Deuteronomy chapter 6, I believe family matters and because of that we're going to talk about family matters this summer.
And today we're going to look at Deuteronomy chapter 6.
An old adage is familiarity breeds contempt.
It means that when you expose to something or someone a lot, been around it a lot, you start to lag in respect of them.
And we often take family for granted like that.
I heard about a man who asked his wife, he said, honey, would you have married me if my father hadn't left us a fortune?
She said, oh, sweetie, I'd have married you no matter who left you a fortune.
We take family for granted.
But we also many times can take other matters for granted.
For instance, scripture.
If you're a regular attender at Pickens First or a watcher at Pickens First, you've heard me refer to this passage in Deuteronomy chapter 6 several times.
And in preparation for today, I have prayed that familiarity would not breed content or boredom or lack of attention.
Because it is an important passage that we need to live by.
It's found in Deuteronomy chapter 6, beginning in verse 4.
And it says,
Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.
And these words that I command you today shall be upon your heart.
You shall teach them diligently to your children.
You shall talk of them when you sit in the house and when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise.
You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
That's a very common passage in Jewish life.
It is called the Shema.
That is simply a Hebrew word for the first word in verse 4.
Here is what it means.
Every Jew knew that passage.
They recited it daily.
It was the Jewish confession of faith.
And it begins with this great acknowledgement that we worship one God and one God only.
In that way, the Jewish faith was set apart because of their monotheism.
The Egyptians and those from the east believed in many gods.
They believed that you had to work and live your life in harmony with the gods.
And that each of these gods had strengths and each of them had weaknesses.
Some gods tended to be unpredictable and some gods were immoral.
And so one god could protect you from another god and you had to keep all your gods in balance.
It was tangled.
And the reality is it was all made up.
It was just a type of Egyptian mythology of sorts.
All made up.
And the Israelites, on the other hand, served one supreme God.
And they boasted about that God.
Jeremiah chapter 9 verse 23 and 24 says this.
Thus says the Lord, let not the wise man boast in his wisdom.
Let not the mighty man boast in his might.
Let not the rich man boast in his riches.
But let him who boasts, I hope you'll mark this on your life.
This is good stuff.
Him who boasts, boast in this.
That he understands and knows me.
That I'm the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice and righteousness in the earth.
For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.
Even the most humble among us boast.
We boast about the fish we caught.
We don't take pictures and put it on Facebook when we catch minors.
We boast about the brilliance of our children.
You never see report cards boasted when they're barely getting by.
We boast about our ball team.
We did this and we did that.
In reality all we did was get up in the middle of commercials and go get something else to eat.
You know.
We boast about our work ethic.
We boast about what we just bought.
The question is do we brag on God?
That's the only thing that we really ought to be bragging on.
Is bragging on Jesus.
I'm telling you today you ought to brag on Jesus and you ought to brag on him to your family.
The thrust of the Shema is to love God at home and to encourage and raise your family to love God.
And let me say this.
To those who do not have children in your home.
To encourage and love the Lord Jesus before your spouse.
Before whoever is in your home.
Or when you're visiting a home.
So how do we do that?
Well the text is clear.
One is we live it daily.
We live it daily.
Real love does not wane and fade.
It is strong and it grows stronger.
And it's always interesting to me to see when somebody falls in love with Jesus.
And they have young love for God.
It is fresh.
And it is impressionable.
And they are hungry to grow in the Lord.
And then as they mature in the Lord.
And they grow in their faith.
That mature love is seasoned.
And it is faithful.
Because you've been through some stuff.
And you've seen God bring you through some stuff.
And so you can trust him more.
And you can encourage other people along the way.
God has been good.
So in response.
As he's been faithful to us.
We're faithful to him.
And that's not just talk.
But it ought to be something that we talk about.
This passage speaks of loving him with all of your heart.
That means wholeheartedly love.
No holding back.
Give all you got.
When he ramps it up.
By not only saying with all your heart.
But he says with all your soul.
With all your might.
To put it simply.
What he's saying is.
The love of God ought to invade every part of our being.
In everything that we do.
It ought to propel us.
