Homemade! Week 2: As for Me and My House We Will Serve the Lord | Proverbs 22:6

Hi, it's Pastor Jonathan, and thanks for downloading the FBC El Daredo Sermon Podcast.

In today's sermon, we continue our series homemade as we look at Proverbs chapter 22, verse 6, as we ask and answer the question It's my dream home, God's dream for my home.

Proverbs 22:6

I hope you find this message both an encouragement and a challenge to your life.

Earlier this year, HGTV gave away their uh 25th dream home.

Think about that.

HGTV gave away a dream home.

Like that's the cable network that's devoted to telling you how to fix up your house, right?

Like a plethora of programming that's about how to improve and how to build your dream home.

Well, they've decided for 25 consecutive years they're gonna give away a dream home.

And this year there were over 130 million entries submitted in hopes of winning this.

If we go to the next slide, this 3,300 square foot home that's located on the coast of Rhode Island.

So it's got these waterfront views, and you can look at the water from this home.

It's got this rooftop deck, an outdoor uh gourmet kitchen, it's got a game room in the basement, it's got this awesome lounge area.

Like that was someone's dream home, and 130 million entries were given.

They wanted to win that home.

Now, listen, living on the coast of Rhode Island may not be your dream.

There may be another place you want to live.

Maybe you want to live in this home.

This home was uh given away in 2019.

It's at the edge of Glacier National Park.

And so out the windows of this dream home, you see the Rocky Mountains and you see Whitefish Lake in Montana.

Now, some of you, your dreams, they don't lead you to the mountains.

They instead they lead you to the beach.

Like, that's where my dreams go.

And you maybe would want to win this home.

It was given away about 10 years ago.

Uh, this dream home is in Key West, Florida.

Of course, not everyone can win that dream home.

There's only one winner every single year.

But that doesn't mean we ever stop dreaming, does it?

We dream of updates and upgrades.

We dream of new kitchens and bigger bathrooms.

We dream of more square feet and a better floor plan.

And we're looking for inspiration for all these plans.

So what do we do?

We watch more HGTV, right?

You watch Chip and Joanna do another fixer upper.

And they provide all this inspiration.

And so then you go to Pinterest and you create a Pinterest board that stores all those pieces of inspiration on how you want to create your dream home.

Eventually, though, you want to see that dream become a reality.

So here's what you do: you plan and you save.

You plan to make those renovations, those updates, those upgrades.

You save to pay for those updates and those upgrades.

But do you ever ask?

Do you ever ask this question?

Is my dream home God's dream for my home?

Is my dream home God's dream for my home?

I'm asking that question, and listen, I'm not suggesting that a home improvement project is bad or sinful.

At our home, we're actually in the final stages of a long-awaited bathroom renovation.

Um, it's gonna make our home more functional for our family.

Or maybe you have an update or an upgrade you want to make, um, and it's gonna be an investment in your home.

So, all of us, we have those lists of projects that we want to complete, and with every project that we complete and we cross off the list, we kind of feel like we are taking one step forward, one step forward towards finally living in our dream home.

So, why ask it?

Why ask that question?

Is my dream home God's dream for my home?

Here's the reason why.

It's because for too many of us, our dreams are just too small.

Our dream is too small if our dream home is nothing more than the perfect combination of a floor plan with the right flooring, with the right furniture, with updated and upgraded fixtures.

Our dream is too small if our dream home simply changes the way that we work and we play and we rest.

Our dream home, our dream, our vision is too small, if that dream home is nothing more than an earthly investment.

Our dream is too small.

If that home doesn't leave a legacy that reaches into eternity.

God has a dream for your home that is bigger than any dream that you can put on a Pinterest board, that you can find inspiration from Chip or Joanna.

Ephesians chapter 3, verse 20 puts it this way: God can do anything, you know, far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams.

Ephesians 3:20

So, what's God's wild dream for your home and my home?

