WEBVTT 00:00:06.599 --> 00:00:10.279 Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse 5 is where we will 00:00:10.279 --> 00:00:13.519 begin this morning. Just a few short verses today. 00:00:16.019 --> 00:00:18.600 Sometimes on Father's Day I get all the men of 00:00:18.600 --> 00:00:21.420 the church to do different jobs, make them work, 00:00:21.559 --> 00:00:24.640 but this year we're giving the year off. Usually 00:00:24.640 --> 00:00:26.899 we let different people preach and lead the music 00:00:26.899 --> 00:00:29.839 and all men's choir, but we didn't do that this 00:00:29.839 --> 00:00:31.839 year. However, if you really feel led to preach 00:00:31.839 --> 00:00:36.240 this morning, come on up. We'll let you go. I 00:00:36.240 --> 00:00:38.640 don't see any takers, so I guess I'll follow 00:00:38.640 --> 00:00:40.899 through then. All right, Deuteronomy chapter 00:00:40.899 --> 00:00:47.539 6, verse 5. Let's pray, and then we'll get started. 00:00:49.000 --> 00:00:50.899 God, we come to you. We thank you for your good 00:00:50.899 --> 00:00:53.659 word. I thank you that we have the freedom today 00:00:53.659 --> 00:00:56.439 to come and to hear your word. I pray, God, that 00:00:56.439 --> 00:00:59.340 you just would bless our time together. We thank 00:00:59.340 --> 00:01:01.719 you for our fathers. We thank you for fatherhood. 00:01:02.240 --> 00:01:05.250 We thank you for what you call... Men too, dear 00:01:05.250 --> 00:01:07.390 Lord. What you call fathers too. What you call 00:01:07.390 --> 00:01:10.870 husbands too, dear Lord. It's a big responsibility. 00:01:11.150 --> 00:01:14.849 It's an important responsibility. But God, it's 00:01:14.849 --> 00:01:17.750 one that I pray that you would help men not to 00:01:17.750 --> 00:01:21.150 shy away from, dear Lord. That we would be men 00:01:21.150 --> 00:01:23.769 who are founded in your words. We would be fathers 00:01:23.769 --> 00:01:26.670 who are established by your word, dear Lord. 00:01:26.750 --> 00:01:31.379 And we allow that to lead and guide us. As we 00:01:31.379 --> 00:01:33.519 bring up the next generation, dear Lord. So I 00:01:33.519 --> 00:01:36.120 pray for all the men, all the fathers who are 00:01:36.120 --> 00:01:38.799 here today. And I pray that you just bless our 00:01:38.799 --> 00:01:42.200 time together. In Jesus' name, I pray it. Amen. 00:01:43.420 --> 00:01:45.859 I had somebody tell me last year after Father's 00:01:45.859 --> 00:01:48.280 Day, they said, you know, for Mother's Day, every 00:01:48.280 --> 00:01:51.400 year, it's all mothers are so good, happy. We're 00:01:51.400 --> 00:01:53.420 so happy about our mothers. And then for Father's 00:01:53.420 --> 00:01:55.620 Day, it's always toughen up. You guys got to 00:01:55.620 --> 00:01:59.180 do a good job and get to work. And that's true, 00:01:59.280 --> 00:02:02.560 and I think that that's important. I think that 00:02:02.560 --> 00:02:06.060 that's what God calls men to. It's a big responsibility, 00:02:06.280 --> 00:02:09.340 men, to be the head of the household, to be a 00:02:09.340 --> 00:02:13.180 husband, to be a father. And it's something that 00:02:13.180 --> 00:02:17.259 does not need to be taken lightly. And we need 00:02:17.259 --> 00:02:24.120 more good men in our world. And for there to 00:02:24.120 --> 00:02:27.319 be good men. There has to be good fathers. There 00:02:27.319 --> 00:02:29.500 has to be good grandfathers. There has to be 00:02:29.500 --> 00:02:33.199 the generation before bringing up these boys, 00:02:33.340 --> 00:02:35.560 these children that we see. That's the only way 00:02:35.560 --> 00:02:37.500 they're going to learn how to be a man, how to 00:02:37.500 --> 00:02:42.099 be a father. And we see this idea of the importance 00:02:42.099 --> 00:02:45.659 of passing down the instructions of God, the 00:02:45.659 --> 00:02:49.159 ways of God in Scripture. In Deuteronomy chapter 00:02:49.159 --> 00:02:56.219 6, verse 5 through 9, we see Moses kind of reiterating 00:02:56.219 --> 00:02:59.419 God's command to the people. Now, God's people 00:02:59.419 --> 00:03:01.419 were led out of Egypt, and they were on their 00:03:01.419 --> 00:03:03.400 way to the promised land, and that was short 00:03:03.400 --> 00:03:05.780 -lived because they were disobedient. They complained 00:03:05.780 --> 00:03:10.620 all the time, and God said, okay, if you're going 00:03:10.620 --> 00:03:12.400 to complain, if you don't want to go into the 00:03:12.400 --> 00:03:14.400 promised land, which they didn't because they 00:03:14.400 --> 00:03:16.259 were afraid, they got all the way right there 00:03:16.259 --> 00:03:18.860 at the doorstep of the promised land. They sent 00:03:18.860 --> 00:03:21.530 some folks in to scope it out. The folks come 00:03:21.530 --> 00:03:23.770 back. Most of them said, well, we can't go in 00:03:23.770 --> 00:03:25.689 there. That's way too scary. Those people there 00:03:25.689 --> 00:03:27.930 are big. They're strong. They're scary. We can't 00:03:27.930 --> 00:03:30.849 go up against them. And Joshua and Caleb said, 00:03:30.930 --> 00:03:33.669 hold up now. Wait a minute. God brought us here. 00:03:33.729 --> 00:03:35.270 God said he's going to give us this land. He's 00:03:35.270 --> 00:03:36.710 going to give it to us. Let's go in there and 00:03:36.710 --> 00:03:39.409 get it. But the people complained, and they were 00:03:39.409 --> 