Maturing Children Holy Rulers (Ps. 92:12-14) (9/6/26)

Let us go before the Lord in prayer this morning

Oh Lord our God bless us in your service and

make us strong in our family life Especially

with the gift of children which you have graciously

bestow upon us Strengthen us that we might serve

you acceptably and then we might do your will

here upon earth Grant us by your spirit that

the words of my mouth and the meditations of

all our hearts be pleasing and your sight, O

God, for the sake of your son, Jesus. Amen. Before

we read the text this morning, I want to say

a couple of things. You know, one of the struggles

for every pastor is this. You know, we study,

we study, we do all these, put together all these

notes, and you just can't fit everything in,

and you're glad for that. You don't want me to

try to fit everything in. And this is concluding

a third sermon on child rearing. And again, I

feel like there's so much I have left out. I

will say to you, if you want to just remind you,

a couple of years ago, we did a whole Sunday

School series, 22 Sunday School lessons on child

rearing called Tending the Vine from Infancy

Through Adulthood. So if you're interested in

that, reach out. I've got it all collected. on

a Spotify playlist, I could send it to you. But

this is not comprehensive in every way. But I

want you here today to hear God's word and be

strengthened in it and understand your duties.

Young people, if you are 10 years old and older,

you really need to be paying attention. If you're

seven and eight, Pay attention pretty good all

of you should pay attention, but I'm telling

you we're talking today about What God's plan

is for you, and how your parents are to get you

there? All right, so let us hear God's word from

Psalm 92 beginning in verse 12 The righteous

shall flourish like a palm tree those who are

planted in the house of Yahweh shall flourish

in the courts of our God. They shall still bear

fruit in old age, and they shall be fresh and

flourishing to declare that Yahweh is upright."

These are the words of Almighty God. Receive

them in your hearts. There's three things that

I want you to kind of take as a lens as we consider

Today's teaching from God's Word Some of this

is a little bit of a reminder, but it's all been

building That's the point and you'll see that

as we go through this but one children must know

their identity Children must know young people

you must know your identity parents you need

to teach it children you need to know it Children

must know why power is given to them If you're

a young man right now, if you're a young lady

right now, stop what you're doing for a second

and set your hands like this in your lap. This

is power. This is strength that God has given

you. You need to know why God has given it to

you. And finally, children must be provided both

teaching and opportunities to rule. Children

and young people must be provided both teaching

opportunities to rule. This summer we've had

a whole foundation series and we've learned that

we are to trust God and do good. We got a lot

of visitors today so we talked about some foundational

things about how God's made us. We've talked

about how that is given to us by God. We've talked

about marriage and we've had three And this is

the third concluding sermon on parenting. So

Psalm 37 reminded us three times not to fret.

We're to trust God and do good, forsaking wrath

and anger. Instead, we are to delight in the

Lord, committing our way to the Lord, and he

shall give us the desires of our heart. I pray

that as you heard that first description there

in our passage, that you desire for your children

and grandchildren to flourish in the courts of

God, producing fruit. I'd say that's probably

true. Parents, do not fret, wondering how...

You will turn your children into the righteous

flourishing palm tree As Hannah brought Samuel

to serve in the house of God you as Christian

parents Have humbly brought your children into

the courts of God into the house of God for baptism

They are planted in the courts of God then by

baptism What a blessing to know that the work

of God in Christ Jesus by the power of the Spirit

shall uphold our children and cause them to flourish

abundantly in the fruit of the Spirit. So parents,

no fretting, no worrying, no anxiety. You've

given them to God. It is God's work. As one commentator

puts it, there is a common misconception of parenting

teens. And that is that the teenage years are

an unavoidable rebellion. Now, it certainly could

be that and is that for unbelieving households.

