Modeling For Change
Loving and obeying the Lord is a lifestyle.
Deuteronomy(1) (Part of the Special(2) series)
by Stuart Johns(37) on April 14, 2024 (Sunday Morning(44))
God's Love(1), Love(3), Modeling(1), Obedience(5)
Modeling For Change
(Deuteronomy 6:1-9)
INTRODUCTION
The day had been set. The five-year-old boy couldn’t wait for his dad to come home from work. This was the day he had been waiting for. They were going to have their own Good News Club with just his family. This young boy knew just what to do and told his dad when to do each part of the club – from singing the songs, to learning the Bible verse, to sharing the Bible lesson and even giving the Gospel invitation.
This five-year old was excited about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and he understood that it was the power of God for salvation (Rom. 1:16).
How did this five-year old boy know what to do in a Good News Club and when to do all of these things? Why did he want there to be a Good News Club on this particular day? These questions will be answered as we look at Deuteronomy 6:1-9.
BODY
ME
When Wade was really young, I slipped up one day and said the word “crap”
I didn’t realized how much he looked up to me until I heard him using that same word over and over again
I had only slipped up once, but it made a huge impression on him
He thought it was a great word to use
I was devastated
It took longer to break him of using that word than it did for him to learn it
WE
Negative
Maybe you’ve experienced the same thing
You’ve used a word around your children, grandchildren, nieces, or nephews that you later regretted
When your spouse or their parents heard the word and said something to you about where they learned it, you blamed it on television, school, or the internet
But, you’re the one who taught them that word
You probably feel horrified, frustrated, and ashamed
Positive
It’s also great to see your children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews do something that they’ve seen you do or say something that they’ve heard you say
It could be sharing a toy or possession with a friend in the neighborhood
Giving money to help a missionary or a needy person
Taking their Bible to Sunday school
Hearing them tell others about Jesus
When they do and say those things we aren’t ashamed to claim that they learned it from us
They learn these behaviors and speech by watching you
We’ve all modeled good and bad behavior and speech
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 talks about modeling for our children
Deuteronomy 6:1-3 tells us why we should do it
BIG IDEA – Loving and obeying the Lord is a lifestyle.
Let’s pray
GOD (Deuteronomy 6:1-9)
Modeling (vv. 4-9)
What to model (vv. 4-6a)
Background
Moses is giving some instructions to the entire Israelite community
Verses 4-5 are called the Shema by orthodox Jews
Practicing Jews still observe the Shema today
It’s something they recite each morning
In fact, as soon as Jewish boys are able to speak, they are taught this phrase
These commandments
We call them the Ten Commandments
Chapter 5 lists them in verses 6-21
The Israelites have just received them verbally and in writing (Deut. 5:22)
How to model (vv. 6b-9)
Love the Lord our God
PRINCIPLE #1 – God is love!
We know this is true of God, because of His Word
Jeremiah 31:3, The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.”
Lamentations 3:22-23, Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
John 3:16, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Romans 5:8, But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Ephesians 2:4-6, But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with him and seated us with him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
We can rejoice in this fact today – God is love!
Because God loves us so much, we should love Him in return
Moses encouraged the Israelites to love the Lord with all of their heart, soul, and strength – with their entire being
How are you doing with loving the Lord with your entire being?
Loving and obeying the Lord is a lifestyle.
#1 – My Next Step Today Is To: Thank the Lord for His great love for me.
#2 – My Next Step Today Is To: Examine my love for the Lord to make sure I am loving Him with my heart, soul, and strength.
Sharing what we love
When we love something we can’t help but share it with others
Me
It will not take you all very long to realize that I love Chick-fil-A (I worked for them in high school and have never stopped loving their food)
I love my children and grandchildren, so you will probably hear more about them
I love my wife, so we are grateful to be living in Virginia, because the license plate says, “Virginia is for lovers”
I love the Word of God, so you will hear me sharing from God’s Word
Us
Take a moment to think about the things you love (food, restaurant, clothing item, accessory, tool, activity, person, Bible, church, etc.)
How often do you share with others about that thing?
If we love the Lord with our heart, soul, and strength, then we should be sharing Him with others
That is what Moses encouraged the Israelites to do
Upon your hearts
From the original language it means to be enclosed
God’s Word needs to be a part of you
“You don’t need to get into God’s Word, it needs to get into you”
God’s Word needs to permeate every aspect of your life – speech, thoughts, and actions
You cannot model or teach children about something you know nothing about
Children have the ability to know whether or not you’re all in, whether or not you are genuine
Once God’s Word is a part of us, then we can impress it on our children
Impress them
The Hebrew word for impress means “to impress (something) upon the mind of another by frequent instruction or repetition; instill”
NLT – Repeat them again and again to your children
How do you accomplish this?
