My family gets to see it - P2

Amen.

Boy, great worship this morning.

Great worship.

It really was.

Well, I want you to turn with me this morning to Deuteronomy chapter 6.

Deuteronomy 6 · chapter mention

As we're wrapping up this series, I know where are we going next, Pastor?

Well, tell you where we're going.

Heaven is a beautiful place.

So the next series is going to be on heaven.

A lot of us in the year 2020 had some good friends, relatives, hey, that are now in heaven.

And I got to thinking about that.

You know, we talk a lot about heaven, but we really don't know a lot about heaven.

So this next series is going to be exciting.

Four to six weeks.

And then we'll be getting ready to go into Easter and hopefully into the new building.

Can I get an amen?

I'm so excited about that.

I really am.

And uh, but I promise you, we're gonna ask questions that you've always thought about, about heaven, and I'm gonna try to answer them scripturally.

I'll not try to, should I say, add to or take away, but I'm telling you, I just finished a couple of books on heaven, and they, some of the insight is just fantastic.

And uh I've been reading, I tell uh, in fact, take your Google and just look up the word heaven, and just this amazing all that's out there on heaven.

But yet, we talk about it, we believe in it, but we do not, you know, there's two subjects that's not preached on a lot.

One heaven, and the other, hell.

They mentioned, they're mentioned, but they're not taught on enough.

Enough.

So, a beautiful place called heaven is where we're going next.

But in Deuteronomy chapter 6, and we've been looking at, and I think as uh Adam said, everyone has uh uh outline, and what we've done now you have my outline on the front, but then you got a place for notes on the back, because a lot of times I turn my outline in, usually uh no later than Tuesday night.

Deuteronomy 6 · chapter mention

So that means I spend a lot of time in study on Monday and Tuesday, but I also spend a lot of time on studying on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and even Saturday morning.

So God gives me a lot of truths and principles uh that are that you can add on the back as I teach you.

So again, I hope you appreciate, you know, being a seminary dean of a seminary and teaching uh pastoral students for almost 22 years.

I love to teach the word.

I really do.

But today, if you don't remember anything else, the title of the message will get your attention.

And many of you that are watching online, thank you.

Uh yesterday I did my uh, I call it Word for the Week.

I do it on Saturday mornings.

Um and uh last week we had almost 500 that should I say viewed it since you know yesterday.

Well, today almost 400.

And I used, I used a part of this message today on parroting by the book.

Last week, if you recall, we looked at, in fact, I still have my outline right here.

God's gonna do it again, and my family gets to see it.

And we did an overview of all that God wants our families to be.

And we talked about our relationships which were fantastic.

In Colossians 3, our relationship with God, our relationship with our husbands and wives, our relationship with our children, our relationship with our friends, and how important it was a spirit-filled Christian to have those right relationships.

But today I told you we wanted to look at parenting.

Can I ask you something?

How many of you have raised children or are raising children right now?

Raise your hand.

That's almost a whole bunch.

Can I ask you a question?

Let me ask you a question.

Is parenting easy?

Let me ask you that again.

If it's as tough and as rough as mine was, you can be a little bit louder.

Is parenting easy?

It's hard work.

So today, Deuteronomy chapter 6, we read verses 1 through 9 last week and part one.

Deuteronomy 6 · chapter mention

And by the way, if you didn't see part one, you gotta get part one because they fit so well together.

But today I want us to look at one of the most important areas of all.

And then you know what that is?

Raising children in God's will and for God's glory.

You know, you can raise a child in the wrong direction.

Amen?

Or owe me.

Oh me.

Or you can raise a child in the right direction.

In fact, one of the greatest application examples that I found in my research was some of you younger folks or children, and by the way, it's good to have the kids with us, the older kids today that are normally in children's church, because we want them to be in church with us every once in a while on the fifth Sunday.

And it could not have picked a better time for them to be right here as I bring the message today on parity.

Now they get to hear the same message that the parents are going to hear.

All right?

Hey, kids, say amen.

All right, that's good.

Here we go.

All right.

But George W.

Bush, you remember him when he was president?

He was a one-term president, but he was a eight-year, a two-term vice president.

Listen to what he said.

Former president George H.W.

Bush was asked this question.

What is your greatest accomplishment in life?

What is your greatest accomplishment in life?

Are you ready?

President Bush could have mentioned his success in World War II as a Navy pilot.