It's a love that is overflowing into all of our day.
Not just our Sunday.
Not just early in the morning.
Not just at certain times.
So we talk about him.
But we also live for him.
If that love is real.
The truths of God will touch our heart.
It will mark our lives.
And it will be seen in our complete devotion to him.
And our worship of him.
And I just want you to know.
You were made for worship.
And when you're not worshiping the Lord.
When you're not putting him in proper place.
You're not doing what you're made for.
Because we're made for worship.
He made us for a need for worship.
And if we don't worship him.
You know what we'll do?
We'll worship something else.
We'll replace it with something else.
For the Egyptians.
It was other gods.
Is what they did.
But for us.
We may worship ourselves.
And what I mean by that is.
We may worship what we want.
We may worship what we feel like we need.
We worship our hobbies.
We worship our misplaced priorities.
Now today we're talking about the family.
But if the family is going to be what the family ought to be.
Regardless of what structure your family is.
If it's going to be what it ought to be.
It has to start with us.
Don't point at your spouse about this.
Don't point at your kids about this.
Don't point at your parents about this.
Don't blame your brother or sister about this.
It starts with us.
And that starting point.
Is a relentless love for God.
And if you truly love God.
It will show forth in your life.
You'll have what I call the can't help it.
I mean you can't help but talk about him.
You can't help but emphasize his impact upon your life.
You can't help but reflect him.
You can't help but lean upon him.
You are love struck for God.
Because he sent his only son to die.
And he sent his Holy Spirit to guide.
So live it daily.
Just live it out.
Daily.
Second thing he tells us to do is to share it daily.
Now I want to be honest with you.
These lessons were given to people that were a nomadic people.
They went out each morning.
And scripture tells us that God gave them manna to eat.
They went to bed at night.
Under a pillar of fire.
Of God's presence.
Every night.
And in the morning they were led by a cloud of his presence.
Every day.
They didn't have cars.
They didn't have streaming services.
They didn't have iPads.
They didn't have cell phones.
They didn't have television.
They didn't play rec ball.
Not that we have recorded in scripture.
And they camp every day.
You should have seen Moses' fifth wheel.
He was set.
There were no beach vacations.
There were no amusement parks.
There was no indoor plumbing.
There was no air conditioning.
And they lived in the desert.
As hot as a July South Carolina day.
They needed God daily.
And they knew it.
Now I want to be clear about something.
We need God just as bad as they did.
But if we don't make an effort to turn to him.
If we don't deliberately impress these truths upon our family.
We'll miss it.
And we have so much to distract us.
It is so easy to drift away.
It is easier to drift away from the Lord.
Than it is to stay faithful to the Lord.
And so share the love of God.
With your family.
When?
He says we do it when you get up.
Tell your young'un.
Get your sorry tail out of bed.
Don't you know Jesus loves you?
Share what you read.
With them.
If you're able to have breakfast together.
Share a scripture with them.
Share something that God showed you.
Play the right kind of music.
It's amazing what a few encouraging words can do along the way.
Sitting at home may be a meal.
At that meal.
Make the most of that.
Give opportunity for that.
If the sitting down is in front of the TV.
Then cut it off for 10 minutes.
Or mute the commercials.
Or pause a minute.
That time together is to be used wisely.
It is valuable.
But it's not only when we're sitting at the house.
It also says when we're walking by the way.
And the modern translation of that is when you're riding in your car.
Don't miss the opportunity.
I mean you got them in there.
You're going down the road at 55 miles per hour.
They can't go anywhere.
They're contained.
They're in like a Jesus cell.
That you can just share him.
Ask him to forgive you.
For hitting them with a hairbrush.
As they got ready that morning.
Tell them that Jesus loves them.
And forgive all that.
If we'll call upon him.
And then get out of the car and come on into church.
I mean you know.
I know how all that works.
That's why I come to church alone.
Seriously.
The ride to school.
Or the ride to the caretaker.
Ought to be filled with sweet words.
It's a great opportunity.
And then end your day.
Praying with.
And over your child.
When I took my kids to school.
I would often tell them on the way.
I want you to know.
