What will be your greatest accomplishment for 2018?

Welcome to this week's message from the Church at Chelsea Westover.

Our core values are vibrant worship, intimate fellowship, fulfilling service, and clear biblical truth.

We pray that this message changes your life.

Let's tune in to today's message and see what God has in store for you.

I want you to turn with me this morning before Susan sinks to Deuteronomy chapter 6.

Deuteronomy 6 · chapter mention

And while you're turning, I want to read one verse and I'll use it today.

In Revelation chapter 14, verse 13.

Revelation 14:13

And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, write, blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from henceforth, yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors and their works do follow them.

We're going to be talking about this morning legacy.

We're going to be talking about what's the greatest thing you can accomplish in 2018 in your life out of Deuteronomy chapter six.

But here's the answer when it's all said and done.

What you've done for Christ is what matters.

And my days of life.

When we breathe that last breath, what's all said and done.

You know, we've had the privilege of this year.

I can't help but think about uh yesterday as we came home.

We went by to see Clay and Candy.

Clay lost his father this week.

And they had the funeral yesterday morning at 11 o'clock.

And I had the privilege, we had the privilege of coming by and visiting with them.

And I thought about that legacy.

I'm looking there as I'm sitting in the house, and there's clay.

And then the boys start coming down.

They were all taking a nap.

We woke them up.

And they started coming down.

I think Candy said in the opposite order than the point they were born.

And I thought to myself, there it is.

There's a legacy.

Clay's children, I mean, Clay's dad's children, and his grandchildren.

There they were.

And all of them.

All of them born-again Christians, fervently serving God.

Talking about going, I was talking to Ty and Shane about possibly going to the mission field with their wives.

And I thought to myself, that's what I'm preaching tomorrow.

That's it.

And then we know our own David.

My brother.

My not real brother, but he might as well have been.

We were that close.

Maybe even closer than brothers.

And I look at the legacy with Benji up here.

And having lunch the other day with Brady.

And watching the legacy that we buried their dad last year.

And now watching their legacy begin.

And I thought to myself, that's what I'm talking about.

And then Scott just told me.

Yesterday, Brother John Slager, Brother John, would you stand?

Would you stand for us, please?

90 years old yesterday.

God bless you.

And they have been in fact, Scott's old old carbuff, he has an old Thunderbird.

And uh I met him, actually, Susan met his sister-in-law in a rehabilitation.

She was doing something with her shoulder, and they told me about Scott.

He had just moved here.

I said, give me his number.

I'll contact him, talk to him, take him lunch.

And we met up, and he started coming, I think, the next Sunday and has been here, came for about six months right by himself, very faithfully.

Then brought his dad one Sunday, and I don't think they've hardly missed.

But there's another legacy right there.

90 years old.

Wow.

Wow.

In Deuteronomy chapter six.

The title of the message this morning.

And what a message it is.

What will be your greatest accomplishment in 2018?

And put a dash.

What will be your greatest accomplishment, not just in 2018, but in your life?

When all is said and done.

President Bush was asked.

George Sr.

Bush.

Not George W.

His dad.

Was asked, what is the greatest accomplishment you've ever done?

President Bush might have mentioned his success during World War II as a Navy pilot.

He might have mentioned his eight years as vice president under Ronald Reagan, one of the greatest presidents ever lived.

He might have mentioned his own successful presidency for four years.

He might have mentioned his accomplishments when he was the head, a lot of people don't even know this, when he was the head of the CIA.

He might have mentioned some of his accomplishments when he was the ambassador to China.

He might have even mentioned his success during Operation Desert Storm.

President Bush revealed his heart as well as his priorities when he said, My greatest accomplishment is that my children still come to see me.

Wow.

Wow.

Is that not true?

Or else is, hey, after all else is said and done, and when all the dust settles in our lives, we still have our family to think about.

Apparently, President Bush had done something right.

Because his family not only had accepted his belief system and his convictions, but they had responded to his investments in their lives and will remain a legacy to that man even after he is dead and gone.

So today, what will be our greatest accomplishment in our lives as well as in 2018?

May I remind you that one of the greatest things that we can do is train up children.

You remember on the baby dedication in Psalms 127, verses 3 through 5, we looked at those verses and talking about children being a heritage of the Lord.

Psalms 127:3–5

And training them up so that they will be in tune with what God would have them to do and to be.

And if we are going to train up our children in the way that they shall go so that they will not depart from it, Proverbs 22, verse 6 in 2018, we've got to live what we teach.

Proverbs 22:6

Can I get an amen?

It can't be what I say, it's got to be what I do.

We have to be doers of the word, not hearers only, deceiving our own selves and our children of a false and hey, of a false example.

You know, I was thinking, I was in church service last Sunday at Bayside Baptist Church, and they made this statement this year about the new coming year.

They said there'll be three types of people that come to church at Bayside this year.

I thought to myself, that'll apply at CCW.

There will be three types of people that come to church this year.

Are you ready?

Number one, they will be the faithful.

