(Deut 5.7-10) The Training Grounds 10 Comm.1

The Training Grounds

Using the 10 Commandments .1

è As we have seen in the last couple of weeks, the family was and is God’s foundation for the salvation of the World.

è We are commanded to have lots of children and to raise them to be passionate for Christ.

è Through that, we live the truth and prepare missionaries to continue that truth after we are gone.

è Last week we saw that parents especially fathers - - are to train up their children especially their sons to be godly.

è Why sons? To teach them to be spiritual leaders of their own families

è And how

Deuteronomy 6:4-9   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.

è And what were the commandments that he was referring to?

è So we need to take a closer look at those commandments if they are to be the foundation for our children’s upbringing

è But just as a side note, if we teach this we must live it as parents as well.

Deuteronomy 5:1-7  And Moses called all Israel, and said to them: "Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing today, that you may learn them and be careful to observe them.  2 "The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.  3 "The LORD did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive.  4 "The LORD talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire.  5 "I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the LORD; for you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up the mountain. He said:  6 ' I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.  7 ' You shall have no other gods before Me.

è The first and most important command that God gave us was to recognize His glory and sovereignty.

è When it comes to God we should all stand in awe and reverence.

è We should fear and tremble at the thought of violating His trust and commands.

è Because that was not taught to Cain the world went south in a hurry!

è Because that was not taught to Ham Noah’s son, the world again went south and produced a wicked and rebellious line.

è God started over again with another group of refined and tested people.

è The Israelites - - who were refined through forty years of the desert and through Gods Grace.

Nehemiah 9:1-21  Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, in sackcloth, and with dust on their heads.  2 Then those of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all foreigners; and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.  3 And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for one-fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the LORD their God.  4 Then Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the stairs of the Levites and cried out with a loud voice to the LORD their God.  5 And the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said: "Stand up and bless the LORD your God Forever and ever! "Blessed be Your glorious name, Which is exalted above all blessing and praise!  6 You alone are the LORD; You have made heaven, The heaven of heavens, with all their host, The earth and everything on it, The seas and all that is in them, And You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You.  7 "You are the LORD God, Who chose Abram, And brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans, And gave him the name Abraham;  8 You found his heart faithful before You, And made a covenant with him To give the land of the Canaanites, The Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, And the Girgashites -- To give it to his descendants. You have performed Your words, For You are righteous.  9 " You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, And heard their cry by the Red Sea.  10 You showed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, Against all his servants, And against all the people of his land. For You knew that they acted proudly against them. So You made a name for Yourself, as it is this day.  11 And You divided the sea before them, So that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; And their persecutors You threw into the deep, As a stone into the mighty waters.  12 Moreover You led them by day with a cloudy pillar, And by night with a pillar of fire, To give them light on the road Which they should travel.  13 "You came down also on Mount Sinai, And spoke with them from heaven, And gave them just ordinances and true laws, Good statutes and commandments.  14 You made known to them Your holy Sabbath, And commanded them precepts, statutes and laws, By the hand of Moses Your servant.  15 You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, And brought them water out of the rock for their thirst, And told them to go in to possess the land Which You had sworn to give them.  16 " But they and our fathers acted proudly, Hardened their necks, And did not heed Your commandments.  17 They refused to obey, And they were not mindful of Your wonders That You did among them. But they hardened their necks, And in their rebellion They appointed a leader To return to their bondage. But You are God, Ready to pardon, Gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, Abundant in kindness, And did not forsake them.  18 "Even when they made a molded calf for themselves, And said, 'This is your god That brought you up out of Egypt,' And worked great provocations,  19 Yet in Your manifold mercies You did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day, To lead them on the road; Nor the pillar of fire by night, To show them light, And the way they should go.  20 You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, And did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, And gave them water for their thirst.  21 Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness, They lacked nothing; Their clothes did not wear out And their feet did not swell.

è First they knew their history and learned the importance of Trusting in God through the past

è Through that the people saw and believed in God and worshiped Him as God and recognized His authority in their lives.

