Well, here's my plan, my plans, plural. I plan on preaching two messages this Lord's Day morning as well as next Lord's Day morning on the same passage. And it's found in the book of Deuteronomy chapter six. And my, our attention is gonna be from verses one through nine today. We'll have some application. And then the following week, We will review what I preached this morning, Lord willing, and then we'll have more application, especially with regards to raising children. But Deuteronomy chapter six, I would go ahead and read verses one through 19. Again, our consideration is verses one through nine. Now this is the commandment. These are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, that you may fear the Lord your God to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, that your days may be prolonged. Therefore, hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it that it may be well with you, that you may multiply greatly as the Lord your God of your fathers has promised you, a land flowing with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand. They shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house. and on your gates. So it shall be when the Lord your God brings you into the land of which he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build, houses full of all good things which you did not fill, hewn out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, When you have eaten and are full, then beware lest you forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt and the house of bondage, you shall fear the Lord your God and serve him and shall take oaths in his name. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are all around you, for the Lord your God is a jealous God among you. Lest the anger of the Lord your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth, you shall not tempt the Lord your God as you tempted him in Massa. You shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, his testimonies and his statutes, which he has commanded you. And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may be well with you, that you may go in and possess the good land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to cast out all your enemies from before you as the Lord has spoken." Thus we have God's word. Now it doesn't take too much observation to view in America the decaying of God-fearing families. Very few families know anything at all about the Ten Commandments. I wonder if they could even recite them in order in America, even those who attend church. There appears to be a decaying of people actually going to church on Sunday. The creation ordinances of work Marriage and the Christian Sabbath are neglected. And it also appears that America knows very little of the saving gospel of the grace of Jesus Christ. And it is indeed sad to say a lot of churches have helped contribute to the demise of marriage, to work, and the Christian Sabbath with their insufficient teaching, as well as a false gospel. They have turned this holy gospel, this holy calling, into nothing more than a decision with no repentance. They've turned the gospel into a faith that is nothing more than a mere nod or agreement to some basic truths with no necessity of the new birth. That's the climate that we live in. Now the world is indeed after us as well as our children. Those of you that are parents that have children, look upon your children and realize that the world is indeed after them. The devil has evil intentions towards us that believe as well as our children. And to make matters worse, our children's nature is not innocent, but to pray when they come out of the womb, speaking lies. No one's innocent, no one's clean when they come into this world. So what is the answer? It would appear there needs to be a restoration of truth, God's truth, in churches and in families. The pastors would faithfully teach their members And that parents, by and large fathers, would take the responsibility of actually training their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. The gospel living in us as pastors, as members, as parents, as grandparents, as singles, regardless of our age. In this particular context here, when we go to the book of Deuteronomy, and Deuteronomy really is a sermon, and it would appear to be a really long sermon. Deuteronomy 1.1 says, these are the words which Moses spoke, so he has the entire congregation of Israel assembled before him, And he's speaking to them about things that happen in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. Numbers, I'm sorry. Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. That is what he is doing. He is preaching to them on this side of the Jordan. They haven't got to the other side of the Jordan. They're on other side of the Jordan. And Deuteronomy literally means second law. Now it's not like he's giving them a brand new law, but it's a repeating of the law from Exodus chapter 20. If you look at Exodus chapter 20 it's the Ten Commandments. Those of you that when I used to teach high school, Sunday school, we knew where the law of God was given. It was given in Exodus chapter 20 as well as in Deuteronomy chapter 5. So Deuteronomy is a sermon by Moses about the things that have happened in the past, and they're getting ready to go into the land and the things to avoid as they go into the land. When you look at Deuteronomy chapter four, leading up to chapter six, Moses in his preaching says, only take heed to yourself and diligently keep yourself lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life, and teach them to your children and your grandchildren. What Moses is going to do is he's going to repeat himself quite a bit. Sometimes good preachers do that. They repeat themselves quite a bit. There's nothing wrong with repetition. He says later on in verse 22, I must die in this land. Moses, because of his sin, was not able to cross into the promised land because of his sin. He says he's gonna die. He says, I must not cross over the Jordan, but you shall cross over and possess the good land. Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make for yourself a carved image in the form of anything which the Lord your God has forbidden you. Why would they make carved images? They're going into a land that is filled with idols. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. He also says, now this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel in verse 44 and he gives them the 10 commandments. The 10 commandments are given again in verse 24 after the commandments are given. The people say, surely the Lord our God has shown us his glory and his greatness. We have heard his voice from the midst of the fire. We have seen this day that God speaks with man, yet he still lives. He says, we heard your voice and we didn't die. There was a great fear that the people had when they heard the voice of God. They were fearful of dying and what they said is, Moses, you go between us and God, you find out what God wants us to do, you tell us what to do. We don't want to hear the voice of God lest we die. So they had a healthy fear of God before the people in numbers, they died. They didn't have a healthy fear of God and they rebelled against Moses. So this sermon of Moses continues on And he says, therefore, you shall be careful to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. You shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live and they may be well with you, that you may prolong your days in the land that you shall possess. Then he goes on and he talks about the commandment of the Lord. Now, realize that by and large, when this was being preached by Moses, those people that experienced Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, by and large, all of them were dead because of unbelief. They traveled around the desert for 40 years. They were told to go in and possess the land and they rebelled against Moses, they rebelled against Joshua. When they rebelled against Moses and Aaron, they were rebelling against God. God says, go in and possess the land. They said, nope, it's too difficult. The nations are too large. We can't go in there and possess. And it brought the hearts of the people down. Only Caleb and Joshua stood firm and said, no, let's go in and do this. God has promised to give this land to us. Let's go in and take it. People said no. In fact, they got mad. They hated Moses and Aaron. They were planning on killing him. And God instead, in the book of Numbers, killed them. So a lot of the people were already dead. When Moses is preaching this, Caleb and Joshua were alive, as well as a handful of people. So Moses has a hearty desire for their good and reminds him of God's law in the book of Deuteronomy because he knows that his time is short. In fact, at the end of Deuteronomy, it records the death of Moses. It does kind of remind me of 2 Peter. Peter's at the end of his life. Second Timothy, Paul's at the end of his life. And they want to make sure they leave something with the people that they could hold on to. And so Moses is preaching to them. He's going to make sure that he leaves this in writing for them so that they might remember to fear the Lord. after he passes away. Now again, the context of Deuteronomy 6, now when we come to Deuteronomy 6, this is after the Ten Commandments are given, and what we're going to consider today are three things from these nine verses. And these three things will be repeated in these nine verses. The three things are this. Who is teaching the people? They have to answer that question. We will answer that question. Secondly, what is being taught to the people? And thirdly, what are the people to do with this truth? Those three truths will come out throughout these nine verses. Now, verses three through nine, again, as I mentioned, is a repetition of these two truths. It's an elaboration. It's an opening up. It is indeed application. So now the law is given. And now, how do they carry this out? Well, verse 1 says, this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you that you may observe them when you cross into the land. The teacher here, who is being taught, is the people, and the one that's doing the teaching is God. God is teaching them. And the people here, the people of God, must be taught by God in order to observe his commandments. You've got to be taught something in order to know what it is that you're to believe and what it is that you're to do. And the people must also be taught by God before they can lead others. Because you see here that children are obviously involved in Deuteronomy chapter six. And so what Moses is doing is he's preparing them for the future. Moses received the law and here he gives in the book of Deuteronomy and in this particular passage, a fresh declaration of the commands, statutes, and judgments of God. God is imprinting on their minds their duty of obedience to him. They should be careful to know God. They should be careful to know his word. They should obey diligently those things as they take possession of the promised land. However, God doesn't speak to them face to face. Who's the one doing the teaching? It's Moses. God uses the means of Moses and later Joshua as teachers to obey them. And as they obey Moses, they are obeying God. As they obey Joshua, they are obeying God. As they obey the prophets, they are obeying God. Now, as I mentioned earlier, in Numbers 14, the Lord said, how long shall I bear with this evil congregation who complain against me? So it goes to show that if you obey Moses, you're obeying God. But if you disobey Moses, you are disobeying God. He says that in Numbers 14, the passage I just quoted. Their complaint was against Moses though, wasn't it? They complained against Moses. When they complained against Moses, they complained against God. That's why he said, how long