He might have brought to mind his success as a vice president for eight years, or under Ronald Reagan, or he might have mentioned his own success in his own presidency, but also, most people don't know this, his success as the director of the CIA.

Also, he was an ambassador to China.

Or he could have, hey, bragged about his success during Operation Desert Storm during that war.

But listen to his answer.

Boy, this is powerful.

President Bush revealed his heart as well as his priorities.

And here's what he said.

My greatest accomplishment is that my children still come to see me.

They still come to see me.

Wow, what a statement.

When everything else in life is weighed and considered in light of importance, there is no greater ministry that is given to you and me as parents as raising our children in a godly manner, in a godly fashion, and in God's will.

No greater ministry, no greater accomplishment.

Apparently, Mr.

Bush had done right by his children.

They responded to his investment in their lives and they will remain, watch this, a legacy to the life that he lived.

Do you realize?

Now listen to me.

When we go on to be with the Lord, when our time's up on earth, we leave a legacy.

That legacy can be good, that legacy can be bad.

But we live a legacy.

And in fact, Revelation 14, chapter 14, verse 13 says that when the dead die in Christ, their works do follow after them.

And you know how that takes place?

By the way we raise our children, our grandchildren.

It's very important.

In fact, the Bible is clear when it reminds us that children, and it may be up on the overhead, precious gift from God.

Listen to what it says in Psalms 127, verses 3 through 5.

Psalms 127:3–5

This is so important.

Put a star by these verses.

Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

It is a reward from God to have children.

As arrows are in the hands of a mighty man, so are children of the youth.

Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them.

They shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

In other words, their children, their family, their lives, their work will be a living testimony to the world, to the community of what God can do with a family.

Do you realize our family is the greatest testimony we have to present to the world?

It really is.

It's where the rubber, as my granddaddy used to say, meets the road.

For too often, children are seen as inconvenience and a nuisance.

I've thought that sometimes.

We all have.

But we must remember that our children have been placed in our lives for just a few short years.

You know, I was thinking about this the other day when I found out that my oldest daughter's six and a half twins in April.

I thought to myself, I immediately reflected back that when she was a little bitty girl, driving around in a pink Barbie car.

Remember that car, honey?

And Stephanie, when I said something to Stephanie about that car, she said, yeah, and Mary never let me drive it.

Well, I said, at least you got to ride in it.

Be thankful.

Oh, Daddy.

But I really believe in my own heart that our children have been given to us, that we might help them to mature into the adults.

Now, listen, write this down.

Our children have been given to us so that we as parents can help bring them up and help them mature into what God wants them to be.

Now, did you hear me say what God wants them to be, not what we want them to be?

Big difference.

And we're going to look at that.

Three things today that are going to be a blessing about parents.

One, parents must live right.

Two, parents must love right, and then three, parrots learn right.

So let's get to work.

It's going to be good.

Verses one through three in Deuteronomy chapter six.

Now, these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments which the Lord your God commanded to teach you that you might do them in the land where you go to possess.

In other words, God wants you right where you are, right where he's planted you.

In Chelsea, Westover, Harpers, with the whole 15-mile radius here.

God has planted us here.

And here's what he wants us to do.

Hey, I love it.

That thou mightst fear the Lord, thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I commend thee.

And thou and thy son and thy son's son.

There's the three generations.

Remember the chairs we had up here?

Commitment, compromise, confusion last week?

Days of thy life, and that thy days may be prolonged.

Oh, in other words, you're going to live a longer life.

Hear, therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it, that ye may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mindily, as the Lord God of thy fathers has promised thee in the land that's flowing with milk and honey.

All I see there is a beautiful, unbelievable, successful family and life for you and me when we do it God's way.

Powerful.

In fact, let's look at it.

It's unbelievable.

Successful parenting always begins with a parent's relationship with God.

Listen to me, online.

If you do not have a, I'm not just talking about uh you know God, but if you don't have a relationship with God, listen, you're missing it.

And you can't be the parent you need to be to, hey, transfer and influence that godly walk with God if you don't have it yourself.

Can I get an O me or amen?

It's so important.

It really is.

In fact, parents must be walking in the right relationship before the Lord, or they will have no influence for the Lord.

Let me repeat that.

You might want to write that down.

If you're not walking in a right relationship with the Lord, you'll have no influence for the Lord.

Vitally important.

