The World Needs Better Coaches

June 19, 2016                   NOTES NOT EDITED

The World Needs Better Coaches

Deuteronomy 6:1-10

SIS:      Men need to become godly leaders in our homes and our world.

NOTE:  This message still applies to you even if you do not have children of your own or if your children are grown. Or, if you are a single Mom. It also applies to “future fathers.” Men—all men—must demonstrate godliness to the next generation—all children—if our nation has any hope of seeing a revival spread through our land.  It’s time re-establish a new generation of “Founding Fathers” for our nation who have solid, biblical values.

One of the great coaches in American history was  Chuck Noll, the beloved coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who died at the age of 82.  He coached behind the Steel Curtain from 1969 to 1991 (23 seasons) and turned the Steelers into a football powerhouse.  Prior to Chuck Noll’s entry into the Steeler locker room, the Steelers had not won a title in 40 years.  Under Noll, they collected four Super Bowl rings, the most of any coach.  Noll defines what it means to be a “great coach.”

But, Noll was not the greatest coach I’ve ever known.  That title goes to a man I had the pleasure to be coached by for about 11 seasons of little league baseball in Moundsville, WV.  Little League in Moundsville rivals in excitement anything you would see in sports.  It was almost a religion.

I began my Little League career with the "Greatest Coach of All Time" -- my Dad.  My Dad had been a semi-pro baseball player but gave up the pursuit of playing in the Big Leagues to marry his high school sweetheart -- my mom. 

Throughout my life I have been continually amazed at how great a coach my Dad really was.  And, I don’t mean just coaching baseball skills.  From my father I learned much more than how to hit a ball, field a grounder or slide into a base.  Years ago I wrote a poem in honor of my Dad and how as my life-time coach he laid the foundation for any success I've had in life.  I’m not much of a poet, but this captures the essence of what a real coach really does.  This poem honors my Dad, and all those dads who have and are "coaching their children to love God and others through service to the Lord Jesus Christ."

Dad was my coach.

He taught me how to face a curve-ball pitcher;

But more than that,

He taught me how to face the curves life throws at you.

Dad was my coach.

He taught me to run the bases with speed and agility.

But more than that,

He taught me how to run the race of life with diligence and integrity.

Dad was my coach. 

He taught me the art of stealing bases,

But more than that,

He taught me that lying, cheating, and stealing were wrong.

Dad was my coach.

He taught me how to catch a fly ball.

But more than that,

He taught me how to catch a vision for what I could become in life.

Dad was my coach,

He taught me the fundamentals of the game.

But more than that,

He taught me the fundamentals of living.

Dad was my coach—But, he was more than that!

Great coaches produce great teams–whether it be baseball, basketball, football, swimming, hockey, or whatever sport you choose.  Great coaches produce great teams.  But, the greatest coach of all is the father that guides his family to spiritual victory.

The key to America’s future is the traditional family,

and the key to the traditional family is — DAD!

The Bible shows us how men can be better coaches:

(Deu 6:1-9)  “This is the command—the statutes and ordinances—the Lord your God has instructed me to teach you, so that you may follow them in the land you are about to enter and possess.  ² Do this so that you may fear  the Lord your God  all the days of your life  by keeping all His statutes and commands I am giving you, your son, and your grandson, and so that you may have a long life.  ³ Listen, Israel, and be careful to follow them, so that you may prosper and multiply greatly, because Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has promised you a land flowing with milk and honey. ⁴ “Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One.  ^{d 5} Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.  ⁶ These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart.  ⁷ Repeat them to your children.  Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol  on your forehead.  ^{j 9} Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

This is the most sacred portion of Scripture for the Jews–especially, verse 4.  It is called the Shema[h], derived from the first word of verse 4, “shema,” meaning to “hear.”  Oh, how we need to hear the message of this text.  Our very survival depends upon it.

The implications of our text our clear. Israel’s future depended upon their understanding and application of God’s Word.  As the nation stands on the edge of the Promised Land, Moses reminds them that success or failure depended upon their obedience to the “words of God’s Law.”  The key to the success of any family or nation is to discover and obey the truths of God’s Word.

In fact, that is the “Hebrew title” of this book of the Bible, “These are the words.”

Americas future depends on Christ-centered, Biblically-based families living, loving, and serving together through God’s church.

It is clear that the focus must be the family. Not the church, not the government–but the family.