And most of you are the faithful.

We can count on 200, 230, 40 people here almost every Sunday.

Unless it's you know holidays or an epidemic going on.

I know there's some flu and all going on right now.

But but but I meant the faithful, they're gonna be here.

The second type of people that are gonna be here are the forced.

You drugged the church, that's right.

Hey, you you're like I was when I was living with my grandparents, there was no choice.

You went to church, you're going.

And I, by the way, I believe in that.

My kids knew they were going to church.

If they, hey, if we stayed home from church, my mom forced castor oil down our throats.

I'll go to church any day for I drink that stuff.

You didn't get to go outside, you had to stay in bed and drink castor oil all day long.

I'm going to church.

We need to rain ourselves.

The forest.

But then there's a third group.

And this is the group I want us to really kindle and really add to this year.

Because this is how we go to that next level.

And we're and and we're at a level now that we need to break that 300 and go on up.

And a lot of that has to do with room.

I understand that.

So I so I'm not really worried, to be honest with you, because once you build it, it'll fill it.

But but listen, here's what I'm talking about.

This year, yes, the faithful, because the faithful is where you start if you're really going to become this third type of group of people.

And you know what it is?

You have the faithful, the force, and then you have the fired up.

We want the fired up.

We want the faithful to become fired up.

Because when the faithful gets fired up, it spreads like a wildfire.

And that's what we want to see.

And if the faithful are gonna be fired up, and if the force are gonna become, see, it kind of is like this.

We want the force to become faithful, and we want the faithful to get fired up.

Because when they get fired up, listen, things happen.

And sadly to say, most of the time the fired up come from teenagers.

So, teenagers, we need you.

We need you because you're the ones or the young singles now.

We're seeing a movement in young singles now, like we've never seen before, becoming fired up.

That's exciting.

It's exciting.

So that's what we want to see, and in order for that to take place, there's three things we got to do.

Very simple this morning.

Three things we gotta do.

Number one, by the way, which is one of the greatest things we'll ever do.

And that is we've got to be an influencer.

We've got to influence people, we gotta influence the faithful have to be fired up, and then they gotta influence, hey, the forced and the lost to be saved and to be faithful.

And we do that three ways.

Number one, let's go.

This is gonna be good.

Number one, through right living.

Right living.

In Deuteronomy chapter 6, verses 1 through 3.

Deuteronomy 6:1–3

Now these are the commandments, the statutes and the judgments which the Lord your God commanded to teach you that ye might do them in the land whether ye go to possess it, that thou mayest fear the Lord thy God to keep all his statues and his commandments, which I command thee, and and thy son, here we go, here's the generations, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life, and that the days may be prolonged.

Hear, therefore, O Israel, observe to do it, that it may be, I love this next phrase, well with thee, and that ye may increase mindily, as the Lord God of thy fathers has promised thee in the land that floweth with milk and honey.

Wow.

Basically, he's writing here to the parrots, and he's saying successful parenting always begins with the parent's own relationship with God.

No parrot can be truly successful in bringing a child up in the image of the Lord unless they know the Lord themselves.

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

Can I get an amen?

You can't.

In other words, you'll never be able to lead your children further than you've been.

Any good leadership book will tell you a leader cannot lead his people any further than where he's gone.

So it's very important that you understand that right out of the gate.

In fact, I want you to see this, I think, in your outline.

2 Corinthians chapter 3, verses 2 and 3 says, and what a powerful verse it is.

2 Corinthians 3:2

In 2 Corinthians 3, 2 and 3, I think we have that, Jason, there on the outline.

I want them to see that.

It says that here it is, that you are our epistle, Paul says, written in our hearts, known and read by all men.

Before we go to verse 3, let's just look at that verse right there.

You and I are our epistles.

We are the living testimonies, we are the exhibit that our children see when they look at mom and dad as a Christian.

When you tell your children you're a Christian, you have just become an epistle written in their hearts because their hearts are with you.

They love you.

And then he says, known and read by all men, especially your children.

You know who knows you the best?

Your family.

They know the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Can I get a know me?

Amen.

They do.

And then look at the next verse, verse 3.

Clearly, you are an epistle of Christ.

In other words, if you are really a Christian, ministered by us, written not with ink, but by the Spirit of the living God.

Paul said, hey, it is evident that you are a Christian because the Holy Spirit has filled you and you are filled with the Spirit, walking in the Spirit, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.

In other words, you're not claiming to be a Christian, you're walking your Christianity.

Can I get an amen?

It is very if a lot of people tell they go to church, they claim to be Christians, but hey, they go to church on Sunday, but hey, Sunday afternoon through Saturday night, there's not one word spoken of Christianity.

That's nothing spoken of the Lord, that's nothing, hey, exhibited that's Christ-like.

Ladies and gentlemen, that is not what Paul's talking about.

You are not an epistle unless you're living what you claim to be.

Living epistles.

That's what it means.

We're to be living epistles.

Now let me show you some things.