And that's what God's word teaches us.

In other words, you and I will never be able to lead our children, now listen, somewhere we've never been.

How can we lead our children somewhere we've never been?

Won't work.

Can't happen.

So with that said, look at these two powerful points in these three verses.

Number one, A, he speaks about reverence.

Look at verse 2.

That we should fear the Lord, that is, with, hey, that is, we are to walk with awareness of his glory, his holiness, and his majesty.

A parent's primary responsibility is to walk in the fear of the Lord.

Now, what does that mean?

What does the fear of the Lord mean?

It means reverence.

But what does that mean?

Here's a great verse.

Ecclesiastes, when Solomon comes to the end of writing the book of Ecclesiastes in chapter 12, he writes these words.

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter.

Fear God.

Okay?

Now he says, Fear God.

So what does that mean?

Listen to what else he says.

Fear God and keep his commandments.

Now watch.

He doesn't stop there either.

For this is the whole duty of man.

Wow.

So what does it mean when we look at this verse and it says, Reverence God?

We are to bring our lives under God's lordship.

We're to bring our, hey, everything that we do under God's guidance.

In fact, let me tell you, put this down.

Here it is.

It's Romans 12, 1 and 2 in the New Testament.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, which is you reasonable service.

Now watch.

Be not conformed to the world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.

And how do you do that?

Through the word of God, that ye may prove what?

What that is good, a and perfect will of God.

That is what we do to bring our children up so that they will have a hunger for the will of God in their lives.

They've got to see it in us.

When you walk around talking about the Lord all day, you say, Well, now I can't do that.

Oh, yes, you can.

You can if it's in you.

Hey, what, hey, you get the can't help us.

I can't help but speak the things that I've seen and heard.

Acts 4.20.

In fact, when we get to verse 7, and you're going to see this in a minute, teach them what?

Diligently.

And we're going to look at that word, what that means.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves because it's so important.

So, a godly parent places the Lord's will above all other considerations, realizing that the fear of the Lord is the first step in wisdom and in proper parity.

Did you hear me?

We understand that the fear of God, that means loving God, living in his word, living his word, teaching our children his word is the first step to, hey, effective and successful parity.

Family devotions, memorizing scripture.

That's why I love Iwana.

We come alongside you, parents, to help get the word of God in your children.

It's so important.

Papa used to teach me garbage in, garbage out, godliness in, godliness out.

You get the word in them.

Thy word, if I hit in my heart, say it with me.

You know it, that I might what?

Not sin against thee.

It works, folks.

Number two, he speaks about reactions.

When we fear the Lord as we should, we will obey his word.

If you love me, keep my commandments.

John 14, 15.

There is no better witness to our children than the sure knowledge that mom and dad take the Bible seriously.

You know how your kids know you love the Word of God?

When you sit down with them and you have a family devotion with them, you take them to church, you show them that church is important, Sunday school, that's the old terminology, but or Bible study is important to them.

Awana is important to them.

You show them the priority, how important it is.

And by the way, you said, but but sports, and I'm not trying to throw condemnation on anyone.

I love sports.

I mean, I really love sports, and that's why we are having soccer.

We're gonna have basketball, we're gonna have softball, baseball, t ball, all that out there so that you can play that, be involved in that, but you're gonna be in church first.

Come to church on Sunday morning, we'll go play Sunday afternoon.

Can I get an amen?

Come to church on Wednesday night, we'll play on Tuesday and Thursday night.

Amen.

But show parents that sports not number one, God's number one.

I know you're looking at all American.

No one loves sports more than me.

I still love sports.

I'll beat you in pickleball.

Even you young guys, come on, bring it.

But that's I but what's first?

What's most important?

God's word is the rule of our home.

This brings me to mind the two great truths.

You ready?

Two great truths.

God's standards are to be our standards.

Say that with me.

God's standards are to be our standards.

Amen.

In fact, he tells us be you doers of the word, not hears only, deceiving your own selves.

Be doers of the word.

They ought to see mom and dad living the word of God in their relationships with each other, mom and dad.

You ought to, you ought to be showing your children how much you love your wife, ladies, how much you love your husband, and you and your wife ought to be, dads ought to be talking about the word.

What God, Susan, all the time, man.

I tell you what, I I'm scared to even talk about the word with Susan.

She's so smart with the word.

