Be Careful of What and How You Are Training Up
Train Up A Child • Sermon • Submitted
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· 19 viewsWe are responsible as parents as well as disciples to teach and prepare the next generation! Failure to do so, comes with repercussions!
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Today, we will pick up where we left off from last week, in our teaching on the famous proverb, .
Today, we will pick up where we left off from last week, in our teaching on the famous proverb, .
Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Now, if you were here last week, then you will remember that I mentioned a few key points that will carry forward into today’s message.
This Proverb is not a “guarantee” of the course or path that your child, or your “spiritual” child will walk and stay on throughout their life. As each person becomes accountable for their own life, they will make decisions that determine what path they will walk. Solomon is telling us that there is correct path to point them towards and a way that they should be shown to go; the way that leads to life eternal. The path of following the Lord, as Jesus, Himself said about life eternal in ,
And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.
As we work to train up those that the Lord has entrusted to our care, (whether they are actual, physical children, or new spiritual children in the kingdom), we should always make sure that what we say, is our word and the truth. That our “yes” means “yes” and our “no” means “no”. The Bible, as we saw last week, clearly shows us that we are to be very careful about what comes out of our mouths, in terms of vows to God, as well as to others. ,
“When you make a vow to the Lord your God, be prompt in fulfilling whatever you promised him. For the Lord your God demands that you promptly fulfill all your vows, or you will be guilty of sin. However, it is not a sin to refrain from making a vow. But once you have voluntarily made a vow, be careful to fulfill your promise to the Lord your God.
In terms of training up, raising up, children (physical and/or spiritual ones), there was a main point that I stressed last week. That point was this: we are to make sure that what we say and teach to them, must be walked out within our own lives. They watch very closely what we say and do, and they will learn that just because you say one thing, doesn’t necessarily mean that is what you are going to do! YOUR TALK AND WALK HAD BETTER MATCH UP. Do not be a hypocrite and use the “Do as I say, not as I do” method of teaching. Jesus, himself said this, if you remember from last week, in ,
“The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.
Let your “yes” mean “yes” and your “no” mean “no”! Do not say/teach one thing, but then live out another way!
So, in training up a child, (actual child or a new Christian), the groundwork was laid by God from the beginning, as we find in ,
So, in training up a child, (actual child or a new Christian), the groundwork was laid by God from the beginning, as we find in ,
“So commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,
or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God,
If you then mirror this to what Jesus said for us to do
No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another. “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’ “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.
“If you love me, obey my commandments.
No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”
Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me. “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
From the OT to the NT and to present day, the method of TRAINING UP A CHILD, has not changed; teach them the word and give them the understanding of how and why to follow the WORD. (Use the example as laid out by Jesus and the apostles; teach the word, but also DEMONSTRATE HOW TO LIVE THE WORD!)
As we read last week,
Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
And also
Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example.
The living, breathing Word of God, is the very thing that guards the heart and mind of every child and Christian! It is the food that feeds the spirit within us and it is the only offensive weapon that the believer carries onto the battlefield!
When you get an infection in your body, the cells within you recognize that the the new cells are not friendly and do not belong within you and they alert our fighting system of the human body known as the “immune response” system.
This system begins to release the fighter cells of our body, called the white blood cells and they go to work.
These cells both destroy germs, as well as stop the replication of virus cells. (They fight and protect within us). They also memorize the virus and what it looks like, in case it tries to attack again, so that they can go right to work on fighting it! They know it and what its presence looks like and can thus go right to work on thwarting it before it takes hold of the body!
This is spiritually what takes place within us, as Christians, when we have the empowering presence of Holy Spirit active in our bodies. He instantly recognizes the foreign threat of sin/the enemy and alerts us to it. Then, just as the white blood cells recognize the foreign threat and remember it and how to deal with it and go to war on it, Holy Spirit brings to remembrance all that we have been fed from the WORD and thus affords us the ability to fight the hostile threat of the foreign presence within us/around us!
Just as a weakened and compromised immune system in the human body struggles to fight the attack, in the natural sense, so also, does a weakened spiritual immune system struggle to fight the attack of the enemy and the temptation of sin!
You must feed your natural body good things to have a healthy immune system in order to fight infection and so also and even more importantly, you must feed your spiritual body so that you can fight the infection of sin! If left alone and not dealt with in their respective bodies, both types of infection can kill you! Yet only one of the two can lead to the second death; the eternal death!
This is why, as parents, we should strive to develop patterns of what is healthy and nutritious for our kids, so that down the road they will have the unction and desire to keep feeding their bodies what is needed! (You can literally help to promote an appetite for good things within them.)