But part of the reason for that is because we've

been catechized that that's in movies, in television,

in the world. That's what we hear. That's what

we see. The rub is always the teenagers know

better. Parents don't know anything. So there's

this constant tension. OK? The scriptures tell

us nothing of the sort. And we should not expect

such a thing from our children, much less plan

for it. The false ideas of misunderstandings,

intention, and animosity do not have to be the

norm. In fact, if we've done well in the early

years of parenting, our children's lives, and

our children's lives, this will not be so. Do

not fall into the trap. of either passivity or

tyranny and parenting. Don't think, well then,

if it's all God's work, then all I have to do

is stand on the sidelines. Maybe get him to church

sometimes and read the Bible at the house every

once in a while. No, we've talked about this

over and over, and you hear this line every time

we come to the baptismal font, and that is that

God gives us both blessings and curses for his

people. He gives us, his people, this. And these

are conditions. But conditions do not nullify

grace. Grace enables us to fulfill those conditions

that God has given us. I want to warn you, don't

fall into passivity or tyranny. Our holy God

is a relational God, teaching, disciplining.

forgiving and restoring us to fellowship. For

what purpose does he do all those things? Certainly

his glory, but also that his glory may be greater,

that we may fulfill our mandate to take dominion

over the world and be fruitful to the glory of

God and the benefit of the world. You're gonna

hear that line again and again. You've heard

me talk about it as for your marriages. What

is your marriage for? What is every marriage

designed for? For Christians, it is for the glory

of God and the benefit of the world. Again, framework.

Christ and his bride. What are they for? The

glory of God and the benefit of the world. So

Christian children must know their identity.

Christian children have been given their identity

from the sovereign God. Whether they're male

or female young people. Are you listening? You

didn't choose that God chose it for you God also

chose your family and by virtue of the authority

bestowed upon your parents They chose your name

all that was not your choice And all that was

done by the merciful God through his sovereign

providence God even caused you to be born into

a Christian household where your parents would

bring you to the baptismal font and have you

baptized. And now every one of you young people,

are you looking up here? You carry the name of

the triune God on you. God placed His name on

you. You must know that. So everything that you

do and everything that you are, are to be understood

and lived in light of this reality. As all of

you know, Deuteronomy 6 tells us to diligently

teach our children God's law. That is, loving

God above all and loving our neighbors as ourselves.

We are to teach the things of God as we sit,

as we... Walk down the road, when we lie down,

when we rise up, right? This kind of presents

all of life. We're to talk about God's word with

our kids in this fashion. This talking is to

put the law applied in every context of life.

Mom and dad, you're not just there to tell them

God's law, but never talk about how it applies.

And I want to make this very clear. Moms and

dads in this room, are you listening right now?

Because this is important. You need to live God's

word out in front of them. And I know you know

that. But here's the thing. When you sin against

your wife, fathers, when you sin against your

husband, mothers, when you sin against your children,

confess before God and to all those you sinned

in front of. and talk with your kids about what

God's law says about these things. That is genuine

parenting and showing you're under the authority

of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Deuteronomy 6

goes on to teach us that the word of God is to

restrain our authority and power as if it was

bound to our hand we talked about that kids remember

in a few minutes ago I told you look at your

hands in front of you in the Bible we talked

about this last week in the Bible the hand is

the sign of power and authority Jesus sits where

at the right hand of God But every time you look

through scripture, the hand is described. It's

a symbol of power and authority. We were told

to bind up God's word upon our hand that it may

guide us so that we use our power, our strength,

our authority to God's glory. And in doing this,

we're loving God and applying God's law, we're

told, should also be the lens to understand and

to make judgments. and then to take action in

all areas of our lives. Finally, Deuteronomy

6 tells us that the laws of God should be written

on the doorposts of our houses and gates. And

this, of course, reminds us that our God and

his law is for all of our life. We talked about

that, our coming in and our going out. That's

what that reminds us. And how does that apply?

There is no different set of ethics or regulative

principles or standards in or out of our Christian

homes. It's the same. Now, of course, this is

a lesson for you young people, but it's a lesson

for you as parents, too. You grasping this? Your

ethics need to be the same in your home as out.

And for you, too, as children, you need to know

this. For our children, part of knowing who they

are is to know what their end goals are. We've

talked about this in your planning, what you

say to yourself, where do I want my kids to be?

