Sept 26, 2021 - Children and Parents
Notes
Transcript
So today we continue making our way thru this book of Ephesians...
For the past 3 weeks we’ve looked at the relationship between Husband and Wife...
EACH - having a specific call from God
Wives - Submit to your own husband, as to the Lord
Your role as HELPER is vital to the growth of your Husband
AS WELL as your own sanctification
Husbands - love your wife as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it
Sacrificial Love - on display
And just like God did in CREATION itself - we are called to create and protect structures that allow our wives to flourish UNDER God...
Love your wife - AS your own bodies!
Husbands are to cherish and NOURISH their wives...
We’re called to HELP our wives - Be satisfied in Christ and NOT the world!
Our WIVES sanctification - is what is at stake here...
This isn’t about SELF-HELP - ultimately!
It’s about the GLORY of God....we’re called to LIVE these things out - SO THAT God would be GLORIFIED!!
And so - there was lots that we looked at the best several weeks...
TODAY - the topic shifts a bit - to Children.
NOW - there aren’t too many children sitting here now - listening...
BUT - technically....we’re all - children - of a father and mother
And so - whether we’re 8 years old, 16, 30, or 43...
We all can hear a truth today that will bless us...
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise),
3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”
4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Throughout the centuries - our children - over that time - have been - earlier and earlier in their lives...
…exposed to MORE and MORE of the world!
They’ve had INCREASINGLY MORE and MORE access to ALL things in this world!
And the reason that IS a problem is because of OUR FALLEN HEARTS...
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
Our hearts - as fallen man - SEEK to do 2 things:
SUPPRESS the TRUTH of God...
WORSHIP God’s Creation
And this is nothing new...
1 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea,
2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,
3 and all ate the same spiritual food,
4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.
5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.
7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.”
8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day.
9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents,
10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer.
11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.
12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.
Our hearts are - IDOL FACTORIES!
And so think of our kids…!
Our kids - as seen in our text today - are called to what?
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
They’re called to OBEY their parents…!
That’s the EXPLICIT command in this text...
But there’s also an IMPLICIT command as well - to who?
To Parents....and specifically as mentioned in v4 - MEN - Fathers...
It says - Obey your parents - - IN THE LORD…for THIS is right!
The call HERE is for children to OBEY their parents - But that obedience is ONLY commanded when it FALLS under the TRUTH and TEACHINGS of GOD… (in the Lord)
And WHEN that happens - our kids (and us OLDER folk whose parents are alive) can know that BLESSING will come...
2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise),
3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”
Blessings flow to those who OBEY the Lord...
Blessing is actually part of the equation of - FAITH
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Our kids NEED to know that God BLESSES those who SEEK HIM!
NOW - it’s KNOWING HOW God blesses us which is key...
AND WHO is called to LEAD in TEACHING our KIDS this KEY…?
4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
KNOW THIS:
SLIDE: The Instruction of the Lord: Fathers are Called to Teach Their Children
The Instruction of the Lord
The Instruction of the Lord
HUSBANDS - Fathers - WE are called to LEAD in this!
To LEAD in the teaching of our CHILDREN!
And so - Just as we saw the last 2 weeks - the Call of HUSBANDS to LEAD their wives in CERTAIN ways...
We see here TODAY - Husbands (Fathers) are ALSO called to TEACH and DISCIPLINE our kids - In the Lord’s Instruction!!
**Kid’s Questions!
It seems you don’t really truly understand how many questions YOU YOURSELF asked your parents when you were little...
UNTIL you have kids of your own and they ask YOU NOW as the parent - 3000 questions a day!
I LOVE when the kids ask questions - because it’s always so interesting to me to REALIZE what they DON’T KNOW… (and sometimes i’m just taken off guard by it…and i think they’re playing dumb…but they just don’t know yet)
As Dads - here’s what we need to know:
your kids - ARE being discipled
Whether BY YOU - or by the world - your kids ARE being discipled!
What I want to focus in on for the rest of our time - is what we should really focus in on as DAD’s when it comes to:
Bringing up our kids in the Instruction of the Lord!
Of course there are a MILLION different things that we could teach our kids…regarding God’s truth
But something I think is a good foundation - - Is the concept of WORKS and GRACE within Christianity!