00:03:41.310 afraid, oh, it would have been better if we had 00:03:41.310 --> 00:03:43.150 just died out here in the wilderness, or if we 00:03:43.150 --> 00:03:45.030 had just died in Egypt. We'd have been better 00:03:45.030 --> 00:03:48.509 off. Here we are. We got all this way, and nothing's 00:03:48.509 --> 00:03:50.969 going to come of it. Well, God was not happy 00:03:50.969 --> 00:03:54.349 about what had taken place. And as a result of 00:03:54.349 --> 00:03:56.490 that, that generation did not get to enter the 00:03:56.490 --> 00:03:59.129 promised land. God said, okay, you say it'd be 00:03:59.129 --> 00:04:01.770 better to die in the wilderness, then so be it. 00:04:01.770 --> 00:04:04.479 You will die in the wilderness. And God said, 00:04:04.539 --> 00:04:07.580 all of these of this generation, except for Joshua 00:04:07.580 --> 00:04:11.400 and Caleb, will not get to see the promised land. 00:04:12.099 --> 00:04:15.000 Only the younger ones who were coming up. And 00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:18.819 so for 40 years, God's people wandered into wilderness, 00:04:19.160 --> 00:04:23.959 not able to enter into the promised land. And 00:04:23.959 --> 00:04:27.399 the time finally came that that generation had 00:04:27.399 --> 00:04:30.259 passed away, and the generation who was to inherit 00:04:30.259 --> 00:04:33.839 the land had come and... God was ready to allow 00:04:33.839 --> 00:04:37.639 Joshua to lead them into the promised land. Even 00:04:37.639 --> 00:04:39.720 Moses didn't get to lead them in because of his 00:04:39.720 --> 00:04:44.100 disobedience. And so before this time comes that 00:04:44.100 --> 00:04:45.740 they're going to get to go into the promised 00:04:45.740 --> 00:04:49.319 land, Moses is kind of reiterating some of the 00:04:49.319 --> 00:04:52.199 words and the commands of God. Now, the previous 00:04:52.199 --> 00:04:54.420 generation didn't do too good of following those 00:04:54.420 --> 00:04:59.040 commands, and they paid the price. But in Deuteronomy 00:04:59.040 --> 00:05:03.300 chapter 6 here, Moses says, let me reiterate 00:05:03.300 --> 00:05:05.839 for you. Let me help you, this new generation. 00:05:06.079 --> 00:05:09.139 It's up to you. It's your turn now. The baton 00:05:09.139 --> 00:05:11.500 has been handed to you. You have to run the race. 00:05:11.600 --> 00:05:14.839 You have to follow the commands of God and pass 00:05:14.839 --> 00:05:18.480 them down. And this is what he says in Deuteronomy 00:05:18.480 --> 00:05:23.899 6, verse 5. Love the Lord your God with all your 00:05:23.899 --> 00:05:26.600 heart, with all your soul, and with all your 00:05:26.600 --> 00:05:30.750 strength. All right? Most important command. 00:05:31.490 --> 00:05:34.370 He says, I want to remind you about the commands 00:05:34.370 --> 00:05:37.990 of God. Here's what I want to tell you. Put God 00:05:37.990 --> 00:05:40.649 first. Love God more than anything. Now that's 00:05:40.649 --> 00:05:42.910 still the most important command. You flip all 00:05:42.910 --> 00:05:45.790 the way to the New Testament and you see that 00:05:45.790 --> 00:05:47.850 that's still the most important command. We talked 00:05:47.850 --> 00:05:51.050 about that a little bit last week. There is nothing 00:05:51.050 --> 00:05:54.709 more important in our life than recognizing that 00:05:54.709 --> 00:05:59.339 there is a God, one God, who created everything, 00:05:59.620 --> 00:06:02.800 that God in all of his wisdom and his knowledge 00:06:02.800 --> 00:06:06.420 and his power, that God spoke into existence 00:06:06.420 --> 00:06:11.519 everything we see, that God has created humanity, 00:06:11.980 --> 00:06:16.639 that God has established everything. We have 00:06:16.639 --> 00:06:20.519 one God, and he is the one that we are called 00:06:20.519 --> 00:06:23.339 to worship. He is the only one that has our best 00:06:23.339 --> 00:06:25.600 interest in mind. Now, there are a lot of false 00:06:25.600 --> 00:06:28.160 gods. There are a lot of idols. There are a lot 00:06:28.160 --> 00:06:30.699 of things that compete for our mind and for our 00:06:30.699 --> 00:06:35.019 attention. And all of these things don't care 00:06:35.019 --> 00:06:37.819 about us. God cares about you. He loves you. 00:06:37.860 --> 00:06:40.600 He wants what's good for you. Now, there are 00:06:40.600 --> 00:06:43.079 bad things that happen. There are bad things 00:06:43.079 --> 00:06:45.300 that happen in our world and in this life, but 00:06:45.300 --> 00:06:47.899 we cannot forget. You need to know today that 00:06:47.899 --> 00:06:51.410 God cares about you, and He's the one. that we 00:06:51.410 --> 00:06:54.269 need to follow when we start seeking things of 00:06:54.269 --> 00:06:56.449 the world and all these other false teachings 00:06:56.449 --> 00:07:00.029 they are going to leave us in a desperate and 00:07:00.029 --> 00:07:03.069 desolate place where we are just we are in bad 00:07:03.069 --> 00:07:07.189 shape but god's desire from the get -go for his 00:07:07.189 --> 00:07:10.149 people was to provide for them and to care for 00:07:10.149 --> 00:07:12.509 them and give them all that they needed and protect 00:07:12.509 --> 00:07:15.649 them From everything else. We see that from the 00:07:15.649 --> 00:07:18.689 Garden of Eden. We even see that in this story 00:07:18.689 --> 00:07:21.649 of Moses and the