Well, Psalm 92 is telling us about them flourishing

as a fruit -producing palm that produces their

whole lives. in the house of God, right? That's

the end goal. That's sort of mysterious. God's

got some clarity to what this means and how to

get it done. So last week I spoke on the destination

of parenting, right? That is children and grandchildren

who joyfully worship God in all areas of life,

taking dominion, being fruitful, and multiplying

in all things in their life to the glory of God.

and the benefit of the world. We also discussed

that God's model to get there is the priest -king

-prophet model. We talked about that the case

study for this is God's example of His parenting

and His relationship with the people of Israel.

So priestly staged, it's full of detailed instructions

about everything, repeated again and again. And

you know, as parents, this is a big part of your

life, am I right? It's almost to the point of

making you nauseous in your stomach. But this

is how God the Father works in your life. Parents

must act. Oh, one other thing here. The calendar

of the life, and we actually read about this

today, right, in our reading. We saw that God

was talking to them and telling them that here's

a place to feast and here's a memorial, here's

a marker and you should celebrate this. So their

calendar of life was centered on the annual repetitions

of God's law, his mercy, his justice, his grace,

and feasting to the glory of God and the benefit

of the world. Over and over again, God says this.

He says, and when your children ask you about

these things that you're doing, you explain that

to them. You tell them what God has done and

what this is for. Do you think that was just

for their own children or do you think it was

also for the nations around them? If you lived

on the border and the nation was here and you

were doing, I can't work tomorrow because it's

the Sabbath. Oh, I've got this special feast

that we have to go do. What are you talking about?

Tell me about that. It's for your children. But

all of it is outward -facing from God's sanctuary.

Parents must act knowing their children's Christian

identity, frame in their understanding, and the

status of remaining sin in their lives, right?

God has forgiven us. We are justified by the

work of Christ. We are no longer in bondage to

sin, but there is remaining sin in each one of

us in this room, and you need to know where your

kids are, and children, you need to take an assessment

of yourself on these things. You see, this requires

repetitions of rules and consequences. After

Sinai, the people of Israel were constantly told

where they were going, and when they grew up,

what they were going to be doing, how they were

going to live. And God told them how they were

going to get there. So this has to be part of

what you're doing with your kids. All right,

we're working on this because this is the end

goal we're going for. Don't just keep your kids

stuck in the priestly role. of just lecturing

to them again and again and again. When they're

small, that's the goal. You're putting that frame

in there. You're building it. You're laying all

these construction materials so that they can

go from that priest to the kingly role. You see,

they were reminded again and again by what it

means. That is how God's grace and redemption

was at work in their forefathers. and how the

work of their forefathers had gotten them to

where they are presently. Parents, you have to

be somewhat transparent, particularly as your

kids get older. You know, I made these mistakes.

I sinned like this. I've repented. I don't want

you to make these same mistakes. Kids, look up

here. Have your parents ever said to you, I don't

want you to make these same mistakes I did? Have

they? That's good parenting. Sometimes, I remember

one time, My kids came to me and said, dad, just

because you struggle with this doesn't mean I'm

going to struggle with this. We've been brought

up in the church our whole lives, and we've had

this better teaching our whole lives, and we've

been in better churches our whole lives. Very

distinctly, my two sons were trying to get me

to lay off, trying to teach them a principle.

When they got to be about 24 and 26, They came

back to me and said, you know what, Dad? I really

understand what you were doing now. And to be

honest, we kind of knew at the time, but we were

pushing back. By the way, dads, don't think about

every pushback conversation as rebellion. It

is not. The scriptures tell us. And I've said

this. incorrectly so much of my life and part

of it is because it's it's not translated quite

right in some translations but as iron sharpens

iron so one man another what it actually says

is as iron sharpens iron so one man another's

countenance right so what you're doing is you're

sharpening that iron but you're trying to lift

up their countenance and and really you want

that countenance to be reflective of God himself

And that's what we're trying to do. Guys, listen

to me. Your sons press back at you. They're striving

for kingship. You have to help mold them and

grow them in it. Ladies, as these girls push

back, again, you are training them and teaching

them. They want to have their own household one

day. Don't teach them to be passive by beating

them down, but raise them up. God also, besides

all this teaching and reflecting backwards, God

showed them evil people in the world and told

them not to be like them. God said to Israel,

don't chase after the idols of other nations,

lest you are gonna wind up like them. God was

building maturity in the people of Israel in

the wilderness and then also in the crossing

over of the Jordan. God revealed to Israel what

was in their hearts. That's what the Bible tells

us Why did God put them in the in into the wilderness?