Notice verses 6-9 again:

  (Deu 6:6-9)  ⁶ These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart.  ⁷ Repeat them to your children.  Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol  on your forehead.  ^{j 9} Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

The Jews took this passage very seriously, and

quite literally. [SHOW SLIDE] Orthodox Jews, even today, will wear phylacteries.  Phylacteries are small boxes that hold the Shema, and a few other verses.  They literally tie them on their hands and feet.  It is not uncommon to find Scripture verses on the doorposts of a Jewish home.  The Scriptures are a central fixture in an Orthodox Jewish home.  The home was the center of religious training in Israel, not the Temple.

Over and over again, I have heard fathers say: “Well, I raised them in church.” God never asked us to “raise our kids in church, but to raise our kids at home!” 

America needs better coaches in the home.

The Bible clearly shows us in this text what the key to a successful family is—an obedient father providing for the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of his family.

1.  First, A great father gives his family DIRECTION (v 1)

(Deu 6:1)  “This is the command—the statutes and ordinances—the Lord your God has instructed me to teach you, so that you may follow them in the land you are about to enter and possess.

This was a new day in the life of Israel. God knew they needed “direction” as they passed into a new phase.  They had never been this way before.  They needed a “guide.”

Fathers, your children need your direction if they are going to “cross over into an unknown land of adulthood.” Our children have never been adults, and they need Dad to point the way. Before you can provide direction for the family, you have to discover the way yourself.  If you are not first living according to verse 5:

(Deu 6:5)   Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

There is little chance your family will ever discover the abundant living of the Promised Land.

You give your family direction, by providing them an example—a leader—to follow. Love for God is more easily caught, than taught!

Once you know the way, you can provide for another need that all families have:

2.  Families need INSTRUCTION (6:6-7)

(Deu 6:6-7)  ⁶ These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart.  ⁷ Repeat them to your children.  Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Children need boundaries.  Children especially need “religious boundaries.”  I’ve heard parents say, “I’m not going to force religion on my children.  I’m going to wait until they are old enough to decide for themselves.”

This is absolutely nonsense. Do you say, “I’m not going keep them playing in the street.  I’m going to let them decide when they are older if playing in traffic is something they want to do.”  Our children will be physically, emotionally, and spiritually endangered if we do not give them the instruction they need in life.  A child’s success as an adult is greatly affected by the instruction he or she receives when they are young.

(Prov 22:6)  ⁶ Teach a youth about the way he should go;

even when he is old he will not depart from it.

I like what a good friend o shared with me.  “If we do not NIP it in the bud when our children are young, we’ll have to use a chain saw to clear the brush when they are older!”

Don’t wait until you need a chain-saw to clear the rubbage from your child’s life, Begin their instruction early. Children need to begin to learn the Scriptures from the time they are in the cradle.  Immerse your home in Christian teaching.

3.  Children need PROTECTION (7:1-6)

Someone said wisely, "I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection." (Sigmund Freud). We need to read ahead to see another need a child has that a Father can meet.  They need protection.

(Deu 7:1-6)  When the Lord your God brings you into the land  you are entering to possess,  and He drives out many nations before you—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations  more numerous and powerful than you — ² and when the Lord your God delivers them over to you and you defeat them, you must completely destroy  them. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy.  ³ Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,  ⁴ because they will turn your sons away from Me to worship other gods.  Then the Lord’s anger will burn against you,  and He will swiftly destroy you. ⁵ Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles,  and burn up their carved images. ⁶ For you are a holy people  belonging to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be His own possession  out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.

A child has the right to expect certain things from the father: food, clothing, and shelter are the “big three.” But, they need much more than physical shelter.

The world is not a safe place for kids.  They need protection--not just protection from the cold of the world, but from a world that can harsh, bitter, and frightening.  A world that will devour your children if you do not protect them from its hazards.

Young children, like baby birds, need your protection from the hazards of life.

           

4.  Children also need CORRECTION

Kids will be kids–you can count on it! You can direct your kids, instruct your kids, and protect your kids, but sooner or later you must correct your kids!  The Bible is very clear (Proverbs 13:24)

²⁴ The one who will not use the rod hates his son,

but the one who loves him disciplines him diligently.

PLEASE DO NOT HEAR WHAT I AM NOT SAYING . . . These verses is not a license to “beat the daylights out of your children.”Correction must NEVER—THAT IS NEVER–be associated with anger.