Well, it's a dream I think that's best expressed by a leader in the Old Testament.

His name's Joshua.

And Joshua says this, he says this, he says, As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.

As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.

God's wild dream, God's big dream for your family, listen, has nothing to do with fixtures or a floor plan or flooring.

It has everything just to do with your family.

God's vision, his dream for your home has to do with husbands and wives and sons and daughters, has to do with the people who live within those four walls.

That's God's dream because it's about me and my house.

Serve the Lord.

And since the Lord that we serve is eternal, his dream for your home, it tells us what we're living for and what we must invest in.

We're living for eternity.

We're here to invest in eternity.

Like we are here to live for the sake within the walls of our home of God's eternal kingdom.

Through the way we then spend our money, through the way we treat other people.

We're here to what?

Make an investment in God's eternal kingdom.

So here's how I might express God's dream for my home.

The Kelly family will serve God.

We will live for eternity and invest in eternity.

I think that's God's dream for my home.

And I think if you just replace my last name with your last name, I think that's God's dream for your home too.

And listen, it's a wild dream because it calls us to stand up against the pressures and temptations of our culture.

It's a wild dream because it goes against prevailing opinion.

It's a wild dream because some days it's going to feel improbable, if not impossible, for that dream to become a reality.

But here's the good news, friends.

If God dreamt it, he can fulfill it.

If that's God's plan and vision for your home, he's got the power to make it happen within your home.

His dream can become your reality every single day.

In joyful defiance of the world around us, our homes can say, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

How do we make that dream become a reality?

That's the question, really, for today.

How do we move from the planning stages or the saving stages?

How do we move to seeing it actually come to life?

Something we can move into, something we can live inside of on a daily basis.

Well, you know, the same way you make a plan when you want to have a renovation at your house.

If you want to see God's dream for your home become a reality in your home, you need a plan.

You need to take some first steps.

And that's what we're gonna do today.

We're gonna talk about just a simple plan of how that dream becomes reality.

You know, last week we began our series, homemade, this series where we're talking about uh the role of our homes, our family's home, and our church home in the process of making disciples.

A disciple of Jesus, listen, that is someone who isn't shy about saying, and they are quick to obey and live out those words of Joshua 24, 15.

I will serve the Lord.

Maybe we uh overcomplexify what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.

Maybe a disciple of Jesus is just someone who says, I will serve the Lord.

And they don't only say it, they do it.

I serve the Lord.

And today in week two, we're gonna really hone in on the role that the family home plays in the disciple-making process.

Specifically, we're gonna focus on one relationship within that family home.

The relationship between a parent and their child.

So, moms and dads in the room, if you have children who live under your roof, listen, God's word this morning is going to give you a plan so that within the walls of your home, you can what?

Live for eternity and make an investment in eternity by the way you parent and raise your child so that your child can grow up and say, I will serve the Lord.

Now, listen, there are a lot of people this morning in this room or listening on radio or watching online who you don't have children living under your roof right now.

But God's word still speaks to you on this day.

It could be that the biblical principles we're gonna talk about, um, you can apply them in your relationship with your niece or nephew, or with the child that's in your classroom, or maybe you're in the grandparent stage of life.

Well, these biblical principles they should apply to the way you are a grandparent to your grandchild.

And even these biblical principles, they may guide the way you pray for your children as they parent their own children.

Or this way it can apply, this this message can apply to you.

If you are just um you've been around the sun a few more times than others of us in the room, you have more gray hair, more experience.

Listen, then you are a spiritual mother and father in this church.

You are someone that younger generations look up to.

And while these younger generations may not live in your home, you see them in this church home, and these biblical principles can impact and influence the way you interact with them.

How you have a relationship with those next generation children and even young adults who call First Baptist home.

So let's get to work.

Let's look to God's word so that his dream for your home can become a reality.

One verse this morning, Proverbs 22, verse six.

Start children off on the way they should go.