We simply say it was a judgment. It was a chastisement.

So they had to suffer But all the while God tells

us later in Deuteronomy that he did this to show

them what was in their hearts Young people look

up here what your parents are trying to do Whether

they're still working through it or not like

they don't have it perfected I didn't really

start figuring I have eight children for the

all those visitors out here It was by number

five that we started really figuring it out pretty

good Okay, and for you oldest ones in here I

Said this last week be patient with your parents

because it's the first time they've ever parented

a child your age Okay, special grace from God

on that but they're trying to reveal to you what's

in your own heart. Not because it's easy, not

because they want to keep meeting you, it's because

they want you to see what's in your heart so

you can live a repentant life before the Lord.

You see, all this time though in the wilderness,

what did God do? He cared for them. Their shoes

never wore out. He provided for them. He was

long suffering with them. He kept reminding them,

but he chastised them as their sin was presented.

We must remember this. And God led the people

of Israel through very specific and repetitive

ways so they could cross the Jordan and begin

taking dominion, abounding in fruitfulness in

body and in spirit. As you may remember, we learned

of two other stages of life and therefore parenting.

That is the kingly stage and the stage of the

prophet. I'll just mention this real briefly.

As far as the prophet stage, as your kids become

young adults, that's where you have to be in

the prophet stage. You're a friend of God and

you're advising them as they do their kingly

duties. For most of you, most of you younger

families in here, that's a long way off yet,

right? You're acting as kings yourself right

now, but at some point you've got to get out

of the way. So the kingly stage is that transition

from simply being told what they are to do at

every point to self -rule and more responsibility

that leads to dominion and fruitfulness that

glorifies God and benefits others. And of course,

the pinnacle of life is the stage of the prophet.

And this is where men and women no longer are

ruling as kings or simply as kings, but they

are also transferring wisdom and knowledge and

grace and mercy in the fear of the Lord. And

all of this so that they are lifting others up

as they themselves diminish. Right? John the

Baptizer, what did he do? He went before them,

before Jesus. And he said, he got to this great

pinnacle. He was dealing with demons. He was

baptizing people. He was preaching repentance.

He's really going after it. And he said, I've

got to diminish that Jesus may elevate. This

too is something that we are aiming for. We need

to speak to our children, both boys and girls,

of what God's chosen path is for them. That is,

they are to be joyfully told of their duties

to God and their assignments for God's glory

and the benefit of the world. They're being trained

in different roles as co -regents in God's kingdom

under King Jesus. And this is done incrementally,

right? In zeal, Every boy wants to be a warrior

king, and every girl wants to be a princess who

glorifies things. As parents, we want to guide

this zeal with knowledge and experience, telling

our children both of the end goals and what God's

preparations are for this. Remember Luke 19 verse

Luke 19:17

17 tells us this, Jesus is speaking. And he's

telling this parable, and he says, well done,

good servant. Because you were faithful with

very little, you will have authorities over 10

cities. Young people, look up here. As your parents

teach you and instruct you, they're going to

work on it beginning first with what you have

rule over. The first thing you have rule over

is yourself. And then it expands from just yourself.

to those things that you are given and given

authority over. Like, for example, your things,

your laundry, your space, that backpack you always

drop in the incorrect spot in the house, right?

Those are your things. You have responsibility

and rule over them. Parents, train them, be repetitive,

be kind. Children, step it up. Don't be afraid

parents chastise them over some of these small

things Be faithful in little things For every

man woman and child in this room right now We

know that we are be are to be more and more conformed

to Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior Now this

is important if we're gonna be conformed to this

the gospel of Mark one of of course the the narratives

of Christ's life You know has the overarching

theme of Jesus, the greater David, or the greater

King. So if we are to be conformed to Christ,

part of it is we are being conformed to be like

the greater King, to rule and take dominion,

to be fruitful for the glory of God and the benefit

of the world. As a matter of fact, in the Gospel

of Mark, the word immediately in regards to Jesus

appears over 40 times. And this speaks to the

intentionality and the on mission of Jesus. He's

on mission. He is immediately going doing this.