Israelites that God's desire 00:07:21.649 --> 00:07:25.250 was to take them to a beautiful, beautiful place 00:07:25.250 --> 00:07:27.329 that he would provide for their needs and he 00:07:27.329 --> 00:07:29.829 would help them to overcome their enemies if 00:07:29.829 --> 00:07:32.750 they would just seek him and listen to him and 00:07:32.750 --> 00:07:36.790 put him first in everything. And they failed 00:07:36.790 --> 00:07:40.939 to do that. And as a result, they didn't get 00:07:40.939 --> 00:07:43.319 to experience all the blessings that God wanted 00:07:43.319 --> 00:07:45.540 to give them. They had a lot of hard times that 00:07:45.540 --> 00:07:47.819 they brought on their self because they worshiped 00:07:47.819 --> 00:07:50.839 false idols and they worshiped false gods. And 00:07:50.839 --> 00:07:55.459 they just did some detestable acts. And it left 00:07:55.459 --> 00:07:58.480 them in a bad place. And whenever we don't put 00:07:58.480 --> 00:08:02.279 God first in our lives, it leaves us in a bad 00:08:02.279 --> 00:08:05.779 place. And so when Moses is reiterating God's 00:08:05.779 --> 00:08:09.839 commands here, he says, Here's where you need 00:08:09.839 --> 00:08:14.060 to start. You need to know that God is in control. 00:08:14.160 --> 00:08:16.920 He is one. He is the creator. He is the only 00:08:16.920 --> 00:08:20.819 God there is. And you need to love him and worship 00:08:20.819 --> 00:08:24.300 him and serve him above all else. You need to 00:08:24.300 --> 00:08:26.699 devote all your mind and all of your strength 00:08:26.699 --> 00:08:30.939 to knowing God and following him. Let's listen 00:08:30.939 --> 00:08:33.820 to what he says as he continues on. Verse 6. 00:08:34.059 --> 00:08:38.480 These words I am giving you today. are to be 00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:43.379 in your heart repeat them to your children talk 00:08:43.379 --> 00:08:46.600 about them when you sit in your house and when 00:08:46.600 --> 00:08:48.899 you walk along the road when you lie down and 00:08:48.899 --> 00:08:52.000 when you get up bind them as a sign on your hand 00:08:52.000 --> 00:08:55.679 and let them be a symbol on your forehead write 00:08:55.679 --> 00:08:59.460 them on the doorpost of your house and on your 00:08:59.460 --> 00:09:02.730 gates All right, so he says, look, you need to 00:09:02.730 --> 00:09:05.509 know that God is the one that we are to serve. 00:09:05.730 --> 00:09:08.110 You need to know what God's commands say. Now, 00:09:08.129 --> 00:09:10.529 we have lots of commands throughout the scriptures 00:09:10.529 --> 00:09:13.850 and lots of laws, but we can really boil those 00:09:13.850 --> 00:09:16.210 down to two things. We talked about that last 00:09:16.210 --> 00:09:19.830 week. I mention it often. The most important 00:09:19.830 --> 00:09:22.649 two things we can do is love God, and the second 00:09:22.649 --> 00:09:25.850 is like it, love your neighbor as yourself. Most 00:09:25.850 --> 00:09:28.149 everything we see in the Old Testament that really 00:09:28.149 --> 00:09:31.100 matters, Boils down to those two things. And 00:09:31.100 --> 00:09:33.980 so Moses says you need to know what really matters. 00:09:34.600 --> 00:09:37.120 You need to know about God. You need to know 00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:40.299 about the instructions of God. And what does 00:09:40.299 --> 00:09:44.580 he say to do? He says you need to pass them on. 00:09:44.960 --> 00:09:48.679 You need to pass them on to another generation. 00:09:48.899 --> 00:09:50.720 We see that throughout the scripture. This is 00:09:50.720 --> 00:09:53.840 what's important. That we are to know God's word. 00:09:53.940 --> 00:09:56.080 That we are to know God's instruction. That we 00:09:56.080 --> 00:09:59.759 are to live that out. And that we are to pass 00:09:59.759 --> 00:10:03.240 that on to the next generation. It says repeat 00:10:03.240 --> 00:10:07.360 them to your children. When you're in your house, 00:10:07.419 --> 00:10:09.100 when you're on the road, when you get up, when 00:10:09.100 --> 00:10:12.200 you lay down. That is God's word should permeate 00:10:12.200 --> 00:10:15.159 your life. It should be in every part of your 00:10:15.159 --> 00:10:19.659 life. And you should repeat these words to your 00:10:19.659 --> 00:10:22.379 children. That is you need to know what God's 00:10:22.379 --> 00:10:26.269 word says. And those children who are... Coming 00:10:26.269 --> 00:10:28.250 after you. The ones that you were raising need 00:10:28.250 --> 00:10:31.129 to know what God's word says. Now why does God 00:10:31.129 --> 00:10:34.250 want his people to know his word? Because he 00:10:34.250 --> 00:10:37.590 doesn't want them to fall into the same predicament 00:10:37.590 --> 00:10:40.470 they were just in. They were in the predicament 00:10:40.470 --> 00:10:42.350 of wandering around in the wilderness and all 00:10:42.350 --> 00:10:44.909 those folks dying because they were disobedient. 