A D6 People

[00:00:00] This audio sermon is provided by AnabaptistSermons.com and may be freely copied and distributed. You may not sell or edit this sermon. Our prayer is that you would be blessed by this ministry. Greetings to you in Christ's name this morning. What God is saying to us, what the Lord has laid on my heart could be described as practical. The question is, what is your passion? Maybe another question that we ask in passing, quite a, we hear it, I don't know if we hear it every service, but we hear it, I've heard it many times in the course of my life. [00:00:41] And that is, why did you come to church this morning? What was your reason to come to church this morning? Hearing the word expounded and being refueled has to do with teaching. And I would like to speak a bit about teaching this morning. I'd like to look at Deuteronomy 6, and I know that as you open your Bible, you've opened your Bible to that passage many times. But Deuteronomy 6 has some instruction for us that is as pertinent today as it was when it was written, when it was preached. [00:01:18] Maybe we should think about Deuteronomy just a bit. This is kind of, Bible scholars kind of divide this book up in about three different sections. And the first three sections of it are Moses addressing the people. He's talking to the children of Israel. The first, oh, I don't know, four or five chapters, he's talking about what God has done for them. [00:01:49] And the second address goes from chapter four to about, is the longest section about chapter four or five to about 26 or 27. He talks about principles of godly living, practical principles. and then the third one is a call for commitment and at the very end is the change of leadership Moses handing off the leadership responsibilities [00:02:21] so what I would like to do and this is probably about as close to expository as I get but I would like to take Deuteronomy 6 and just look at some things that we can that is teaching Deuteronomy chapter 6 now these are the commandments, the statutes and the judgments which the Lord your God commanded to teach you that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it. That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God to keep all his statutes and his commandments which I command thee, thou and thy son and thy son's son, all the days of thy life, and that thy days may be prolonged. [00:02:58] Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it, that it may be well with thee, that ye may increase mightily as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee in the land that floweth with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might. And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart, and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house [00:03:30] and when thou walkest by the way and when thou liest down and when thou risest up and thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes and thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house and on thy gates and it shall be when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers To Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities which thou buildest not, and houses full of all good things which thou fillest not, and wells digged which thou diggest not, vineyards and olive trees which thou plantest not. [00:04:12] When thou shalt have eaten and be full, then beware lest thou forget the Lord which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage. Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God and serve him and shalt swear by his name. Ye shall not go after other gods of the gods of the people which are round about you. For the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you, lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee and destroy thee from off the face of the earth. [00:04:44] Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God as ye tempted him in Massa. Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God and his testimonies and his statutes which he hath commanded thee. And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may be well with thee. and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the Lord swear unto thy fathers to cast out all thine enemies from before thee as the Lord has spoken [00:05:14] and when thy son asketh thee in time to come saying what mean the testimonies and the statutes and the judgments which the Lord our God hath commanded you then thou shalt say unto thy son we were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and the Lord showed signs and wonders great and sore upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh and upon all his household before our eyes and he brought us out from thence that he might bring us in to give us the land [00:05:47] which he swore unto our fathers and the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes to fear the Lord our God For our good always that he might preserve us alive as it is this day And it shall be righteousness if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God as he hath commanded us Verses 1 to 3 The concern that Moses had for these people is obvious in these first several verses [00:06:18] They were a people that had received the law And for 40 years, that was about 40 years ago, more or less, and I don't have an exact figure. It doesn't matter, I don't think. But the idea was that they were possibly forgetting. They were losing out. And Moses was an older man, an older leader, and I can see his heart in this. It was his desire that this thing would go on, that it would prosper. [00:06:49] And again and again, he exhorts them through the chapter that stay with it. If you want to prosper, you have to stick with it. You have to stay with it. He's exhorting them to keep the commandments of God. And we talked about the law in Sunday school class this morning. We've moved beyond the law, but we have still a law. But this law is supposed to be written on our hearts. We'll get to that. Now, thou and thy son and thy son's son all the days of thy life [00:07:23] He's addressing three