shall I bear with this evil congregation who complain against me? That's God saying that. So it's a very sobering thing. So they needed to obey Moses. They needed to obey Joshua. And that was to obey God because these men had the stamp of God's authority on them. As the men taught, God was teaching the people. Now consider this great responsibility of Moses to represent God and his truth. And as a result, there's also a greater judgment that's placed upon Moses to make sure that he properly represents God and his truth. Therefore, Moses taught all and only what God had commanded. All and only what God had commanded. In fact, in Deuteronomy 4, he's given the command by God, don't you dare add or take away from these words. You're representing me. Now we would think that Moses was a pretty popular guy. He only got popular after he died. People hated him. In the book of Numbers, they plotted to kill he and his brother. They hated his teaching. They hated his leading. They were going around in this desert for 40 years, and they blamed Moses for that, and they wanted to kill him and Aaron. Aaron's already died. He died in the book of Numbers. So these men were not popular. They only get popular when they die. Now, why is it important for the people to understand that when Moses taught, it was God that was doing the teaching? Why is this important? Well, Moses, while he's representing God, he's not representing himself. If Moses were just to come up with a bunch of ideas based on the dictates of his heart, why would you want to follow a man based upon the dictates of his heart? If a man is the representative of God and he is preaching God's truth, This is God that is speaking. We need to hear God. And so that is why this is important. There's a connection here too, as well, because they're teaching their children. I'm certain that when you teach your children the fifth commandment, honor your father and mother, children, when you disobey that commandment, you may say, oh, I'm just disobeying dad and mom. No, you're disobeying God. He's the one who gave that commandment. That's why this is important. Those that have God's stamp of authority, approval, to represent him should be and must be followed. That's the first point. That's verse one. So that's the first question that we answered. Who's doing the teaching? God is, but he uses the human means in this particular case of Moses. Secondly, what is this teaching? What is this doctrine that's going on? And that's found in verse two. that you may fear the Lord your God, keep all his statutes and his commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson all the days of your life." What is that teaching? What is that doctrine? It's the beginning of wisdom, it's the beginning of knowledge. And that is the fear of God. This is the first lesson, this is the best lesson. In Bridges' book on his commentary on Proverbs, He says that the fear of God is this, quote, this fear is a fervent love, respect, reverence to where the child of God humbly and carefully submits to his heavenly father and his law. This is an earnest desire to please God, being aware of his wrath. aware of temptations and his own weakness, a holy watchfulness and godly fear that he might not sin against this God end quote. This fear has a reverential love attached to it. This love leads to obedience to God, to be aware of God's greatness, of his being, and his nature, and his mind, and his will, and then to pursue this God, to be devoted to this God. This fear, this reverence is essential. It is essential. Do you remember Solomon when he traveled the universe, so to speak, in the book of Ecclesiastes? He goes over the entire course of his life. He goes over the entire course of the world. He's surveying all the circumstances of life, he weighs all the sources of knowledge, he weighs all the sources of wisdom and he concludes the matter with this one thing, fear God and keep his commandments. That's what Moses begins with, fear the Lord. Who is this command to? Well, it's an interesting play on words, because he says, that you may fear the Lord your God to keep all his statutes, all his commandments, which I command you, he stops, you, again, and your son and your grandson, in other words, all of your children. Moses doesn't dismiss the singles, there's no children's church back in the book of Deuteronomy, they were all there. And the result, disobedience, obedience, His blessing that your days may be prolonged and not cut short. That's what he says. And obviously tied to that is the fifth commandment. You shall honor your father and mother that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. I'm certain that the Israelites, that command had to be ringing in their ears when this particular verse was preached by Moses to obey. So that's the truth. Now this, Moses is going to elaborate a little bit later on this truth. But the third question is, is what are the people to do with this truth as they obey God? What are they to do with this truth? Well, they are to obey God, but they are to teach their children and their grandchildren with the promise of blessing, a longer prosperous life is promised for those who obey. Matthew Henry says this, those who are well taught, if they do what they are taught are well fed a land flowing with milk and honey. So this truth that the people of God have, they have children next to them and they want this truth to be perpetuated from generation to generation. We go to verse three now and Moses is going to repeat. Himself, saying, therefore, hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, that you may multiply greatly as the Lord God of your fathers has promised you, a land flowing with milk and honey. In other words, what Moses is saying, I mentioned to you that you need to hear, you need to fear. Let me shake you. It's almost as if I'm going to run out of the pulpit, run up and down these aisles saying, hear. Now