Making Your Family Strong

A family member was at a family reunion and took a lot of pictures. When she took them to the photo place to get them developed, she asked if the pictures could be touched up. The photo tech asked: “You mean wrinkles and such?” She said “Yes” and the tech said, “Well of course.” Well she said: “Could you take about 30 pounds off of me?” “Yes” he said. And then she said: “And can you put them on my sister?” Wow! That had to be pretty cool and shocking to the sister upon seeing those! For the next 3 weeks we’re going to focus on the family. When you look at the way our society and culture is going, would you agree that the family is becoming an endangered species? Folks, the family unit and design is clearly under unbelievable attack and in the process of being redefined in our secular and Godless society! In the very beginning of time, God instituted and ordained the family – the family unit, the family structure – the nuclear family as many experts define it – a unit that comes together – watch this: as one man and one woman in the commitment and love and devotion of marriage…and then - after marriage – comes the sexual union that plays a rather significant part in the propagation of children…and thus a family.

All kinds of studies have been done on the family…even studies geared towards making families strong…but as we would expect, the Bible has something rather significant to say on this subject…and by the way, it carries greater weight than any secular study out there! So turn with me to Deut. 6:4-9 which is one of the predominant passages on this subject…

Deuteronomy 6:4–9 NASB95

“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

This morning I want to point out 3 Biblical principles that will help make your family strong! The 1st one…

1. HEAR THE TRUTH CONTINUALLY ABOUT GOD’S UNIQUENESS. (6:4)

- Consider the background of this passage:

1) Israel was preparing to move into the Promised Land.

2) God was preparing them for the changes that would take place because He wanted them to remain strong = to have strong families – this was hugely important as He was in the process of making them into a great nation! To have a strong nationyou have to have a strong family unit – strong nuclear family = we have forces today who are seeking to destroy this in America!

3) So God gave them the Shema = the basic statement of faith in Judaism – still repeated today.

- Notice his plea: As he summarized the need - “Hear O’ Israel” - he came to the point of getting their attention. Then he delivered the basic statement of faith in Judaism: “The Lord (YHWH) is our God, the Lord is one!”

- This stmt meant: the Lord is totally unique! He alone is God – totally different than the gods of their neighbors! They were polytheistic (believed in many gods). The problem they ran into was that their gods were rarely thought of as acting in harmony with one another.

- The BKC says: “So a pagan worshiper could never be sure his loyalty to one god would serve to protect him from the capricious (erratic) wrath of another.”

- The Israelites didn’t have to experience this insecurity, for their faith was in only 1 God – One Who dealt with them “by a revealed consistent righteous standard.” Their God was unique and indeed God – and they could have a sense of security and therefore depend (rely) on Him in every area of their lives!

- It was this truth they were commanded to hear on a continuing basis!

- As Charles Swindoll says in his book Growing Wise in Family Life, “Strong families lean hard on certain unshakable facts, and this is a major one. To amplify the credo: ‘The Lord is our God. We acknowledge His presence, His uniqueness, His place, His right to rule over us. We seek His will, we endeavor to walk in His way.’”

- What does Swindoll mean? Very simply: your children need to know who your faith is in; that your confidence is in God / you are determined to trust in God. They need to know that when the tough times of life come that the Lord is your God…and you must trust Him without reservation…that there is no one more reliable…and His will is perfect and all that is happening fits beautifully into His plan for you and your life!

- They need to hear this over and over and over.

TS – The 2nd one…

2. LOVE THE LORD FERVENTLY. (6:5-6)

- The Israelites were commanded to love God – to be committed to Him with their whole being – whole hearted devotion – total commitment – every part of their being (heart, soul, strength).

- And this command is given repeatedly throughout Deuteronomy!

- Why should they love God? Because He first loved them and had demonstrated His love to them by delivering, protecting and blessing them!

- The truth is this: When a person loves God fervently, his life will show it! The fruit of his life will show it.

- Have you been affected by the fervent love of a Godly parent, grandparent or friend?

- Parents, if you want a strong family, the place you need to begin is within your own heart – getting your heart right with God – fervently loving God – not just in lip service but life service!

- One of the greatest gifts you can give your child (children) is to be a dad and a mom who loves/lives for God and your child knows it! You don’t say 1 thing, then live something different.

- In Howard Taylor’s biography of his dad James Hudson Taylor who was an early missionary to inland China, Howard notes that his “…impressions of the importance of God, his earliest convictions, were first formed as he witnessed his dad’s devotion.”

- Corrie Ten Boom who survived the German Nazi camps of WW2 said it was from Papa ten Boom that she received her first and deep realizations that God mattered…that He was worth her trust.

- It’s been said: “Truth is more permanently transformed from a parent’s life than his lips.”

- Parent…you want your child to love God fervently…then you love God fervently!

TS – The 3rd one…

3. TEACH THE YOUNG DILIGENTLY. (6:7-9)

- Make God’s Word the center of your life and your home!

- Understand this: the task of teaching children has been given to the home – not any other institution or group = wow, we sure have forces todays who think they have the right! Hello Disney! Hello Teacher’s Unions! Hello politicians!

- The root term of the word translated teach in vs. 7 means to repeat, to tell over and over again as well as modeling a consistent message and thus parents are to repeat this over and over.

- The word “diligently” in verse 7 specifically describes the parent’s divine role – the word actually comes from a verb that means to sharpen – literally it says “and you shall sharpen your sons.”

- The AMP Bible translates vs 7 this way: 7 You shall whet and sharpen them so as to make them penetrate, and teach and impress them diligently upon the [minds and] hearts of your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up.

- What is the point? Parents you are to aggressively / assertively be involved in the educational process of your children! Not passive but active! You can’t leave this up to chance…or abdicate and let others with influence over your children be the main teachers! Sadly in our culture today parents you have to battle these “other teachers – other” who are trying to indoctrinate your children with their beliefs, values and views!

- And notice: God didn’t say you’re to accomplish this with great / forceful lectures! Rather He says you should “talk of them” – should talk about spiritual things with your children just like you talk about other things like football games, TV shows, movies, etc. – you don’t give lectures to your children on these things = you simply talk about them in a natural way – especially when the opportunity presents itself.

- This is what makes your Christianity authentic…and your parenting great! Let teaching spiritual things to your children become a part of your natural, daily life – not just on Sundays or special occasions!

- Look for those opportunities and take them!

- And God promises in Proverbs 16:20-23 that when you do, you will reap huge dividends!

Conclusion

- So mom and dad….do you want to make your family strong? Then right here are 3 things that will!