generations in this line Thou and thy son and thy son's son Moses had a concern for the current state of affairs as they were But he had a long-range vision He wasn't just concerned about today He was looking ahead as we all should And he understood one thing that we all have to come to grips with, and it is this. Faith is always one generation away from extinction. [00:07:56] Let's say that again. Faith is always one generation away from extinction. It doesn't matter how much you love the Lord or how well you serve Him. You cannot serve the Lord for your children. You can't. Our children, the next generation has to develop. That relationship with the Lord. But that fact should not keep us from instructing. In fact, it should spur us on. It should move us to have a passion for teaching the next generation. Not only the next generation, but those around us. Teaching. [00:08:37] Now he's looking back at the instruction of the law, or he's exhorting them to keep the law. Moses is doing something that if we want to be successful, we have to do as well. We have to be able to learn from the past, past failure of our people. We have to allow that to instruct us today. No doubt these people were kind of like I am sometimes. It's a new age. We have different problems than they had back there, so we probably should have some new ways today. [00:09:17] But that's not exactly what Moses was telling these people. The principles of God, the law of God, is still in effect. He uses some carefully measured words in verse 2, that thou mightest fear the Lord thy God. I think Moses had an understanding about the fear of the Lord. He probably understood what the proverb writer did when he wrote this. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life to avoid the snares of death. Where there's no fear of the Lord, there's confusion and sin. [00:09:51] And it's that way. It is that way. That's something we can't get away from. And I suppose that's a message on its own. But it doesn't take much time to, well it doesn't. The devil is subtle. But when there's no fear of the Lord, it's exposed and it's noticeable. It's noticeable. There's one, there's several things that happen. Quickly I'll just move over this. The one thing that always happens when there's a fear of the Lord among a group of people is that obedience happens. [00:10:28] Obedience is not optional or maybe, but when there's a fear of the Lord, people look at the book and say, this is what it says and this is where we stand. There's a fear, there's a respect. Maybe this is directly linked to it. But we are all aware of the verse in Proverbs that says something to this effect. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. There's wisdom among people that fear the Lord, that respect the Lord. Now, what is this teaching me today in a practical way? [00:11:00] What is this saying to us this morning in a practical way? Verse 3 provides some clues. He says, Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it, that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily. Now today, 2010, I think God wants Rosewood to increase his people, not just Rosewood, but his church. But he says, and he says, well, let's just say it again. [00:11:32] Observe. Do the things that were commanded for you to do. Observe it. And then there's the promise. There's the promise that you may increase mightily. We cannot discard the principles that we were taught. We cannot and expect to increase mightily. In order for us to be successful, we have to do what they did. We have to partner with God in order to increase. Now let's move on to verse 4. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. [00:12:05] Now let me just say this as a matter of what is the most quoted Bible verse in the whole Bible. This is the most quoted Bible verse in the whole Bible. Not this verse, but verse 4 to 9 is what the Jews call, or in Hebrew it's called the Shema. And the devout Jew will recite this verse several times a day to affirm his love for the Lord. And in Hebrew, I think it means something like close to hearing or understanding God. [00:12:41] But this is the verse that they say over and over and over again. And I committed myself, I don't often do this, but I committed myself to memorizing this verse as I was studying this week and I didn't quite finish it. But I challenge you, verses 4 through 9, to memorize those verses. And, well, I'll just leave it there. What is he saying in verse 4? Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. The New American Bible says it in this language. [00:13:15] Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord alone. Is that your testimony this morning? What is your passion this morning? What gods are there besides the God that we should serve? There is a vast array of gods. And I know that some commentators say that this is exposing a theology that the Trinity or the Trinity was it's affirming the Trinity in the in the Old Testament. But I think it's simply proclaiming that God is our God. [00:13:50] God is our God. And I think verses 14 and 15 tie in with this. You shall not go after other gods of the gods of the people which are about you For the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you And that God is still jealous this morning If you like to do something, if you have ten passions It may be your business and I'm not even going to put down a list here You think about your passion And I hope that when you're done analyzing your passion [00:14:24] that God is still at the top. And in every passion that you have, as you go about your business, you are keenly aware that that has to take priority in your life. It has to. We're not going to get to glory if it doesn't. And I know that's easy to say, but it really has to be that way if we're going to make it to glory. It has to be that way. For the Lord thy God is a jealous God, lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee and destroy thee from off the face of the earth. [00:15:00] Yes, God demands our allegiance. He does. We don't like to think of a demanding God, and I know that God