This is a no-brainer, isn’t it?
4. But Satan has been so successful at getting us too busy with too many other things, many mothers never find the time to do it, even though it is a no-brainer to know that it has to be done.
5. Children have to have mom and dad there to talk about the commandments of God.
6. Moses said that we should turn the TV off and talk to our children about the 10 Commandments—I bet he wouldn’t be watching the Osbornes!
7. Moses said that we should take walks around the block with our children and talk about the 10 Commandments.
8. Moses said that we should talk about the 10 Commandments at bed time.
9. Moses said that we should talk about the 10 Commandments at the breakfast table.
10. The first way to impress the Commandments on our children is to talk about them.
B. Memorize them.
1. When Moses talked about tying them on their hands and foreheads, he was referring to what is known as phylacteries.
2. Phylacteries were little boxes that had Scriptures in them that they would either put on their hand or their foreheads.
3. This is how they memorized Scripture and they memorized great portions of it!
4. We memorize phone numbers, directions to entertainment places, the weather for the coming week, everything but Scripture.
5. We have the ability to memorize, but for some reason we have not thought that memorizing Scripture was an important thing.
6. We teach our kids to memorize their telephone number and their address and their social security numbers, but we don’t teach them to memorize Scripture.
7. Mothers listen…
a. When your child is away from you and they are faced with a moral dilemma, what tools have you given them to determine the godly choice?
b. When they are faced with the temptation to steal, do they have Scriptures memorized that will help them make the right choice?
c. When they are faced with the temptation to experiment with sex, do they have Scriptures etched in their minds that will enable them to make the right choice?
8. Memorization is an important way to impress the commands of God on our children.
C. Post them.
1. Moses is talking about writing the Scripture down and posting them on the front door or the front gate.
2. I believe Moses would tell us today to post them on the refrigerator.
3. Do you know that there are companies that make wall paper with Scriptures on them?
4. They also make those borders with Scripture written on them.
5. What a wonderful way to impress the fruits of the Spirit on your children if you have wall paper that surrounds them with them fruits of the Spirit!
6. Mothers, find creative ways to post the Scriptures around your house and thereby impress the commands of God on your children.
#3: Don’t ever forget that you are an alien.
Deuteronomy 6:10-12, When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you--a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant--then when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
A. Moses told the Israelites not to forget God.
1. Moses told them that they were going to enter the Promised Land and they would get to enjoy large, flourishing cities that they did not build, and houses filled with things they didn’t by, and wells they did not dig, and gardens they did not plant—and when they encountered all these things, they should not forget God.
2. Moses didn’t want them to forget God when they got to this new place.
3. Moses reminded them that the nice cities they were given weren’t really their home.
4. They weren’t from that place and that place was only a temporary home.
5. Their real home was in heaven. No matter how nice it seemed, it wasn’t home.
6. And if they wanted to go home, they couldn’t get too attached to that place.
7. As nice as it may seem, it could keep them from going home.
8. If they got too attached to that place, they would not get to go home.
9. They were supposed to remember that they were aliens and strangers there.
B. And mothers today have to never forget that this world is not our home!
1. 1 Peter 2:11, Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.
2. The ways of this world wage war against our souls and the souls of our children and if they win, we won’t get to go home.
3. Mothers must never forget that no matter how nice things are and how persuasive things are, they are not ours.
4. We must never forget that the customs of this world may not be the customs of our real home and we must therefore continue to live by the customs of our real homes.
5. And when we live like we are strangers temporarily in this place, our children will watch us and they will learn to live as aliens as well.
#4: Do not test the Lord.
Deuteronomy 6:13-19, Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. 14 Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; 15 for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. 16 Do not test the LORD your God as you did at Massah. 17 Be sure to keep the commands of the LORD your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. 18 Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers, 19 thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the LORD said.
