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Colin Smith: If I love Christ like this, what impact will it have on my family? If I extend myself in serving Christ, will it hurt my children?

Steve Hiller: Welcome to Open the Bible Weekend with Pastor Colin Smith. And Colin, as a pastor, I'm sure this is something you've thought about quite a bit.

Colin Smith: Yeah, that's right. We all want to protect our children. We all want the best for them. And the question is, what is the best for our children? We're in the book of Deuteronomy that has a fascinating insight into this issue. Remember there was a generation that was challenged to go into the promised land, and they didn't have the faith or the courage to do it.

And in Deuteronomy chapter 1, we have a fascinating insight into one of the factors. The Lord actually says through the mouth of Moses, "Now, you were afraid that the children would be taken captive." And you can imagine that. Here are these people thinking, "If we're to go into this land with giants and we've got little children, what'll happen to the little children?" So their affection for their children held them back from being obedient to the Lord.

Now, what was the result for them? They ended up wandering in the desert for 40 years. Think of the impact of that on the children. Instead of leading their children into the promised land, which is what they would have done if they'd had faith and courage, they actually led their children into the desert.

So, this is going to challenge what we think is best for our children. It's going to challenge the idea that holding back from following Christ is in their best interest. Actually, extending ourselves in following Christ is always in the best interest of our children.

Steve Hiller: Well, with an intro like that, let's get to the teaching. We're in Deuteronomy chapter 6 as we begin a message, "Tell Your Children Why." Here is Pastor Colin.

Colin Smith: We're learning as we work our way through this marvelous part of the scripture that it is distinctively a part of the Bible that is addressed to God's people. We saw last time that God is speaking here to those he has chosen, those he has redeemed, those he has made a covenant with, and that is very important, especially when we come to the commandments.

See, the Ten Commandments, unlike what many people have in their minds, the Ten Commandments were never a kind of ladder for unsaved people to work their way somehow nearer to God. The Ten Commandments are rather the way of life for those who have been redeemed, those who are, in our New Testament terms, in Christ, those who are in the covenant. God is speaking to his own people.

And we saw last time that the whole book of Deuteronomy really is an explanation and an application of the Ten Commandments. You remember that the first commandment says, just back in Deuteronomy and chapter 5 there, the first commandment, "You shall have no other gods before me." That's the first commandment. Now, the question is, what does that mean? What does it mean to have no other gods before the Lord?

Well, the chapters that we're in in Deuteronomy right now are an explanation of what that means. And we began to look at this last week in Deuteronomy chapter 6 and verse 5, where we find out what it means to have no other gods before the Lord. It means this: that you love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.

Deuteronomy 6:5, that verse is sometimes referred to as the Shema. And the Shema states positively what the first commandment states negatively. They're really saying the same thing, just the other way around. "You shall have no other gods before me." What does that mean? "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."

And so last week as we made our way into this, we began to see what that means. Loving God with all your heart means loving him with your affection, with your mind, with your desire or your will. Loving him with all your soul means loving him with your energy, your ability, and your years. And loving God with all your strength, we saw, means loving him out of your muchness—that's the literal translation—out of your substance, out of your possessions.

So, that's where we got to last week. If you love the Lord with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and this is what the first commandment is calling us to as those who are in Christ, then he will have the highest place in your affections, the highest claim on your life, and indeed the highest priority over your checkbook. That is what this is saying.

This is what it means to have no other gods before the Lord. This is what it means to love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and strength. Now, that's where we got to last weekend. Today, we're going to take the next step. And it's simply this: the obvious question that will arise: if I love Christ like this, what impact will it have on my family? That's the question.

If I extend myself in serving the Lord, if I push the boundaries of investing myself in him and in his purpose in the world, will it hurt my children? That's the question. Now, folks, if you didn't know already, I assure you this is a critical question, especially for younger parents in our time.

If I extend myself in serving Christ, will it hurt my children? And it is a very real question. You love the Lord and you want to serve him. You want your life to honor him, but you have children, you have a family, and you feel that there is a tension between these two things. You want to be a good mother, you want to be a good father, you love your children.

What does it look like to love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and out of all your muchness when you have a wife and you have children? It's very practical. Now, I want you to see, with Deuteronomy chapter 6 open in front of you, that it is very significant that when Moses says in chapter 6 and verse 5, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart," he immediately goes on to describe the impact of this on your family.

The connection's right there. And I've good news for you today. Far from destroying your family, I want you to see from the scriptures today that if you choose to love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength, your family will be blessed. Indeed, we're going to see from the Bible today that the best way to serve your family, the best way to love your family is to live for the Lord.