This woman can teach a whole chap, a whole book of the Bible in 45 to 50 minutes.

I can't do that.

I have a hard time doing four or five verses in 45 minutes.

But but we're always talking about what God has shown us or what's God teaching you, what God's showing you.

That's so important.

Secondly, your children will often model what they see in your life.

Uh-oh.

They will carry away from our home many of our actions and reactions.

Uh-oh.

Did you hear that?

Our children will carry away when they become adults a model of our actions and our reactions.

I don't know about you.

That's very convicting to me.

Because my actions and my reactions have not been like they should be sometimes.

Hello?

Am I the only one?

I'm raising my hand.

We got, okay, you better get up or I'm going to preach online.

That's better.

That's better.

Amen.

Your children will often model what they see in your life.

Deuteronomy 6.7 says that's the one where to teach them diligently.

And 2 Corinthians 3.2.

Remember what I said?

Paul said, you are our letter written in our hearts, known and read by all men.

All right.

Let me rephrase that.

You and I are our letters written in our children's heart.

And they read what we are.

And remember what I said?

We're writing a what?

A gospel?

A chapter each day by the deeds that we do and the words that we say.

Men read what we write, distorted or true.

What is the gospel according to you, me?

And then see.

Not only does he speak of reverence and reactions, notice he speaks about rewards.

And we see that in verse 10 and 11, but he also we see it in those first verses.

He talks about you will, hey, you will have a long and prosperous life, and your business and your job and your family and your children, they will go on to be successful and prosper.

God promises that, folks, if we do it his way.

That is awesome.

It really is.

God promised Israel in the context here that when they follow his word, he would bless them and reward their lives.

And the same holds true today.

God has promised to bless those who walk in his will and follow his word.

In Psalms chapter 1, verses 1 through 3, children need to see that God will do what he has said he will do when we do not walk in the counsel of the ungodly or stand in the way of the wicked.

Psalms 1:1–3

And what will he do?

Now listen to me.

This is so important.

And I promise you, we did this early in our home, early with our children.

And I wrote these things down.

Here it is.

Here's some questions.

Do your children know that God will bless tithing?

Have you told them that?

Have you taught them that?

Remember the jars?

You gotta take them to Malachi chapter 3, verses 8 through 12.

Malachi 3:8–12

And you know what he says?

He says, How can you rob God?

And then they say, What do you mean through tithes and offerings?

And then he goes on and he says, Because if you tithe and you give God what's rightfully his, I'll open the windows of heaven and I'll pour you out an unbelievable blessing.

And then he goes on and says, and we usually people quit at verse 10, but verse 11 is so powerful in Malachi 3.

And he says, I will rebuke the devourer from you.

In other words, and he goes on and he says, in the context, Satan, he, I'm gonna allow him to destroy your crops.

I won't allow him to destroy all that you are, your work, your family.

I will I will not allow the sickness to take over.

He says, What I will do is bless you to you, the your grandchildren and your great-grandchildren.

Wow.

Why?

Oh, because in your heart and your hey, your obedience, you take a dime out of every dollar and give it back to God.

I'd say that's that's a very inexpensive investment.

Can I get an amen?

It works.

Do your children know that God will bless honesty in a country that says lie?

Are you ready for this?

80 plus percent of people surveyed believe it's okay to lie.

We're in trouble, folks.

Lying lips are abomination unto God.

They will not go unpunished.

Proverbs 12, 22.

But do they see that?

Take them to Philippians 4.

What?

Think of those things that are honest and true and lovely and pure and of virtue and that are of high honor.

This is the verse.

You've got to think on these things, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.

Hey, kids, bring into, hey, your thought process those things that are good, honest, truthful, hey, of good rapport means you're looking out for the other person.

Teach them that.

Live that.

And it's hard sometimes, I understand.

But that's what he's talking about.

And then do your children see serving God as ready for this?

Optional or mandatory?

Now you can tell them what they ought to do.

You can tell them they ought to go to church.

But if you don't go to church, they're not going to go to church.

You can tell them they ought to read the Bible, but if they don't see you reading your Bible, they're not going to read the Bible.

It's what you do.

Your letter written in their hearts.

Known and read by all children.

They see what you do more than they hear what you say.

That's good, preacher.

Are you listening to me?

I know, I know this is tough.

Hey, I've already repented a hundred times.

Man, I I put this message together and say, oh, oh.