listen, for emphasis. Be careful how you hear, be careful how you obey, but make sure you do it with diligence and not laziness. In other words, take heed. There is something here that is extremely important. In verse two, it says, fear the Lord. Verse three, it says, hear O Israel. And in verse four, it says it again, hear O Israel. how should their hearing be? It's pretty obvious. They should be diligent to hear it. They should be attentive to what's being spoken by Moses. They need to be careful because they do not live in a safe world. They wouldn't need to be careful if this life was safe, but this life is not safe. When you consider that these people of God had the devil as an enemy as well as the other devils. They had false teachers that were trying to snare them and there would be false teachers as they go into the land as well. There's a world system that's completely contrary to God and his truth and his people and the people have remaining sin within them. Let's see, that's one, two, three, about four strikes, you're out. It would appear. But God, but God. I have to admit that I remember our Lord's word when I was doing this study. He said, take heed how you hear. Take heed how you hear. Some hear, but do they really hear? Are they quick to obey? And what Moses is saying is take heed with God and consider that he's extending a hand of blessing out to us if we do hear him, if we do fear him, and we do obey him. There's a promise of prosperity, peace, and abundance. Now in verse four and verse five, God moves in really close. He's gonna repeat himself again. Moses is going to do that, but God comes in very close here. There's gonna be more weight. There's gonna be more emphasis, more attention, because now the Israelites must be influenced by God to keep them safe from idolatry, as well as to lead others, their children. And he says, Hear, O Israel. This is of monumental importance. The first word in this verse is hear, and the last letter in this verse is one. This is meant to excite the people of God of the truth contained in this verse, and this is the verse, the Lord our God is one Lord. Now, some may think, can't you give us something a little bit more profound than that? Well, consider the fact you'll be going into a land full of idolatry and full of false gods. And therefore, you need to have a good foundation, a good theological foundation, and that is the Lord our God is one Lord. Here's where we begin to see what it is that we are to know about God, what it is that we are to believe about God, and what is it that we are to do in light of this truth. Because they're going into a land full of false gods and false ways. Again, this is the best foundation. All the other gods are false. People of God is what Moses is telling them. Remember that they are false. There is one God. He is the Lord and he is our God. One all sufficient God compared to thousands of insufficient ones. Keep that in your minds as you go into the land. One Lord, one God, He is our God. And there's only one way to approach Him as well, because you're going to go into a land and find a lot of different ways, a lot of different carvings, a lot of different gods, and that's going to be the temptation to you. They're prospering. Why don't you come over and try our gods? There's not different ways to God. There's only one way to God. And that is through his appointed means, which is founded in his word. Now in verse four and five, this is quoted by our Lord Jesus Christ in the book of Matthew, as well as the book of Mark, because our Lord Jesus asked that question, what is the greatest commandment? And he says, hero, Israel, the Lord, our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. He has with all your mind and with all your strength. These are new Testament words that we're reading here in the book of Deuteronomy. Our Lord quoted more from the Pentateuch than any other books. He quoted more from Exodus and Deuteronomy than he did the Psalms. He wasn't anti-law, he brought out the law. And so this love to God in verse 5 says, you shall love the Lord your God with your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. In order for them to have a proper understanding of God's truth, they must also learn to love this God as well. Love God with everything within them. It's the greatest commandment, New Testament words. Here we have love and law as the context. And he says, carry this theology and love of God into the promised land, though there may be many gods and many forms of worship. Love him for he is infinite. You're going to look at those gods in the land, they're finite. They're made by men's hands. They have limitations. Our God is infinite. Our God is eternal. Those idols had a beginning. They had to be made by man. Think about that for a moment. I was raised a Roman Catholic and I cannot believe how many times I bowed down to a piece of stone that was made by man. That's idolatry. That's foolish. It doesn't make any sense. I'm greater than that image and yet they carry this image around He set it down, might be of the Virgin Mary or Joseph or some man on a cross, and he actually kissed the stupid thing. I can't believe I kissed the stupid Cardinal's ring, a ring I kissed. I bow down to that thing. I'm not proud of that, ashamed of that. had no reasoning. It made no sense whatsoever. So remember, people of God, when you're going into the land, our God didn't have a beginning. These things did. They're always changing. They have so many idols and so many gods, but our God is unchangeable. carry that truth with you as you go into the land and consider God and all of his perfections and all of his goodness and all of his mercy. Their affection should be to God alone, to esteem him and delight in him, to have faith and trust in him. and in his word there's loving, reverential fear and worship to God alone, to obey him with all of the heart, with all of the