When we're talking about right living, there's three things I want you to look at.

Number one, there's a reverence.

Look at verse 2.

There should be a fear for the Lord.

That is, we're to walk with an awesomeness of his glory and his holiness and his majesty.

A parrot's primary responsibility is to walk in the context here, in the fear of the Lord.

Our main concern as a Christian is to walk in the fear of the Lord.

Look at what he says in Proverbs, I think it is.

Proverbs chapter 9, verse 10.

Proverbs 9:10

For the fear of the Lord, I love this.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

So when you and I, now look at what it says.

When we are honoring the Lord, we are growing in the Lord.

We are wanting to know more about the Lord.

We are wanting to be like the Lord.

That's the knowledge of the Holy One, the Holy Spirit.

We want the Holy Spirit to teach us.

Look at what he says in Proverbs chapter 1, verse 7.

Proverbs 1:7

This is powerful.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.

But now watch.

Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

So we have a choice.

We can be wise and walk in the wisdom of God.

Proverbs 2 6 God gives wisdom out of his mouth comes knowledge or understanding.

Or we can reject it and take the world's ways.

And we become foolish.

And that's not a good place to be.

Because when you, hey, are foolish and you're living foolishly, guess what you do?

You convey that to your children.

You convey that to your friends.

You convey that if you're uh, hey, your your uh student friends or or your work friends.

So you're an influencer, whether you're a mom and dad or your leader, your boss, your foreman.

You are influencing people and you are either influencing them foolishly or wisely.

Notice the second thing.

And I love this.

There's a reaction.

When you honor God, there'll be a reaction.

Now let me show you this reaction.

First of all, there'll be an excitement about serving Him.

I want you to see James chapter 3, verse 17.

James 3:17

Whoa! When you are walking, hey, in the wisdom of God, and you're walking to please God, look what happens.

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure.

Now there's two types of wisdom.

You gotta understand this.

There's the world's wisdom, and there's the word of God's wisdom.

There's two entirely, hey, types of wisdom, and the both are opposite.

But the one that's God's word, God's wisdom is pure.

Then notice what else?

It's peaceable, it's gentle, willing to yield.

Oh my goodness, you mean you don't have to have your way every time?

Full of mercy?

Huh.

Wow.

And good fruits without partiality, no prejudice, no bitterness, no ugliness, no unforgiveness, and without hypocrisy.

In other words, you are who you say you are.

Wow.

Wow.

So we see right here, first of all, it's stuff, it's a wisdom that serves him.

Let me show you what else it is.

It's a wisdom that honors him.

Look at Psalms 29, verse 2.

Psalms 29:2

Give unto the Lord the glory to his name.

Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

In other words, it's a worshiping spirit and life to the Lord.

We were on the airplane yesterday, and this one lady, she had forgotten, she had her earphones on, but she was playing her song and it was just blaring out.

I can only imagine.

The whole plane was hearing it.

I thought, yeah, yeah.

And she's over there just doing the, you know, just she's over there right there by the window by herself, just praising the Lord.

She wasn't ashamed.

I thought to myself, that's what I'm talking about.

It's amazing the examples God's giving me in this message this week.

But that's exactly what we're talking about.

We're serving him, we're honoring him.

And then there's a third thing in Proverbs 8.13.

With this kind of wisdom, listen to what else there is.

The fear.

Again, all of these deals with the fear, the reverence.

The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride and arrogance and arrogance, and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.

Good grief.

That sums it all up.

Hey, I don't want evil.

I can't, hey, I'm not gonna be prideful, and I'm gonna, hey, I'm gonna close my mouth.

Can we all say, oh me?

There it is.

In other words, if it's not good, you're not gonna speak it.

2018, you ought to make a promise right now with your mouth and ask the Holy Spirit to bite your tongue everything you say something that's edifying, building up and spoken graciously.

You say, oh, I have a bit tongue.

Seriously.

That's wisdom.

When your children and the people that you influence see that, see you living right, folks, that does something to their lives.

It does something to their character.

It's evident.

So we see that.

We see the reaction.

Your children and people around you, they want to know that you take the word of God seriously.

Can I get an amen?

You know, we have a little saying that we say often around here about the word of God.

We say, one, what?

We love it.

Number two, we learn it.

Number three, we live it.

They want to see your children, your children are the people that you're influenced under you.

They want to see that you mean business about the word of God.

And then you are you ready for this?

The new Barner report about Christians reading the Bible.

One-third of the people that claim to be Christians read their Bible once a week.

God help us.

Oh, mercy.

But then notice the third thing.

Notice the third thing.

There's a reward.

Verse 3 says that it will be well with thee.

Wow.

God promised Israel that when they followed the word of God, now watch this, that they would bless them and reward their lives.

The same holds true today.

God has promised to bless those who walk in his will and his word and follow his path for their life.

Watch this, Psalms chapter 1, verse 1 through 3.

Psalms 1:1–3

Here's what your people, your children ought to see in your life.

This is what people that you're influenced ought to see in your life.

