Sermon Tone Analysis

Today, we will pick up where we left off from last week, in our teaching on the famous proverb, .

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 ,

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.

,

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 ,

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 ,

If you then mirror this to what Jesus said for us to do

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,

And also

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.

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!

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!

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.

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!