soul, with all of the strength. No half-hearted devotion to God. God is to be loved by all of his creatures, all of his creatures. God should be loved because he provides life, breath, food, houses, clothing, parents, not in that order, of course, your intelligence, your mind, you're able to reason, add one and one together. Those things God has given. And to love God with the heart means a loyalty to God. Some people think it's strictly an emotion. Oh, I love God with all my heart. It's a loyalty. It means that your heart is not divided. When it says that we are to love God with our soul, there is fervency, diligence in loving God. And then when he says, with all your might, my commentators tell me that it's with money or substance. Go out and work hard, realizing that some of whatever it is that you retain is to go to God. Do it with all your strength, everything that is within you. for the service of God, it is indeed a tithe. So that is the truth, that is what is being taught. And in verse six, God gets even closer here. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart, heart religion. Who is teaching the people? God. What is being taught? God is one. He is to be feared. He is to be loved. Where are those issues supposed to be? Where is this truth supposed to be? What are the people of God supposed to do with this truth? They are to keep it in their heart because out of the heart are the issues of life. Meditation is implied here, to actually meditate upon God. Lay up God's word in your heart is what Moses is saying. Keep it in your heart. Not only right words and yes, head knowledge, but it's got to hit your heart. And with this truth in your heart, you can heartily, diligently teach your children. Can you imagine a father teaching his children, being bored with the truth of God, almost falling asleep and him expecting his children to be energetic about God when dad is lifeless? Children will indeed imitate their parents. And what God is communicating through Moses is that you people of God that love the Lord your God should do what you can to engage the affections of your children in him. And so preserve true religion in your families, and as a result, to keep you from being cut off from God's blessing, do it with all your might. Your children should have affection towards God. Instead, people like just to blame their children because their children are lifeless and listless and could care less about God. And yet it's the responsibility of the parents here to teach their children diligently. to know God, that he is one, to love God, to fear God. That is what is being taught. Care and diligence are to be used. And Moses is saying here, repent of your laziness. It's just easier to do nothing. But doing easy things isn't always the right thing to do. Most of the time it's not the right thing to do. Use great effort to instruct your children, Moses is saying, with the knowledge of God at an early age. Reason with them. God never hits the heart until he goes through the mind. You have to reason with your children is what Moses is saying. Teach your children to love God, to fear God. That is the beginning of wisdom. When you read Proverbs one through nine, you see that the very beginning of Proverbs chapter one He gives the command to his children that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God, that he is to be served, that he is to be worshiped. And therefore Moses is telling them, frequent repetition of holy things like the Ten Commandments, they should memorize them. And they should have a sense of what God requires, of what not to do and what to do. Very brief exercise, first commandment, hear O Israel, Lord our God is one, you shall have no other gods before me or besides me. So we're not to have false gods, that tells us what not to do. Moses is basically telling what you're to tell your children that you are to have the true and living God before the eyes of your children. If the second commandment is that we're not to make graven images, we're not to bow down to them or serve them, that's a thing that we are not to do, then what is it that we are to do? Well, that means we are to worship God alone only by the way that he has prescribed in his word. In the third commandment, if we are not to take God's name in vain, take it lightly, then that's what we're not to do, then what is it that we are to do? With reverence and awe, even in the worship of God, in our normal course, when talking with our children, there should be some reverence at all with the truth of God and his word. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, that is what we are to do. What is that we're not to do? Well, says it in the fourth commandment, don't work. Make sure you're in the house of God. Fifth commandment, honor your father and mother. So the children are exhorted, We know what we're supposed to do. We're supposed to honor our parents. And what is it that we're not supposed to do? We're not supposed to disobey them. You shall not murder, okay? We're not to murder. Then what is it that we are to do? Promote life. Do not commit adultery, okay? We know that we're not supposed to be sexually immoral. Then what are we to be? Be pure. And husbands and wives should love one another. Eighth commandment is you shall not steal. That means I'm not supposed to take, okay? those things that do not belong to me, then what is it I'm supposed to do? Go out and get a job, work, work. That's how people actually make a living is by working, not by living off of the government. Go out and actually go out and get a job. How's that for a novel idea? You know, most people that steal are unemployed because if they're employed, they'd be having money. Ninth commandment is you shall not lie. Okay, now we know what we're not supposed to do, what is that we are to do? Speak the truth. And if we're not to covet in the 10th commandment, our neighbor's wife, the goods, then what