Blessed is the man or woman who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly.

Hey, you're not going to listen to ungodliness.

That means your movies, your music, and everything else.

Can I get a know me?

Not going to listen to it.

I'm not going to listen to it.

That walks not in the counsel of the ungodly.

You say, well, once the counsel of the ungodly, anything that it doesn't exalt Christ is ungodly.

You say, well, that's pretty narrow.

Guess what?

I'm narrow-minded.

Wide is the gate that leads unto destruction.

Many there be that go therein, but narrow is the way that leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

There it is.

Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the godly.

Now, watch, stands in the paths of sinners.

That means you're not going to go where they are.

Hello?

You're not going to go, hey, fellowship with the ungodly.

You're not going to be in the places you ought not to be in.

Nor stands in the path of sinners.

You know what that means?

You fellowship with sinners.

It's one thing to be a friend to a sinner, but not to fellowship with him.

There's a difference.

I've got a lot of friends that I know that are lost.

And I befriend them so that I can win them to Christ, bring them to church.

I'm always talking with Trent about that.

In the line of work he is.

We meet a lot of people that are lost.

And our goal is to get them to come to Christ and get them in church.

Can I get an amen?

Not to go fellowship and hang out with them.

They need to hang out with me.

Very important.

Secondly, children need to see that God will do what he says he will do.

You know the greatest thing our children grew up seeing?

God meeting needs in our home, in our lives, and in our ministry situations.

Do you realize right now, you're kids and you we're seeing miracle after miracle, but what happens sometimes we just take it for granted.

But every time from the very beginning, when there were four of us sitting right back there when we started this church five and a half years ago, four, four people.

And now you see 300 plus, and uh actually about 350, 400, you see in a half a million dollar budget plus, all that.

And that was a miracle after miracle after miracle.

We just took up$122,000 a month.

Do you understand how big that is?

Do you understand?

That's a teaching lesson for your children to see.

God built this, God finished this, paid for it in cash, paying for the land in cash almost.

Everything we're doing now to the land's being paid in cash?

And they're seeing miracle after miracle?

Don't ever start taking your miracles for granted.

Some of you are living in a godly home and you're not even thankful for it.

Some of you have godly influence and you're not even thankful for it.

Some of you didn't have it, and you know what I'm talking about, and you wished you could have been thankful for it.

But you can be that.

You can change it.

I changed.

I made a promise to myself and to my Lord that I would change it in my family.

Amen.

Right.

And I did.

I did.

Your children want to see.

Hey, you your children want to see a blessing about tithing.

Malachi 3.10 says, open the windows, he says, bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse that they may be meet in my house and prove me now herewith, said the Lord of hosts.

If I will not open the window of heaven and pour you out a blessing.

They want you, they want to see that blessing because you give back to God what's rightfully his, how he opens the windows and blesses you.

I still will never forget it.

Those tube bars, I meant those, those uh jars, the jars with the tea that we drank tea out of.

One was for God's 10%, one was for savings.

I see it.

I can see mama right now saying, now, Danny boy, Danny boy, Danny boy, do this.

God will bless you the rest of your life.

And now I'll see my own kids doing it.

And God's blessing their lives unbelievably.

I meant my my kids are just.

But they don't forget that the first 10% goes to God.

They were taught that from the time they got their little Sunday school money.

It makes a difference.

A big difference.

They need to see that.

I used to watch my mom and papa take their back then the little Southern Baptist envelopes, and they'd put their money in their little envelopes, and they'd put it in the Bible, go to church, and give their tithe to the Lord.

Your children need to see and know that God blesses honesty, especially in America today.

Oh, look at what he says in Philippians 4 8.

Oh, think on those things that are true and honest and just.

Finally, brethren, what sort of things are true?

What sort of things are noble?

What sort of things are just?

What sort of things are pure?

What sort of things are lovely?

Oh, think on these things.

Do we not need this in America today?

God help us.

We need to love and be honest and pure and helpful.

That's it.

Your kids need to see you doing that.

Tell you what else they need to see.

Do your children see the faithfulness that is blessed by God?

Look at Matthew 25, 21.

They need to see that your faithfulness in serving the Lord in church and getting them involved in church.

They need to see Matthew 25, what is it, 41, where he says, Well done, thou good and faithful servant.

You've been faithful over a few things.

I'm going to make you ruler over many things.

Enter into the joy of the Lord.

They need to see the faithfulness of you serving God and God blessing you.

They need to see that.

If it's going to change them.

You can talk it all day long, but if they don't see it, they've got to see it.

So let's show them that serving God is the only way to live.

Amen.

Let's show them that obedience to the Lord is always pays off.

If you're willing and obedient, you should eat the good of the land.

If you refuse and rebel, you should be devoured by the sword.

Isaiah 119.

Let's show them that.

Let's show them that serving God wholeheartedly is, hey, is the greatest life they'll ever live.

Jesus said, I've come to give you life and give it more abundantly.