And indeed, any other choice, any other priority of life, will indeed be destructive in the long term to the people who you love. So, just to get the principle that we're going to see in a few moments directly from the Bible in our minds, I've framed it for you like this: Love the Lord first and your family will be blessed. Love the family first and the family will suffer.

That's the principle. Deuteronomy chapter 6 and verse 5, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and with all your strength." And the application of that that Moses is giving to us in the verses that are before us now: your family will be blessed. But if you go the other route and you hold back from the Lord, you put your family first, then your family will suffer.

Now, I want you to see this directly from the scriptures. And so please turn with me for a moment back a couple of pages to Deuteronomy and chapter 1. Deuteronomy and chapter 1. And remember that in Deuteronomy, Moses is speaking to a new generation of God's people who have finally come to the verge of the promised land.

Remember that 40 years earlier, the parents of this generation had also been on the verge of the promised land. And God had called them to step forward and to enter in. But you remember the story: they sent out spies. And when the spies came back, they reported that the land was good. But then they said there are some problems.

"You see, the land is wonderful and it's full of these marvelous grapes and all the rest of it, but there are giants in the land. And the cities of the land are heavily fortified." The spies brought back this report. And you remember what happened when the parents heard that report from the spies. The parents turned back. And so for the next 40 years, they wandered in the desert.

Now, here's the question: why did they make that decision, hearing the report from the spies? What was it that prompted them to make the choice to turn back from what God was calling them to do? Why was it that that earlier generation did not go up into Canaan? What was it that precipitated them to lead their children for 40 years in the desert?

Now, there must have been many factors, but I want to draw your attention to Deuteronomy chapter 1 and verse 39 where you see a very clear statement there that is of huge importance. The Lord is speaking here and he says this: "The little ones that you said would be taken captive, your children, they are the ones who will enter into the land."

That is what God said to that earlier generation, the ones who turned back when they heard the report from the spies. God said, "The little ones that you said would be taken captive—that's what you said—your children, they are the ones who will enter into the land." Now, you see what's happening. And it's very easy to picture this.

The spies come back and they say, "Well, there are giants in the land and it's a marvelous land, but the cities are fortified." And the parents say, "Well, now this is far too great a risk. We have little children. We have to do what's best for the kids. We can't be going into a land where there are giants. Our children could be taken captive."

Do you see that there in verse 39? That is what they said. The risk is too great. We can't do what God says. We have little children. That was the rationale. Now, that is what they said. And folks, when I read that, I say I understand this, don't you? Can you see how they got there? They put the children first.

And what was the result? The children they tried to protect spent the largest part of their lives wandering in the desert. Here is the great irony. If these parents had put the Lord before the children, the children would have been raised in the promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey.

But because these parents put the children before the Lord, Deuteronomy chapter 1 and verse 39, they led their children into an arid experience of 40 years wandering in a wilderness. Do you see the irony of that? The parents put the children first and it was devastating for the children. That's Deuteronomy chapter 1 and verse 39.

Oh sure, if they had gone into the land, some parents would have lost their sons and their daughters. Obedience always has a cost. But can you see clearly with me today that by putting the children first, these parents did themselves and their children the greatest possible disservice?

From that, I want to make this first statement, and I deliberately put it provocatively because I want you to see it, I want you to struggle with it, I want you to chew on it, I want you to pray over it, I want you to grasp it: Don't live for your spouse or for your family. Don't live for your spouse and for your family.

That is what the generation did that led the kids into the desert. They put the kids first. Putting the kids first is the worst thing you can do for the children. The best way to serve your family is to love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

And the same is true of marriage. Now, think about this because it's so different from the way that things are in our culture. Wives, don't desire, whatever you do, don't desire that you will be first in your husband's life. Desire that Christ will be first in your husband's life.

Because if he truly loves Christ with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, he will love you well, and he will love you well even when you are less lovable. But if you are first in his life, you have taken the place of God, and that is a burden you cannot bear. That is a work that you cannot sustain. That is something that you cannot carry. You will only fail and you can only disappoint if you're there.

I want you to think about this. Husbands, by all means, buy a card for your wife that says "I love you." But when you go into the card shop, please don't ever buy a card that says "I live for you." You'll find many of them. But that is a statement of idolatry.

And if that is where you're at, you have made yourself an idol, and you have put your spouse in a position that they cannot possibly sustain. That is not love. That is the way to destroy and to crush what God is seeking to build. Your wife will be the one that you laugh with, your wife will be the one that you dream with, your wife will be the one that you love, but she cannot be the one that you live for.

Only God can be God to you. Your spouse does not have that capacity and to place that burden on them is the worst form of idolatry. Now, you see as you begin to think about this, the same principle holds true for your children. What is the first commandment? The first commandment is, "You shall have no other gods before me."

