As we continue our series on The Gospel story it takes us to the book of Deuteronomy – which is about being more faithful about the covenant of God.
Because of God’s grace, we should love our heavenly Father with every part of our lives and intentionally pass on our faith to our children.
Sidebar: The Shema is an important part of the Judaism religion. It describes who God is and what our response to Him should be. How daoes this relate to this message you ask? The Shema is a beautiful prayer. There’s a reason why God’s people have been praying these words for millennia. Following Jesus is about love. And as we receive Jesus’ love, we respond with gratitude, humility, and a commitment to honor and love in return.
3 Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the Lord God of your fathers has promised you—‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’ 4 “Hear, O Israel:The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
Deuteronomy 6:3-6 NKJV
Hear = Obey
Love = Decision/devotion
Love is not a feeling, it’s a decision. Our lives cannot be based on feelings. We mustn’t just listen or hear what God is saying. We must also choose to obey.
Here’s the full picture.
1 “Now 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 in the land which you are crossing over to possess, 2 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, and that your days may be prolonged. 3 Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the Lord God of your fathers has promised you—‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’
Deuteronomy 6:1-9 NKJV
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 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. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Deuteronomy 6:1-9 NKJV
There is a promise of good things when you follow God’s commandments. Glorifying and honouring God should be a lifestyle. God reduced the law to one ruling principle – love the Lord. What God most wants from us is our love. This love is appropriate because He loved us completely.
35 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” 37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Matthew 22:35-40 NKJV
We love Him because He first loved us.
1 John 4:19 NKJV
God’s love for us doesn’t come from the fact that we gave our lives to Him. He loved us before that and the response to His love should be to love Him back.
The great command must first be in our heart, then it must be communicated to our children.
You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name.
Deuteronomy 6:13 NKJV
Fear of the Lord = Inner repulsion at the idea of offending such a great loving God who has done so much for us.
Our obedience to the one true God is to be a living testimony of His mercy and deliverance that we should pass on to our children. If you follow God, people will see the hand of God in your life.