30 Days to Live
“You, " said the doctor to his patient, "are in terrible shape you’ve got to do something about it. First, tell your wife to cook more nutritious meals. Stop working like a dog. Also inform your wife you’re going to make a budget, and she has to stick to it. And have her keep the kids off your back so you can relax. Unless there are some changes in your life, you’ll probably be dead in a month."
"Doc", the patient said, "this would sound more official coming from you. Could you please call my wife and give her those instructions?’ When the fellow got home, his wife rushed to him. "I talked to the doctor" she wailed, "poor man, you only have 30 days to live".
So also, and more importantly, we should ever be diligent to promote and teach those entrusted to us to develop a spiritual appetite for what is healthy and needed for strong spiritual development!
Mention how you always stay on your daughters about things they eat and drink and the ingredients within them and how Dee and I do not keep a lot of junk sitting around our house.
So, we are responsible for teaching/feeding the life bringing and sustaining WORD of almighty God those whom God has entrusted in our care ! (Train them up/dedicate them to it and in it!)
When I mention, “those entrusted to us”, I mean both children in the natural/physical state, as well as those new Christians in the kingdom.
When I mention, “those entrusted to us”, I mean both children in the natural/physical state, as well as those new Christians in the kingdom.
If they are under your care and the Lord has entrusted them over to you, then how you treat them and the way that you teach and train and dedicate them to the right path, is something that you will answer for when you stand before Him! (There will be no excuses given at that time!)
I have known parents that belittle and berate and talk down to their children constantly and all in the name of DISCIPLINE and then wonder why their house is under stress and no peace!
Fathers, do not aggravate your children, or they will become discouraged.
The word for aggravate used here is the Greek word, erethizō, and it means: make resentful, to stir up embitterment, to provoke!
There is a VAST difference between the DISCIPLINE of a child and PROVOKING a child to a state of self worthlessness and discouragement and frustration!
Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) (electronic ed.). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
I have seen and talked with kids who have been talked DOWN to so much and brow beaten for so long, by their parents, that their soul (that is, their heart and minds) no longer have any drive or belief within them that they hold any value and that their lives are basically worthless!
“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.
If you look at others, when they falter or do wrong, and you quickly lash out and pronounce judgement instead of giving correction and guidance through love and wisdom, then you are inviting God to do the same in your life and within your faults!
I completely believe in discipline and correcting those whom we have been entrusted; (I believe in spanking, if necessary), but discipline is supposed to bring about an atmosphere that promotes and develops and yields a more emotionally solid, healthy, confident, loving and yes, obedient and honest young adult; not producing one that is broken and disheartened and devoid of an understanding of self value and agape love.
These are not horses that you are to bridle and break so that you can get on them and ride them until they have no spirit and life left in them!
The measure that you use will be measured back against you!
People may say to this, “Well, Jesus wasn’t teaching on parenting when He said that!”
You know what, you’re right. In fact, in that whole section called the Sermon on the Mount, He never mentioned parenting! He did, however deal with, what was considered being a blessed person and having right attitudes, motives, matters of the heart. He talked about being His light and letting that light shine for the glory of the Father, He talked about legalism, anger and forgiveness, adultery and marital commitments, vows to God and vows to others, seeking revenge versus going the extra mile, loving your enemies paying back good for wrong doings. He was teaching on giving to the needy, and of how and why we should fast and pray and forgive those who wronged us, so that we would be forgiven by our Father in Heaven. He talked about hypocrisy in our lives and about avoiding the love of money and the things of this world, which would all pass away. He stressed storing up treasures in heaven versus treasures on earth! He stressed to us the need for persistent and continual prayer, He told us to treat others as we wanted to be treated. He directed us to the gate and the path that truly leads to eternal life. He told us know that our fruits (our actions) truly dictated who and what we were and what we believed in. He warned us of thinking we were His disciples simply based on our works and actions and deeds. He instructed us on building our lives in faith and upon the solid foundation of His teachings and His WORDS! And yes, He taught on judging others lives with condemnation for their faults and the reality that this would bring the same thing back into our own lives!
In a nutshell, Jesus was talking about LIFE IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN GENERAL! (ALL ASPECTS OF IT!)
And guess what is smack dab in the middle of our walk in the Kingdom of God? YUP, you got it........training up a child (or those that He has entrusted to us!)
And so, it is here that I will bring back up the point that I mentioned last week and the quote that I used in conjunction with it.
And so, it is here that I will bring back up the point that I mentioned last week and the quote that I used in conjunction with it.
I read to you last week a quote that was made from Adolf Hitler and placed above a gas oven in Auschwitz. That quote was, “I want to raise a generation of young people devoid of a conscience, imperious, relentless and cruel.”
