Scripture Deuteronomy 6:1-25
A school teacher was correcting papers,
and as she looked at one little boy’s work, she was appalled with the results.
She said, “I fail to
understand how one person could make so many mistakes.” The boy replied, “But it wasn’t just one person. My dad
helped!”
Invite all Father’s to come to the front and stand to hear the word of
the Lord - even as the Israelite men would have stood for the first time to
hear these words of instructions from Moses.
Also invite any men 18 years or older who may potentially become a
father one day.
Deuteronomy 6:1-25
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, 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. 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.
Hear,
O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is
one. Love the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These
commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 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.
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, 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, be careful that you do not forget
the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
Fear
the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. Do not
follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; 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. Do not test the Lord your God as you did at Massah. Be sure to keep
the commands of the Lord your God and
the stipulations and decrees he has given you. 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, thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the Lord
said.
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. 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. 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."
Deuteronomy 6:1-25
These are the commands, decrees and laws
Commands = the things you must do.
Decrees = Things God has stated as truth.
Laws = Things that govern your day to
day life with others.
the Lord your God
These words are coming from a personal God -
not a statue or theory, but from the Lord, YOUR God!
Ps 23 The Lord is MY shepherd. Ps 18 The Lord is MY rock. Ps 27 The Lord is MY salvation. Ps 28 The Lord is MY strength. Acts
17:27-28 God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him
and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
Eph
2:12-13 Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from
citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without
hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were
far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
directed me to teach you to observe
God is not suggesting that fathers
teach their children His ways - God is directing fathers to teach their
children His ways. And to do it in the place he has blessed you to live - in
the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, which serves as a reminder that all
the good things we have are a gift from God, and we need to teach that to our
children.
2 so that you, your children and their
children after them
Note that Father’s are to have a lasting
impact on their children and their children after them - that means their
grandchildren, right? Right. But it says something more - it says so that YOU,
your children and children after them (beyond grandchildren). But look at the
“YOU” part - Dropping off kids to church, or even taking your children to
church and having it mean nothing to you is maybe worse than not going at all.
Father’s especially, create patterns that their children will follow for good
or bad. What things do you do that are similar to your father? I would guess in
most cases there are things both good and bad. The single best pattern you can
teach your children is consistent - meaningful participation in worship. WHY?
“So that they”…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.
The SHEMA
4 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. 7 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.
Hear
- Love - Impress - Talk - Tie - Bind - Write
ABAB
pattern = The Lord our God, the Lord is
one (meaning only) Singular devotion to the one true God. (Jesus - “Worship the Lord you God and serve him only”)
How do we show our devotion to this
one and only God? LOVE! What does that love look like? It looks like loving God
with ALL your HEART, with ALL your SOUL, and with ALL your STRENGTH.
a)
Our Love for God
works from the inside out not the other way as most religions work. Love begins
with the heart - here meaning the seat of the emotions, the will and the mind =
the inner person - heart and mind.
b)
Then
it moves to the NIV translated word “soul” but is literally translated “throat”
and metaphorically means appetite/desire or living being - the whole person.
c)
Finally
it moves to the external “strength”. The word is better understood as
“resources” which includes physical strength, but also the social and economic strength
of a person, which includes your relationships and everything you own.
To love God as the Fathers of the
Israelites are being directed to do - is to love God with every fiber of your
heart, mind, entire being and all that you are and all that you have. Living
such a life is the best gift any father can give to his children, not to
mention his wife and community.
10 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.
I have seen this many times over
years of ministry. It usually happens to a single person - they have a need for
relationship and seek the church and or Christ. They have a wonderful experience
with the church. Then they get involved in a relationship and the other person
comes to church a few times, then we see that person less and less. WHY?
Because they forgot who gave them that relationship, or job, or whatever else
now takes the Lord’s place as #1 in their life. God is looking for fathers who
are fully devoted to Christ and his church and nothing less.
13 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. (Moses - water from the rock)
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.
Listen up fathers! Why should you
know how and why should you live according to the ways of the Lord our God -
Jesus Christ? Because…
20
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."
Fathers
- Men of the church - now you know how to live. But some might be tempted to
live otherwise - to not pay attention to the scripture we have heard today that
serves as a road sign, warning us of the danger in not following the Lord and
setting an example for others;
IILUSTRATION
The story is
told about the father of a vacationing family who came across a large sign that
read, “Road Closed. Do Not
Enter.” The man proceeded
around the sign because he was confident it would save them time. His wife was
resistant to the adventure, but there was no turning back for this persistent
road warrior. After a few miles of successful navigation, he began to boast about
his gift of discernment. / His proud
smile was quickly replaced with humble sweat when the road led to a washed-out
bridge. He turned the car around and retraced his tracks to the main road. When
they arrived at the original warning sign he was greeted by large letters on
the back of the sign “Welcome
back, stupid!”
Sometimes we can
have utmost confidence in ourselves to figure out issues or fix problems, but
we let ourselves down. Confidence is only as good as the object it’s placed in.
The wise father, the wise person lives by loving Jesus with ALL of their HEART
with ALL of their SOUL and with ALL of their strength.
GOD IS WITH YOU
Remember our
story about the boy who didn’t do his work alone but his dad helped. It is true
in the best way about our heavenly father as we seek to LOVE according to His
ways.
The story is
told about a little boy who had been invited to a friend’s birthday party. He
was so excited and started counting the days until the party. But the morning
of the party he was devastated when he found that a blizzard had struck their
little town. The snow was falling in wet, heavy flakes, and the wind was
howling. “I don’t think you should go to the party,” his father said. The
little boy was so disappointed.
He began to
importune his father, begging to be allowed to go. Finally, much to his
surprise, his dad said, “All right, you can go to the party.” The little boy
bundled up in his hat and coat and mittens and started down the street to his
friend’s house. When he got to the door, he turned around and saw his father
turning to walk back home. It was then he realized that his father had been
walking behind him all the way to make sure he was safe.
"he abides faithful" (2 Timothy 2:13).
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