Embracing the Call to Spiritual Leadership | Thomas Goertzen June 15th, 2025- Deuteronomy 6:1-9

In christologology, Christ is revealed as a son under the father's authority. Romans 5:12. Oh, before I get into this, sorry. I don't have any slides. So, we are mainly going to be in Deuteronomy 6 and Psalm 19. So, just have your Bibles ready. But in Romans 5:12, he says, "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned." Romans 5:15, "But the free gift does not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of one, the many died, much more did the grace of God, and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded to the many." So the reality is this. God created the world to be patriarchal, which means father ruled. Now, if you're in a habit like I am to binge Charlie Kirk videos from time to time, you will see how the world how this worldview is hated in our culture, particularly on college campuses. If I was talking to a college student who was being taught this, it would become very evident very quickly that

The devil is indeed in the details because the details are predicated on foundational lies. And so it needs to be said that God that the truth is God created the world to be patriarchal then as now. American democracy has not done away with the natural order nor has the progress of human rights. The reason men wrote the Bible is not because women were oppressed. It was because God the father revealed the word to men and fathers. This is what God has revealed to us in his word. And we can see that the deviation from this order only serves to create more confusion, chaos, and sin. The answer, and this comes up, the answer to man's abuse of power is not to blaspheme God. The answer is in the Gospel. And for fathers, the way in which we communicate that Gospel to our families is found here in the text this morning. So, let's rise and let's read Deuteronomy 6 1-6. Now this is the commandments, the statutes, statutes, and the judgment which the Lord your God has commanded me to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you are going over to possess it, so that you and your son and your grandson might fear the Lord your God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I commanded you all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. Oh Israel, you should listen and be careful to do it that it may go well with you and that you may multiply greatly just as the Lord, the God of your fathers has promised to you in the land flowing with milk and honey. Here, O Israel, the Lord is God and 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. And continuing in verse 7-9, you shall teach them diligently to your sons and 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. Heavenly Father, Lord, as we read this text, Lord, help us to hear it, to understand it, to know what it is that you are calling us men and fathers to be. Lord, give us grace. Help us not to judge others. It's tempting, Lord, to look at other families and say, "Oh, I'm doing well. They're not." Lord, no, we don't want to do that. We need unity, and your word can bring that here. So, give us humility, give us grace, and give us understanding as we go. Amen. Now, the reason this text was chosen was simply because it's a foundational text that Moses uses as a covenantal blueprint for the people of Israel to follow. Jesus quotes it in Mark 12:29-30 and Paul as well in Ephesians 6:4. You might be tempted to write off this passage off for a few different reasons. So, let's try and address these real quick. And by the way, I'm sure these answers won't fully satisfy you. They're not meant to. They're just meant for you to consider. First, one might ask, "Didn't the Pharisees do all this? And did not Jesus rebuke them for their hypocrisy?" Yes, it is true that the Pharisees obeyed outwardly, but they did so lacking faith and a heart of obedience. Jesus rebukes them for missing the heart of the law. Moses says here in verse six, "These words shall be on your heart." Secondly, you might wonder, why should I be as regimented as the text implies with my children who are not even saved yet? Well, it's true children of believers are not automatically regenerate, but they still need to be catechized or discipled and immersed in the word so that the word might be

Planted in them and then bear fruit. We labor in hope trusting God's ordinary means of grace to work through the word of God. Romans 10:17 says, "So faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of Christ." A third objection could be, "Well, this was explicitly for Israel to receive land blessing. It's not for us, right?" While obedience to the law was a condition for the land blessing, these principles reflect the moral and covenantal heart of God's law, which Jesus repeats in Mark 12:30, "And you shall love the Lord your God." Right? And in Ephesians 6:4, fathers, do not provoke your children today, but bring them up in the discipline instruction of the Lord, the land promise is fulfilled in Christ as we ultimately enter into his rest. Hebrews 4:8-10 states, for if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken of another day after that. So there remains a Sabbath rest for all people of God. For the one who has entered into his rest has himself also rested from his works. So God did from this. So the reality of this passage I believe is straightforward and clear and it applies to us even today. Now let's look at the passage starting verses 1-3. These first three verses are sort of like a preamble to the covenant commands for Israel. They give an overview of the purpose of the commands and the results if obeyed. The preamble here sets up the prayer which is called the shama in verses 4-9. And we see this structure in our modern-day American constitution, which is no accident since the founders were heavily influenced by the Scriptures. Let's briefly compare. Deuteronomy addresses the covenant community of Israel. The US Constitution says, "We the people." Deuteronomy looks to God's statutes and commandments so that it may go well with you. US Constitution to establish justice and ensure domestic tranquility. Deuteronomy looks forward to the land flowing with