Men working on the chain game.

But anyway, that's another thing.

But hey, that was an old, Oldie Goldie song, but some of y'all don't remember that, but that's just me.

All right.

Some of the things I think about.

All right.

They will learn exactly what they observe in your life.

God, write this down.

Say this with me.

God blesses faithful people.

Amen.

God blesses faithful people.

Oh, that's so true.

If you're willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the lamb, but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword.

Joshua 1.8.

Let our children see us serving God is the only way to live, and that obedience to the Lord always pays off.

God's way is the best way.

To raise a religious fanatic is better than a heathen.

Can I get an amen?

The book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that's written there, and then shall I make thy way prosperous, then shall thy have good success.

Woo! God promises you success if you do it his way.

Only place the word success is used.

Unbelievable.

Unbelievable.

I wrote this to me.

You can teach them to honor the Lord.

Hey, you can't teach them to honor the Lord if you don't honor him.

You can't teach them to be faithful if you aren't faithful.

You can't teach them to love the Lord if all you do is encourage them to love the world.

Be not deceived.

God is not mocked.

Whatsoever man soweth, that shall he reap.

He that soweth to the flesh shall reap the flesh.

He that soweth to the spirit shall reap eternal life.

Be not, and then he says, Don't be discouraged when it's tough.

Be not deceived.

Don't be discouraged, because if you endure, you're faithful to win.

Verse 9 in Galatians 6, 7 through 9.

Don't give up.

Number two, parrots must love right.

Verses 4 through 5.

Look at verses 4 and 5.

Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, then thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

Woo! Woo! Man, that's powerful.

Look at what he's saying.

Successful Christian parents, as successful Christian parents, we must have our own relationship with the Lord nailed down.

And how do we do that?

Look at verse 4.

Our love is to be focused on the Lord.

There shall be no other gods in our lives.

Too often children see parents putting everything in the world ahead of God.

I've been guilty of that.

Anybody else?

I'm just telling you from what I know, what I was taught, and what I've done.

When you put the Lord first, are you listening?

I promise you, God would be a liar if He does not help you raise your family in a godly way and watch them be successful.

Did you hear me?

He'd be a liar.

And my God can't lie, Hebrews 6.18.

Can I get an amen?

So listen to how important this is, folks.

Please, listen to me.

It's just unbelievably important that we focus on the Lord.

It may be a job, a hobby, a friend, etc.

All those things I thought that I put before God.

You know what we're doing?

And I wrote this to me.

I said, Pastor, to Pastor Danny.

I am telling my children and grandchildren, if God's not first, but I am telling them by my actions that this thing that I'm involved in comes ahead of our Lord.

If I'm doing stuff when I ought to be in church, when I'm doing stuff when I ought to be studying my Bible, when I'm doing stuff when I ought to be doing something right, and stuff that's not honoring to the Lord.

By the way, let me help you.

Whether you eat or drink, whatsoever you do, you do all to the glory of God.

If what you're doing is not glorifying God, and by the way, you can glorify God in sports, you can glorify in hunting fish, you can glorify God in everything you do.

You really can.

So I'm not trying to give you a bunch, you can't do this, you can't.

I don't like that.

I don't like rules and regulations.

I like a relationship.

You have a relationship with the Lord, rules and regulations take care of themselves.

Amen.

Because you don't want to, hey, you remember before I wore a bracelet before God helped me start Jesus' awesome ministry 25 years ago.

I did a WWJ D.

What would Jesus do?

I wore that bracelet all the time.

Because I started to do something that, and the Holy Spirit said, Don't do it.

Are you sure?

And then I say, Well, yeah, this isn't gonna hurt anybody.

Then I look down there and it'd say, What would Jesus do?

And if I had to hesitate, whether or not Jesus would do it, don't do it.

Because every time I did, I paid.

I paid.

I was chastened.

And I don't like going to the woodshed.

Amen.

That's good, preacher.

B.

Our love is to be fixed on the Lord.

Look at verse 5.

This love for God is to motivate us in every area of our life.

Our love for Him should consume us totally.

You remember the lawyer that asked Jesus, he said, What is the greatest commandment?

Remember what the lawyer said in Matthew 22, 35 through 40?

He said, The greatest commandment is to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy strength, with all thy mind.

And the second is like unto it, that you love your neighbor as yourself, and upon these two commandments you can hang everything else.

