He Is Too Important to Forget

So I want to welcome you to Calvary church. Have your visitors here were honored to have you here this morning and I want to say thank you for coming and if you don't have a Bible there's a Bible in front of you in the pew in front of you. That's our gift to you. If you need to take one home and I encouraged you don't know where to start. Start in the Gospels started the first four books in the New Testament and just work your way through and understand who Jesus Christ is.

I encouraged you don't have the Bible take it home with you. That's our gift to you and I want to start off my sermon this morning to say we love you everybody in the sanctuary Calvary church. The pastors at Calvary church. We love you and that's why we don't apologize for teaching the word of God. That's why I'm not going to apologize for what I'm going to say this morning and let me be very clear.

I don't want to belittle anyone. I don't want to shame you, I don't want to make you feel insignificant.

I just want to speak truth to you and someone pride wells up in your soul and you feel like I'm personally attacking you. I don't know many of you, so I'm not okay when I'm what I'm saying to you this morning understand this is God's word, not mine. This is God's challenge to each one of us, not my challenge to you and so may you embrace that may you accept it. That the living God of the universe is speaking in his holy book to you this morning so open up your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse four we give you a short background of what's taking place here in Deuteronomy chapter 6 yet Moses and he calls the people in the congregation come to hear him speak as though you have a million strong, and he stands in front of this crowded old grandpa right he's old, he's about to die and it's his last exhortation to the people of Israel and their belt to enter the promised land there on the Jordan River looking into the promised land. The thing that they hope for.

They just come out.

Of 40 years of desert wandering there looking at this promised land. And Moses loves his people. He's buried their fathers.

He's buried the grandfathers. He knows their strength is that any knows their weaknesses. They been through a lot together in stands in front of them with love in his heart and he says here. Listen, take heed to what I'm about to say, O Israel, the Lord our God, Yahweh, the God that you know God that I know the God who brought us through the wilderness, living God, the eternal God, the compassionate God. God's personal language. The Lord is one. He's unique is not like any of the other gods is different. This living God. This relational God is God who is brought you to this land, you shall love to stop there shall love interesting word. There is the only verb in the sentence love what is love so on a human term and give you some illustrations, and it's knocking to do the significance. But let me walk you through my last year little over a year ago I got married, stood right where I'm at roughly right now down in Florida I see my wife future wife walked down the aisle and all sudden emotions begin to just overwhelm me and I start weeping like a baby just weeping and I can't get control of myself. I look at her she's walking down, and I realize what's about to transpire.

It wasn't fear that was the reason I was crying. I wasn't well-liked by doing no that wasn't what's taking place I'm seeing this lady, this woman, whom I love who knows my wickedness knows my failures knows my weaknesses. She's walking down an aisle saying I'm going to commit the rest of my life to you.

Have you lost your mind right to do what I'm going to be with you no matter what you do I'm always going to pursue your heart. She saying that to me when she's walking down an aisle. She doesn't know what her future will hold.

I don't know what our future will hold. I don't know what sins may creep up in our marriage which is committed in this moment of overwhelming love and my soul was not a singular moment. It was a realization that I have someone who's committed to me for the long haul and her love has changed me and hopefully my love exchanged her for the better in six weeks ago. We have a baby toe. Lord we had a baby so I'm tired this morning, but fall asleep on you. I apologize to me walk you through that scenario so you can understand like how God's demonstrated over the last year of my life, how he loves me and show me a different degree of love I've ever experienced.

So we go to the hospital. 3 o'clock in the morning she's having contractions and Michael. I wonder why in the middle the night right and I sit there and sit there and unlike what's happened and she has an epidural. She's not fit feel in the Genesis 3 curse.

And that's not fair right and she just did not. A hospital baby okay just had a huge contraction watching the monitor and she let them find. Unlike this is weird in Billy Graham's funerals on television so distracted and the doctor comes in. I'm distracting myself with the Billy Graham funeral doctor comes in and said it's time to look at him and I go I need five minutes he goes what I'm I'm not lying here is what I got. I need five minutes in the list is on the bed laughing on my I'm not kidding I need five minutes. Can you please leave the room.

My heart starts pounding like I think a minute passed out and she's not independent delivery and unlike checking my pulse on Payson and I just start praying God what you doing like I'm not ready for this, we save them an early age, I can't be the father that you call me to be like.