is a God of love, and we could make maybe a message out of that, but let's just remember that if you want the blessing of God to rest upon your life, Then God has to have, you have, you need to be responsible to God And then verse 5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might [00:15:31] Anything short of this is unacceptable to God It's just not acceptable Have we lowered God's standard? Do we lower God's standard? Do I? Have I? It's a question that we might do well to ask ourselves It must have been very important because in Matthew 22, 37, Jesus reiterated or verbatim said the same thing. He said the verse, not all of it, but most of it. [00:16:02] And people have commented on that, probably because of the importance of this passage. It was the first passage that Jesus learned as a little boy, and I don't know if that makes any difference or not. Now let's move on to verses 6, 7, and 8, and 9. Well, let's just read a little bit again. And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart, and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. [00:16:44] And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes, and thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house and on thy gates. This passage has been used invariably to explain why the family unit is superior to the church and why only fathers and mothers are to give instruction. And I certainly don't want to minimize the role of fathers and mothers at all because I support fathers and mothers. [00:17:22] In fact, I would encourage you to know where your children are at. Be involved with your child, your children. Speak to them. But I don't think God intended that we would have competition between the family unit and the church. I don't think so at all. In fact, I wondered if that would be the case if God would not have told Moses or had Moses tell them, The family units need to move outside of camp and do their thing and we'll stay here. [00:17:55] Just a thought, just a thought. The family needs the church and the church needs the family. It needs to be, it needs to harmonize together. And remember this morning, I would like to talk about a Deuteronomy 6 church, not just a family, a church. The family needs the church, and the church needs the family. I know that some people at this point, they say, well, he's talking about teaching children. [00:18:27] And I can appreciate that. I think it's very important. But at least consider this. Any church that is moving forward should have some spiritual children coming in or involved in the church. So, I think we could at least think about that application as well. Now, the family, we are talking about a church that complements a family and includes that aspect of it. [00:18:58] Having said that, maybe I'm backtracking a little bit. I did a little bit of math. And how many hours do you spend at church every week? If you come Wednesday evening and you come Sunday morning and you spend two and a half hours here Sunday morning and an hour and a half, four hours more or less, about one forty second of your time is spent, or one forty second, yeah, [00:19:29] is about one forty second of a week's time is spent in church. Now, that varies. Does the church need the school and the family's help in teaching? I think so. I think so. I think we're only here for a brief time, but it should affect all of our lives. Everything that we do. And the church is here to equip, not to compete. Equip. [00:20:00] Now, what I would really like to look at, and this is what just dealt with me, and I don't know if it's just about too practical. Let's take a look at the teaching program that Moses was instructing them on. Maybe he's introducing them to a teaching program, or me at least. I don't think he is. I think it's a well-known program. It's a program that's all inclusive. [00:20:31] When do you get away from this teaching program? It's hard to get away. It's a method. And he says we're not only supposed to teach our children, but what does he say? Teach them diligently. Does that give any rest? Probably not. We have our work cut out for us. Maybe I'll just briefly focus a bit on the family side of things. But I don't want to get carried away. Moses is dealing with character. [00:21:04] He's dealing with my character. He's dealing with some deep issues as he speaks. Loving God with heart, soul, and mind. Loving God with all that we have. This, I noticed something, this godly character precedes the teaching that we should give. In other words, if I have this correct, it's a sequential thing. Verse 5, And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might. [00:21:39] And then he proceeds to tell us how and where and when to teach. This type of teaching moves beyond grabbing a textbook or a book and opening up the book and reading the lesson and then getting the class to come in and teaching the lesson and closing the book and walking away. It's far, this type of teaching, it moves way beyond that. And it reaches right down into my heart and into your heart and all of our hearts. [00:22:14] And it has been said many times that you cannot pass along what you don't have here. And I think this passage validates that, that cliche, that thing that we say that's important. What is the easiest method to teach? What is, what is so, what comes so freely for you? Maybe it doesn't for you, but it seems to come for me. Just talk, just tell people how it really is supposed to be. [00:22:45] Just, it's so easy. Well, Moses doesn't exclude talking. He says, and thou shalt, well, he says, and shalt talk of them, the things of God. And I don't want to minimize talking. Communicate with your, I'm talking about children, but communicate with your peers, with those that are in need of communication. Sometimes I learn through communication. [00:23:17] It goes both ways. Communicate. Today, in our day, and I don't know if it's always been that way, but it's so hectic sometimes that in the course of a day I can get phone calls, I can do all kinds of things, and I come back home and I sit down and read a book and I don't even