Milk and honey. The US Constitution to secure the blessings of liberty. Deuteronomy is for you and your sons and your grandsons. US Constitution to ourselves and our posterity. Now, the purpose of observing these parallels is not to fortify nationalism in your hearts and minds, but to point out the fact that if we know how to look to our constitution and say it is good, we need to defend this because we love liberty. Well, fathers, how much more do we need to look to this text in Deuteronomy and see God's foundational truths that transcend national prosperity? If you can look to the Constitution and say it is good, how much more should you look to God's word here and say it is good and I must do what it says? So, let's look at the heart of the text. Verse verses 4-9. The first thing we need to take note of in this passage is the declaration of who their God is. Here, O Israel, the Lord is our God. The Lord is one. This is a theological reminder of who their God is. Then it moves quickly into application in verse 5. You shall love this Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, with all your might. And this is applied anthropology. As an imagebearer, you were created to love and enjoy God with every faculty of your human being, including the strength that you have. Nothing is left out of this equation. God is perfectly wise. He knows the sinful heart of man and leaves no room for our excuses. Verse six says, "These words which I am commanding you today shall be on your heart." Oh boy. [Applause] When paper fails, turn to technology. I am sorry. Okay. Verse six says, "These words which I am commanding you today shall be on your heart." Now, we need to take some time to consider what Moses means by these words. Okay? In the broader

Context of this long speech he is giving to Israel before they cross the Jordan and enter the promised land. These words are referring to the entire law of God with the ten commandments being closest in view as Moses in the chapter before repeats them. Notice they shall be on your heart not on your mind only but on your heart. I will admit it is challenging to communicate and teach on the unique distinctions between the different faculties of the human being. So if you take umbrage with me on this point, please forgive me. In Hebrew thought, the heart is the control center of the person. It is where the intellect, the will, and the emotion sit. Consider these verses to see that the heart includes thinking, understanding, emotion, and will. Proverbs 23:7, "For as he thinks within himself heart, so he is, he says to you, eat and drink, but his heart is not with you." Deuteronomy 29:4, "Yet to this day the Lord has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear." Deuteronomy 4:39, "Know therefore today, and take it to your heart that the Lord, he is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other." Proverbs 16:9, "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord directs the steps." Isaiah 65:14, "Behold, my servants will shout joyfully with a glad heart, but you will cry out with a heavy heart, and you will wail with a broken spirit." You can see that the heart here is a full integration of the person. And God is commanding fathers to impress these commandments of God onto their own hearts, onto every faculty of their human being, and likewise onto their hearts of their own children. But you say, sorry, one might say, I thought only God can change hearts. Are you suggesting that we can change our kids' hearts? No, I'm not suggesting anything, but rather telling you that what God's word says

And it says that God's word, his commandments when we do what he tells us can change hearts. You can't do it apart from God's word. So, it's God's word. So, if God's word goes out by our leading, who did the changing? Was it you or was it God? Well, it was God. Let's quickly turn to Psalm 19 for some descriptions of God's word and what it does to us. Psalm 19:7 and 8 says, "The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. Listen to what Charles Spurgeon says. He says, "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. Nothing ever touched the soul like the word of God. It comes home to the conscience and the heart. It is the power of God unto salvation." The word here translated law is the whole doctrine of God, the whole Gospel revelation. It is not only perfect but converting the soul. This is its glory. It turns the man around. It makes him to be born again. It is the word that quickens that gives life where there was none. What a marvelous truth and reality to behold. God's law, God's justice, his commands, his words are beyond measure and satisfaction, more desirable than gold, sweeter than honey. So, fathers, what are you to give your children more than earthly possess possess provision? And how are we to give it to them? Well, let's continue with Deuteronomy 6 7-9. 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 the forehead on your forehead. You shall you shall write them on