You've been prayed for this morning.
I want you to know.
I've already prayed for you.
You may face tough stuff today.
I know what this is going on.
You got a test here.
You got a little drama going on over here.
Or whatever.
I done prayed for you.
Let them know that.
And at the end of the day.
Pray with them.
Or over your child.
Now let me be clear.
Some days it's not going to happen.
You'll miss it.
Most days it should happen.
And so share it daily.
Share it daily.
Lastly show it daily.
Show it.
Verse 8 and 9 here are not meant to be taken literally.
When it says you shall bind them as a sign on your hand.
And they shall be as frontless between your eyes.
You shall write them on the doorpost of your house.
And on your gates.
But the Jews took it literally.
They put phylacteries.
Which are boxes that contain the law.
Just little pieces of the Ten Commandments.
Are in those boxes.
You'll see one on his bicep there.
You'll see another on his forehead in the picture.
And they wrapped that around their arm.
Religiously.
I was on a plane going to Israel.
And there was an Orthodox Jew.
And it got to his prayer time.
It was about 4 a.m. somewhere.
I mean you change time zones so fast.
I don't know what time it was.
It was 4 a.m. in Milo mine.
And he started wrapping his arm.
And when it didn't get just right.
He unwrapped it and wrapped it again.
Unwrapped it.
Wrapped it again.
Unwrapped it.
Wrapped it again.
Just constantly.
Making sure that it was just the right way.
Whatever that means.
And then he started praying.
And you knew he was praying.
He was rocking and praying.
Taking it before him.
They put a mezuzah.
Which is a little metal box.
On the doorway.
That they touch as they leave.
Or as they arrive.
And when you stay in Israel hotels.
You'll see that at each door.
And it's slanted sideways.
This is fascinating to me.
Because some believe.
That it ought to sit upright.
It's the law of God.
And it ought to be represented upright.
And then some believe.
That it ought to be laying down.
Just like it was in the Ark of the Covenant.
But the Ten Commandments ought to be laying down.
So you ought to put it sideways.
And so they compromised.
And just put it slanted.
That's a true story.
They did.
But when they walk by that.
They touch it.
And say a prayer.
In the doorway.
As they leave.
And as they arrive.
Is that what verse 8 and 9 is talking about?
The New Testament tells me.
That that's not what it's talking about.
Jesus said.
That good practicing Jews.
That lacked wholeheartedness.
Was like a cup.
And a dish.
That had been washed well on the outside.
But was full of greed.
And self-indulgence on the inside.
He compared them to whitewashed tombs.
That were beautiful on the outside.
But inside that tomb.
Were reeking of death.
Friend.
What verses 8 and 9.
Speak of.
Is more than the Christian fish.
On your car.
It's more than posting scripture.
On the walls of your home.
It's more than putting a Bible.
On your table.
Or wearing a Christian t-shirt.
On your wardrobe.
It's saying that we need minds.
The law needs to be stamped.
As frontlets upon your eyes.
It needs to be on your mind.
Your thoughts and your desires.
Ought to be the things of God.
It ought to be upon your hands.
The things that you do.
We need hands that are willing to work out our salvation.
Through what we do.
And what we revere.
Let it mark what you do.
Let it mark what you think about.
You can talk a good game.
But your family knows you.
And the question is.
What do they know of you?
Let your homes be marked.
By a love for the law of God.
By a love for God.
Teach them to love the word of God.
Teach them to follow Christ.
Teach them to hunger for God.
Not just by telling them.
Teach them by showing them.
Through your life.
How to do his will.
How to trust his hand.
How to please him with your life.
Show it.
Legacy is not built in a day.
It takes longevity.
So be faithful.
And leave your mark.
Make an impression.
Henry Winston was a diamond merchant in New York City.
And a customer came to him.
That wanted to buy a particular very expensive type of diamond.
And because of the potential of a great sale.
Winston had who he believed to be his best most knowledgeable salesperson.
To go into the vault and pull out this expensive diamond.
For this man to look at.
The salesman shared the diamond with the customer.
He spoke of the four C's of the diamond.
He spoke of the carrot.
He spoke of the color.