But in that same verse, Satan says, I've come to kill, steal, and destroy.

And he does that by allowing you to wander toward the wisdom of the world instead of the wisdom of God.

And he deprives you.

It's okay.

It's far better to raise a religious fanatic than a heathen.

Can I get an amen?

Well, I'm I don't want my children to get too carried away.

I don't think you've got to worry about that in America today.

Thank God we need some fired up.

We need some fired up Christians.

It brings me to the second thing.

Not just right living, but right loving.

Look at verse 4 and 5.

If we're going to leave the right legacy, we got to live, hey, we got to leave a legacy of living right.

Secondly, we got to leave a legacy of loving right.

Look at what it says in verse 4 and 5.

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

Wow.

Powerful.

Again, we see before we can ever be successful Christian parents or influencers, we must have our own relationship down with the Lord.

That's what he's talking about.

And I want to show you two things about this.

First of all, the Lord has to be our focus.

Most of the time, the Lord's not our main focus.

Most of the time, you know who's your main focus?

You.

Me.

Self.

It is.

So you gotta realize, folks, hey, he's gotta be our focus.

I love what the great prophet said.

My eyes are fixed on thee, O God, and the Lord is my trust.

Psalms 141, verse 8.

Psalms 141:8

I will lift up my eyes into the hills from whence my help cometh.

My health cometh from the Lord which made the heavens and the earth.

Psalms 121, verse 1 and 2.

Psalms 121:1

Set my heart and my mind on things above, not on things of this earth.

He's got to be our supreme focus.

The number one.

He's got to be number one.

He will not settle for second place in anyone's life.

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

All these other things should be added unto you.

He's got to be number one.

He's got to be our focus.

Huh.

Hey, our children do not need to see us putting anything else before God.

Do you know anything that comes before God is an idol?

It is.

It's idolatry.

And you know what can be an idol?

Your jobs?

Our job?

A hobby?

Friends?

A person?

A thing?

A sports?

We got a lot of idol sports junkies.

I was one for a long time.

I know.

And I love sports.

And I'm gonna have a ball Monday night.

Go SEC.

SEC.

Amen?

Georgia?

Alabama.

But they said SEC was had its better day.

Don't you just love it when those announcement just mess up?

Because they think they know it all.

But listen, an idol, it can't be an idol, folks.

When, hey, when Ball starts taking the place of God, church, and all that other stuff, it's going too far.

And let me tell you, Satan's got you right where you want he wants you because he knows you love the what your kids and sports is the best thing you can do for your kids.

Discipline.

If it hadn't been for sports, I'd have been a druggie.

I'm all for sports.

So don't misread this whatsoever.

Because I'll be right there with you.

I love it.

But it's got to be in the proper order.

Can I get an amen?

God first.

Hey, we'll we're going to have church out here, we're going to be out there, and then we'll go out there on Sunday afternoon and watch y'all just kill them in love.

But God's got to be first.

They've got to realize when my daughters realized that, hey, listen, we would let them play Friday night and they'd play Saturday and all this traveling ball, but on Sunday morning we're going to be in church.

And the coach said, Well, that can't happen, but we got to have your daughters who you don't understand.

I said, No, you don't understand.

I said, one, Charles, you need Jesus.

You don't understand.

That's why he didn't have a problem with going not going to church on Sunday.

And I said, My girls aren't going to do it.

Yeah, but, but, but, but.

I said, look at me.

I am not a Billy Goat Christian.

I am not button.

No, it's over.

Guess what?

He started getting a lot of the tournament's championship game played on Saturday night.

Hello.

If not, that was okay.

You just take a stand, not to be arrogant, not to be prideful.

You know what?

I wasn't worried about a ball game.

You know what?

You know what I was worried about?

That my kids realized what was more important.

And you're looking at all American athlete, scholarship to everything.

So I know what I'm talking about.

But I wanted them to see that when sports, when they no longer can play the sports or or or whatever, that God's first in everything.

And use sports, use sports as a platform to share the gospel.

I did and I have all my life.

He said, why are you getting on sports?

Well, isn't there an NCAA championship game tomorrow night?

It just happens to be prevalent.

And there'll be more people there tomorrow night, spending more money.

And a lot of them, and the reason that it is most of them or a lot of them are lost.

They need Jesus.

And the last thing I want to do is condemn the sport.

I want to condemn their God.

Big difference.

Sport can be a God or it doesn't have to be a God.

Can I get an amen?

Money can be your God or it cannot be a God.

You got to understand the priorities there.

Okay.

Number B, not only is he supposed to be our focus, he's to be our, this is gonna really get good, our fixation.

If he's your fixation, whatever I just said, you have no problem.

If he's your fixation, you have got your priorities in order.

Is that not good?

Somebody say that's good, preacher.

If you're fixed on Jesus, everything else is going to take its rightful place.

Amen.

I love my wife with all my heart, but she's not my first love.

She's real close second.

But Jesus is my first love.

And you know what?

