Valley View Chapel May 10, 2015 Mother s Day Teach Your Children Deuteronomy 4:9-10. Introduction

Transcription

1 1 Valley View Chapel May 10, 2015 Mother s Day Teach Your Children Deuteronomy 4:9-10 Introduction Four pastors were discussing the merits of various Bible translations. One liked the King James Version because of its beautiful English. Another liked the English Standard Version because it is more literal and comes nearer to the original Greek and Hebrew. The third pastor preferred the New International Version because of its up-to-date vocabulary. The fourth pastor said, I like my mother s translation best. She translated it into life every day. To have a mother who translates the truth of God s Word and brings the beauty of Jesus Christ into our home and into our lives is one of life s greatest blessings. But it doesn t happen by accident. Mothers who model biblical principles have made some intentional decisions along the way. And this morning we re going to look at four decisions that every mother (and father) as well as everyone else who is in a position to influence children needs to make so that they will translate the Bible into compelling language for their children. These four decisions are revealed in an ancient text written some 4000 years ago Deuteronomy 4:9-10. "But watch out! Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren. Never forget the day when you stood before the Lord your God at Mount Sinai, where he told me, 'Summon the people before me, and I will personally instruct them. Then they will learn to fear me as long as they live, and they will teach their children to fear me also.' Deuteronomy 4:9-10 (NLT) Contained in these two verses penned about 4,000 years ago are four decisions that mothers and all influencers of children need to make to teach children how to live as God intended. Decision #1 Be Watchful But watch out! This is the warning to everyone who is serious about their child-rearing responsibilities.

2 2 The same Hebrew word was used in Genesis 2:15 when God gave Adam his initial instructions concerning his responsibilities toward the Garden of Eden: The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. (NIV) Adam s responsibility was to take care of the garden; to make it his top priority; to devote his careful attention to it. In other words, to watch out for it. The same word as watch out was used in Psalm 121:4 in connection with God s care for Israel: He who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. (NLT) God is ever on guard to the welfare, watching out those who have committed themselves to his care. Sadly, a growing number of parents aren t as diligent. In an article entitled Parents Wired to Distraction the March 10, 2014 edition of The New York Times reported on a study published in the journal Pediatrics. A team of researchers observed families eating at fast food restaurants. They watched how parents interacted with their mobile devices while they shared a meal with their children. In a summary of their conclusions, the researchers said that the dominant theme was what they called "the degree of absorption in devices [that the] caregivers exhibited." For a majority of the parents, the study found, their "primary engagement was with the device, rather than the child." Catherine Steiner-Adair is a psychologist who interviewed 1,000s of children about the role of mobile devices in children's lives. She noticed that children of all ages complained that their parents were focused on their phone or other mobile device. Her conclusion was: "Like a child's chorus of all ages, they talked about this new sibling rivalry. Only it's not a new member of the family it's a mobile device." You ve no doubt seen the bumper sticker: Hang up and drive. Maybe there ought to be another one: Hang up and pay attention to your kids. Decision #2 Be Careful Deuteronomy 4:9 warns parents: Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live!

3 3 The NIV translates that warning: Watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Deuteronomy 4:9 (NIV) Don t forget what you have stored in your memory about the character and the acts of God, recorded both in the Word of God and in the memory bank of your own personal experience. The parents addressed by Moses had seen both the provision and the punishment of God. They had seen the goodness of God and the anger of God. They had seen God s blessings in times of obedience and God s judgment in times of disobedience. They were to be careful to remember and to recount both sides of God s character. May our children never believe in a God who is all wrath and no mercy. But let them also never believe in a God who is all mercy and no wrath. The word for forget in verse 9 means to mislay or misplace. Why do we mislay or misplace something? It s usually because we don t put enough value on it. If we truly valued it, we would keep track of it. There are things we can afford to misplace and things we cannot. It s one thing to misplace a coupon for half off a Domino s pizza. No big deal there. But to misplace your wallet, your car keys, your Social Security card, or heaven help us your mobile phone - that is a big deal. Don t misplace the things God has done in your life. Be careful to remember God s grace and mercy; his compassion and kindness; his love and his forgiveness; his provision and his protection; his anger and his discipline. And tell your children all about it often! Decision #3 - Be Mindful Let s look again at the warning in verse 9 because it s really important Again, however, pay very careful attention, lest you forget the things you have seen and disregard them for the rest of your life; instead teach them to your children and grandchildren. Deuteronomy 4:9 (NET)