is it that we are to do? Be content with those things that God has given you. That's a very basic teaching of the Word of God. Basic truths about who God is. Because the Ten Commandments reveals the very character of God. And the Bible teaches two things. As you read your Bibles, remember there's two things the Bible principally teaches. Remember this. Remember them? What man is to believe concerning God and what duty God requires of man. what it is that we are to believe, what it is that we are to do. Very basic truths. And the people of God here were to teach their children in such a way that the children are sharp, ready, and experts in the religion of God. It would appear that Moses viewed God's law as direct, as plain, and easy for the father to instruct his wife and his children for him to deal with his sons, and yes, even for the mother to deal with the children as well. He did it in such a way that they should be able to be direct and plain and clear. Therefore, Moses is telling them, teach your children so that true religion will be perpetuated. It will continue on. You leave your children alone, that's exactly what happens to them. They're left alone. And the second part of verse seven says, teach him by your actions. use all occasions of life to instruct them so that they will be Godward, mindful of their creator, mindful of their provider, mindful of their lawgiver, mindful of their judge, and mindful of their savior. And truth will continue to be taught by other generations if you teach your children. Every opportunity may be taken to instill the knowledge of God into their tender, impressionable minds. That's what he says. When you sit down in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, when you rise up, it's not a 15 minute ordeal. It is a life that permeates godliness. Teach them by your actions. When should this be done? Mealtime, leisure time, playtime, work time, all times. All times. Whether you're on a journey, If you're in the field, before you go to bed at night, when you wake up in the morning, bring God and his truth before these little one's eyes. In the Proverbs, it's amazing how Solomon will take something as simple as an ant and teach his children, or a spider, or a lazy man whose field is completely broken down and Solomon will bring his children around and say, look at this, see this example right here? And look at this man full of excuses. Instead of doing nothing about the bad example, he taught his children the example. Our Lord Jesus was supreme in this teaching. Look at the sky, look at the change of seasons, and he taught them about his second coming. Look at the wheat, and he taught them about the kingdom of God. Fish, he would teach them about the kingdom of God. Our Lord took every small occasion of life, every providence of life, And he taught his disciples. And Moses here is telling them, in every aspect of your life, make sure you teach your children. Make sure you teach your children. In verse 8 and verse 9, we have Bibles these days. They did not have Bibles. They had a very limited copy of God's Word, and what they would do is basically take God's Word maybe his 10 commandments and they would write it on their houses. They would have it somewhere. They would be a constant reminder to their children and to themselves of what it is that God requires. I have a couple of points of application. Try to be as brief as possible as time is getting away. My first point of application is this. Who is your teacher? Who is your teacher? Our Lord Jesus in John chapter 6 verse 45 says this, and they shall all be taught by God. Our Lord was quoting Isaiah 54 13 where he says, all your children shall be taught by the Lord in which he, Jesus Christ, takes this particular verse and he interprets it. And I would submit to you, it's not babies he's talking about. Because everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, our Lord Jesus says, comes to me. My brethren, if you are a Christian, it is because God has taught you. You have heard and you have learned from the Father through the Holy Spirit about your sins, about Jesus who has come to atone for the sins of his people, for his elect, and that faith and repentance in his name has been granted to you by the Father. Your hope is in Jesus Christ's righteousness, his death and resurrection, and you embrace the Lord Jesus by faith. You have heard and learned from the Father and you have come to Jesus Christ. It is the blessing of the new covenant. We're talking about the old covenant here. Many of them did not have faith mixed with this word that was preached to them, and many of them simply perished in their sins. The New Covenant, which is found in various passages of the Old Testament and New Testament, Jeremiah 31, and in Hebrews. Hebrews quotes Jeremiah 31. Hebrews chapter 8. For if that first covenant, the old covenant, had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, he said, behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. Goes back to Exodus, goes back to Numbers, goes back to Deuteronomy. So they did not continue in my covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord, for this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their mind. write them on their hearts, I will be their God, they shall be my people. None of them shall teach his neighbor and none his brother saying, know the Lord, for all shall know me from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and their lawless deeds, I will remember no more. That is the blessing of the new covenant. If we are a Christian today, if you are a Christian today, it's because your teacher has been the Lord. What is the means that God uses to teach his people? How shall they hear without a preacher? As the book of Romans says, friend or family member or acquaintance may have told you about the gospel, but by and large the human means used is a preacher, pastor. Now my brother