I'm overwhelmed and also he comes back is like it's go time.

Is it okay in husband. We are worthless.

Absolutely worthless and delivery. I'm looking at my wife and all of this pain and all of this agony I can't do anything.

I'm praying I got don't let anything go wrong and the baby comes out most inhumane thing I've ever seen in my life. They throw her on her chest and obstinate, or what is going on video I got to video cameras. I'm just going to town and he's crying and I just seen her look at our son and I walked out of the room about 15 minutes later did in the hallway. I just begin to weep weep weep.

I can't get a hold of myself. I can't see how you feel towards me see it fathers the father's love for her son and his children and his daughters come overwhelmed by his goodness, his grace and his mercy is compassion and his gift. I walk out to get our families. I'm a mess in a moment changed me see when I take a look at this language in Deuteronomy 6.

Five and I don't want to make this about myself but you shall love when you love God, it changes you.

It changes you drastically in these few verses here. These two verses are essential for the rest of the book of Deuteronomy. Let me explain. This is called the Shema, the Jews call this the Shema is the essential verses in his greatest commandment can literally Moses is standing in front of people he loves, and he goes you need to love God and not some superficial love. You need to love him any of them. Your heart needs to be drawn to your life day in your need to love him with your hosts all your God with all your hearts with my mind and my intellects. I need to speak the gospel into my life these people God's donning what he's doing. I need to love him with my mind and my intellect with my soul, my whole being the whole fabric of who I is my emotions, my passions in this interesting word, and with all your might. The Hebrew word there is mayo which means much in this is used in creation.

It's mio good talk about creation is this idea of I need to love him with my much in this and when I was taking a look at this word it's it's extremely interesting because without much this means that every moment, every ability, every item we own everything we have and everything we do. We need to love and honor the one who made us. We are called to love God with her much.

This church were guilty I'm guilty I fail continuously here. We have to confess we have to repent. We do not do this consistently and well. And Moses understood that look what he goes on and says in these words that I command you today shall be on your heart said look at this and I say it's hard right, everybody agree, can you nod your head.

This is hard as some of you might be saying hello. How do I do this me say something to you. It is not difficult and you already know how to do it and say what will clear what you talking about, you do it every day. I do it every day. There's something in my life that drives me. There's something in my life that I love with my whole heart my whole soul and my much this inmate be my job that maybe the thing that drives me it's a thing I talk about is the thing I think about is the thing I pursue with the thing that motivates me and maybe money you love it will do anything for it you pursue it you dwell on it so we do it often. Our problem is not love.

It's what we love them.

It may be our families and maybe our children and maybe our outside appearances where we will even have surgery in order to change what we look like we love things in the depths of our soul. We love things and we pursue him and we will sacrifice everything for them.

I've sat through counseling situation after counseling situation. So is Jim Pyle where people love sex. They love money they love their careers and there's a broken wife and broken children sitting in the same office and it does not bother them one bit because they love that so much they're willing to crush everybody around them for it seemed love things. So the question is not can I love like this.

The question is what do I love like this. What's the thing in my heart that Moses says I command you to put this in your heart.

What is the thing on your heart that you speak about all you think about often.

Maybe for some of you it's God, that's awesome. We don't have a problem with doing this and then we going to verse seven and I want to talk to all of you before I jump into this singles and youth when I describe in these next verses. I know it's talking about the family unit so I don't want you to check out what I describe in the next review versus I want you to ask your question in my discipling my friends teammates my school, my brother and sister like Khalil describes single parents when I describe when you have a monumental task and what I want you to do is pray to God that he will provide men or women in the godly men or women to mentor your child like I describe to disciple your child like I describe I want you to beg God for that and then I want you to pursue that type of discipleship for your child. Grandparents finished the race, you're not done and if you have not done what I described you have not raised your children how I described. I want you to get on the phone when you leave the sanctuary and beg for forgiveness and I want you to start grandparents when you babysits your grandkids I want you to practice family devotions I want you to speak highly of God, and I want you to speak about him often. I want you to send your children articles about beauty of Christ. If you don't have children adopt someone in my college and young adults group to here is the issue that we are facing 58% 58% of people who attended church every Sunday.

You are at 29 years of age have left the church and will not come back so we can point fingers of what happened to our country and I'm going to challenge you to look in the mirror.

