April 25, 2021
Sunday AM
Psalm 145:4 One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts.
God is interested in every generation. When He was talking to Abraham, He was thinking of Jacob, and Isaac. God don’t have any grandchildren. Only sons and daughters.
Psalm 78:1-8 Give ear, O my people, to my law;
Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings of old,
3 Which we have heard and known,
And our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children,
Telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.
5 For He established a testimony in Jacob,
And appointed a law in Israel,
Which He commanded our fathers,
That they should make them known to their children;
6 That the generation to come might know them,
The children who would be born,
That they may arise and declare them to their children,
7 That they may set their hope in God,
And not forget the works of God,
But keep His commandments;
8 And may not be like their fathers,
A stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation that did not set its heart aright,
And whose spirit was not faithful to God.
Christianity is not a religion. It is a family. Family is important to God. Before anything, God is a Father. We are all here because He wanted a family. He created and established family even before the church. Family is the cornerstone of society. The devil knows to destroy society, he must destroy the family unit. Just like God is thinking about the next generation, so is the enemy. He goes after the adults in this generation to get to the kids in the next generation. Because the adults are who tell the children what to do and what not to do. One of his main tools of destruction is divorce. There are not many people on earth who have not been affected by divorce. Directly or indirectly. Many see divorce as an enemy attack on the parents, but he is really focused on the children. Many times, divorce is decided without even thinking of what will happen to the children.
When you conceive, you have created an eternal being that will exist forever, somewhere. That is serious! As the parent, in God’s eyes, you are responsible for that. Your children will end up doing and being in life, what you trained and lived before them. It is the most important responsibility other than your own personal relationship with God. It is the will of God for every family that you spend eternity in Heaven with your children and grandchildren and so on. But, you’re going to have to know what God says and how to do what God says. God is not your caretaker! He is God! He does not mow your grass or clean your house, etc. He has a part and we have a part. We have to train our children and be parents! In many instances the children have more sense than the parents! Kids manipulate their parents and they are so oblivious to that reality. It is your job to know exactly what is going on in your home. There are no perfect parents. Everyone has issues. But if you will put aside foolishness in your life, and run after God, He will step in and help you in your ignorance. He is merciful! Everyone has room for improvement. It is your responsibility to train and teach your children.
Proverbs 22: 6 Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.
It is not the public-school systems job to train your kids. It is not family and children services job. It is not the babysitter’s job. If you let this happen, one day it will have the affect it is meant to have. It will affect them in ways that you won’t be able to turn because of choices you made. That is the world you live in. The enemy has been working his plan in the family unit for a long time. It has gotten out of hand in the United States. In America the typical mindset is that making money is more important than raising children. It may not show consequences immediately, but eventually it will show up. The Word teaches us to work and not to be lazy. But there comes a time when you have to prioritize. What is more important? Renovating the home, having another car, a bigger tv, etc. or investing your time in your children. The most valuable thing you possess is your time. If you spend all your time gong after the money, you won’t have time for your kids. If they keep turning to you, and you are not there, they will turn to the world and outside of God. That is how it works. And when they do this, the enemy will have someone right there at that moment to become a bad influence in that kids’ life. The plan of God is that YOU train your children.
Notice it says, “train up a child in the way he should go,” It is your job to know your child’s strengths and weaknesses. You don’t try to make them into something you wanted to be your whole life. For example, if they cannot shoot a basketball, quit trying to make them! If they cannot sing, do not point them in that direction! Just because you wanted to be a doctor and never pursued that dream, does not mean your children carry the same burden. You have to point them in the direction they should go! God has a direction for every child! To know the strengths and weaknesses of your child, you have to be around them enough to know these things! You can’t do this if you’re off at your job and your kid is at the babysitters, or over at daycare! The enemy loves it! When he can get the kids out from under the watchful eye of their parents. That is how he sows seeds that will sometimes hold them in bondage their whole lives. God will help you! And when you get something wrong, you know where to turn. The mercy of God.
1 Corinthians 7:8-16 But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am; 9 but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.10 Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. 11 But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife.12 But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. 13 And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. 15 But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace. 16 For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?
Not much preaching happens out of chapters like this, which is the problem. People today change spouses like shoes. This passage is very clear! There was a day in America when it was a disgrace to get a divorce. If you don’t have that settled in you, you’ll find a way. There are many times in a marriage that it is easier to walk away than to stay. You have to learn to forgive! People mess up! Including yourself! Paul addressed a marriage that involves one believer and one unbeliever. He is speaking of the kids too! You must make your decisions with your kids in mind! What will getting another job do? What will moving across the country do? What if God had planned their spouse where you currently are, and you moved them so far away? You’ve made a decision that affected the will of God for your child. Why would you ever put money and your job above your family? You’ll do your children the greatest favor you’ve ever done them, if you’ll get them up at church time and establish, “me and my house, we are going to the house of God.”
Disciplining your children does not damage them. You do not break their spirit, you break their will. There is no such thing as a kid that will not obey. Not disciplining your kids is how you raise a brat that will be out in the streets rioting. It affects rebellion and anarchy in our streets today because this was lost in the home and family a while ago. Why? Because mom and dad are out pursuing money and more material things.
1 Timothy 5:14 Therefore I desire that the younger widows marry, bear children, manage the house, give no opportunity to the adversary to speak reproachfully.
There was a day in America where men went out to work and the women stayed home with the children. What happened? The things became more important than raising the children. It will cost you! It is how you live before your kids that will point them in the right direction. They know when you’re faking it. Guide the house! There is absolutely no shame in being a housewife. There is nothing more honorable than to choose your children over anything. Stay home and guide your house! Don’t pick the world over your children!
The devil knows he would be wasting his time if he tried convincing parents to disregard the needs of their children. So, he tries to get us to sacrifice our time with them, by convincing us to work to get the kids more things. Parents need to see the higher need of a child. The higher need is not an extra tv in their room or a $200 pair of shoes. But a parent who is there, present, guiding, and training them. They need your time and attention more than they need things that are not necessities. It is natural for a child to turn to their parents. But, if you are not there, they will turn to another source, outside of God, to have their emotional and spiritual needs met. While you focus on getting their physical and natural needs met. Parents want the best for their kids but fall into the deception that they are providing the best when they give more attention to more natural things instead of the spiritual things. This is when good becomes evil. When we replace the spiritual with the natural and the eternal with the temporal. If you truly love your babies, make sure your sacrifices are the right ones. To sacrifice your time to get more natural things is not always the right choice. The time you spend to earn the money to buy them things and take them places, would have been a much better investment if you’d invested spiritually and morally into the lives of your kids. Parents need to reevaluate the lives with their children in mind. Should we have mom out working so we can have our dream home or a new car? OR should we stay close together as a family now, and wait on God to prosper us? If there is ever an area where God prospers parents, it is those who are willing to see to the sanctification of their children as a first priority.