And even when they are old, they will not turn from it.

With that single verse, God gives a clear purpose to every parent.

Lead your child in the right direction.

Now, in the book of Proverbs, the right direction always leads to two things.

The right direction in Proverbs always leads to first wisdom and second life.

So your purpose, parent, is first to point your child towards God's wisdom and the life he has promised and wants to give them.

But then you take a step forward and you move into the New Testament and you realize that the wisdom and the life that we are to point children to, that it is most fully expressed, most perfectly expressed in the person of Jesus Christ.

Yeah, God in Proverbs 22, verse 6, he gives a purpose to parents.

Proverbs 22:6

And then the direction you're going to is life and wisdom.

And then you look at the New Testament, you realize that life and wisdom is just not out here in space.

It's the face of Jesus Christ.

God's clear purpose for putting a parent in the life of a child is to point that child to Jesus.

I would even say this.

It is the most important role of a parent in the life of their child.

It's more important than, and this is gonna hit some of you hard because of the stage of life you're in.

It's more important than teaching your kid to be potty trained.

I'm gonna point them to Jesus.

Or it's more important than multiplication facts.

It's more important than teaching them how to drive a car.

It's more important than setting them up for future success.

The most important role in the life of a parent is consistently pointing that child to Jesus.

So that one day that child or that teenager or that young adult can say, What?

I serve the Lord.

Parents, for that dream to become a reality, that must be your top priority.

And just imagine this.

Imagine if we pointed our children to Jesus with the same intensity as we tried to get them out of diapers.

Imagine if we pointed our children to Jesus with the same intensity of focus that we gave to teaching our child how to throw and catch a ball or how to shoot a gun.

There are some of us in this room, and we'll say things like, I can't imagine my child never doing X, Y, or Z.

I can't imagine my child uh not having this hobby in their life, not swinging a golf club, not swinging a baseball bat, not knowing how to fish or knowing how to hunt, and none of those things are bad.

But what's happened in our culture is that we care more about those things, especially dads, than we do about pointing our sons and daughters to Jesus Christ.

I care more that we have the same hobby than we have the same Lord.

We can't make homemade disciples if our priorities are out of whack.

We have to point our children to Jesus.

Now, to point a child to Jesus requires us to cherish this fact that every child is unique and different.

A fact that actually isn't lost on Proverbs 22, verse 6, but it's a detail that's forgotten in most of our translations.

Proverbs 22:6

Proverbs 22, 6, if it's most literally translated, it would include the phrase, according to the child's way.

In other words, as you point your child to Jesus, you need to take into account their personality, their passions, their giftings, their interest.

As you point your child to Jesus, you need to take into account those aspects of their being, their personality, their character that God has woven into the very fabric of their soul.

Don't act like your child just came off some assembly line.

And you just need to read one parenting book and it'll lay it all out for you.

Listen.

When you do that, every child has this way of making that parenting book sound like a bunch of garbage.

If you don't account for the way your child is unique and special, you see, if we we truly want our children to not depart from the path, if we want them to find the life and wisdom that is expressed in Jesus Christ, we first need to celebrate the fact that every child in our care is fearfully and wonderfully made by God.

And we want them to learn how to celebrate that their unique person can have a place in God's kingdom.

So every child's unique.

Take that into account as you point them to Jesus, but also.

Listen to this.

Every child shares a common need.

Every child needs a model they can emulate, someone they can follow.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11, these are his children at Corinth.

He says, imitate me as I imitate Christ.

Children need someone to follow.

They need someone to imitate.

They have to have someone to model.

And if parents aren't the model for their children, do you know what children will inevitably do?

They'll find another model.

They will.

They will find someone else to follow if their mom or dad or their spiritual mother or father doesn't step into that space.

In the book Family Discipleship, the authors Matt Chandler and Adam Griffin, they define modeling this way.