Now, watch this.

This is powerful.

When you love God with everything that you are, your relationships will be right.

And when your relationships are right, it just spills out to everyone around you.

Your relationship with your boss is right, your relationship with your employees is right, your relationship with your children's right, your relationship with your wife's or husbands right, because your relationship with God is right.

Amen.

That's it, folks.

You know what you're thinking?

Let me tell you what I was thinking when I'm preaching this.

It seems so easy, but it's so difficult because we're in war and Satan's doing a heck of a good job destroying the family.

He hates a godly family.

Because it's the I'm convinced a godly family is one of the most powerful witnessing tools God has.

And Ephesians 5 bears that out.

Because God, God's family unit is the all the love relationship with that family unit is the same relationship God has with his church.

Now that's good.

Number three, if parents are to love right, parents are to live right, the last thing, verses six through nine, parents are to learn right.

And these words which I command this day shall be in thy heart.

Wow.

They gotta be there.

You can't teach something you don't have.

Now watch, thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shall talk of them when thou lies, when thou sittest in the house, when thou walkest by the way, when thou lies down, and when thou rises up.

Folks, can I say something?

That means in your home, you're talking about the Lord and his word all the time.

Hello?

Okay?

All the time.

All the time.

Two things.

A, we're to study it.

The word is to be taken in, and it is to be allowed to change our lives.

You know what the word of God does?

It changes you.

Can I get an amen?

Say this with me, church.

The word changes me.

It changes me.

When we study it, study to show thyself approved unto God.

The one a verse.

All right, how many of you know this?

I know my, I know my kids know it.

2 Timothy 2, 15.

I want you to quote it with me, kids.

Ready?

It's the one a verse.

Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

You know why we do that?

All scripture is given by the inspiration of God.

It's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness.

You know what that means?

That means, hey, it teaches us what's right, what's not right, how to get right, and how to stay right.

Why?

Verse 17, that the man and woman of God can be totally equipped to do God's work.

So that your children, my children, my grandchildren, will be equipped to fulfill the will of God in their life.

You cannot know the will of God apart from the word of God.

Say that with me, church.

You cannot know the will of God apart from the word of God.

John 17.

You shall know, hey, when you shall know my doctrine, you shall do my will.

My teachings.

And then B, we need to share it.

Look at verse 79.

Share it.

Bind them on the sign upon the hand, and thou shalt be as frontless between thy eyes.

You put them on the door, and thou shalt write them upon the post of the house and on the gates.

You ought to have God's word hanging everywhere.

When you walk in my house, choose you this day, whom you're gonna serve.

For me and my house, we're gonna serve the Lord.

Now, if you got that sign up there, everything people read that, they're gonna be watching what you're doing in there.

You can't have our rated movies on when you say I'm gonna choose God.

Hello.

Won't work.

Real quick.

1 Thessalonians 2.11.

Three things.

Timely advice right here.

There are three ways we're to influence our children.

Listen to what he says in one verse.

Verse 11 and 1 Thessalonians 2.

You know how we exhort and comfort and charge every one of you as a father does his own children.

Verse 12, that you walk worthy of God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

Exhort.

We're to exhort our children.

What does that mean?

To call them alongside of each other.

In other words, to put the kids on your team.

And we do this by consistent loving and living godly in front of them.

If you live one way and try to push them in another, you'll fail.

Huh.

Suzanne Wesley, and I'm going to end at the end of the message with what she did, but she made this statement.

The problem with most children is that it is that they turn out just like their parents.

Mercy.

That's right.

That's exactly what I thought.

Oh, mercy, help me.

Oh, God, help me.

That's powerful.

Number two, comfort.

That's to encourage them.

We are to encourage our children.

We should never tell our children they're no good, they're incapable, they're dummies.

Nothing.

Everything ought to be an encouragement.

Can I get an amen?

Encourage them.

Encourage them.

And then the third word in verse 11, charge.

The word means to call a witness or to protest.

In other words, we are to correct them when they're doing things that are wrong.

Can I get an amen?

Now that's pretty good right there.

That's a message within itself.

Out of that one verse, we're to exhort them, get them on our team by loving them and living godly in front of them.

We're to encourage them to be all that they can be and all that God wants them to be, and then we're to correct them when we have to.

Now, how do we do this?

There are several scriptures, and I'm not going to deal with all of them, but Psalms 139, 13 through 16 is each child is uniquely formed.