Your doorposts of your house and on your gates. All right, let's look at this word diligently. Okay it means to inculcate or to drill. But the imagery we get is really to sharpen to use a wet stone to sharpen a sword. The Hebrew word is shaan. Okay. Yeah. So how many of you have ever sharpened a sword or a knife or something like that? Right? You know how many of you did it perfectly the first time? Right? And so as I was thinking about this, oh yeah, I would sharpen things and it you don't just make one pass, okay? You have to make multiple strokes. It rep it requires repeated, consistent, and deliberate strokes. Likewise, a father is to teach God's commands through constant repetition, going over them again and again until they become sharp in the child's heart. Now sharpening also requires precision and intens intensity. Sharpening is an intentional and forceful act. It's not passive and haphazard. When I remember I used sharpen chainsaws and I would just, you know, I would make as many passes for each tooth as I wanted. Really wasn't paying attention. Go out there, cut a log. What happens? Curves. It curves, right? You're going to miss it. You're going to you're not going to be able to make a straight cut. Okay? The same thing with a with a with a really high quality blade. Okay? You take a high quality blade, you take a wet stone, you go and you sharpen, you don't know what you're doing, you can make it worse. You can make that blade worse. Okay? Sharpening is not passive. It's not haphazard. There's intentionality. So, what did I have to do to correct my chainsaw cutting? Well, I had to analyze the tooth the teeth on the on the blade on the on the on the chain. And I look which is the worst one. All right, five

Passes corrects it. Now I have to do five passes with all the rest of them. Okay, there was observing, there was intentionality, and it's forceful. It's hard to sharpen something and to do it properly. You know, some people have sought to sharpen the Okay. Well, I don't know if I was going to bring this up. I'll try and do this as graciously as possible. I'm going to talk to our homeschooling families because we were one of them. All right. Some people have sought to sharpen their kids by homeschooling them. Okay. They read this passage, they come to the conclusion, I need to wake up, walk along the way, right? Go. They've come to that conclusion for themselves. It's good. Okay. Right on. They've pulled their kids from public school and placed them into their unstructured, unschooling environment with little to no structure and unsupervised screen time. This might be hard for some to hear, but that might actually play out to be worse. Why? Well, because Satan's lies exist on YouTube and they exist on Disney and they exist everywhere else you're going to let your kids go where what'sever in front of them. You betcha Satan is there trying to get at your kids. The answer while it's good to recognize you know what I need to spend I need to take my kids out of public school and I'm not whatever you want to take them out you can't take them out and just not do anything with them. They're s they have they're little sinners. They have sinful hearts. They need to be sharpened intentionally, forcefully, right, with these verses and the strength of God in your heart and mind. Okay? Hope that wasn't too hard. Now, the purpose of a sharp blade is also to pierce and penetrate.

The goal of teaching is for God's word to penetrate the heart of the child. It's meant for transformation, not easy belieism, moralism, or a superficial lesson that is easily forgotten. Now, can this type of sharpening happen in two hours a week at church? How about five minutes in the morning and five and you 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 and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and you shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorpost of your house and on your gates. All right. Now this is where the Pharisees went full KJV only. Okay. They were like a cross between a hardcore fundamentalist and gangster rapper wannabes. You can just see it. Okay. They got these huge scarves dangling right around them. They got this these big felactories of where they put the scroll hanging down and sometimes they'll put it on their forehead, you know, and you can just see them. They're just walking around and some they meet some other Pharisee from the other side of town who's got a bigger factory and then they're like, "Whoa." Okay. And there's a standoff, right? They go back home. They make a bigger one, right? Okay. No, I'm just kidding. I don't know if they did it like that, but you can just you can just see it. They missed the heart of the of disciplehip. They took this superstitiously and they literally became a meme that we all make fun of. They took this passage as literally as you can take it and because they missed the heart of the command, they became pretty useless. What do I mean by useless? How productive can you be in loving your neighbor when you're so concerned all the time about reciting a liturgy all day long and you're wearing clothes that you're just sweating and you can't do anything? You