00:10:45.610 --> 00:10:47.889 Because they knew the word of God. They had heard 00:10:47.889 --> 00:10:49.970 the word of God, but they refused to live by 00:10:49.970 --> 00:10:53.649 the word of God. And God says this is the most 00:10:53.649 --> 00:10:56.990 important thing. is that you know my word and 00:10:56.990 --> 00:10:59.769 live by it, and you have to teach the next generation 00:10:59.769 --> 00:11:04.009 these things too. Now God had given plenty of 00:11:04.009 --> 00:11:07.090 great stories and great examples for God's people 00:11:07.090 --> 00:11:10.210 to pass on, that they crossed through dry land 00:11:10.210 --> 00:11:13.129 on the Red Sea, that they crossed through the 00:11:13.129 --> 00:11:17.509 Jordan River on dry land. And at the end of that 00:11:17.509 --> 00:11:19.940 story, we just saw it in Sunday school. That 00:11:19.940 --> 00:11:23.279 this story was to be told to the generations 00:11:23.279 --> 00:11:25.820 to come, to the children who were to come, that 00:11:25.820 --> 00:11:29.139 these stories were to be a reminder of the power 00:11:29.139 --> 00:11:31.899 and the greatness and the deliverance of God. 00:11:34.360 --> 00:11:37.500 So Moses says, you need to know what God's word 00:11:37.500 --> 00:11:39.539 says, you need to trust God, and you need to 00:11:39.539 --> 00:11:44.860 pass it on down to the next generation. Now the 00:11:44.860 --> 00:11:47.340 question I want to ask you fathers, especially 00:11:47.340 --> 00:11:52.669 today, is what have you and what are you passing 00:11:52.669 --> 00:11:57.070 down to your children? Are you passing anything 00:11:57.070 --> 00:12:00.149 down to them? Well, I've got news for you. You're 00:12:00.149 --> 00:12:02.669 passing something down to them. Now, whether 00:12:02.669 --> 00:12:04.690 or not it's good or whether or not it's bad, 00:12:04.809 --> 00:12:08.110 you're going to have to decide that. Children 00:12:08.110 --> 00:12:10.950 that we raise watch everything that we do. They 00:12:10.950 --> 00:12:14.389 listen to everything that we say. They do everything 00:12:14.389 --> 00:12:18.100 that we do. They do everything that we do more 00:12:18.100 --> 00:12:20.940 than they do everything that we say. You can 00:12:20.940 --> 00:12:23.559 tell a kid all day, this is what's right, don't 00:12:23.559 --> 00:12:25.820 do this, don't do this, but if you do what you're 00:12:25.820 --> 00:12:28.440 telling them not to do, guess which one's going 00:12:28.440 --> 00:12:31.440 to win out? They're going to do what they see 00:12:31.440 --> 00:12:35.769 you do for better or for worse. If you're going 00:12:35.769 --> 00:12:37.549 to be a good father, you've got to be grounded 00:12:37.549 --> 00:12:40.649 in the word of God. If you in your own life aren't 00:12:40.649 --> 00:12:42.809 grounded in the word of God, if you don't seek 00:12:42.809 --> 00:12:45.230 the word of God, if you don't seek to follow 00:12:45.230 --> 00:12:48.950 God's commands and live by them, then it's going 00:12:48.950 --> 00:12:51.190 to be hard for you to raise a child and teach 00:12:51.190 --> 00:12:56.009 a child the ways of God. And so as a father, 00:12:56.149 --> 00:12:59.230 you have to test yourself. You have to say, okay, 00:12:59.409 --> 00:13:01.889 what does God's word say? What are some of the 00:13:01.889 --> 00:13:04.840 commands? that are in God's Word. You don't have 00:13:04.840 --> 00:13:06.639 to know all the Bible. It's not like a test, 00:13:06.679 --> 00:13:09.220 like you have to know everything, but read the 00:13:09.220 --> 00:13:12.000 Bible. What you understand, okay, take what you 00:13:12.000 --> 00:13:13.820 understand, what you know, like these are the 00:13:13.820 --> 00:13:16.340 things that I know God really wants me to do, 00:13:16.519 --> 00:13:18.299 and maybe there's some others I don't know, but 00:13:18.299 --> 00:13:20.799 what you do know, you need to take that, and 00:13:20.799 --> 00:13:23.639 you need to say, am I doing what God's Word says? 00:13:23.799 --> 00:13:26.440 Is my life founded on God? Am I seeking God? 00:13:27.279 --> 00:13:30.720 Am I trusting Him for my strength? So that's 00:13:30.720 --> 00:13:33.429 the starting place as a father. Or maybe some 00:13:33.429 --> 00:13:36.309 of you are fathers -to -be. That's the starting 00:13:36.309 --> 00:13:39.250 place. It's never too early or it's never too 00:13:39.250 --> 00:13:42.429 late to start seeking God's Word and establishing 00:13:42.429 --> 00:13:48.990 your life on God. And once we do that, that's 00:13:48.990 --> 00:13:51.750 when the real test comes. Once the child comes 00:13:51.750 --> 00:13:54.330 into the world, you've got to start teaching 00:13:54.330 --> 00:13:58.169 them. You've got to raise them. You've got to 00:13:58.169 --> 00:14:00.799 raise them. You've got to teach them. Now, I 00:14:00.799 --> 00:14:02.559 hear people say it all the time. I've said it. 00:14:02.600 --> 00:14:04.419 You've probably said it. You've probably heard 00:14:04.419 --> 00:14:07.620 it. People will say, I don't know what's wrong 00:14:07.620 --> 00:14:10.600 with this generation. I don't know what's wrong 00:14:10.600 --> 00:14:13.200 with these kids these days. I can tell you exactly 00:14:13.200 --> 00:14:18.179 what's wrong. Nobody raised them. Kids will only 00:14:18.179 --> 00:14:21.419 know what they are taught. They will only know 00:14:21.419 --> 00:14:23.539 what they are taught. They'll know what they 00:14:23.539 --> 00:14:28.279 see in your house. But you know the scary part 00:14:28.279 --> 00:14:32.360 and the sad part? is that a lot of parents today 00:14:32.360 --> 00:14:35.820 don't raise their kids. They give them a smartphone 00:14:35.820 --> 00:14:39.440 or a tablet and say, here you go. And you know 00:14:39.440 --> 