A. Moses told the parents not to test the Lord.
1. They were to fear God and serve him only.
2. They were to keep the vows they made to Him.
3. They were not to adopt the gods the people around them had.
4. They were not to test the Lord.
5. What did Moses mean by testing?
6. They grumbled and questioned whether God was really there or not.
7. That’s how the Israelites tested God by continually grumbling about what God asked them to do.
8. They continually questioned what He asked them to do.
9. They wanted to abandon God and go back to Egypt.
10. Moses said that if they continued to obey God’s commands they would ENJOY long life.
11. Yes, it is difficult for mothers to follow God’s ways in a godless society.
12. Yes, it is difficult for mothers to teach their children to follow God in a godless society.
13. But it is only difficult for a time—eventually you will ENJOY long life.
B. Mothers, if you can live your life without grumbling about God’s commands, you will ENJOY long life.
1. Mothers, if you can live your life without grumbling about God’s commands and your children see the joy that you have by living God’s way, they will follow in your footsteps.
2. Most kids don’t ever get to see anyone who enjoys living a godly life.
3. But I’m telling you that one of the most powerful influences on a child’s life is their mother!
4. Mom, if you can live a joyful life without grumbling and testing God, that will have a powerful effect on your children!
5. Don’t test the Lord—serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness.
6. And of course this will be easy to do if you are continuing to work on your love affair with God!
#5: Answer your children’s questions about God
Deuteronomy 6:20-25, 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?" 21 tell him: "We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 Before our eyes the LORD sent miraculous signs and wonders--great and terrible--upon Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. 23 But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land that he promised on oath to our forefathers. 24 The LORD commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the LORD our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today. 25 And if we are careful to obey all this law before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness."
A. Moses told the Israelite parents that when their children asked them questions about the commands of God, they should answer their questions.
1. When the children asked questions about the meaning of the commandments, they were to answer them.
2. Tell them where the commandments came from and why God gave them.
3. Tell them that these commands would enable them to ENJOY long lives.
4. Tell them that this would be their righteousness—this is what would make them right in God’s eyes.
B. Today God is calling mothers to have relationships with their children in such a way that they can answer their children’s questions.
1. Now there is something that I need to point out here…
a. Many mothers blow the whole parenting thing with one misunderstanding.
b. Many parents blow the whole parenting concept by thinking that it is important to be friends with their children.
c. Mothers, your children don’t need a 30-year-old friend.
d. They need a 30-year-old adult!
e. They need a 30-year-old mother!
f. They need a 30-year-old who will discipline!
g. They need a 30-year-old provider!
h. They need a 30-year-old guardian!
i. They need a 300-year-old who has enough sense to say, "No" when it is necessary.
j. They can get their own friends, their own age.
k. But they need you to be the ADULT in their life!
l. You see here’s the dilemma…
1) Many mothers don’t want to do anything (such as discipline) that might cause the child to not like their mother.
2) But let me tell you something: If you don’t discipline your child and be the adult when it is necessary, they will not like you when they are older!
2. Now you can be the mother they need and still have a communicative relationship!
3. You can have an open relationship that welcomes and answers questions sincerely.
4. You can have a relationship that says you can ask me anything!
5. Believe me, they will ask someone—don’t you want it to be you?
Conclusion:
A. [illustration]
A little boy forgot his lines in a Sunday School presentation.
His mother was in the front row to prompt him.
She gestured and formed the words silently with her lips, but it did not help.
Her son’s memory was blank.
Finally, she leaned forward and whispered the cue, "I am the light of the world."
The child beamed and with great feeling and a loud clear voice said, "My mother is the light of the world!"
Jesus is the "Light of the world," but He certainly uses Christian mothers to let His light shine in this world.
B. Mothers are you being the light of the world to your children?
1. Today God is calling mothers all over the world to change their allegiance to God and to their children.
2. God is calling mothers to make their relationship with God their number one priority.
3. God is calling mothers to make their relationship with their husbands their second priority.
4. And God is calling mothers to make their relationships with their children their third priority.
5. God is calling mothers to be the light of the world to their children.
6. God is calling mothers to let the light of Christ shine through them for their children to see.
7. God is calling mothers to pass the faith down to their children and grand-children.
C. Folks the truth is that people have turned away from these times tested ways of raising children and we are reaping the disastrous results, but God has given us five essentials for raising Godly children in a godless society. We need every mother in this place to return to these essentials!
1. Love God and His commands.
2. Impress His commands on your children.
3. Don’t ever forget that you are an alien.
4. Do not test the Lord.
5. Answer your children’s questions about God.