Modeling is serving as a godly example for your family, living out your genuine walk with God, and demonstrating true repentance where and when you fall short.

Let's break apart that definition.

Let's look at three key phrases.

Because this, I think, is part of God's plan.

It's a big part of God's plan.

If we're going to see his dream become a reality in our homes, then moms and dads, spiritual mothers and fathers, have to step in the gap and be a model of true faith.

So that first key phrase, the statement, godly example.

Godly example.

That means within the home, moms and dads provide spiritual leadership.

So when it comes to following Jesus and obeying his commands, parents always go first.

Parents always go first.

We have to obey Jesus before we ever expect our children to obey Jesus.

I think that's one point where as parents we already uh divert from God's plan, isn't it?

We view often as parents, as adults, we know better than God, but our kids should obey God.

As a parent, as an adult, I'm more aware of the complexities of life.

I'm more aware that some things God says, they just don't really work out in this world, and that's okay.

But you, my child, obey him always and forever.

That's not spiritual leadership, guys.

Spiritual leadership of moms and dads and spiritual mothers and fathers begins when those who have been entrusted to the care of children say, the level of obedience I expect you to show God in His Word.

I am first going to take that first step and I'm gonna show you what obedience looks like.

I'm gonna go out ahead of you, I'm gonna set the pace.

Listen, that's what begins to create a culture where people can truthfully say, as for me in my house, we will serve the Lord.

And if you want to be a godly example to that younger generation who's been entrusted to our care, you have to ask and answer the question Am I a leader worth following?

Am I a leader worth following?

Second key phrase in that definition: genuine walk.

That phrase it helps us avoid the ditch of a hypocritical life.

A hypocritical life, especially in the context of a parent-child relationship, it will undermine every attempt we make to point a child to Jesus Christ.

If we tell our child to be kind, but more often than not, when they hear us speak, moms and dads, spiritual mothers and fathers, when that child then hears you speak, and without a thought, you're just a jerk to whoever you talk to.

Like you just shoot off insults, you're mean.

Wow, they're like, oh, okay.

I guess it doesn't really matter.

Or in life, you know, we we tell our um kids to be patient, but we always talk about how people are wasting our time.

Or we we tell our children to love their siblings, but we often live our life in this constant state of annoyance with people around us.

And every time our instruction doesn't match our action, it's not simply that we don't point our child to Jesus, we push our child away from Jesus.

We almost like create a force field around him where they cannot see him anymore.

And that pushes them away.

So parents, spiritual mothers and fathers, ask yourself the question Am I walking with the Lord?

Don't be surprised if your child doesn't walk with the Lord if you haven't taken the first step.

Third key phrase.

True repentance.

And that phrase reminds us that a biblical faith is an honest faith.

Here's what I mean: a biblical faith is honest about the fact that you will never be perfect.

You will never be a perfect parent.

I thought I was the only one.

A biblical faith.

Listen, it says you're gonna fail, and you're gonna fail your kids, and you're not gonna have every answer to every question that they ask you.

But what your child needs is not perfect parents.

What the children in our church need are not perfect spiritual mothers and fathers.

They need imperfect people in their life who point them to a perfect heavenly father.

Children in age-appropriate ways need to hear the adults in their life say, I'm sorry, forgive me, I'm a sinner, I didn't obey God in that moment.

Because listen, the kids already know that it's true.

You're not telling them anything they didn't already know.

You're just confirming the facts they've seen.

You know what happens when a parent is honest with their kids on that specific area?

A mom or dad, a spiritual mother or father becomes reliable and relatable.

The child actually believes I can trust them.

They're not lying to me anymore.

I can trust them.

They're like me.

Here's a quote from Paul Tripp.

He says this it never works as a mom or dad to act as if you're more righteous than you are.

The fact of the matter is that your children will get to know the real you.

They will come to see your spiritual and character weaknesses.

And if you deny these, you will embitter your children.