00:14:43.679 who raises their kids? TikTok and Instagram and 00:14:43.679 --> 00:14:47.159 Facebook and Snapchat and whatever else there 00:14:47.159 --> 00:14:48.879 is. I don't even know. I'm out of the loop. I'm 00:14:48.879 --> 00:14:51.440 old. There's probably a lot of stuff that's cooler 00:14:51.440 --> 00:14:53.559 than that that kids do. But I'm going to tell 00:14:53.559 --> 00:14:55.679 you right now, you don't want TikTok to raise 00:14:55.679 --> 00:14:59.100 your kid. That's what's wrong with a lot of kids 00:14:59.100 --> 00:15:01.279 today. They were raised on TikTok and what they 00:15:01.279 --> 00:15:04.340 saw and all these social influences, and that's 00:15:04.340 --> 00:15:07.879 who raised them. That's been their example. And 00:15:07.879 --> 00:15:12.340 that's why they do the things that they do. If 00:15:12.340 --> 00:15:14.679 we want to change our world, it's got to start 00:15:14.679 --> 00:15:18.000 at home. If we want to change our world, it has 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:21.740 to start with fathers, being fathers. It has 00:15:21.740 --> 00:15:23.779 to start with fathers disciplining their kids, 00:15:23.840 --> 00:15:27.250 instructing their kids. It has to start with 00:15:27.250 --> 00:15:30.590 fathers being a good example. Not just fathers 00:15:30.590 --> 00:15:33.450 sending the kids to church saying, go to church 00:15:33.450 --> 00:15:36.409 today, daughter. Go to church today, son. It's 00:15:36.409 --> 00:15:39.389 got to be fathers that show their kids that God 00:15:39.389 --> 00:15:44.730 is important. It starts with fathers. It's a 00:15:44.730 --> 00:15:48.509 big responsibility to teach your kids and to 00:15:48.509 --> 00:15:51.750 lead your kids and to guide your kids. I don't 00:15:51.750 --> 00:15:53.730 have a kid. I don't know. I would imagine it's 00:15:53.730 --> 00:15:56.690 probably pretty hard. I'd imagine it's probably 00:15:56.690 --> 00:15:59.970 really, really tough, and it's a big responsibility, 00:15:59.990 --> 00:16:04.850 but it is so important. Because who loves your 00:16:04.850 --> 00:16:08.710 kid more than you do? Who's going to take care 00:16:08.710 --> 00:16:12.789 of your kid better than you are? Who can teach 00:16:12.789 --> 00:16:14.669 your kid better than you? There's a lot of people 00:16:14.669 --> 00:16:17.389 that can teach your kids, but they ain't going 00:16:17.389 --> 00:16:20.649 to teach them good stuff. You have to be at the 00:16:20.649 --> 00:16:23.970 forefront of that, Father. That's what's important 00:16:23.970 --> 00:16:27.769 in our world. Man, I think a lot of people, I 00:16:27.769 --> 00:16:30.409 think a lot of people, if fathers would raise 00:16:30.409 --> 00:16:32.490 their children and mothers and fathers would 00:16:32.490 --> 00:16:36.169 stay together and be that example, that role 00:16:36.169 --> 00:16:38.970 model of their children, I think our world, so 00:16:38.970 --> 00:16:41.450 many of our world's problems could be fixed in 00:16:41.450 --> 00:16:46.649 a generation. I think so many of our world's 00:16:46.649 --> 00:16:49.929 problems could be fixed if fathers would be fathers 00:16:49.929 --> 00:16:52.230 and lead their households in the way of God. 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:57.120 I think that's why God gives this command. That's 00:16:57.120 --> 00:17:00.440 why Moses is reiterating these words like, okay, 00:17:00.500 --> 00:17:03.299 you know what God's word says, you know what's 00:17:03.299 --> 00:17:06.220 important, you need to pass it down to the next 00:17:06.220 --> 00:17:09.799 generation. God's word needs to be everywhere 00:17:09.799 --> 00:17:13.200 in your life. Everything you do, when you do 00:17:13.200 --> 00:17:15.640 something, you need to let that be an example 00:17:15.640 --> 00:17:19.339 for your children. You pull over, you help somebody 00:17:19.339 --> 00:17:21.319 on the side of your road, use that as a teaching 00:17:21.319 --> 00:17:24.019 point and say, son, We're going to stop and help 00:17:24.019 --> 00:17:26.480 this person because God wants us to be a neighbor 00:17:26.480 --> 00:17:28.460 to people and to help people and to love people. 00:17:29.380 --> 00:17:31.319 Like there are so many teaching opportunities, 00:17:31.519 --> 00:17:37.420 just small everyday thing that we can do. Just 00:17:37.420 --> 00:17:40.140 speaking to people that others might pass up 00:17:40.140 --> 00:17:43.259 and saying, son, we spoke to that person. We 00:17:43.259 --> 00:17:46.660 helped that person because God wants us to do 00:17:46.660 --> 00:17:50.140 that. He doesn't want us to look down on people 00:17:50.140 --> 00:17:54.660 or to judge people. Pass people by. Just doing 00:17:54.660 --> 00:17:57.960 those things. And telling your kids why you do 00:17:57.960 --> 00:18:01.220 those things. Say, daughter, this is why we do 00:18:01.220 --> 00:18:06.140 this. This is what God's word says. And that 00:18:06.140 --> 00:18:08.220 needs to be in every part of our life if we're 00:18:08.220 --> 00:18:12.619 Christians, especially if you're a father. It 00:18:12.619 --> 00:18:15.279 says at the end of this verse, verse 8, he says, 00:18:16.379 --> 00:18:19.160 Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them 00:18:19.160 --> 00:18:21.559 be a symbol on your forehead. Write them on the 00:18:21.559 --> 00:18:26.140 doorpost of your house and on your gates. Now, 00:18:26.140 --> 00:18:27.839 some would take these quite literally, and maybe 00:18:27.839 --> 00:18:29.980 they're intended to be literal. I think that 00:18:29.980 --> 00:18:32.720 this is symbolic language. I don't know that 00:18:32.720 --> 00:18:36.400 God literally intends for us to hang scriptures 00:18:36.400 --> 00:18:39.279 from our body, bind them to our hands. Now, the 00:18:39.279 --> 00:18:41.140 Jewish people would certainly take that literally. 