And that includes the children. That is why when you think about it, the Lord Jesus said on one occasion in Matthew chapter 10 and verse 37, "Anyone who loves his son or his daughter more than me is not worthy of me." People read that and they say, "Oh, how could Jesus possibly have said such a thing?" He was simply applying the first commandment. No other gods before me.

Learn to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. So if you let the children take the first place in your heart and the first place in your life and have the first claim on your money, you have made them an idol.

And if you make them an idol, if you put them in that position, what are you teaching them to do as they grow up? You will teach them to be worshippers of themselves. See, isn't it fascinating when Satan comes into the garden? He says to Adam and Eve, "Now, you shall be as God," and paradise is lost.

But when the Lord comes down to Mount Sinai, he comes down to the mountain, he says, "You shall have no other gods before me," and the generation that hears that and responds to it enters into the promised land. Don't live for your wife, your spouse, or your family. "You shall have no other gods before me. For me to live is Christ, and to die therefore is gain."

Now, that's the first thing. Here's the second that follows from it. Let's move to the positive. That's the negative, let's move to the positive. Align your life therefore around one consuming passion for the Lord. Align your life around one consuming passion for the Lord.

Now, coming back to Deuteronomy and chapter 6, 40 years have now passed. And these little ones whose parents tried to protect them by holding back from full obedience, the parents have now died, and the little ones have become mature adults in their own right. Their parents had put them first, and they suffered as a result.

But now a generation on, Moses brings this new and younger generation again to the verge of the promised land. So, try and picture this in your mind. The little ones these parents were so anxious to protect, they've now grown, and they have children of their own.

And they come to the verge of the promised land. And guess what? There are still giants in the land. And there are still cities that are fortified. And God is calling the new generation to enter into the promised land. And the new generation knows that it will be costly.

So, what does Moses say to them in this second giving of the law? He gives them the Ten Commandments and now speaking from the heart and out of all these years of experience, what does he say to them? "Love the Lord your God," he says, "with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Listen," he's saying as we take the flow of the story, "your parents didn't do that. They were folks with a faith but never a mission.

They put you first, and for 40 years you have lived in a dryness, and you've never known anything else. Look at what that did to them, and look at what it's already done to you. Now you're standing right here on the same spot, and your little children are around you. What are you going to do?

You're going to have to choose how you are going to live because you face the same challenges. So learn from what you have experienced yourself. You've seen that this half-hearted love for God is toxic to the children. Now you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Do it so that it may go well with you and with your children." That's chapter 5 and verse 29. Align your life around one consuming passion for the Lord.

Steve Hiller: A helpful look today at why it's dangerous to live your life for your spouse or your family. And I love that idea of aligning your life around that one consuming passion for the Lord. We're going to continue to look at that on our next broadcast, so I hope you make it a point to tune in.

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Well, Open the Bible is a listener-supported ministry. We're able to do what we do and bring you Pastor Colin's teaching each day because of your generosity. And as you give a gift of any amount this month, we're going to send you a copy of Pastor Colin's brand new 30-day devotional book called Grow in Love. And Colin, who is this book for?

Colin Smith: Well, people have very different experiences of love. And perhaps you knew what it was to grow up with a godly mother, a godly father who loved you well and you've had all the benefits of that. But you still find now you've come to adult life that you want to know how to grow in love yourself. And if that's where you're at, this book is for you.

But there are other folks who have not had the blessing of being loved well. And if that's been your experience, you may find that you struggle with some real questions. What does it mean to love another person? What does real love actually look like? Where are you going to find it? Well, you're not sure that you know.

Well, this book is for you. It's going to show you how receiving love from God through Jesus Christ can put you in the position where you're able to give love and receive love from others well.

Steve Hiller: Well, we'd love to send you a copy of Pastor Colin's new book. It's called Grow in Love, and it's our thank you for your financial support this month. You can find out more or give online at openthebible.org or when you call 1-877-OPEN-365. That's 1-877-673-6365 or openthebible.org.

For Pastor Colin Smith, I'm Steve Hiller. Thanks for listening, and I hope you'll join us next time. Open the Bible Weekend is a listener-supported production of Open the Bible.

At Open the Bible, we're grateful for like-minded organizations committed to sharing the gospel around the world. And to that end, I'd like to commend the work of Global Fingerprints. You know, in the book of James, God calls us to help orphans in their distress. That's a clear command, but it's not always clear how we should obey it.

And this is where Global Fingerprints comes in. Through Global Fingerprints, you can sponsor a vulnerable child to help meet their physical needs and ensure they hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. I want to commend Global Fingerprints to you. They're focused on equipping the local church to care for children. And where there is no church, they help to plant one.

If you'd like to help a vulnerable child, you can find more information on Global Fingerprints at our website, openthebible.org/gf. That's openthebible.org/gf.