Young people look up here. When your parents

are telling you or commanding you or giving you

directions, respond immediately. Parents, when

your elders speak to you and teach you, respond

immediately We need to respond immediately be

on mission like Christ was on mission and He

was on this mission to confront Satan not only

in the wilderness but That the dragons demons

that were all over the land would be driven out

and the people would be set free and lifted up

and able to flourish once again Jesus kingdom

is one, not just of fruitfulness in life, but

of driving out the dragon and all his demons

in the land. But you don't get there instantaneously.

We don't put a little kid out there and say,

fight the big demon. You got to practice with

all the little things that they say over and

over again. Trust in God. There'll be a place

where you're going to fight these things in the

world and the place that you're in. Are we working

towards those ends? Jesus is as important as

a king. Jesus is the greater suffering king.

David suffered to get kingship under authority

he didn't care for, but he trusted God to see

it through. Jesus was born in a land under a

different king, a wicked king, and a wicked high

priest. And what did he do? He came with true

strength and humility. Why? For the restoration

of all things. And this requires suffering. We

have responsibility to be suffering kings for

the glory of God and the benefit of the world.

We need to strive as parents not to hamper, obstruct,

or constrain the preparations for our children

to rise to kings and queens in their respective

kingdoms. When our children were in the priestly

stage, their work as priest was inward to the

sanctuary, but the work of the king is outward

from the sanctuary. So what I mean is, sins in

the priestly stage are sacrilege. It's breaking

the rules of the house. But the sins of the kingly

stage are outward facing and they generally are

about actions outward -facing in the world and

all these relationships they have in the world,

all the responsibilities they have in the world.

We need to understand that they need to, our

children need to be focused to the glory of God

and the benefit of others outside of themselves.

It's interesting to note that in the narrative

that we are given by God as his father to the

people of Israel that in Preparation and the

maturation from priestly rule to the future kingly

rule was 400 years So if you think you're you're

long suffering as a parent and tearing with your

children Not so to the way that God himself has

done it But he also God told them as he was coming

out of their time in the wilderness, and they

still have 360 more years to go to the kingly

stage, right? God told them that you're gonna

get there. This is part of what you have to say.

This is where you're at right now. I'm working

with you, but this is where we're going. We're

trying to get you here. And so we find in Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 17 · chapter mention

chapter 17, through Moses' great sermon to the

people as they prepare to go in and take... Begin

taking dominion, but they're still keeping. They're

kind of in this transition stage, right? They're

still keeping all of these priestly things again

and again and again, being reminded. It says

this in Deuteronomy 17, beginning of verse 14,

when you come into the land which Yahweh your

God is giving you and possess it and dwell in

it and say, I will set a king over me like all

the other nations that are around me, you shall

surely set a king over you whom Yahweh your God

chooses. One from among your brethren you shall

set as king over you. You may not set a foreigner

over you who is not your brother. But he shall

not. And watch these three things, multiply horses

for himself, nor cause the people to return to

Egypt to multiply horses. For Yahweh has said

to you, you shall not return to that way again.

Neither shall he multiply wives for himself,

lest his heart turn away. Nor shall he greatly

multiply silver or gold for himself. Verse 18

also it shall be when he sits on the throne of

his kingdom that he shall write for himself a

copy of the law in a book from the one before

the priests and the Levites and It shall be with

him and he shall read it all the days of his

life that he may learn to fear Yahweh His God

and be careful To observe all the words of this

law and all these statues that his heart may

not be lifted above his brethren that he may

not turn aside from the commandment to the right

hand or to the left, that he may prolong his

days in the kingdom, and that he and his children

in the midst of Israel." Now this passage tells

us of three prohibitions for kings and one positive

command. So we're going to talk about these just

briefly here. The king is prohibited from multiplying

horses for himself. nor to cause the people,

those that are under his charge, to return to

Egypt for horses. Our children must be taught

that the power that God has given them is for

them to protect and provide for those they are

responsible for. In the language of the Garden

of Eden, to tend and to guard the guarded. Christian

children must be taught that God gives us little

kingdoms. Vassal fiefdoms. If you've grown up

with a study in medieval history, you know what

vassal kingdoms are or fiefdoms. You have the

grand lord, the king, King Jesus. All of creation

is under him. And remember, he tells us that

all authority has been given to him. And we are

given our portion, our little area of his kingdom

to rule over. You've got to be talking to your

kids about this. And then they need to understand

that in their kingdom, they are to take that

power and authority and protect and provide for

those they're responsible for. We're to trust

God. They need to be taught to trust God. Right?