00:18:41.240 --> 00:18:43.400 They have little boxes, even still today, I think, 00:18:43.460 --> 00:18:46.309 somewhere that have scriptures in them. know 00:18:46.309 --> 00:18:48.890 that we need to physically make a symbol on our 00:18:48.890 --> 00:18:53.029 forehead. I think it's symbolic language. I think 00:18:53.029 --> 00:18:56.029 maybe the language here is to imply that the 00:18:56.029 --> 00:18:59.009 fact that we're living by God's word should be 00:18:59.009 --> 00:19:01.970 evident through our actions and in our thoughts. 00:19:02.289 --> 00:19:05.529 That through our hands, the work of our hands 00:19:05.529 --> 00:19:10.289 should show that we are God's people. In our 00:19:10.289 --> 00:19:13.390 minds, in our heads, our thoughts should show 00:19:13.390 --> 00:19:17.680 that we are God's people. Not necessarily that 00:19:17.680 --> 00:19:19.720 we're supposed to just go home today with a sharpie 00:19:19.720 --> 00:19:21.500 and write some scriptures on your doorpost, if 00:19:21.500 --> 00:19:24.599 you want to, so be it. But I think that it's 00:19:24.599 --> 00:19:27.619 symbolic language, that it should be established, 00:19:27.779 --> 00:19:30.500 that people should be able to see by your actions 00:19:30.500 --> 00:19:33.900 that you are one of God's. That they can see 00:19:33.900 --> 00:19:36.599 from your house, that your household, not from 00:19:36.599 --> 00:19:40.319 scriptures written on a doorpost, but through 00:19:40.319 --> 00:19:42.799 the way you raise your household and to the way 00:19:42.799 --> 00:19:46.079 you live, that people would look at... You and 00:19:46.079 --> 00:19:47.940 your family and they would know that through 00:19:47.940 --> 00:19:50.559 your actions you're saying, but as for me and 00:19:50.559 --> 00:19:54.240 my house, we will serve the Lord. I think that's 00:19:54.240 --> 00:19:57.359 what God's trying to get across to us here. That 00:19:57.359 --> 00:20:01.619 God's word is to be right at the center of our 00:20:01.619 --> 00:20:05.519 life and it should dictate how we live. And it 00:20:05.519 --> 00:20:09.380 should be evident to all around us that we are 00:20:09.380 --> 00:20:14.200 God's people. Now maybe you're a father today 00:20:14.200 --> 00:20:17.180 and... Maybe you think back at your life and 00:20:17.180 --> 00:20:18.779 you think, I don't know that that's evident in 00:20:18.779 --> 00:20:22.029 my life, and that's okay. And so, I mean, we 00:20:22.029 --> 00:20:24.009 just want to be honest. We're not here to pretend 00:20:24.009 --> 00:20:25.869 today. We're just here to be honest. That's why 00:20:25.869 --> 00:20:27.809 we read God's Word. Sometimes it cuts through 00:20:27.809 --> 00:20:30.089 the quick, and we read it, and we say, golly, 00:20:30.089 --> 00:20:32.930 I'm not where I need to be. God has not been 00:20:32.930 --> 00:20:35.750 first, and I have not done a good job of passing 00:20:35.750 --> 00:20:38.450 down to the next generation the things of God, 00:20:38.589 --> 00:20:41.009 and I need to do better at that. Praise the Lord 00:20:41.009 --> 00:20:43.349 if the Holy Spirit convicts us in that way today. 00:20:43.490 --> 00:20:45.450 That's what we come to church for, is to read 00:20:45.450 --> 00:20:50.170 the Word of God. Let it work on us. In Psalm 00:20:50.170 --> 00:20:55.609 78, verse 5, it says very similarly, it says, 00:20:55.609 --> 00:20:58.029 He established the testimony in Jacob and set 00:20:58.029 --> 00:21:01.210 up a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers 00:21:01.210 --> 00:21:04.710 to teach their children, so that a future generation, 00:21:05.029 --> 00:21:09.150 children yet to be born, might know they were 00:21:09.150 --> 00:21:12.150 to rise and tell their children, so that they 00:21:12.150 --> 00:21:14.950 might put their confidence in God and not forget 00:21:14.950 --> 00:21:20.160 God's works, but keep his command. Isn't that 00:21:20.160 --> 00:21:23.220 something to think about? Same idea here. God 00:21:23.220 --> 00:21:25.859 gave the instructions to those in the past that 00:21:25.859 --> 00:21:27.759 they would pass them down to the next generation 00:21:27.759 --> 00:21:33.480 so that children yet to be born will know about 00:21:33.480 --> 00:21:37.700 God and all of his mighty works. Children yet 00:21:37.700 --> 00:21:41.119 to be born. Now this is important for you to 00:21:41.119 --> 00:21:44.880 realize, fathers. The things that you say and 00:21:44.880 --> 00:21:49.589 do do not just affect you. They do not just affect 00:21:49.589 --> 00:21:52.289 your kids. They're going to affect your kids. 00:21:52.650 --> 00:21:55.230 They're going to affect your grandchildren. They're 00:21:55.230 --> 00:21:57.509 going to affect your great -grandchildren. They're 00:21:57.509 --> 00:21:59.390 going to affect your great -great -grandchildren. 