è So when Joshua stood before the people before they entered the Promised Land, They all stood with one voice and declared God as their sovereign Lord.

Joshua 24:14-24   14 " Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD!  15 "And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."  16 So the people answered and said: "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods;  17 "for the LORD our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way that we went and among all the people through whom we passed.  18 "And the LORD drove out from before us all the people, including the Amorites who dwelt in the land. We also will serve the LORD, for He is our God."  19 But Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.  20 "If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good."  21 And the people said to Joshua, "No, but we will serve the LORD!"  22 So Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD for yourselves, to serve Him." And they said, "We are witnesses!"  23 "Now therefore," he said, "put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD God of Israel."  24 And the people said to Joshua, "The LORD our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!"

è Notice two things

è The people ALL confessed God as their Holy God - - They were trained to Honor God through seeing God’s miracles and by being taught by parents and spiritual leaders.

è Just seeing God miracles did not do it

è They had to have their hearts trained in the ways of the Lord

è And they learned the history of God - - They were taught

è Now from their they did great things while they Obeyed God and Worshipped Him as THE ONLY WAY

è Jericho they obeyed

è Ai the next town they did not and they were crushed

Joshua 2:9-11  (Rahab)9 and said to the men: "I know that the LORD has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you.  10 "For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.  11 "And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.

Joshua 7:4-5  4 So about three thousand men went up there from the people, but they fled before the men of Ai.  5 And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six men, for they chased them from before the gate as far as Shebarim, and struck them down on the descent; therefore the hearts of the people melted and became like water.

è The people did not learn their lesion and they forgot the first commandment and they did not fear God nor follow his commands until Israel again became vile in the eyes of God.

è Now back to Joshua “Choose This Day”

1 Kings 18:17-21   17 Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, "Is that you, O troubler of Israel?"  18 And he answered, "I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father's house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals.  19 "Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table."  20 So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel.  21 And Elijah came to all the people, and said, "How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." But the people answered him not a word.

2 Kings 17:29-40 However every nation continued to make gods of its own, and put them in the shrines on the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities where they dwelt. 30 The men of Babylon made Succoth Benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, 31 and the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. 32 So they feared the LORD, and from every class they appointed for themselves priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places. 33 They feared the LORD, yet served their own gods -- according to the rituals of the nations from among whom they were carried away. 34 To this day they continue practicing the former rituals; they do not fear the LORD, nor do they follow their statutes or their ordinances, or the law and commandment which the LORD had commanded the children of Jacob, whom He named Israel, 35 with whom the LORD had made a covenant and charged them, saying: "You shall not fear other gods, nor bow down to them nor serve them nor sacrifice to them;  36 "but the LORD, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm, Him you shall fear, Him you shall worship, and to Him you shall offer sacrifice.  37 "And the statutes, the ordinances, the law, and the commandment which He wrote for you, you shall be careful to observe forever; you shall not fear other gods.  38 "And the covenant that I have made with you, you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other gods.  39 "But the LORD your God you shall fear; and He will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies."  40 However they did not obey, but they followed their former rituals.

è They did not follow the first commandment and because of that the whole nation suffered.

è They forgot and were not taught God’s standards.

è Who failed/

è The king - - The people - - the parents?

è If we teach the truth to our children and live in that truth we are saving them and the world we live in.

Jeremiah 25:6 'Do not go after other gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands; and I will not harm you.'

Psalm 29:2 Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

Psalm 73:25 Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.

Isaiah 26:4 Trust in the LORD forever, For in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength.

Isaiah 43:10 "You are My witnesses," says the LORD, "And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me.

Isaiah 44:8 Do not fear, nor be afraid; Have I not told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one.' "

Isaiah 45:21 Tell and bring forth your case; Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has declared this from ancient time? Who has told it from that time? Have not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, A just God and a Savior; There is none besides Me. 22 "Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

Isaiah 46:9 Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me,