A firm hand and a hard heart make a terrible and volatile combination.  Be firm, but gentle. Make sure you send the right message when you correct your children.  I read recently about a little boy in the second grade who was complaining to a classmate.  Billy confided in his friend, “Tommy, I’m going crazy at home!  If I make noise, they spank me, and if I’m quiet, they take my temperature!”

Children need correction—but make sure you send the right message.

I’ve save the best for last. No coach ever attains greatness without a passion for his players. A great DAD must give his kids direction, instruction, protection, and correction, But, above all, great Dad’s give their wife and kids

5.  AFFECTION (1Cor 13:8)

“Love NEVER fails.” . . . PERIOD!

What is the number one complaint when I talk to wives about their husbands, or children about their fathers in a counseling session?  It is probably not what you think.  The number one complaint isn’t that “dad is too hard on us!”  Children of even the most domineering father can accept his rules and regulations.  The number one problem is not that “dad is selfish.”  Most children I’ve talked to have as much as they want or have learned to live with what they have.  The number one problem isn’t “dad does not love me.”  Most wives I’ve met and children I’ve talked to say, “I know Dad loves me.”  The number one complaint about husbands and fathers–men–, is, “Dad does not express his love.”

Many children grow up and leave the nest without ever hearing their father say, “I love you!”  Wives and children need to hear those words, backed up by a man’s actions—“I love you!”  Dad, your home needs your affection.  You may fail at many things, but if you do not fail at giving your family your affection—you will coach a winning team.  Above all—your family needs your affection.

A coach is any person who gets a child from where they are to where God wants them to be – a coach is a vehicle.  To do this, adults—especially fathers—need to provide direction, instruction, protection, correction and affection.  These are the characteristics of a great coach.

A few years ago two rival high school football teams were locked in combat in the final champion-ship game.  Each team’s reputation was on the line.  The home team was backed up to its own 3 yard lines with time running out.   The score was tied.  On the next play, the first string quarterback was sacked at the line of scrimmage.  Worse yet, his ankle was sprained.  The second string quarterback was out with the flu.  The coach had no choice but to play a freshman quarterback who had never been in a high school game.  The coach hoped that he could keep the game tied, and the first string quarterback could go back in the game during overtime, and save the home team’s reputation.  He sent the rookie into the game with explicit instructions.  The coach said, “Run 22-e twice, and then punt.”  The coach did not want to take the chance of giving the other team the ball with time left for a possible score.  So, in goes the rookie.  He calls “22-e.”  The team runs the play and to the surprise of everyone they gained 45 yards.  They were now on the 48 yard line.  In the huddle, the rookie quarterback follows his coaches orders and calls 22-e.  This time the team gains 49 yards.  It is last down.  One second remains on the timer.  They are on the 3 yard line.  This would be their last play.  The rookie follows orders.  He takes the snap, drops back, and punts the ball into the end zone.  The game ends in a tie.  The team will go on to lose in overtime.

When the rookie comes off the field after punting from the 3 yard line, the coach is red with rage.  The rookie could not understand it.  He followed the coaches orders to the letter.  Barely able to talk the coach stammers, “Son, what in the world was going through your mind on that last play?”  The rookie quarterback answered, “The only thing going through my mind was, ‘man do we ever have a dumb coach!”

America has a coaching problem. We need men who will give their families the direction, protection, correction, and affection that they need to be physically, emotionally, and spiritually successful in the game of life. 

We all complain about the state of affairs in our nation—taxes are too high, the character of our politicians are too low.  Crime is going through the roof and character is in the gutter.  We vote for change, and nothing ever changes.  Why?  Because government isn’t the problem.  The issue at the core is NOT that we need better politicians in government but that we need godly coaches in the home!  My Dad was far from perfect, but he was a man of courage, character, and commitment to his family. Sadly, it wasn’t until after I had grown that Dad recommitted his life to the Lord.  Though my Dad was not a perfect father by any stretch of the imagination, he did point me in the right direction and coach me into a position to which I could be successful in life.

The best definition for a coach I found on Wikipedia:   "Etymologically, the English term “coach” is derived from a medium of transport that traces its origins to the Hungarian word kocsi meaning “carriage” that was named after the village where it was first made.[1] The first use of the term coaching to mean an instructor or trainer arose around 1830 in Oxford University slang for a tutor who "carries" a student through an exam.[2] Coaching thus has been used in language to describe the process used to transport people from where they are, to where they want to be.""

I would change it just a little bit:  Coaching is “the process used to transport people from where they are, to where God wants them to be.”

Put me in coach . . . I’m ready to play!

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