You talk about God’s Word with your children . . .
When you sit at home
When you walk along the road (today it would be riding in the car)
At night time when you’re putting your children to bed (Levi told Judy to “tell me verses”)
In the morning when they first get up (Judy used to pray with and have the boys pray while driving to school in the morning)
“Many kids wake up to the smell of coffee brewing or the sound of a rooster crowing. My wake-up call was my father's passionate praying filtering through the house. Sometimes I'd ease downstairs and join him. One knee was usually raised, so I'd slip in underneath, shielded by his body as he pleaded for my soul.
I never caught Dad praying for our happiness. He realized that the pursuit of happiness for its own sake is a frustrating, disillusioning, often futile effort. Happiness usually hides from those addicted to its sugar, while it chases after those caught up in something more lasting than momentary excitement.
I never heard him pray for a bigger house, car, or bank account. Instead, he prayed that our hearts would be ignited and inspired to do things of eternal consequence. ‘Turn our eyes from the temporal, the physical, and the menial,’ he prayed, ‘and toward the eternal, the spiritual, and the noble.’
My father never pressured us toward achievement. He knew that the push had to come from inner reserves, not outward designs. He simply dangled before us the possibilities. Thanks to his example, we sometimes took the bait.”
Source: John Ashcroft, Lessons from a Father to His Son; found in Men of Integrity (July/August 2001), August 9
[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2007/january/9010807.html]When is the last time you have stopped long enough to admire and praise God for His creation?
Have you done this with children so they understand how and why to praise God?
You show how important God’s Word is to you through what you display
The “frontlets” (i.e., phylacteries, cf. Matt 23:5) eventually became small containers enclosing parchment on which Ex 13:1-16, Deut 6:4-9, and 11:13-21 were written. These containers were then bound on the forehead and left wrist, especially at prayer times.
The “doorposts” (mezuzot, Heb.) eventually became small reeds or cylinders containing parchment, known individually today as the “mezuzah,” which was fixed on the right-hand doorpost of every room in the house (Seth’s first roommate at college had a mezuzah fixed on the right-hand doorpost of their dorm room)
Do you have a Bible visibly lying in your house, so children can see it?
Do you have scripture framed and hanging on your walls?
Is there a verse taped to your bathroom mirror or your car dashboard?
Notice that modeling the commands of God is a lifestyle and not just something you add on as they grow up
Loving and obeying the Lord is a lifestyle.
You have to be intentional about sharing God’s truths with them
You have to help children by giving them practical opportunities to respond to the Word of God
Why model (vv. 1-3)
Israelites
Fear the Lord (reverence)
Enjoy long life
It may go well with you
Increase greatly in the land
PRINCIPLE #2 – God is pleased when we obey His commands, decrees, and laws.
Loving and obeying the Lord is a lifestyle.
Are we reverencing the Lord like we should?
What place does the Lord have in your life (time, talents, and resources?)
Are there other things that take your time, talents, and resources?
Our children are watching to see what we do with God and His commands, decrees, and laws
#2 – My Next Step Today Is To: Model my obedience to God’s commands, decrees, and laws, so that the next generation will do the same.
You and me – why should we model for our children?
It’s so our children will know who God is and what He did about our sin problem
It’s so they will recognize all they have in a relationship with Jesus Christ
We are losing the next generation for Christ – they are turning away from God to other things
It begins with you and me and our own children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews
Our children have an incredible ability to draw their friends to Christ
Sometimes you and I are given the opportunity of helping in that process
YOU
What have you been modeling for your children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews, concerning God?
Do they know what you believe about God and Jesus Christ?
Can they tell what is most important to you?
While this modeling begins at home, there are some children who never receive any positive modeling at home
This is why serving and teaching in the church is so important
It is also important that we invite others to church
CONCLUSION
How did this five-old boy know what to do in a Good News Club and when everything was supposed to be done? It’s because it was modeled for him by his dad and mom. He had been to many Good News Clubs and had watched his parents share the Gospel with countless other children. You see, they loved to tell the story of Jesus.
Why did he want there to be a Good News Club on this particular day? His parents had just moved and they were not teaching a Good News Club at the time, but God had been working in his heart and mind and he was ready to receive Jesus Christ as his Savior.
That boy is now 28 years old. His name is Wade Johns and he accepted Christ that day in our home in Warrenton, MO. He was waiting for me to come home from work at the CEF World Headquarters. He had everything set up waiting for me and we had a Good News Club just for him.