00:21:59.410 --> 00:22:04.349 And let that sink in. Descendants that you will 00:22:04.349 --> 00:22:06.369 have that will probably never even know your 00:22:06.369 --> 00:22:10.210 name, the very actions you commit today may impact 00:22:10.210 --> 00:22:14.569 their life. So you've got a big responsibility 00:22:14.569 --> 00:22:17.829 if you've got a child. Or you think one day you're 00:22:17.829 --> 00:22:20.049 going to have a child. Like, it's a pretty big 00:22:20.049 --> 00:22:23.710 deal. Because how you raise them and what you 00:22:23.710 --> 00:22:25.890 teach them and how you lead them is going to 00:22:25.890 --> 00:22:30.309 make a difference. Because one day, they're going 00:22:30.309 --> 00:22:34.230 to have a child of their own, Lord willing. And 00:22:34.230 --> 00:22:35.710 you know how they're going to raise that child? 00:22:36.849 --> 00:22:43.190 The way you raise them. It's a big deal. You 00:22:43.190 --> 00:22:45.309 can pass down a bunch of junk for generations 00:22:45.309 --> 00:22:49.190 to come. You can pass down anger and bitterness 00:22:49.190 --> 00:22:52.230 and addiction and hatred and abuse. You can pass 00:22:52.230 --> 00:22:59.069 that for generations to come. You can establish 00:22:59.069 --> 00:23:02.329 your life on the word of God, on Jesus Christ. 00:23:03.369 --> 00:23:05.630 You can allow God to work in your heart, start 00:23:05.630 --> 00:23:09.829 to change you. And you can start taking what 00:23:09.829 --> 00:23:12.690 God's put in you. And you can start teaching 00:23:12.690 --> 00:23:14.289 that little boy and you can start teaching that 00:23:14.289 --> 00:23:17.420 little girl. And you can say, let me tell you 00:23:17.420 --> 00:23:21.640 why God is good. Maybe you can't tell them everything 00:23:21.640 --> 00:23:23.519 when they're young, but maybe one day they get 00:23:23.519 --> 00:23:26.359 to a point where you can really tell them. Let 00:23:26.359 --> 00:23:29.319 me tell you what daddy was like one day. Let 00:23:29.319 --> 00:23:31.099 me tell you how I used to be. Let me tell you 00:23:31.099 --> 00:23:32.859 what I used to do. And let me tell you how God 00:23:32.859 --> 00:23:36.240 changed my life. And let me tell you, son. Let 00:23:36.240 --> 00:23:41.819 me tell you, daughter. Don't do that. Don't do 00:23:41.819 --> 00:23:44.980 that. God doesn't want that. You be better than 00:23:44.980 --> 00:23:48.849 that. You teach your kids through the ways that 00:23:48.849 --> 00:23:51.450 God works in your life. And you teach your kids 00:23:51.450 --> 00:23:54.789 to teach their kids. The things that you do and 00:23:54.789 --> 00:23:58.650 say now, they will have an impact for generations 00:23:58.650 --> 00:24:05.730 to come. And do not take that lightly. Don't 00:24:05.730 --> 00:24:10.230 take it lightly. You may have a small child right 00:24:10.230 --> 00:24:11.789 now and one day they're going to grow up and 00:24:11.789 --> 00:24:12.970 they're going to leave and they're going to go 00:24:12.970 --> 00:24:16.779 into the world. And the world's going to chew 00:24:16.779 --> 00:24:19.220 them up and they're going to spit them out. And 00:24:19.220 --> 00:24:20.880 the world ain't going to care about their feelings 00:24:20.880 --> 00:24:22.700 and the world ain't going to cater to their needs. 00:24:24.839 --> 00:24:27.700 So you've got to get them ready for that. If 00:24:27.700 --> 00:24:29.220 you don't get them ready for that, they're in 00:24:29.220 --> 00:24:32.140 big trouble. There's a lot of kids, sadly, that 00:24:32.140 --> 00:24:35.279 are in big trouble because they didn't have anybody 00:24:35.279 --> 00:24:39.880 that taught them and led them, cared enough to 00:24:39.880 --> 00:24:44.700 let them know what was important. You got to 00:24:44.700 --> 00:24:48.859 teach them what matters. You got to teach them 00:24:48.859 --> 00:24:50.880 about the word of God, the commands of God. You 00:24:50.880 --> 00:24:55.440 got to teach them about Jesus Christ. For God 00:24:55.440 --> 00:24:57.500 so loved the world that he gave his only begotten 00:24:57.500 --> 00:24:59.920 son that whosoever believeth in him shall not 00:24:59.920 --> 00:25:03.680 perish but have everlasting life. Talk about 00:25:03.680 --> 00:25:06.299 a pretty incredible story about a father and 00:25:06.299 --> 00:25:11.539 a son. Jesus Christ is why we have hope today. 00:25:12.980 --> 00:25:15.720 That's why we have hope for you fathers that 00:25:15.720 --> 00:25:17.940 say, man, I really blew it. Well, praise the 00:25:17.940 --> 00:25:20.180 Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has died 00:25:20.180 --> 00:25:22.119 on the cross so that you could be forgiven today. 00:25:23.019 --> 00:25:26.720 Praise the Lord for that. Yeah, you might have 00:25:26.720 --> 00:25:28.759 blown it. It's not good, but praise the Lord, 00:25:28.779 --> 00:25:31.619 there's grace. You might have failed as a father 00:25:31.619 --> 00:25:34.039 yesterday and last year and the last ten years, 00:25:34.180 --> 00:25:38.759 but praise the Lord, today is a new day. Today 00:25:38.759 --> 00:25:41.630 is a new day that you can... Put your faith and 00:25:41.630 --> 00:25:43.930 trust in Jesus Christ. Ask Him to forgive your 00:25:43.930 --> 00:25:46.970 sins and become your Lord and Savior and live 00:25:46.970 --> 00:25:50.730 for Him and establish your life on God and then 00:25:50.730 --> 00:25:53.690 begin to soak up the Word of God and the teachings 00:25:53.690 --> 00:25:56.630 of God and say, God, help me to be a better parent. 