Can I get an amen?

We've got a baby shower coming up.

We got a sweet lady from the King's Ranch, and by the way, everyone's invited.

Where's ours?

She's back there probably getting ready.

But but listen, and and uh I don't think we did as good a word of getting a good job of getting a word out, but if, hey, if you don't have to have a gift.

Ours, does everybody know ours?

Y'all ought to know ours.

She preaches to all of us.

Okay.

But you might could go by and put some money in her hand for this sweet lady that's about to have a baby in two weeks.

But do you know what about that baby?

And the babies that are being held back here, the little baby, uh Justin's little baby.

Do you know those babies are formed, uniquely formed, and God already knows all about them?

I meant before they're ever born.

Now that's what Psalms 139 talks about.

And that they are fearfully and wonderfully made.

Can I get an amen?

God already knows, and here's what blew my mind, Rick.

God already knows what his will is for that little child.

That blows my mind.

What a responsibility.

Now it's my job not to try to, hey, try to.

Tell him what God's will is for his life.

My job is to create such a thirst and a hunger for godliness that he'll walk in God's ways, which means he'll find God's will for his life.

That's good.

Most of us try to tell our children what they ought to be and why they ought to be.

And that's not our job.

Our job is to create a thirst for God and love him and live it in front of them.

And then Proverbs 22, 6 answers that.

Now listen to what he says: train up a child in the way he shall go.

Not the way you want him to go, the way he shall go.

If you've got more than one child, both of them are totally different, even though they came out of the same oven.

Amen?

Totally different.

Stephanie's totally different than Mary.

They even look different.

That blows my mind.

I know I was right there.

I actually delivered Stephanie.

One was Cherokee Indian, brown, black hair everywhere, dark eyes, and the other one was blue eyes and blonde.

And her hair stuck straight up.

We called her spike for years, first two years.

Unbelievable.

Unbelievable.

When we talk about training up a child in the way it should go, let me give you this.

Then I'm going to take you to one of the most important parts.

Give me another about less than 10 minutes and we'll.

I can't.

There's so much.

But for you young parents, and for us older parents, it's so important.

Listen to what he says.

Train up a child in the way it should go.

Now, what he was speaking of here, a midwife who would dip her finger in crushed dates, okay?

Back then, sweet dates, to awaken in the newborn infant a desire for milk.

In other words, after that little baby was born, the midwife would take the little dates and put in the mouth.

So the baby would start to suck.

And I got to thinking about that, so I did a little bit more.

What this means is that the training that we give our children should whet their appetites for the things of God.

We should so lead them that they develop a hunger for God and are internally motivated instead of externally motivated.

Woo! Yes! In the way they should go does not mean in the way we think they should go.

All children are like cement.

Listen, all children are like cement.

They are impressionable.

They're impressionable.

We must love them and we also must correct them.

If a parent does not correct their children, then the children would.

Here's what Suzanne Wesley said.

I was reading her book on raising children.

Well, it talks about an article that she had written years ago about raising children.

Here's what she said.

If a parrot does not punish, I say correct, I know we don't like the word beat or punish that the King James used, or discipline their children, then the children will punish them.

Did you hear that?

If we do not correct our children, then the children will punish us.

Wow.

The Bible gives at least six good reasons for children to be disciplined.

Ready?

Correction reduces foolishness.

Foolish is bound in the heart of the child, but the rod of correction drives it far from them.

Two, correction rescues the child from judgment.

Watch.

Proverbs 23, 13 to 14.

Withhold not correction from the child, for if thou correct him with the rod, he shall not die.

Thou shalt, and then it says the King James, beat him with the rod.

The word discipline him with the other versions with the rod, and shall deliver his soul from hell.

Can I tell you something?

My granddaddy took that word beat literally.

He beat the devil out of me.

Correction helps them receive wisdom.

Watch.

The rod and reproof gives wisdom, but a child left to himself brings his mother to shame.

Correction relieves your anxiety.

Can I get an amen?

Proverbs 29, 17, correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest.

Yea, he shall give delight into thy soul.

The fifth thing, correction helps them to reflect God's character.

Hebrews 10.

I mean Hebrews 12, 10, 11.

Now, no chastening seems to be joyful for the present.

Can I get an amen?

But painful, amen.

But nevertheless, now listen afterward, it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Did you hear that?

