Deuteronomy 6:1-9
One of the senior leaders in my department at work
shared his family tradition for the new year with
us.
Every family member writes down some things that
didn’t go as they hoped/planned for the current
year. They read it out loud, then they throw the
paper in the fire symbolizing a fresh start for the
new year. Then they speak their goals for the
upcoming year out loud.
A popular question for the beginning of the new
year is what do you want to accomplish in the new
year? What are your financial, personal, spiritual or
health goals for 2026?
What did you not accomplish in 2025 that you
would like to correct this year?
Although these are all fine things to consider, this year I
thought I would share some Scripture that highlights
what God wants from you.
What if we started off every year asking God what He
wants from us in the new year? Better yet, what if we
start off every day asking God what He wants from us?
Let’s pray and ask God to speak through His word today.
Deuteronomy 6:1-9
Although these verses are likely very familiar to you, God
showed me 8 things He wants from His children as I
studied them.
Before we get into the first one, I want to remind you
that the things we are about to discuss are not things
that help us to earn God’s approval. These 8 truths
should be our response to God because of His great love
and kindness towards us. Remember we are saved by
grace through faith, not by our works.
First,
God wants our Obedience
This one really sounds like a contradiction to what I just
got finished telling you doesn’t it?
In the OT, God gave Israel the law to point out their sin.
He required their complete obedience to the law for them
to be saved. But God knew that they would not be able to
fully comply with the 10 commandments, so He created a
system of covering sin by the sacrifice of animals.
The phrase “that you may do them” in verse 1 refers to
the commands that God gave Moses to give to the
people.
He wanted their obedience.
And He still wants our obedience today.
It’s frustrating when I hear people today abusing God’s
grace by refusing to obey His commands. They say things
like God has to forgive me, that’s just how He works.
If we have truly been saved then we will want to please
God and obey His commandments. Our sin will grieve us
as it grieves God.
As Paul wrote in Romans 6, are we to continue in sin that
grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died
to sin still live in it?
Second,
God wants our Reverence
Verse 2 says “that you may fear the Lord your God”
The Hebrew word translated fear is the word yare.
Piper says the word “means to honor and reverence God
to such a point that a person worships Him.”
Yare is also a combination of a sense of threat to one’s
life with a sense of deep respect.
I remember when I met my future father in law. I was
very intimidated by him. But the more I got to know him
the more I understood his love for his family and for the
Lord.
It’s the same way with our heavenly father. The more we
get to know Him the more we will have a deep respect
and fear of Him. – Yes He can take us out any time He
decides to, but He loves us and wants us to respect Him
and give Him reverence.
Third,
God wants our Longevity
In verse 2 Moses told the people “that your days may be
long.”
God wanted Israel to dwell in the land and to live a long
productive life. The way for that to happen was for them
to obey God. Remember the 5th commandment – honor
your father and mother – it comes with a promise. That
your days may be long.
God’s covenant is for Israel to become a stable
productive society.
Fourth,
God wants us to Receive His Promises
God promised Abraham that He would make him a great
nation and his children would be as numerous as the
sand of the seashore and the stars in the sky.
God also promised that Israel would enter the promised
land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
He wanted them to enjoy His blessing and receive His
promise.
Even though God would give the land to Israel, He
wanted them to obey Him.
We all have suffered the consequences of disobedience.
Israel suffered that many times.
God gives us a promise of eternal life. We have an
inheritance in the kingdom of God.
Fifth,
God wants us to Not have Other gods
The first commandment is to have no other gods before
the one true God.
He loves us so much. He wants us to put Him first in our
life. And He is a jealous God.
Verse 4 highlights the fact that God is the one true living
God. All the other gods of the polytheistic nations that
Israel will be occupying are worthless, created by men.
God wants His children to hear Him and obey Him.
The Hebrew word Shema means not only to hear, but to
hear as to do.
Sixth,
God wants our Love
Verse 5 and 6 describes the depth of how we should love
God.
God wants a relationship with us. Moses is telling the
nation of Israel that they should love God with their
entire being.
When the scribe asked Jesus what the greatest
commandment was, Jesus responded by quoting the
shema in Deuteronomy 6.
Love is not just a word, it is an action.
We love God in response to His great love towards us.
I John 4 tells us “In this is love, not that we have loved
God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the
propitiation for our sins.”
It goes on to say that if God loved us that much we ought
to love one another.
Only after we get our relationship with God straight can
we love others in the way they should be loved.
Seventh,
God wants us to Practice Discipleship
In verse 7, Moses writes about teaching God’s commands
to their children. He says it should be done diligently and
all the time. Moses describes sitting in the house, walking
by the way, lying down and getting up.
We should be having spiritual conversations with one
another daily.
Discipleship is something that happens gradually and
consistently.
Where does discipleship happen?
In the home it happens wherever and whenever you are
together. It happens in the car, at the dinner table, in the
yard, wherever you are together that is where it
happens.
In the church it happens in places like Sunday school and
Sunday night bible studies and Wednesday night prayer
meetings. It can also happen in other places when church
members get together for meals or to pray and talk with
each other.
Eighth,
God wants us to Remember His Word
Moses tells Israel to bind the commandments to their
hands and on their foreheads. He also tells them to write
them on the doorposts of their house. These were
specific practices that would remind Jews of the
wonderful promises of God and His commandments.
Having them front and center serves as a visual reminder
that they should obey God.
Although we might not do the exact same thing as the
Jews in the days of Moses did, we can still practice
memorizing and meditating on God’s word.
Some people write Scriptures on note cards and attach
them on mirrors or on bedside tables to keep them
visible. It’s a good way to hide the word of God in your
heart. David wrote, I will hide your word in my heart that
I might not sin against you.
APPLICATION
What God wants from us is a relationship.
Deepen Our Relationship With God
Each of these 8 things God wants from us revolve around
our relationship with Him. He already knows us better
than we know ourselves. He wants us to get to know Him
better and better each and every day. How do you get to
know someone? By spending time with them.
Spending time with God can be defined as prayer, Bible
study, worship and listening to the preaching of the word.
How are you going to deepen your relationship with your
heavenly father?