In saying this, there came a warning that is the title of today’s message, which is, “Be Careful of What and How You Are TrainingUp”!
Along with this quote from Hitler, listen to a few more that he said:
“If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.”
“Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it.”
“The victor will never be asked if he told the truth.”
“It is not truth that matters, but victory.”
“I believe today that my conduct is in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator.”
“All propaganda has to be popular and has to accommodate itself to the comprehension of the least intelligent of those whom it seeks to reach.” (In other words tickle their ears!)
“He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future.”
Do you see what he was saying? Truth, the real TRUTH, has no baring. Just keep lying and saying whatever is comfortable and feels good to the masses and keep doing it long enough until you have grabbed a hold and control the youth (the next generation) and then you will have whatever victory you are striving for!
BE VERY CAREFUL OF WHAT AND HOW YOU ARE TRAINING UP!
Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him.
“Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
If you raise up a generation that is devoid of THE TRUTH, (Jesus Christ and the gospel message), then that generation, that nation, and those that come after it, will suffer the consequences!
“But if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and if you are drawn away to serve and worship other gods, then I warn you now that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live a long, good life in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy. “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
Here we see Moses before he dies, making his great speech to the children of Israel and encouraging them to continue in committing themselves to the Lord, that they and their descendants might live.
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“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
This is Joshua’s great speech before he died and again, the instilling of the people keeping their worship to God and Him only is stressed.
, “Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods”.
, “.......Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”
, “And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord.” Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.” And the people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.”
Do you see what the people are committing to in these verses?
Now, here comes the really interesting part in
When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the Lord had done for Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years. And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel. And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger. They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them for harm, as the Lord had warned, and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress.
Do you see what happened? A people that had been miraculously brought out of bondage and slavery in Egypt, who had witnessed the great and mighty power of El Shaddai, has now turned from Him and worshipping Him and broken their covenant vows to worship false gods.
In just THREE generations we witnessed the removal of God from the new generation that has come up!
Historians and sociologists have noticed an interesting trend within civilization, cultures and societies, that they refer to as the phenomenon of the third generation. Simply put, they have observed that there commonly occurs deterioration within a community that tends to climax with the third generation.
The first generation is marked by growth.
The second generation is marked by entrenchment.
The third generation is marked by decline.
Moses to Joshua to new generation we just read of was three generations.
Now watch this, The generation born approximately between the years 1946 and 1964, called the Baby Boomers, was one generation. The next generation born, approximately from 1961 to 1981, called Generation X, was the second generation. Now, the newest generation, starting from the early 80’s and coming forward, called the Millennials, is our third generation and they are now the largest generation in shear numbers in this country based on last years census.
Why do I mention this? Because all of the studies and polls taken have shown a major shift within this generation away from God and Christianity. This generation has become devoid of the TRUTH and as Hitler said, “It is not truth that matters, but victory. He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future.”
The people of Israel did not train up their generations with the knowledge of and understanding of worshipping the One True God and they suffered for it.
The people of America have not trained up their generations with the worship of the almighty God and the understanding of salvation through Jesus Christ alone and look at all that our nation now embraces!
says this
‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’
If one generation does not repent and turn from their sin and train up their children to do the same, then the pattern snow balls going into the third and fourth generations!
Salvation through Jesus Christ and love of He and His Father, Jehovah, is the greatest legacy that can be passed from one generation to the next!
Salvation through Jesus Christ and love of He and His Father, Jehovah, is the greatest legacy that can be passed from one generation to the next!
A study was once done on two men who lived in the late 1700's, both from the same state of New York. The first, Max Jukes, did not believe in Christ or in Christian training. He refused to take his children to church even when they asked to go. Many fathers today are like Max, they do not follow Christ and they see no value in Christian training. Some even invent ways or make excuses for keeping their family from the true things of God. Max's decision was very destructive to his family and costly to the state of New York. Max had 903 known descendants. The second man studied was the great Puritan preacher, Jonathan Edwards. He was an uncompromising theologian and pastor who lived to please God and was a man of prayer. The researcher found 1,394 descendants of Jonathan Edwards. (SHOW SLIDE)
What legacy are we going to leave behind for this generation right now?
Gallup released its annual, MOST ADMIRED, list at the end of 2016 after asking more than 1,000 people throughout the United States which man they admire most in the world. This same poll has been going on for over 60 years.
Now get this. Last year a man was named number 5 on that list and has been in the top TEN every year since the poll has been in existence! That man’s name was the Reverend Billy Graham!
The legacy that he is leaving behind is still being recognized into this new generation!
“Choose this day whom you will serve!”
We can still change the course of events by training up the children and going after the lost and giving them the TRUTH that will set the fourth generation FREE!