I know, without a shadow of a doubt, I know I'm in second place, but I'll take it to Jesus.

Amen.

All day long.

I know my proper place.

And it means everything.

My heart, Psalms 57, 7.

My heart is fixed on God.

My heart is fixed.

I will sing and give praise.

Wow.

Your kids know.

Your kids know where your heart's fixed.

They know if it's either on the sports of the God or on the job of the God.

Hey, or the money or the God.

They know.

They know.

They live with you.

They know what you're fixed on.

Every time.

Will your treasure, so will your be your heart be also?

Number three.

So we got right living.

Right loving.

And now the last thing.

We got right learning.

Verses six through nine.

Right learning.

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

And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children.

And shall talk of them when thou sittest in the house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up, and thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and thou shalt be as frontlet between thy eyes, and thou shalt write them upon the post of thy house and on the gates.

Wow! In these verses, Moses relates the word of God as to successful parenting or successful influencing.

We are to take the word of God and make it our primary motivator in the parenting process as well as our leadership process.

Notice three things that we do with the word.

Number one, verse six.

We store it up.

We store them up.

Joshua 1.8 says, 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 therein.

Then shall I make thy way prosperous, then shall you have good success.

Do you realize, don't miss this, church.

That is the only place in the Bible that the word promise of success is used.

God says, if you hide the word of God in your heart, you allow the word of God to be your wisdom to guide you and direct you, he says, I promise you success.

Can you listen?

He promises you success.

Somebody asked me, he said, I just, I don't know why I can never be successful.

I said, I got one question.

Let me read the book, run one verse to you.

I quoted Joshua 1.8.

I said, How much of the Word of God have you ever memorized?

Very little, if any.

I said, okay.

One, do you know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior?

No.

I said, well, the first step is to become a Christian.

And then if you'll do what God says he'll do, verse 8 right here says, you'll be successful, or God would be a lie.

And can I tell you, Hebrews 6, 18, God can't lie?

Numbers 23, verse 16, God can't lie.

Numbers 23:16

You'll be successful.

Now watch this.

You will be successful in what God wants you to do.

So you can't decide you're going to be successful in what you want to do.

You've got to be successful in what God wants you to do.

But guess what?

God's the one that gives you the desires.

God's the one that gives you the talents.

God's the one that gives you the gifts.

So what you probably are good at and like doing, if you're following God, you're going to be involved in that some way or some fashion.

You think God's going to save you in this, make you do something you don't like?

Huh?

That's not a God that I know.

My God says Psalms 34, He'll give you the desires of your heart.

Delight thyself, also of the Lord, and He'll give you the desires of your heart.

Commit thy way unto Him.

Trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.

Woo! That's good preaching.

Man, that's good.

Store it up.

Thy word of a hit in my heart, that I might not sin against thee.

Store up.

Therefore, it is essential that as parents and leaders, that we have a personal time with prayer and Bible study, and our kids see that, see us in the Word.

And that's why it's so, you are so fortunate.

This year, can I challenge you to bring your kids to Bible study on Sunday morning till 1 on Wednesday night?

So we can, why do you think, why do you think we do what we do?

We want to store up the word of God in their lives.

Because the word of God never returns.

Watch this.

Oh, thank you.

Isaiah 55, 11.

The word of God never returns void, but it accomplishes where God sends it.

Is that not?

That's a promise from God.

Oh, change your life.

Change your family through changing your life through the word of God.

His word is in my heart as a burning fire.

You want to be fired up?

We got to put the word in you.

It'll fire you up.

That's why we want this discipleship.

Oh, yes.

Secondly, we're to share them.

Verse 7 through 9.

Share them.

This verse says that we're to diligently teach the word to our children.

Now you know what the word diligent there is?

It's the Hebrew word shannai.

Shannai.

You know what it means?

It means to wet an appetite.

Here's one of the meanings.

To wet an appetite.

In this context with the Hebrew ladies, what would happen with a baby, you would have the mother.

Let me get the right word.

I don't want to say the wrong word here.

But they would uh what they would do, uh, let me find what is where they would dip their finger, they would dip it in something kind of sweet to touch the palate, to get the baby to begin to suck the milk.

So they would get it, and that's what this means, to wet the appetite.

In other words, to wet the appetite of your heart and your children.

But as parents, we are to whet the appetite of our children for the word of God.

Oh, and let me tell you another one.

It also means to sharpen, it carries the idea of stabbing or one uh object penetrating another.

In other words, our training is to penetrate deeply into our children.

We're to help them on the basis of God's word to be keen and sharp and understanding and discerning the things of God.

How do we do that?

We teach them the word of God.

You ought to be thankful right out here in this rural community.

You've got a church that believes in teaching our children and our families the word of God.

Our Sunday schools always, verse by verse, chapter by chapter.

The word of God, our Sunday school for our kids, our children's church.

Oh, I'm so excited to see what the opportunities hold for our families here.

And then we're to share them.

I want you to see 1 Thessalonians 2, 11 and 12.