4 4 The word teach in verse 9 also means know. In other words, we only have the right to teach our children what we know to be true. And the way we know something is true is if we have experienced it in the laboratory of life. The word teach or know was first used in Genesis 4:1 to describe Adam s relationship with Eve Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain. (NKJV) Parents are to know intimately and personally both the Word of God and the God of the Word. It s that kind of intimacy that gives the authority and credibility necessary to lead our children in the right way. It s what the pastor meant when he said that his mother translated the Bible into life every day. But parents need the support of other concerned people to help in the task of rearing their children. A major research project called The National Study of Youth and Religion found the following three factors that contribute to youth maintaining their faith into adulthood: 1. The young person's parents practiced the faith in the home and in daily life, not just in public-church settings. 2. The young person had at least one significant adult mentor or friend, other than parents, who practiced the faith seriously. 3. The young person had at least one significant spiritual experience before the age of 17. In other words, teenagers are most likely to retain their Christian faith into adulthood if they have had a meaningful and healthy relationship with their parents, a faithful Christian mentor outside of the family, and a life-changing encounter with God himself. So there needs to be a few adults other than parents who show the teenager by example how to incorporate Christian faith into their daily lives. Be mindful. Know intimately God s Word. Know personally the God of the Word. And be sure to allow the Word of God and the God of the Word to impact and influence every part of life. Decision #4 Be Faithful

5 5 This decision for faithfulness to the Lord and his word is clearly spelled out in the 10 th verse Never forget the day when you stood before the Lord your God at Mount Sinai, where he told me, 'Summon the people before me, and I will personally instruct them. Then they will learn to fear me as long as they live, and they will teach their children to fear me also.' Then they will fear me as long as they live. I was blessed to grow up in Christian home. I watched my parents live-out their faith yearafter-year through good times and bad; through poverty and prosperity; through sickness and health; through joys and sorrows. One thing was constant in our home: the faithfulness of Mom and Dad to the truth of God s Word and to their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. There was never any question about whose will was done in our home. Ellis and Ruth Fanning s commitment to biblical authority and the Lordship of Jesus Christ never wavered. In the classic Broadway production Raisin in the Sun, an African-American mother struggles to keep two adult children on track. In one memorable scene, the mother is confronted by her daughter's angry skepticism: "Mama, you don't understand. It's all a matter of ideas, and God is one idea I just don't accept. There is simply no God." With dignity and strength, the mother says, "I want you to repeat this after me in my mother's house there is still God." After a long pause, the daughter honors her mother's affirmation of faith. Slowly, quietly, she says, "In my mother's house there is still God." I rebelled against God for a time in my foolish and misspent youth. But I always knew that in my mother s house, in my father s house, there was God and that God ruled the roost in our home. The late professor at Dallas seminary Howard Hendricks once preached on Psalm 127:3, Children are a heritage from the Lord. (NKJV) He pointed out that the word heritage can also mean assignment. So children are an assignment from the Lord. An assignment as important as rearing children needs to be completed with diligence and excellence. We are going to be held accountable for how well we fulfilled our task.

6 6 Josh McDowell once said: Parents are accountable to their children, not for their children. Parents are not accountable for the choices good or bad that their children make. But they are accountable to their children to provide an environment in which their kids see a consistent example of Christ-like conduct and a steadfast commitment to Christ and the Word of God. That s a parents main assignment and it must be taken with utmost seriousness. Conclusion I m going to close with a letter written by Lydia Lightner. After finding out she was expecting her first child, Lydia wrote this letter to her yet unborn baby. I should like to give you everything so that you lack for nothing, not even one single desire, but I know that for want of many things I have come to be satisfied with what I have and to think of others and their needs. I should like to give you a life full of fun and games, but I know that because of many 'chores' and responsibilities of my youth, I have learned to be responsible. I should like to protect you from all the errors of youth, but I know that because of my failures, I have learned to make better decisions. I should like to give you a profession of wealth or importance, but I realize that we are truly happy when we fulfill the purpose for which God created us. What then, my child, could I give you that would be of any real value? I give you my love, which means that I accept you, without reservations, just as you are and will be. I give you my personal presence in order that you will have the security you need during your childhood. I give you my ears, in the sense that I will never be too busy to listen to you - sometimes never uttering even one word. I give you opportunities to work so that you might learn to do it without shame and come to enjoy the satisfaction of work well done. I give you my counsel only when it is necessary or you ask for it so that you might avoid some of the mistakes that I have made.

7 7 I give you my consolation when you have failed or feel discouraged, but I will not always protect you from the consequences of your sins. I will give you instructions in the way of the Lord so that when you are old, you will never depart from it. I give you my daily prayers that the Lord will keep you and guide you in such a way that you, my child, will serve and glorify our Heavenly Father. This I give you with all my love. Your Mother, Lydia Lightner Benediction Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. (NKJV)