Know, I sometimes wonder if the guy who was what's a good Samaritan, right? The reason those guys walked to pass cuz they're probably too caught up in their own personal disciplehip and their own oh, I don't want to get my clothes dirty. You can't love your neighbor, right? They missed the heart of it. They missed the heart of it and they became useless. The commands, although literal, served as reminders and have a deeper represent representation that goes beyond mere outward appearances. Your hand represents your actions, your labor, and your conduct. Frontlets between your eyes and forehead represent your thoughts, your worldview, and your intellectual focus. Your entire perspective on life must be filtered through the lens of Scripture. There is an intentionality behind this command to write down God's commands wherever you are doing life. To have reminders as you leave your home and to go into town as you come back from doing business in your home. It's good. It's meant to instruct you on how to structure your routines and order in order to develop a rhythm of life that is surrounded by the meditation of God's word. The word of God, if it is to saturate our entire being, must be diligently applied to every area of our life. So we can pray along with David in Psalm 19:14, that the words of my mouth and the medit meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, oh Lord, my rock and my Redeemer. Now God does not just give us commands without encouragement. Take a look at verse 20. Deuteronomy 6:20. It says, "When your son asks you in time to come, saying, "What do the testimonies and the statutes and the judgment mean when the Lord our God commanded you?" Guys, here is the evidence that the

Process is working. Your children are not asking you about these truths and you are inculcating that you are inculcating into them. So when this happens, when this happens, drop what you are doing and seize that opportunity to share the goodness of God's wisdom with them. All right. Application. All right. When it comes to applying these truths seriously, when the weight of diligently discipling our children falls on the shoulders of us men, it will transform the way you structure your home. No doubt. And so I purposefully chose not to give you specific application on what you could do. Why? Because while I do believe it is the preacher's role at times to provide practical application to the principle, what I believe, what I felt was needed for us more than practical help on how we can spice up our routines is for us men to feel this God-given weight, this gravity of God's call on us to and to be drawn in to the call to take responsibility for our families. Now there's there is a king in Israel that I would like to examine for a moment. If you want to you can turn to 2 Chronicles 34 I believe that I believe gives us a good example of what we as fathers should do regardless of where we are spiritually in terms of maturity. Some of us, okay, some of us have been handed down a legacy from our fathers that is great. We've been discipled by them intentionally and have been given the high ground in this fight. Others have not been shown how to do this. You have been discipled in the ways of the world. Okay? And so hearing a sermon like this and feeling the weight of this

Responsibility can leave us hopefully challenged and inspired, but more than likely due to the nature of our of sin and our relationships and whatever your situation is and your upbringing, it can make you feel overwhelmed, discouraged, and perhaps lost like where do I begin? And so to help us know where to start in all this and for and to get some encouragement, let's turn to 2 Chronicles 34 1-4. I'm going to skip some of it, but this is regarding the King Josiah. Now Josiah was 8 years old when he became king and he reigned 31 years in Jerusalem. He did right in the sight of the Lord and walked in the ways of his father David. Okay, notice that he says David. And did not turn aside to the right or to the left. For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still a youth, he began to seek God, the God of his father David. And in his 12th year, he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places and Ashim and carved images and the molten images, and tore down the altars of the bales in his presence, and the incense altars that were high above them. He chopped down also the ashim and carved images and molten images he broke in the pieces and ground into p powder and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. Now Josiah inherited a kingdom that was steeped in idol worship. He inherited this from his father and his grandfather. Josiah was not a man who was who had strong had a strong spiritual heritage in proximity to him. He did however have the Psalms and was able to read about his spiritual father David. He knew enough to know that where Judah was spiritually was an abomination to the Lord. And he began to seek after God to tear down those idols in high places. But we know that when you tear something down, you have to replace it with something.