How do we do this? How do we teach them? By making

sure they're in Lord's Day worship, and that

is the center of life. And then as they worship

God from that, That they trust God and do good

One of the things about Lord's Day worship is

we've set aside this time. We're saying we're

not gonna work We're gonna go before the Lord

and even though the enemies of God and the enemies

of the church are raging today We're trusting

God we're gonna worship him. We're gonna rest

we're gonna fellowship and we're trusting God

to deliver us and It sets our hearts and minds

for right thinking for the whole rest of the

week. There's no fretting for you or for how

you teach your children about the enemies of

God. But in joyful contentment, they need to

learn to stand in their post knowing that God

is fighting our battles. So what do you do? Young

people, parents, old folks in here, everybody.

What do you do? Right? You need that you have

to stand your post and be fruitful in cultivating

the fruit of the Spirit. Our children must be

taught that when they fail to stand in their

post and therefore trust God that those that

we are responsible for may in their insecurities

return to the gods of Egypt for help. You see

that sin happen over and over again. Right. Oh

man, we're getting in trouble. Once they become

a nation, they start getting themselves cross

ways with other nations. They're like, I'm worried.

Let's go down and make a pact with Pharaoh. Get

some of his army and his horses up here. That's

a mistake. God says don't do this. There are

children. Are you listening adults? Are you listening

there are real? Consequences to our blasphemous

fretting as if we could even deliver ourselves

from our own sin No, it is Christ Jesus So trust

God and do good stand in your post even when

it's hard Even when somebody comes along and

says they need help over here What's your post?

What's your responsibility don't? Leave it a

King is not to multiply wives Right, let's his

heart be turned away. We see King Solomon is

one Example of this But you know, this is not

just about women but about all kinds of passions

Right your passions. What do you desire to do?

How are you gonna do it? Does it rule you or

do you rule it to rule? Your sexual passions

is to keep yourself for marriage, get married,

and stay faithful to your husband and faithful

to your wife. But what about the passions about

other enjoyments? Food, alcohol, tobacco, entertainment,

video games, debating with other people, whatever

these things are. Are we ruling them? Are they

wild passions that get beyond us, waste our time,

consume our resources? Proverbs 25 -28 says this,

whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like

a city broken down without walls. Young people,

when your parents are trying to teach you the

things of God, they are saying, you gotta say

no to this. Right or you have to say not yet

for this. There's a day coming where you're gonna

have the opportunity to choose But when you just

let your your passions and your desires and your

pleasures guide you You're exposed to what the

fiery serpents of Satan to get in your life and

wreck it Put the walls up by wisdom and understanding.

And parents, you have to teach them how to do

this and how to think it through. Don't be embarrassed

to talk about some of your failures. You don't

have to tell them everything. But be honest and

walk them through. And when they see the nation

sinning, be honest. Have conversations. Talk

about it. Not just as we condemn that, but the

outworking of that sin causes this. and it's

destructive, doesn't please God, and it's bad

for you and all those in your life that you're

responsible for. Our children must be taught

that a king's passions are set to his subjects

and not set upon his own selfish endeavors. Every

man in here who has his family and his kingdom

Think about this. Are your passions set towards

your subjects or are they set upon your own selfish

endeavors? Authority is not given for rulers

to consume their subjects. The king exists for

the glory of God and the benefit of their subjects.

They need to be taught that and you need to model

it for them. This is how it always is by the

way when we when we're talking about how to parent

we go Yeah, I've got to get all these good ideas

to take care of my kids Man, it's a it's cutting.