Jim told me of how the Lord has saved him from his sins. And that got me real interested. He told me about the Ten Commandments. He told me about heaven. He told me about hell. And I was interested. I wasn't converted, but I was very interested. He got my attention because he and I live similar lives. So I attended to the preaching of God's word and the Lord taught me. He saved me through a pastor preaching who became my pastor. human means that God uses as pastors preaching. In our case here at Trinity pastors in the public ministry of God's Word are the ones that are teaching you. Many of our young ones were converted through the public ministry at Trinity Reformed Baptist Church and may I say with all authority from God that so long as we as pastors do not preach error and heresy We are to be obeyed. Should I run out the door? Listen to what God's word says in the book of Hebrews, same book from the New Covenant. Obey those who have a rule over you and be submissive for they watch out for your souls. Let them do so with joy and not with grief for that would be unprofitable to you. This is God's command, not the invention of man. God knows what he's doing. and he knows what is best for your souls. The question to ask yourself as a member of this church is, am I a joy or a grief to my pastors? To obey your pastors would be to obey God and to disobey your pastors would be to disobey God. If you have a problem with one of your pastors, your problem is not with them, your problem is with God. Now as far as I know, things are good here at TRBC. As far as I know, we all have love for one another. We don't have any issues going on, as far as I can tell. But I have to say that at times it is a grief when we, in some of our meetings over the years, we give clear biblical directives and they are ignored. A grief when those members become erring members and some have fallen away. Another grief is when no counsel is even sought. The member runs headlong into foolishness, runs into trouble, acts as if he doesn't even have a pastor to guide them. And the worst part is when counsel is sought to those who do not have to give an account to God for their souls. They go to a friend and talk to a friend. And it's easy to give an opinion if you're not accountable for your counsel. no accountability to God, but there's someone who is accountable to God for your souls, and that is your pastors. Pastors have a given account to God. Can I let you in on a little secret of the pastors here at Trinity Reformed Baptist Church, our approach to you as members? I think it'd be important for you to know this. I think you do. We know that you do not belong to us, the elders, but you belong to God. And we sense that God and His Son and His Spirit are impressing this upon us, and God is making this impression, revealing to us, saying, you make sure, Arden, Rick, Sam, George, and Kirk, that you take care of these, my people. You make sure you take care of them, for they are mine. They must be led, they must be shepherded, but make sure you take care of them properly. You know, I have four pastors. Pastor Hodgins, Renahan, Thomason, and Winton. Just as Arden, and Sam, and George, and Kirk have four pastors. This command to be Obedient and to be in subjection to them comes to me as well. And my question to myself is this, am I a grief to these men? I want to be a joy to them. That will help promote unity and peace and love towards one another. And I do want to say this also, that pastors need pastors. And I've heard how some pastors refuse accountability with their pastors, and they refuse to take the same medicine that they give to their congregation. They're the ones that are really strong about, make sure that you guys submit to us, you obey us. And then they refuse to take the same medicine from their own pastors. Imagine going to a doctor, you have strep throat, he gives you penicillin, you take it, you get healed. This is pretty good stuff. You hear the doctor gets sick, He has strep throat, he doesn't take penicillin, he gets worse. You would say that man's a hypocrite. But pastors need pastors. They need accountability. And this is a grief because now it's become commonplace even in mega churches and even in some Reformed Baptist churches where pastors are above the law. They're like little popes running around. and that is a bad thing. This is serious and should not be taken lightly. Also have to apply this to those who refuse to be joined to churches. The pastors that I mentioned here in the book of Hebrews means nothing to you because you don't have a pastor. So I guess you're a super spiritual Christian because you have no need of a pastor to lead you and to guide you. My question to you is who's teaching you? I would submit to you is probably not God. You're teaching yourself, and that's a dangerous place to be in. Time has gotten completely away from me. I have no way of getting to my other two points about our responsibility to love God and to fear God. I will take that up next week, but we will close this time out with prayer. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you that you've ordained your son to be head of the church and the savior of the body. And our father, we thank you that you use the preaching of your word to communicate to your people, not only the saving gospel of your son, but how we may grow in your grace and knowledge and be conformed to your image. So we look unto you that you would be gracious unto us as an assembly for our children to be converted, for the church in America to repent of its laziness, of its disregard of your holy law as well as your holy gospel. Have mercy upon our nation and have mercy upon us as a church and have mercy upon us individually as members one to another. We put our trust in you that you will hear our prayers, that you will receive our worship, accept our thanks for we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.