She grandparents you look at my generation, and you don't understand this but you raise the generation that raised us and I'm not trying to be mean. I'm not trying to be harsh, but you're partly to blame my parents generation you through idols in front of us there be sports, whether it be academics, Weatherby musical instruments Weatherby rehearsals that demonstrated us that our God is not significant and you were so busy pursuing the American dollar. You forgot about us and you can engage in us and you did talk to us about God. You put us in a pew on Sunday morning and expected a church to disciple us more product of you and has to change halfhearted commitment to Christ and parents will lead to full out rebellion. The next generation full out rebellion and I'm scared to raise my son by being transparent in this culture because we don't have many people are God fears or lovers of God. We have many or lovers of self and lovers of their sins and no run over anybody in order to pursue it. And so when I come into this next passage of Scripture. I am not trying to shame you, I'm not trying to literally put false guilt on you. What I'm trying to do was say we need to change and we need to address this issue in our church and our families and we need to pursue it aggressively. I'm not guaranteeing you if you do this your son will come out to love Jesus but what I am saying is you will have a better chance let's dabble in it is this so what's on your heart so you shall teach. So this is what is saying when you love something you teach people about it. You talk about it.

You want people to know what you want people to enjoy it with you and so what I've realized and we have a bunch of well-meaning Christian parents who don't realize what they're doing many of you today are here simply because a sporting event did not take place, a kids birthday party got canceled or you had nothing better to do so.

We would take a look at this.

What are we teaching our kids eat discipling your kids one way or another. And so what are you discipling them for it to be. Do you want to raise a child who loves Jesus, or do you want to raise a child who goes to Harvard or Yale and they get they can be both. But my question is, what's the most significant thing in your home. My more concerned about teaching my kid out to shoot a basketball or swing a bat or go to a dance recital and I'm in overdrive or numbers running around and we never have conversation about God and all other pats on the back door. Great job today and basketball great job in football. That's the only thing I encourage them to do the only time I talked to them is about their academics. What am I saying is a priority to them. I don't know if I live with my head under rock but since when has the children of our country and the children of Christian home, began to dictate the home.

When did that start Jager up in a Middle Eastern home, absolutely not.

My dad was a military Middle Eastern son. Okay with. I'm not have to be described that to you when he said something it happened, so will my child is want to come to church. They want to go play in an AAU basketball league. In what world did I make decisions as a 14-year-old or a 13-year-old or 15-year-old that was best for me browsing you pass for seven years by Levitt, left it up to the youth in my youth group.

They would eat pizza and Mountain Dew for every meal and died of a heart attack when you're 25 years old. I will parenting anyway this way right if you woke up your child for school tomorrow morning. They looked at you or she looked at you and said my not not going to school today. I still feel it right. I just want to find my roots. Someone figure out myself like I don't really believe what they're teaching me.

I don't really think 2+2 = 4, and my teacher like she's boring. Are you gonna say. I want to pressure just lay in bed but will figure it out you have a conversation with your husband or your wife. We really need to figure out that have figure out who use the system stay home.

We don't care any in any area of life like that will what's comes the church. We want to present to our kids without why what's happened.

Maybe because we don't have a significant love for Jesus and God see he addresses the parents here. The first battleground in this in the full sermon that Moses, just as your hearts your kids heart. Your heart is saying to you love God and if you live him the natural reaction is a good teacher about what is done in your life you to tell about his grace and his mercy. Tell him that we saved you literally take him to a restaurant as I let's bow are about to partake in the mail that God's given us when you drive in your nice car that God is giving you to say this is not because of my artwork because God's gracious to me when you sit in your nice home, or even your shack has given me this are we teaching our kids this I will teach them diligently every opportunity I did a minute. Teach my child about God I love the Bible meets me where I'm at with this look through this a good teacher.

Children and men. You are the main disciple maker in your home, then it's time for us to step up time for us to take ownership is time for us to quit blaming the culture of why my child is the way I'm at. He is a little and she is a little image of you and will my kid draws on drama be like the prodigal father, the prodigal story and I'm going to pray and waits, shower them with grace.

What kind of home is your child living you demanding perfection or you allowing the gospel to be fleshed out when they make a mistake gospel to when you make a mistake. Parents come asking for forgiveness with humility and demonstrate the gospel to someone we engage in. This is like.