It's cutting to every one of us as parents Jesus

the King is on the way to glory through suffering

our children must be trained and allowed Responsibility

over others that they may learn how to lead under

authority for the benefit of others Jesus came

down we're told in Philippians and he Subjected

himself to the authority structure of the father

and he came down he served and he died So that

others could be reconciled to God so that you

and I could be reconciled to God through his

work That's powerful that is how we are to be

as husbands as mothers. Young people, that's

your goal, your aim. We must teach them of their

responsibility for others. There's all kinds

of tactics. We don't have time for all this today.

If you want to talk about that, my wife and I

have lots of ideas and things to share. But here's

a few verses to think about. on this subject

Proverbs 11 30 says that the fruit of righteousness

is a tree of life and he who wins souls is wise

So you're trying to teach your children that

the fruit of their righteousness is a tree of

life Not just for yourself. That's just the starting

point It is for the winning of souls. It is for

the converting and blessings of others That's

what fruitfulness in the Lord is for That's Jesus

how Jesus does it Micah 6 -8 tells us this, He

has shown you, O man, what is good, and what

does the Lord require of you but to do justly,

to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

Those directions right there are not inward -facing.

Can you imagine this? Right? It's self -serving.

Oh, I love Jesus. I'm so thankful that God is

just and good. He's full of mercy. Oh, so good

for me. Yeah, be thankful. Have lots of gratitude

towards God. That is the starting point of the

fountain of God's blood through you, this river

of life by the power of his spirit going out

in the world for the benefit of others. We are

told the culmination of the church ages. The

spirit flowing, proceeding from the throne, and

there's these trees that are out there bearing

fruit, the fruit of the spirit, 12 months a year.

Their leaves are for the healing of the nations.

It's always outward -facing, just like Jesus

Christ. Ephesians 4 .29 says this. Young people,

are you listening? Let no corrupt word proceed

out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary

edification, that it may impart grace to the

hearers. I think there are two things here. One

of this is about parents, but I also think we

need to teach them that they are required to

impart grace. Look at me. Are you listening,

young people? Think about how God is giving you

younger brothers and sisters. Do you need to

say every word that you want to say to them?

Do you have to point everything out? Or what

does God require of you? He requires of you to

impart grace to them. So only give them the words

that are necessary for edification. Otherwise,

we embarrass them and we beat them down and we

mock them. And perhaps, As an older brother or

sister, we are leading them in the paths of sin

and discontentment and anger, provoking them

to anger. There's a way to act like a king. I

know a bunch of guys have read The Horse and

His Boy. We talked about it at our last men's

meeting. One of my favorite sections of that

is towards the very end, where King Lun is instructing

the newly crowned Prince Khor. He didn't know

he was a prince. And all of a sudden, he's got

to be taught how to be one. He's crowned as one.

And he says this, for this is what it means to

be a king, the first in every desperate attack.

And we're all like, yeah. Wait, wait. There's

more. And the last in every desperate retreat.

And when there's hunger in the land, as must

be now and then in bad years, Trials will come

to wear finer clothes and to laugh louder over

a scantier meal than any man in your land. We

need to teach our children. As kings, they must

lead in joy, contentment, and love that sees

their people guarded and provided for as they

rule pointing others to Jesus. Remember what's

the continuation of the dominion mandate Matthew

28 we are told Jesus King Jesus has all power

and authority and We're told to make disciples

and teaching them to obey all that I've commanded

We need to understand this and teach this to

them The final prohibition for Kings in Deuteronomy

17 is not to multiply wealth for himself Our

children must be taught to work hard, not to

steal or to use deceptive weights or measures.

They must be taught that God blesses good, honest,

hard work, and that that brings God glory. Wealth

is not to be stored up or hoarded for their own

pleasures, but wealth is given by God that in

wisdom we can use our wealth to enrich and bless

others. Proverbs 11, 24 and 25 says this, there

is one who scatters and yet increases more. In

other words, he's doing what he can to help others.