And Josiah didn't have what he needed to replace those high places. Let's look at verse 30 sorry 14- 21. When they were bringing out the money which had been brought into the house of the Lord, Hilkaya the priest found the book of the law of the Lord given by Moses, which is Deuteronomy. Hilkaya responded and said to Chaffan the scribe, "I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord." And Hilkaya gave the book to Chaffan. Then Chaffan brought the book to the king and reported further words to the king, saying, "Everything that was entrusted to your servants they are doing. They have also emptied out the money which was found in the house of the Lord, and have delivered it unto the hands of the supervisors and the workmen." Moreover, Chappan the scribe told the king, saying, "Hilkaya the priest gave me a book." And Chappan read from it in the presence of the king. When the king heard the words of the law, he tore his clothes. Then the king commanded Hilkaya, Aikim the son of Chaffan, Abdon the son of Micah, Chaffan the scribe, and Assiah the king's sermon, saying, "Go inquire of the Lord for me and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book which has been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord, which is poured out on us because our fathers have not observed the word of the Lord, to do according to all that is written in this book. Now, Josiah's reaction is inspiring. Here's a guy who knows the Lord. He's reading the Psalms, likely reading Psalm 19 and hearing David talk about the law, how it revives the soul, how it enlightens the eyes, how it's more desirable than gold and sweeter than honey. You can just imagine the angst that's in Josiah all those years that's in his soul just burning, his eagerness to know God and to know how to lead his people. They find that law and he hears it for the first time and is driven to

Righteous anger and immediately begins preparation for worship. Finally, in 2 Chronicles 34:31-33, it says, "Then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the Lord to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and with all his soul to perform the words of the covenant written in the book. Moreover, he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand with him." So the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. Josiah removed all the abominations from the land belonging to the sons of Israel and made all who were present in Israel to serve the Lord their God. Throughout his lifetime, they did not turn from following the Lord God of their fathers. Josiah wasted no time in renewing Israel's covenant with the Lord and to be diligent in keeping his commandments, testimonies, and statutes. Before he had enough to tear down false worship, now with God's word, he had everything he needed to institute true worship. Josiah ramped up tearing down the abominations and instituted his reforms. What an example for any father. Despite his ungodly ancestry, the recovery of God's word was enough to transform the nation. The same can happen for you and your family. Now, this is a weighty task for us fathers. These truths, if they are to be taken seriously, will require some serious humility. These sermons can feel like you need to just do better. Just be better, right, man? You can't be better on your own. You can't be better by just finding a friend or by isolating. You can't be better by holding on to your past or your sins or your pride. You can only be better when you come to

The throne of grace. Turn to Hebrews 4, starting in verse 12- 16. For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as a division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from his sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Therefore, therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Do you need help in this hour, men, fathers? Then draw near. At the throne of grace, there is forgiveness for all your sins, for all your mistakes, and there is also grace there to empower you. This is of this point often is not communicated well. We know there's forgiveness, but at the throne, at this place, there's also power to empower you to be the father that God has called you to be to empower you in your sanctification. Right? You got to get you got to get right with God first. You got to clean up yourself first by the power of God's grace. It's not a legalistic thing. It's going to him. Okay? And there's power there. Whether you acknowledge it or not, your sons and daughters are looking to you for direction. Therefore, fix your eyes on Christ who perfectly fixed his eyes on his father so that you might lead your children by following him. Let's pray. Dear heavenly father, Lord, we thankful for your word. Thankful for you, Lord, sending Jesus Christ to die for our sins, to pave a way for us to

Come to you and to become righteous. Lord, thank you for this these instructions. Oh, it's often not talked about in my own heart to just love your law, to love the instructions that you give. Here is how you can live and here's the ways in which you can be blessed. Lord, thank you for it. Lord, I pray for everyone here, everyone who heard this morning. And Lord, you know where their hearts are at. You know what their thoughts are, what's going on. Lord, I just pray that above anything else that they would come to you, come to the throne of grace and know and be forgiven and to receive your grace and be empowered to walk in obedience. And we pray all these things in Jesus name. Amen. Stand up with please. [Music] Sorry. Oh God, my father, there is no shadow of jouring with thee. Thou changest. Thy compassions they fail not. As thou hast been, thou forever will be. How great is thy faithfulness. Great is thy faithfulness. Morning by morning, new mercies I see. All I have made and I have proided. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me. [Music] You may be seated or Oh, yeah. Y'all may go home.