I will intelligently teach my children. I want to talk to them and look at this when they sit in their house when they sit down in your house, we don't do often on not turning the television on and not giving them a phone to talk to them. I'm going to pursue their heart, and engage their heart, to find out what's happening see my dad and my mom when I grew up and I need to be careful because I'm about to go over time and not even halfway through my message here we go where I grew up in the pool.

My parents would be out in the pool always allowed kids to come over. I grew up in a house where there was noise all the time. There's people all the time.

My parents would sit on the deck of the pool and they would engage in conversations with my friends and it annoyed me that what your tail my friends go. My friends love my parents sat in those moments on those chairs talking about what's happening in their home what's going on in their life. My parents discipled my friends they were engaged in my life and we sit around his parents take a phone. Let's go to the movies and we never are hospitable towards children in our home, engaging in them not only discipling our kids with discipling our kids friends. We got him engage we got to be observant of what's happening in our kids lives were not losing our kids in college there being secularized in our homes.

I know this for a fact when I lose it when I go to college or lose it now when you're sitting in the pew right next to you and to balance some of your squadron right now because you know when you have a love for God and you just doing this to please your parents and parents. Are you speaking so low of God. Respect is a low of the church that is flushing out in your kids lives goes back to this when I love God, I'm going to teach.

I'm going to talk about him when I get a chance to sit in my house.

I'm going to talk to them and here's where the Bible me to stop when I walk in and taking them to practice in the talk talk to be a good example you represent Christ. When they lie down when I was a child we would lie down in bed right before bedtime I parents would do a deboning to get on your knees. We all get on our knees around the bed and each one of us would go around and pray when the offering plate came in my debit to me. My one dollar allowance is the put in the offering plate put in the offering plate, but put in the offering plate.

When you rise up.

Sometimes you are in a mad rush out the door, pray with your kids. Do you even pray for your kids. You pray for your grandkids really pray for my father, God, for their souls like these are eternal souls for eternal souls, but you get that when you sit at the person next to you. It's an internal salted stew much at stake, church makes forth, and I don't to make sports.

It's a good thing but to make it a God the horrible God.

I don't know of a single kid in this church is ever made it Pro yet. We push our kids to be successful in sports and music in academics and they will always fail will always be someone smarter always someone better than their academics. All in one day and who are they, this when you rise shall bind them. You shall tie them down. It should be something that is in Christ in their heart. You shall push it on the mic blinded on them like God loves you. God loves you. God loves you he's good he's got his beauty as beauty and creation as signs on your hands like the back in the day, the Jews used to take these leather straps they would put these leather straps.

In this passage of Scripture was literally in it. They would put leather straps on their arms and put leather straps on her head when they would go to worship and the Scripture was right from the took this literally on not asking you to do that do not show up to church next week doing this you take a look at this and it says they defined them as signs on your hands, you feel feel the gospel in your life feel because the way my parents communicate it to me how they live it out. You see the put is a frontlets between your eyes.

You see the gospel. You see the love of God by way your parents are living their lives to see what's taking place being an example to your children, your kids ever seen you do devotion. I'm not challenging you whether you love your kids. I believe you do I'm challenging you whether you love God do you love them if you love them you want your kids love sees the problem with Bob about Christianity.

We know we don't love them is not a brokenness over my sin. Not overwhelmed the God of the universe would send his son to dine across from this go on really quick. And when the Lord your God brings you into the lands of stay near the edge of the land and Moses says you're about to enter the land with great and good cities that you did not build when you get this land, and prosperity begins. That happened to prosperity is not a bad thing money in of itself is not a bad thing.

It's what you do with it in house is full of good things that you did not fill in sister that you did not tag in vineyards and olive trees that you did not plan it when you eat and are full, so I sent my beautiful house to dry my nice car, or sit at a table in a completely full, who do I give thanks to Yahweh saying I'm overwhelmed by my goodness, or have I thought I arrived that I've accomplished this. Look at South Charlotte and I believe were pursuing the wrong thing about enough to say this because it's pretty obvious to the churchwarden God has given us prosperity is not a bad thing, but what are we worshiping that whatever your worshiping. Your kids are going to worship your making a disciple, one way or another you're making a disciple and what are you teaching them. That's preeminence jump full right now I have a house I have a wife I have a child, I have cars they can get me where I need to get my clothing. I don't lack for anything, but in that fullness and this is was Moses's concern look at the next little phrase. Take care be careful lest you forget the Lord. We forgotten him. We forgotten what it did on the cross. See when you go to second Corinthians have to move quickly to the promise that wouldn't go over.