In other words, loving correction brings a heart to a child for them to yearn to do right, be right, and fulfill God's will, which means they will be fruitful, they will be successful, and you will be happy.

Is that not good?

And then the last one correction reminds them.

Now here's the one you don't understand.

Reminds them of your love.

Proverbs 13, 24, listen to what it said.

One of the most powerful verses in the area of discipline.

Listen, memorize it.

He that spares the rod, you've heard this quote, and you've often wondered, is it biblical?

Yes, it is.

He that spares the rod, hey, hates, that's a strong word, hates his son.

But he that loves him corrects him many times.

Wow.

Suzanne Wesley, who raised seventeen children, including John and Charles Wesley, two fantastic, unbelievable preachers and evangelists, and who's and who most would consider to be somewhat an expert, said this about discipline.

Now she raised seventeen children.

I'd say she knows a little bit, amen.

The parrot that studies to subdue the self-will in his child works together with God in renewing and saving a soul.

The parent who indulges, it does, hey, the parent who indulges, in other words, don't, they don't correct, it does the devil's work, makes salvation unattainable, and does all that in him lies to damn his child, soul, and body forever.

Wow.

God help us.

Powerful truth this morning, parents.

Powerful.

And as I close, God's word is to be such an integral part of our lives that we're to set the right example for our children every day.

Let me close with this.

Woo! Y'all hurting as much as I'm hurting?

For all you young couples.

All you that are about to have children, and you that have these precious kids over here.

Kids, listen to me.

Listen to me.

I love you.

I really do.

And that's why we do correct you when you're doing things you ought not to be doing.

That's why we love you and want you to be faithful to church and Bible study and wana and youth group so that you'll have a hunger for God.

I mean that.

Because you, if you do, listen to me, if you do, I promise you, you'll have the best life you could ever have, and that's the only way you can have that kind of life.

No regrets.

If you want to live a life with no regrets, somebody said that's impossible.

No, it's not.

No, it's not.

Because I stood by David Wilson's bed when he was dying in Houston, Texas.

And he and I had been, we were closer than brothers.

And I asked him, I said, Doc, we called each other Doc.

I said, I gotta know.

If you had it to do all over again, are there any regrets?

He literally looked me in the eye.

I mean, he he lit up.

And he said, Doc, no regrets.

Probably the most godliest man I've ever known.

And my closest ever friend.

I can't say that.

There have been regrets in my life.

But here's the conclusion.

Wherever you are right now, God's a forgiving God.

And God's a restoring God.

And now listen, here's the questions I want to leave with us this morning.

It is easier to build a child than to repair an adult.

Amen.

It really is.

Is that not good?

That's good.

This is tough for me.

Now, how would you feel if your child grew up to be a Christian just like you?

Would you be pleased with that?

Or are there some areas that need the Lord's attention?

If we have made mistakes, and who hasn't?

There is help, forgiveness, and renewal in the Lord.

Some parents actually need to apologize to their children for living contradictory lies before them.

And let me just say this: any time that I blew it with my kids, I did make it right and asked them to forgive me.

And I have done that several times.

Any change must begin with the Lord, mom and dad's.

Is everything right in your relationship with the Lord?

Is everything alright in your relationship with each other, your mate?

And then is everything alright with your relationship with your children?

If there are needs, please bring them to Jesus.

Amen.

You say, preacher, that that was tough.

Yes, but it's the truth.

Come on, church, it's the truth.

And you shall know the truth.

And the truth shall set you free.

Now listen to me.

Here's my gifts of encouragement.

Couples, listen to me.

You got a chance right now to say, Lord, forgive me for all the stuff you shouldn't be doing or you've been doing.

Hey, here's the exciting thing.

1 John 1.9, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness and put those sins into the deepest part of the sea and hang a sign that says, no fishing.

It's over.

As far as the east is from the west.

So you make it right.

And then ask the Lord to help you.

Choose you this day.

But today, watching online, I'm gonna serve the Lord.

Me and my house, we're gonna serve the Lord.

And let me tell you something.

I promise you, you'll have a life that you've never had before.

And it'll be joyful.

It'll be happy.

It'll be successful.

Or God's, hey, God would be a liar.

My God can't lie.

Hebrews 6 18.

Titus, he can't lie.

Deuteronomy 24, he can't lie.

Amen.

Every head bowed, every eye closed.