A MAJOR thing we need to teach is this!
We need to make sure our kids UNDERSTAND that we don’t EARN God’s FAVOR!!
Listen to this verse...
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Our kids need to KNOW -
SLIDE: The Instruction of the Lord: God’s Blessing is Received by Faith, Not Earned
The Instruction of the Lord
The Instruction of the Lord
Our kids need to BE TAUGHT - that FAITH in Jesus ENTAILS believing that He will REWARD those who SEEK HIM!
BUT THAT - DOESN’T imply - physical PROSPERITY!
Our kids need to KNOW THAT!
They need to know that BY FAITH - they should EXPECT reward FROM GOD should they SEEK Him!
BUT - that the REWARD - MOST OFTEN _ will be - JOY IN HIM…even through the valleys of LIFE!!
Jesus Himself - ENDURED the cross…HOW?
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
JOY is coming for those who - SEEK after GOD - BY FAITH!!
Those who WALK BY FAITH - and NOT BY SIGHT!!
We KNOW this to be true don’t WE?
SLIDE:
The blessing of God is often on the road of suffering
Will OUR KIDS learn this without our HELP?
Without OUR HELP DADS - they will come to the road of SUFFERING - and instead of - COUNTING it ALL JOY…they will SHAKE their FIST and REBEL!!
right?
We can START NOW to try and BUILD that INTO THEM...
And it’s HARD!!
Why?
Because our KIDS live in a world where - WORKS/ACHIEVEMENT leads to REWARD...
We live in a world where:
You wanna eat dinner? EARN IT
You wanna new car? EARN IT
You wanna play on Varsity? EARN IT
You wanna job? EARN IT
You wanna pay raise? EARN IT
You want more playing time? EARN IT
You want an ALLOWANCE? EARN IT
You want your parents to trust you? EARN IT
This is the world we live in!!
Our kids experience a world where EVEN their PARENTS (us) -
PREACH morality into their lives!
We WANT our kids to be OBEDIENT…to us...
Because the opposite leads to - CHAOS
And so we preach MORALITY!
And we’ll build into that a WORKS-BASED system!
Just be good and - you can have ice cream
Just be good and - you can stay up late tonight
And I GET IT - I DO IT...
We just want our kids to POLITE, FUNCTIONING kids...
And that’s a GOOD thing!!
But because we NEED to do this - we (DADS) need to be ALSO teaching our kids what FAITH is!
We can’t LEAVE everything at the DEED level with our kids...
We MUST push things in to the HEART!
We must talk to our kids about MOTIVES...
About LOVE...
And how those things relate to FAITH!
We need to begin - EARLY - teaching our kids that God’s BLESSING comes through FAITH - and not through our EARNING those blessings through works...
We can’t TEACH God’s truth to our kids the same way we TEACH them about EVERYTHING else in life...
We can’t SAY - EARN IT!
It’s HARD!
We must be INTENTIONAL!
ANOTHER AREA I think we as DADs need to FOCUS on with OUR KIDS - is talking to our kids about HOW DANGEROUS the world really is...
…and HOW our HEARTS can so easily be drawn to the world!
They need to know that the world can KILL them in 2 ways!!
Let’s look at both ways...
SLIDE: The Instruction of the Lord: The World Can Kill Us By Withholding Itself From Us!
The Instruction of the Lord
The Instruction of the Lord
Our kids need to know this!
How many of you have walked through a VALLEY recently?
Many of us have…We ALL have at some point in time.
Sometimes those valleys consist of us - NOT KNOWING where our next paycheck is coming from...
Sometimes those valleys consist of us - not knowing if our test results are gonna come back in a GOOD light...
Sometimes those valleys consist of us - REALLY struggling in our marriage...
HEARTBROKEN over the loss of a loved one!
VALLEYS will often try to - CHOKE out our JOY...
They want to KILL our JOY...
That’s what the WORLD wants you to DO...
The world wants our Joy in Christ - to DIE…and valleys can sometimes DO THAT!
And the WORLD will PROMISE us - that IT can get us out of that VALLEY - and satisfy us.