It has some timely advice for us as parents and leaders.

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

Here they are.

Woo, this is so good.

As you know how we exhorted and comforted and charge every one of you as a father does his own children, that you would want worthy of God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

Now, here, three things.

Here we go.

Number one, this is so, so good.

We are to exhort them.

You know what the word exhort here?

It's parakaleo.

Parakaleo.

You know what it means?

To call one to a side.

It speaks of an effort to get your children on your team.

In other words, we want our children on our team.

Can I get an amen?

We want our family on our team.

And this is, we are to exhort them.

We are to teach them.

We're to encourage them.

We are to say, as Paul said, be ye followers of me as I am of Christ.

And then number two, we're to comfort them.

The word to encourage their parents, we're to seeking to bring out the best in our children by encouraging them in the things that they do correctly and the things they do well.

I love what 1 Thessalonians 5.11 says.

Wherefore, comfort yourselves together and edify one another so much more as you see the day approaching.

Oh, I see parents sometimes just lash out at their kids and I'm gonna kill you.

That's really encouraging.

No.

Stephanie and Jeremy do the best job of they're just phenomenal parents.

I mean it.

They're unbelievable.

They tell their children, well, uh-uh, uh-uh-uh, make wise choices.

Make wise choices.

And by the way, the choices you make, hey, have consequences.

And they don't, you know, you we say that and then we don't do it.

But they do it.

There's consequences, you know.

Consequences, if you don't eat all your, you don't get dessert.

Well, that's okay.

Give them a little.

There's no consequences.

They learn very early.

I got mama right where I need him.

All right, my girls knew they got daddy right where they need him.

They would run to daddy, not mama.

And I'd say, oh, Susan, no, sir, no, sir.

They know better.

I've told them.

I just I'm out of this, girls.

I wouldn't go against her.

I was softy.

So, how would it accomplish this?

There's several scriptures that shed light on this one topic.

Psalms 139, 13, 14.

I want you to understand this.

Every child in here is uniquely formed by God.

While a child will certainly acquire certain traits from being in your home, the child is still an individual before the Lord.

He is not the product of evolution.

Listen, for you formed me inward.

Hey, my inward parts, you covered me in my mother's womb.

God knew you before you were born.

And notice what he says in verse 14 I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Marvelous are his works.

Every one of you are marvelous.

And you've got a specific purpose for God.

You are an error and have a purpose for God to be shot out into this vast world to be productive for God.

And we're to train them up.

We're to train those errors, sharpen those errors, do those arrow feathers, making sure that they are being trained in their likeness, not what our likeness or what we want them to be.

Can we all say, oh me?

But I know best.

Yes, you know best in right from wrong, but you don't know best in what God created them.

Every child has a bid to who they are.

Do you believe this?

Let me ask you.

Do you believe that they're fearfully and wonderfully made by God?

Do you believe every child is?

Come on.

Amen.

Let's give God a hand for that.

Amen.

So why would you and I want to change what God has made in our children?

That would be like Mary trying to tell Jesus, you're my son, you're not going to the cross.

Was it her will for Jesus to go to the cross?

No.

But did she try to prevent it?

No.

Because she knew it was God's will.

But she accepted it.

And then the other one is Proverbs 22, 6.

Train up a child in the way she goes.

Now that word train there means dedicate.

Oh, it's it's uh it's that, in fact, that's where I was thinking, crushed dates was the word I was looking for, where they would do the finger and the crushed dates as sweet and do the palate, and then they just baby would start sucking because it was so sweet and good.

Well, the word train here, they use that same means by which we are to whet the appetite of children for the things of God.

And then another definition is like a bridle with a horse in its mouth.

That not the training is to be sweet and positive and encouraging and comforting, but it's also to be correcting.

Hello, because there's right and wrong, and there's boundaries that you have to work within, and a bridle would hold the horse back, turn the horse which way it ought to go, left or right, or it would let go and let the horse go straight.

In other words, training has positive and negative consequences.

Can I get an amen?

And why is that?

For the number three, Psalms 51.

Look at Psalms 51.5.

Behold, I was, hey, brought forth in iniquity and in sin, did my mother conceive me.

Look at Psalms 58.3.

This is most people don't ever see this verse.

The wicked are estranged from the womb.

They go astray as soon as they are born speaking lies.

Your little baby's a liar.

I watched it all week with little Judah Cub.

Woo-hoo! Man, is he a deceiver?

And smiles the whole time.

Am I right, honey?

Now, little bam bam, he's like poppy.

He just bam.

He says, thinks it, he says it, gets to spanking.

Judah's manipulative and sly.

Oh, unbelievable.

I said, Judah, what'd you just do?

Judge like that.

Now, if he hadn't done anything wrong, why would he go?

Four years old, he knows he's wrong.

But he doesn't care.

He's not saved.

He's gonna do it his way.

If he can get away with it.

Hello?

You okay out there?

Why?

He's a liar! Isn't that not what it says?

You said, Well, help me.

If parents do not punish their children, then children wouldn't.