And there is one who withholds more than is right,

but it leads to poverty. The generous soul will

be made rich and he who waters will also be watered

himself. All the wealth, all the blessings are

so that you as kings and queens in your households

in your dominion can bless others. A godly king,

we're told finally that God sets out one positive

command. It's a requirement that a king should

write down his own copy of God's law. A godly

king keeps it with him and he reads it all the

days of his life that he may fear the Lord and

carefully live. all live according to God's law

in every area of his life. And knowing the law

keeps the Christian king humble in the fear of

God for all that the king does. Everybody in

the room needs to know this. We are responsible

before God. Dearly beloved, you must study God's

word and teach the application of it from your

life and your family's experiences. Study the

Psalms. You've heard me say many times. The Psalms

are the book of emotional maturity. Proverbs,

as you know, is the book of wisdom. And Ecclesiastes

is a perspective of understanding repentance

and still being a king. You can mess it up. Turn

to Jesus. Repent right now and go and do right,

as Jesus would say. Parents. As you move through

the tender priestly years into training for the

kingly stage, do not fret. Right? God promises

to be the God of His people and their children

and all who are afar off because King Jesus died

for you and has called you and declared you His.

You might be thinking, I'm already having a hard

time. How can I do all this? How do I get good

fruit for my children? Just a couple of quick

things here You need to pray earnestly that the

Lord would grant your children new hearts and

covenant faithfulness Pray earnestly that the

Lord would grant your children new hearts and

covenant faithfulness second as Hebrews 12 tells

us we must be faithful to give appropriate chastisement

Appropriate chastisement. Thirdly, you need to

establish an environment which encourages holiness.

Moms and dads in this room, are you establishing

an environment which encourages holiness? Not

just the beat down, but holiness for the glory

of God. Not to say we are the best family, we're

the sharpest family, we have the most together.

or we're the smartest, we know the most about

the Bible, but rather, are we encouraging holiness

that brings glory to God and causes others to

give glory to God? You can think of Philippians

4, 8, or 1 Corinthians 15, 33 for more information.

And then finally, and I cannot emphasize this

enough, Relationship goes both ways in communication.

Relationships go both ways in communication.

The priestly stage, you're telling them again

and again and they're parroting it back to you.

And they build trust and they see your love and

nurture, that's true. But as your kids get older,

if you continue... Trying to just lecture them

all the time where you are the conduit of truth

here it is here it is here it is And you don't

encourage relationship with them you're gonna

lose your kids They're gonna say Dad is deaf

to me. He doesn't hear me. He doesn't hear my

concerns God is interested in his people Jesus

is interested in his people. As parents we must

listen and then talk. We talked about this before

out of Hebrews chapter 4 verse 16. Is your God

Hebrews 4:16

given throne Christ -like? Is it a throne of

grace that can be boldly approached that your

children may obtain mercy and help in a time

of need? Is it that? Or are you rough and irritated,

and you're not going to listen to them? Man,

we think we know it all. We think we know our

children's hearts. We need to ask some questions

and help them. And then we need to help apply

it. And then we need to be ready to say, no,

no, Dad, after you spent five minutes trying

to explain something, after you got a little

information. No, no, no. That's not what I mean.

So OK, help me understand better. You have a

throne of authority. It needs to be a throne

of grace for your wife or your children, men,

to boldly approach for mercy and help in time

of need, right? Your kids have needs. They want

help. They want mercy. They want to figure it

out. Most of our children, I'd say all of our

children, want to please us in some fashion,

especially when they're small. But also, as they

get older, You've got to be willing to engage

and willing to figure out and be humble and say,

you know what? I totally misread that situation.

I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Get their forgiveness.

Have that relationship restored. This is how

we build strength in the relationship with our

children. As your children become older, They

are often not as lovable as when they were younger

Can you believe that the older kids hear me out?

They are smelly in both body odor and attitude

Parents be faithful trust God and do good Parents

Stand your post as fathers and mothers and remember

God's grace that is to you all As Romans 5 -15

reminds us, the grace of God and the gift of

the grace of God by the one man Jesus Christ

abounded to many. Dearly beloved, you are among

the many. Look to Jesus and rest in King Jesus.

Let us pray. Heavenly Father, help us we pray

to love you with all of our hearts, minds, and

souls. Grant us the desires of our hearts that

our children and all who are far off in our families

would grow to fear you, joyfully obeying you,

and grow more and more in faithfulness as priests,

kings, and one -day prophets. We ask all these

things for the sake of Jesus our King, Lord and

Savior, who reigns with you in the Holy Spirit

forever and ever. Amen.