He spoke of the clarity.
He spoke of the cut.
In addition to the appreciation that would come to such a jewel as this diamond.
And how scarce it was in the world market.
And after hearing all of that.
The customer said.
No thank you.
And he started to leave.
Henry Winston stopped him.
And asked him.
He said.
Can I personally show you the diamond myself?
And the man had traveled a long way to see it.
To make this possible purchase.
And he didn't mind looking again.
And so Henry started talking to him about it.
But he didn't talk about cut.
And he didn't talk about clarity.
He spoke of the beauty.
Of the diamond.
He spoke of the joy that the diamond would bring to the owner.
And he spoke of the joy that others would have.
By seeing the diamond.
And enjoying the diamond.
And a few minutes later.
The man pulled out a checkbook.
And started writing a check for that diamond.
And as he wrote that check.
He looked at Henry and said.
Mr. Winston I am puzzled.
He said.
I have just looked with you at the same diamond.
That your salesman showed me.
When I was not interested.
And now I'm interested.
And I'm buying it.
Why is that?
And Winston said this.
He said.
The man who showed you the diamond first.
Is the most knowledgeable salesperson I have.
He understands the details of diamonds.
I wish I had a hundred of him.
He knows more about a diamond than I do.
But I would double his salary.
If he had something that I have.
He knows diamonds.
But I'm in the business.
Because I love diamonds.
Our children.
Our family.
Are the buyers.
The jewel.
Is Jesus.
And we must sell it.
To our family.
Because.
We love him.
And we ought to do it.
With a passion.
Wake up with him.
Walk with him.
Sit with him.
End the day with him.
Live for him.
Talk of him.
Pray to him.
Share the truth of him.
Every day.
Daily.
Family.
Lessons.
An old hymn.
Puts it good.
It says.
Let others see Jesus in you.
Keep telling the story.
Be faithful and true.
Let others see Jesus in you.
Especially at the house.
With every head bowed.
And every eye closed.
I ask you today.
Do you know the Lord Jesus?
This love relationship begins with a decision.
To commit your life to follow him.
And I wonder today.
Has there ever been a time in your life.
When you've acknowledged that you're a sinner.
That you need God to forgive you.
To change you.
And you surrender your life to follow him.
Not surrender to the church.
Not went to a class.
And filled out a workbook.
But surrender your life.
To follow Christ.
Christ.
If you've never done that.
I want you to know I'm here this morning.
I'd love to share with you.
The love that Christ has for you.
And how he can change your life.
Maybe you're here and you have done that.
But you've never acknowledged that publicly through baptism.
You've never told others what God has done in your life privately.
And Jesus by his example.
As well as by his commission.
Tells us.
That that's what we're to do.
To follow that up.
As a first step of obedience.
To baptism.
Maybe you're here and God's drawing you to First Baptist Church.
God's blessed us in mighty ways.
I'm thankful for that.
And maybe God's drawing you to be a part of this church.
We'd love to guide you in that process.
But the reality is.
A majority of us in this room.
Have things that we need to lay before the Lord today.
Matters that we've not handled right.
Matters that we need to be renewed.
And I'm thankful today.
That we serve a forgiving God.
We serve one that will take us from where we are.
To where we need to be.
At the pace that we need to go.
And he'll guide us all the way.
And so today you may say.
Lord I.
Can I start over again?
Can I make my life right with you again?
I know I'm in relationship with you.
I know that you love me.
But I want my life.
To reflect you.
In a greater fashion.
Today and tomorrow.
And the days ahead.
Than I did yesterday.
And the days in the past.
You can make such a decision.
A commitment like that.
Where you sit.
Where you'll stand.
You can make it at this altar.
Or you can have your pastor pray with you.
Either way.
I have no idea what God's telling you to do.
But I know you'll never be satisfied.
Unless you do exactly what he'd have you to do.
So I encourage you to be obedient today.
To follow him.
Lord Jesus.
Thank you.
For the truths of your word.
The clarity of it dear God.
I just pray that you'll enable us to live it out.
Make a difference in the world in which you planted us.
In Jesus precious name.
Amen.