communicate with my wife and family the way I should. You know what? It is kind of a lost art. We are on the phone, we're texting, we're doing something, but are we really looking at each other and hearing what is said and giving explanation? [00:23:54] Communicating, talking is important He does not throw that away That is expected in this teaching program But like I said, it is far easier for me If I see that a brother has some problem or is digressing Or if there's a man that I meet I just, I can just tell him that, you know, this is the way we Mennonites do things, and this is what should happen, and I'll just tell him, and then I've done it. [00:24:31] You know what, it moves beyond. It deals with something that is beyond just telling. It deals with the way I live. So let's move on now. Let's think further. When are you supposed to be teaching? What is he saying? When thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. What am I supposed to stop teaching? [00:25:04] When are you supposed to stop teaching? Is there a loophole somewhere that I'm missing? Where I told my wife I can't get away from it even if I'm in the shower. But that's kind of ridiculous to say that. But you know what? The little things in life expose character, and the way that I respond back and forth in my home to my wife and to my children, it seems somehow the birds of the air carry that, and my character goes before me, and it either hinders teaching or it helps. [00:25:41] This type of, this thing that Moses is introducing to them is a teaching that is much, it deals with the person. It deals with how I respond or don't respond. What I don't say. And how, you know, how practical can we get with this thing? It just comes right, comes here, close to me. You know, church might be very important to me. I'll tell my children I just love the church. I love the brethren. I'm just not there. Can't make it to church. You think I'm teaching something? Yeah, I'm teaching something. That's very practical. Very practical. [00:26:25] Church might be very important, but I just hope that I'm not a Sunday school teacher. It takes so much time and effort that, what am I teaching? I'm teaching something. I'm teaching. And not just my children. That attitude is, it does not stay in my house. Because if that's what's in my heart, it will come out. It's evident. Is the church important? You might say that, I want my boys to be gentlemen. I want them to grow up to be gentlemen. I want them to know how to handle themselves in life and do what's right, serve the Lord. [00:27:09] But maybe you're teaching something by the way you treat your wife. Or do you have time to give your wife a compliment about the meal she served? Or do you hold the door? There might be a million other things. Well, not a million. There might be a lot of other things that we could say. I want my son to be a godly young man, but it starts with me. It deals with my character. [00:27:43] I cannot pass something on that I don't have. Mothers, you want your young daughter to be a lady. And you want her to be modest and you want her to grow up to be upstanding. Is that the way you are? I challenge you. That is part of this teaching. And I know that is practical. Our children choose. Those around us may be well taught. They choose. They choose. But it is hardly possible to teach if we don't have a character. [00:28:20] Now, we've talked a bit about family. And I would like for us to be a Deuteronomy 6 church. I'm not saying that you have to go buy the sticker to put on the back of your van. I would just want to encourage us to be a Deuteronomy 6 church. What about teaching on a church level? Any church that is serious about serving the Lord has some teaching program by default or by design. [00:28:54] And it is the responsibility of the church to teach all of those that are within the four walls of the church Not just a certain age group And I think that a Deuteronomy 6 church will emphasize character before teaching I'm saying that kind of backwards But it seems to me that character Well, let me just say it this way Am I fit to teach if I'm unable to conduct my own life? That's about as simple as you can get. [00:29:26] Now having said that, maybe we'll get to some more of that, but Sunday school teachers, teaching Sunday school and Bible school is not for entertainment. It's not. And I did not do a lot of research on this, but I did read a book recently that said this, and this is strictly statistics. And people have broken this down and where there was entertainment and stories in Sunday school versus solid biblical teaching, there was an exodus. [00:30:04] These young souls figured out that this is maybe, maybe not. Our Sunday school and our Sunday school time and whatever other teaching program that we have is serious business. It's not, it's not child's play. And it does, it does make a difference. Now I'd like to come back to a character before teaching. Let's look at the second Timothy chapter two, the first several verses Paul is instructing, and he's saying it in some ways entirely different than Deuteronomy six. [00:30:42] But in another sense, he's saying the same thing. Thou, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, I want you to hear this. The same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also. Let me read it again. And the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also. I am unfit to teach if I am unfaithful, is what Paul is saying in essence. [00:31:17] Character goes before effective teaching. It's the same principle that Deuteronomy 6 has. Faithful men, faithful men, and women for that matter. Now, I don't know, well let's just put it this way. I think, in our circles, almost everybody has an idea of how that we should be teaching. And you know what? It seems to me that there have been church splits because of this disagreement. [00:31:51] What method of teaching should we have? How should we go about doing this? And certainly there are church activities that are not teaching programs that are that have nothing to do with teaching principles. And