But if you are a parent who quickly confesses wrong to your children, you will endear yourself to them and present yourself as someone who will be approachable when they have failed.

Humble, confessing parents, encourage their children to be humble and confessing too.

And the result is that they have many opportunities.

Pay attention to this phrase, they have many opportunities to talk about the rescuing love of Jesus.

Isn't that what we all want within the four walls of our home?

Are opportunities to talk about the rescuing love of Jesus with the younger generation who's been entrusted to our care?

Opportunities to talk about the gospel of Jesus for families, a family's home and a church home for people to encounter the love of God through Jesus Christ.

You see, God's dream for your home, your family's home, and this church home is built upon the gospel of Jesus Christ.

God's dream for our homes that is a place where the gospel is taught and the gospel is lived.

But parents, before we can see that dream become a reality, we have to ask ourselves the question Am I honest with the Lord?

So, parents, if you want your family home, spiritual mothers and fathers, if you want this church home, if together we want to see God's dream become a reality, then we have to be godly examples.

We have to exhibit a genuine walk.

We have to demonstrate true repentance.

We must model to the younger generation what it means to be a friend and follower of Jesus Christ.

But a word of warning, which is also a word of encouragement.

It isn't a quick fix, there's no magic bullet, it's just a really slow cook.

You know, most of our kitchens, they have one of these appliances in them.

You have a crock pot, you got a slow cooker in your kitchen, right?

As the name suggests, a slow cooker, a crock pot uses low, slow temperatures to cook food.

And the idea of a crock pot of a slow cooker is that at that low, slow temperature, what happens?

Over time, over hours, the food that's inside becomes tender.

And that is the exact principle that applies if we desire to see the younger generations that God has entrusted to our care declare with us, I serve the Lord.

Moms and dads, spiritual mothers and fathers, the lives of children that God has entrusted to us, they require that we apply the consistent heat of the gospel of Jesus Christ to their life every single day.

And we want to be careful that the temperature is not too hot because someone may get burned.

We want to be careful that the temperature is not too low because then their heart will remain hard.

We want that slow, low heat applied to their life so that their heart becomes tender to the voice of Jesus Christ, day by day, week by week, year by year.

And there'll be days and weeks and years when it sure seems that nothing has changed.

No impact has been made, but then suddenly the heart becomes tender.

A heart that is ready to respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ and say, I serve the Lord.

So friends, God's dream for your home is bigger and bolder than you could ever imagine.

And I want to see that dream become a reality in my home.

So that we can truthfully say, we will serve God.

We will live for eternity and invest in eternity.

Can you make that declaration with Joshua?

Are you ready to share in God's dream for your family's home and this church home?

Let's pray together.

If you're a child who lives with your mom or dad, I want you to pray for them right now.

Parenting is hard.

If you have children who live under your roof, I want you to pray for them right now.

Being a child is hard.

If you don't fall into one of those two categories, don't worry.

Pray for a child you know right now.

Pray for a parent that you know right now.

Pray that God's dream would become a reality.

Almighty God, everlasting Father, we thank you for this big wild dream that you want to see spring up out of our homes.

Lord, I pray for parents who are in the first months of the journey of raising children, of pointing that child to Jesus.

Give them strength for the road ahead.

Pray for parents this morning who have children in elementary school.

Help them connect to their child in profound ways so that they can point that child to Jesus.

I pray for parents who are trying to figure out what it means to raise a junior high or a high school kid.

Give them the wisdom that flows from heaven to point that child to Jesus.

And I pray for that parent who has a child, and they're trying to let go of them right now as they grow up.

Sometimes it's hard to let go because it hadn't turned out the way we envisioned.

Encourage that parent.

Remind them of the things they did well.

We pray for that child to come home.

I pray for children as they grow into young adults that truly their faith would be their home.

As they start their own home, one day, they will say, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

I pray this in Christ's name.

Amen.

Let's stand together and respond to God in songs.