Oh, I made this statement.

Susan didn't like this statement.

A child psychologist, you know what he said?

If we parents do not punish our children, they will punish us.

I thought that's pretty good.

Susan said, that's harsh.

I said, well, no, you now misunderstood you.

Okay.

Okay.

All right.

Okay.

All right.

I guess I made it.

That's true.

Would you not agree?

If we don't punish them, they punish us.

Oh, absolutely.

So how do we punish them?

And why do we punish them?

You ready?

I'm going just to, hey, you got to have this almost through.

This is worth everything you've learned.

Wake up.

Don't miss what I'm about to teach you right here, parents.

And by the way, this is exactly what God does for us when he corrects us.

It's typology is perfect.

Ready?

Number one.

Five good reasons to discipline our children.

You're ready?

One, to remove foolishness.

Proverbs 22, 15.

Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod, uh-oh.

Uh-oh.

The rod of correction, that's what it says, will drive it far from them.

My papa had no problem with that.

He said, spoil, uh, spare the rod, spoil the child.

Do you wonder where that comes from?

There's the verse.

Number two, to rescue your children from judgment.

Look at Proverbs 23, 13 and 14.

Do not withhold correction from a child, for if you, I know you're not gonna like this word, and this is one Susan doesn't like, and I understand.

For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die.

Now, I don't like the word beat there.

It should, I like correct is a better word.

But papa believed in the word beat.

Verse 14.

Look at what he said.

Papa, Papa, hang here, mama.

Her name was Katie.

Katie, uh, mama was her name was Katie, but she'd say, Buddy, you're killing him!

And I'd say, yeah, he is.

Verse 14.

You shall beat him with a rod, you shall correct him with a rod, and deliver.

Look, look, don't you miss this?

Look, deliver his soul from where?

Do you see the importance, folks?

Uh, discipline is so important.

Number three, to receive wisdom.

Proverbs 29, 15, the rod and rebuke give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings, oh my goodness, shame to the mother.

Remember that punishment to the parent?

Shame.

Right there.

And then D, to re hey, are you ready?

To relieve your anxiety.

Look at verse 17.

Correct your son and he will give you rest.

Yes, he will give.

Hey, not just rest, he'll give delight to your soul.

And I saw that this week with little Judacob.

He would be corrected and he'd do right.

And the joy, it was just, it works.

And then E to reflect God's character.

Wow.

It reflects God's character.

Watch this.

For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed a best to them, but he, for our prophet, that we may be partakers of holiness.

Listen to what Suzanne Wesley said.

She raised seventeen children, including John and Charles Wesley, John Wesley being the founder of the Methodists.

Notice what she said.

And really would be considered to be somewhat of an expert, said this, talking about Suzanne Wesley on raising children.

Here's what she said.

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

Wow.

The parrot who indulges it does, in other words, lets them do what they want to.

Hey, indulges it, does the devil's work, makes salvation unattainable, and does all that in him lies to damn his child and anybody forever.

I close with verse eight and nine.

We're to teach our children.

And you know how we do it?

In speech, verse seven.

We teach them in speech, verse eight.

We teach them in signs.

Everywhere in your house there ought to be signs about God.

My son grew up with a big poster.

He'd wake up every morning and there was a runner running.

And the verse said, and it was Isaiah 40, 31.

It says, But they that wait upon the Lord shall mount up wings as eagles, shall run and not be weary, shall walk and not be.

Never quit.

He never has.

Never quit.

Don't give up.

Choose you this day whom you're gonna serve for me and my house.

We're gonna serve God.

When you walk in our house, many of you have been in our home.

You see it.

You see verses everywhere.

We put it upon the door post and the windows and and Jesus is awesome.

A belt.

Jesus is awesome.

Everywhere I go.

I want people to know.

My kids growing up knowing where their dad stood.

Was I perfect?

Absolutely not.

Did I make mistakes?

Absolutely.

But when it's all said and done, when it's all said and done, I want them to be able to stand over my epitaph.

And Jesus will be awesome on there.

But I want them to remember my dad was a fanatic.

Fired up.

Not hot, not cold, but burning up.

A blaze, a flee.

And you know what when I say that, and I even say it to myself sometimes, can you really live that way?

Oh yes, you can.

Not that I have most of my life.

I mean a lot of my life, but most of my life I have.

Because you know when I'm not fired up, when I'm not memorizing scripture and the word's not in me, I get cold.

But boy, when I put that word back in me and I start memorizing that word and I start studying that, it's ablaze.

So this year, yes, we want the faithful.

Yes, we even want the forced, but we want us to become fired up.

Because we want to leave a legacy.

And in order to leave it, you gotta love it.

You gotta live it.

And you gotta learn it.

Thanks again for tuning into this week's message.

We pray that your life has been changed.

If you would like to find out more about us, visit us on our webpage at thechurch at cw.com.

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Send us an email at office at the church at cw dot com.

We hope you have a wonderful day, and again, God bless you.