you might disagree with me, but there there's all kinds of programs that are veer on the side of entertainment versus teaching. And God help us. We cannot afford to wander into that. [00:32:26] Let me just say this, church league softball and basketball is not a teaching program unless you're teaching Hoosier, Hysteria, March Madness or whatever else that goes with it. It just, it entertains, it feeds the mind, but not, does not bring in the things of God. But I want to say this, I don't know of any church that has degenerated where there were godly men with godly character putting their heart into teaching. [00:33:01] I thought about it and I couldn't think of any church that I know of that where men stood up with godly character and had a teaching program that dealt first with themselves. I don't know. Maybe I'll leave that. But it's food for thought. Okay, I need to wrap this up quickly. There are at least four characteristics of a Deuteronomy 6 church, and I'm just going to go through this quickly for you can think about it, and there's more. [00:33:38] Number one, a Deuteronomy 6 church places a high value on godly principles that have been handed down as Moses was instructing them, the law. And number two, it is a group of people that loves the Lord with heart, soul, and strength. It's not just a profession. It's something that's actually there. It's inside. Number three, it's a visible group. It's not something that's obscure. If the commands of the Lord are in your heart, bound on your hand as a sign and as a frontlet between your eyes. [00:34:11] And I know the Jews, sometimes the Orthodox Jews today do do this literally. But I think it should be done literally in our hearts. It should be there. What comes out of your mouth? If we love something with all our heart, soul, and strength, it shows up in everything that we do. Everything. When you pull your shoes on in the morning, how you speak to your wife, whatever you do, it shows up. And the fourth one, a Deuteronomy 6 church has a teaching program. It places a high value on teaching the next generation of the things of God by example. [00:34:46] and I don't know this might be, you might argue with me on this one but I also think there's value in immersion in culture and what I mean by that is not simply that we hang on to the tradition of the well we've always had this whatever you want to say we've always had the volleyball game after the wedding well I'm not saying that you shouldn't have that but I'm just saying immersion in culture practicing in public Practicing truth and teaching, that has a way of influencing us, or me at least, and all of us I think [00:35:26] Let me say it this way, by immersion in culture that supports God, that supports God and his word Now, teaching, let's remember the words of Jesus in the Great Commission He said this, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Thank God we might fail in character, we might fail in doing just the way we should every time. [00:36:00] I know I fail, and I would expect that all of us, if we are honest, would admit that we fail, or have failed. But I like that last phrase. I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. He's here. If you want help in teaching, God is here. God is here. There's I don't know if I should do this or not. There's a reading that I came across as I was studying. And this has to deal with a child. I don't think it's well, we're all children. Some of us might be closer to we're old children or young children. We're all children. We all observe. [00:36:35] And I would like to read this reading in closing here as food for thought, and it's kind of written as a young child's perspective of things, but it does, it did kind of make me think. When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator, and I immediately wanted to paint another one. When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you feed a stray cat and I learned that it was good to be kind to animals. [00:37:06] When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make my favorite cake for me and I learned that little things can be the special things in life. When you thought I wasn't looking, I heard you say a prayer and I knew there is a God and I could always talk to and I learned to trust him there. When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make a meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I learned that we all have to help take care of each other. When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you give your time and money to help people who had nothing, and I learned that those who have something should give to those who don't. [00:37:44] When you thought I wasn't looking, I felt you kiss me goodnight, and I felt loved and safe. When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you take care of our house and everyone in it, and I learned we have to take care of what we are given. When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw how you handled your responsibilities, even when you didn't feel good and I learned that I would have to be responsible when I grew up. When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw tears come from your eyes and I learned that sometimes things hurt, but it's all right to cry. [00:38:18] When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw that you cared, and I wanted to be everything that I could be. When you thought I wasn't looking, I learned most of life's lessons that I need to know to be a good and productive person when I grow up. When you thought I wasn't looking, I looked at you and wanted to say thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn't looking. That is a mode of teaching. teaching by example. Good character that flows teaches by example. And it is not for me alone or parents, but it is for youth. You influence those that are around you. Teachers, school teachers and parents and grandparents. But it involves everybody in this group. In this. It doesn't matter. Are you old or young? You can be [00:39:18] This is part of the teaching plan that is God honoring.