Second Corinthians 8 and nine for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now it if it taught you know yourself you I am bed at night and you're silent you know your wickedness and it's come out in fights with your wife. It comes out with fights and your children comes out with fights with your parents. You know your wickedness and you know that he still extends grace to you that though he was rich, the king of heaven. I spoke on this last Sunday night. Colossians 1. He is literally the reason you are taking your breath right now. He holds all things together. Everything is made for him and buy him everything is for Jesus Christ. So he gave all that up.

Look at this for your sake he became poor for my sake he became poor. Like any of the sit idle to get all you have a place to lay his head around this.

There he preached on a borrowed boats. He multiplied borrowed food little boy comes in his food. He slept on borrowed beds. The road on a borrowed Colts died on Microsoft's buried. He was buried in a borrowed tomb. They became poor for me and for you that the gospel because he loves you he loves me, pursued me my wickedness. This he goes on so that you by his poverty might become rich and were so rich, not materially or so rich spiritually, we have is the word we have the holy Scriptures. We have his spirit living inside of us, church given us everything we have, we must worship his holy name. We can send them to use and expect the charge disciple or children.

We must do its all responsibility were here to equip you where to love on you were here to counsel you where to cry with you were here to rejoice with you were not here to encourage laziness or halfhearted Christianity because Jesus Christ was not lazy when he died on the cross. He wasn't halfhearted when he died for me and you is off the gospel of Jesus Christ does not penetrate your soul and make you love him you don't know your kids won't know in your grandkids won't know the church when we get to do. We can start making preeminent agenda to start looking at her because I know you want to go to this football camp but it's on Sunday no because we gather with believers in the sanctuary and we worship the Almighty God.

And that's what's important.

We must get our priorities straight and let me be very clear with you were all guilty or having a parenting class right after this, so there's different ways to teach and talk to your kids some structured, some is just you. Driving is a Newburgh driver with your kids. You look back and just separate blaring Christian music and you start talking about Jesus and what is done you ask them what they're praying for us and how you can pray for them and for the doctor could out of the car you pray with them. Some of its authentic some of its structured and can walk you through what it looks like to have family devotions and why it's important. So I'm begging you ALG teachers you have married couples who have children, send them to the crown room come, let's talk about what we just talked about because your disciple makers. Whether you like it or not, what type disciple, are we making and are you a lover of God and use. You must disciple your friends like this and if you're pursuing a sin and you're willing to get every thing away for you.

It willing to reject your family for it. I'm going to tell you that's an idol in your life and will fill you. I'm gonna pray in Tim's income appear, enclose us in worship, but this is what I'm going to challenge you father's during that worship song you need to pray with your kids.

I'm not telling you to bring your whole family up to the altar on St. bundle up your crew in the pews and just pray with them.

I don't think it will bother Tim. They thought Tim will be rejoicing that prayers taking place during worship. This prayer is worship, pray with your family's single parents, your kids sitting there. Pray with your grandkids are sitting you with you right now pray with them. Parents of your kids are in nursery right now pray with him. Pray with your wife and pray for them. That's too beautiful we're serious about family discipleship. Nathaniel is teaching a class on Wednesday nights, we have a class for single parenting. Rodney is teaching a class on parenting. We have three Wednesday not elective because were serious about this were here to help and equipment we will not nor can we be the main disciple makers of your children. Let's pray God, we come while you're also here just also and I'm blown away by you and God is pray that I didn't shame anybody today. I pray they understand that I love the church. I love them even though I don't know many of them. I love this church I want to see your kingdom be glorified through the families in this church home of little ones to love you, how we were in an elder or pastor meeting you were present and you know this, and John asked the question where we losing the kids when I read what the writing in the bulletins. The third through five fifth-graders so humbly God I don't know where were losing room, and I don't know our lives and I think I have a good idea, but each home is different. You know the homes your ever present in these homes you know what's happening inside behind closed doors got I'm asking you for repentance to take place. I'm crazy scared for Judah. My son and I want to damage him so hard to parent its overwhelming. God give me humble heart to be transparent when I mess up and correct when the correction needs to take place and always point him to the cross. Thank you for the cross. Thank you for the gospel. Thank you for the hope in the gospel that yeah I can't do this, you can give me the strength to do it. We love you, and your name