00:25:56.670 --> 00:25:58.650 I don't understand all this stuff in the Bible, 00:25:58.730 --> 00:26:01.509 but I know I want to be a better father. So God, 00:26:01.569 --> 00:26:03.569 help me just to understand what I need to know 00:26:03.569 --> 00:26:06.049 and God, just help me to do it the best I can. 00:26:07.269 --> 00:26:09.349 Help me just to lead my boy or lead my girl. 00:26:09.769 --> 00:26:14.950 The best I can. Now I'm not a father. So I don't 00:26:14.950 --> 00:26:18.210 know. But I don't think any father would disagree. 00:26:19.609 --> 00:26:22.910 That there's probably no better feeling. In the 00:26:22.910 --> 00:26:26.849 world. Than to see your children succeed. Than 00:26:26.849 --> 00:26:29.789 to see your children. Know the truth. And to 00:26:29.789 --> 00:26:32.950 live by the truth. I can't imagine that for any 00:26:32.950 --> 00:26:36.230 Christian father. That there's a greater feeling. 00:26:36.390 --> 00:26:40.730 Than seeing their child. Come. To trust Jesus 00:26:40.730 --> 00:26:43.529 Christ as our Lord and Savior. To come to know 00:26:43.529 --> 00:26:46.930 the truth. I can't imagine that there is a better 00:26:46.930 --> 00:26:51.130 feeling in this world. John says so in 3 John 00:26:51.130 --> 00:26:58.529 chapter 1. That's toward the back of the Bible. 00:26:58.569 --> 00:27:02.349 3 John chapter 1 verse 4. He's talking to a guy 00:27:02.349 --> 00:27:05.849 he's writing to here. Talking about a child in 00:27:05.849 --> 00:27:08.519 Christ if we can call it that. Nevertheless, 00:27:08.720 --> 00:27:11.519 I think the words of this verse are applicable 00:27:11.519 --> 00:27:15.799 to fathers of literal children as well. He says, 00:27:15.819 --> 00:27:19.319 I have no greater joy than this, to hear that 00:27:19.319 --> 00:27:25.859 my children are walking in the truth. That's 00:27:25.859 --> 00:27:28.819 got to be a pretty good feeling as a father, 00:27:28.880 --> 00:27:32.099 to know that your child is walking in the truth, 00:27:32.200 --> 00:27:36.779 to know that your child is doing good. That they're 00:27:36.779 --> 00:27:38.980 not led astray, that they're not deceived, that 00:27:38.980 --> 00:27:40.880 they're not involved in a bunch of junk that's 00:27:40.880 --> 00:27:44.200 not good for them. But to know that they have 00:27:44.200 --> 00:27:46.900 a firm foundation, that they are grounded in 00:27:46.900 --> 00:27:51.299 the Lord, and that they are doing good. There's 00:27:51.299 --> 00:27:55.960 got to be great joy in that. And fathers, you 00:27:55.960 --> 00:27:58.440 have a role in seeing that come to fruition. 00:28:00.240 --> 00:28:03.480 If you want your children to grow and walk in 00:28:03.480 --> 00:28:06.289 the truth, And you've got to teach them truth. 00:28:08.130 --> 00:28:11.349 It's not just telling them truth. It's about 00:28:11.349 --> 00:28:16.130 showing them the truth. So how are you living, 00:28:16.210 --> 00:28:21.549 Father? What kind of example are you being? Is 00:28:21.549 --> 00:28:25.190 it a good one? If so, praise the Lord. If it's 00:28:25.190 --> 00:28:28.089 a bad one, hey, today's a good day to change. 00:28:28.269 --> 00:28:30.049 Today's a good day to pour out your heart to 00:28:30.049 --> 00:28:32.549 the Lord and say, God, man, I haven't done so 00:28:32.549 --> 00:28:37.890 good, but God, I want you to help me. Nobody's 00:28:37.890 --> 00:28:39.549 going to lead and teach your kids better than 00:28:39.549 --> 00:28:46.509 you, Father. They're going to be what you teach 00:28:46.509 --> 00:28:50.009 them to be. So teach them to be something good. 00:28:51.089 --> 00:28:54.109 Let's pray. God, we come to you. We thank you 00:28:54.109 --> 00:28:57.150 for your good word. I pray, God, that you would 00:28:57.150 --> 00:28:59.269 just be with any fathers in here, any fathers, 00:28:59.349 --> 00:29:01.509 maybe fathers -to -be, dear Lord, that you help 00:29:01.509 --> 00:29:04.589 them to understand the significance of what it 00:29:04.589 --> 00:29:07.519 means to be a father. God, maybe there are some 00:29:07.519 --> 00:29:09.960 fathers today and they're struggling and they 00:29:09.960 --> 00:29:13.119 know that they failed in some way. I pray that 00:29:13.119 --> 00:29:14.859 you just would let them find your grace today, 00:29:14.940 --> 00:29:18.420 that they would seek you and trust you and follow 00:29:18.420 --> 00:29:20.099 you, dear Lord. Maybe there are some fathers 00:29:20.099 --> 00:29:23.799 in here that don't know Jesus Christ. Maybe there 00:29:23.799 --> 00:29:25.299 are some mothers, maybe there are some children 00:29:25.299 --> 00:29:27.119 in here today, dear Lord, they don't know Jesus 00:29:27.119 --> 00:29:29.619 Christ. And maybe today they just feel that conviction 00:29:29.619 --> 00:29:32.319 that they just need to repent. I pray that even 00:29:32.319 --> 00:29:33.960 now that they would ask you to forgive them. 00:29:34.679 --> 00:29:36.920 God, I pray that you would help these men of 00:29:36.920 --> 00:29:38.859 this church, these fathers of this church to 00:29:38.859 --> 00:29:42.019 be strong, to be planted in you, and to be an 00:29:42.019 --> 00:29:45.180 example to their sons and daughters. And I ask 00:29:45.180 --> 00:29:47.720 these things in Jesus' name. Amen.