And so the WORLD - when it’s WITHHELD from us..can KILL us - as we CRAVE IT!!
And so - OUR KIDS need to know that the WORLD - will try to take their JOY in Jesus - and KILL IT!!
The world wants our kids - to ONLY see TODAY - to ONLY see their IMMEDIATE circumstances...
And to BLAME GOD - when they look around - and realize they’re in - A VALLEY!!
BLAME GOD when they look around - and realize that they’re - BROKE!! NO - money
Well - what happens when we don’t have MONEY!???
We CRAVE money!!
We’ll BELIEVE that IF WE JUST HAD it - all our problems would go away!
When we walk thru the VALLEY of Heartache - Alcohol or Depression can easily become the altar we worship at!!
When we walk thru the valley of Loneliness - family can easily become the altar we worship at!!
When we walk thru the VALLEY of Poverty - Money can easily become the altar we worship at!!
And so MONEY - at that point - BECOMES our idol!
Well - what does the Bible say about that?
24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
The WORLD - tries everything it can - to get our kids to READ this and say - That’s NOT true!
I can serve God and MONEY and I WILL serve Money!
Money is my - SAVIOR!
The world wants us DADS - to neglect teaching our KIDS about the dangers of the world...
The world wants our KIDS - to believe that VALLEYS in life - are more powerful - than God’s promises!
But we can’t be fooled…Dads
21 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch,
22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.
DADs - can WE PREACH v22 here to our KIDS!!??
We must!
Our kids MUST know - that SUFFERING is the playing field of Christianity!!
And that GOD - USES that playing field (VALLEYS) to make us more like HIM!!!
They need to know SUFFERING is coming....BUT ALSO...
12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
You might think - SEE Mike - it’s ABOUT EARNING your crown!
NO - no it’s not!!
What are the last 4 WORDS of this verse?
“those who LOVE Him”...
FAITH is at work in this verse!
Our kids need to KNOW:
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
This here is the PLAYING field of Christianity!! - TRIALS
And the reason we can be CONFIDENT - the reason our KIDS can be CONFIDENT their faith will lead to Godly REWARD?...
6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Who will COMPLETE this work in us?
God will!
He will SUSTAIN us through those VALLEYS - as He molds us/our children into the men and women He wants them to be!!
Our kids need to know this!
They need to SEE VALLEYS a certain way!!
And DADS - it’s our call to teach them HOW to see the valleys of life...
NOT ONLY THAT...
The world can ALSO kill us another way...
SLIDE: The Instruction of the Lord: The World Can Kill Us By Giving Itself to Us
The Instruction of the Lord
The Instruction of the Lord
· Let’s say you’re not poor, but rich.
· You’re not lacking – but you HAVE
· WHEN you LOVE the world –
If you DON’T HAVE the world – you will CRAVE IT
If you HAVE IT – you will be PROUD of it
· …and really glad you GOT it!
· It will be ALL you talk about!
· You’ll talk all day long about the STUFF YOU HAVE…and not about Christ
· This is what the world WANTS from us…from our KIDS!
THEREFORE – we – dads – must teach them the truths about the world!
· We need to teach our kids that the MOUNTAIN TOPS of life – are where MOST of our IDOLS reside!
· That it’s on the MOUNTAIN TOPS of life where our LOVE will most often be – STOLEN
· And redirected to that NEW POSSESSION…the riches of this world!
14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.
· Do you see?
· Riches can CHOKE out our LOVE for Christ!
Our Kids need to know the truth of this world!
SLIDE:
Earthly possessions are inferior to the heavenly one
2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
Before we knew Christ, we set our minds on everything the world views as valuable.
Yet when we gave our hearts to Christ, there’s an immediate recognition of the fading value of material things.
Through the knowledge and presence of the Holy Spirit, we begin to desire greater heavenly rewards more so than the earthly ones.
SLIDE:
Earthly possessions will eventually be destroyed
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
Think about it: The most expensive and greatest treasures on the earth will have the same end—nothingness.
After Jesus comes back and the world is judged, there will be nothing worth holding on to.
In spite of this, many people will continue to cling to their earthly possessions because they long to be more comfortable in the present moment rather than in their eternal future.
SLIDE:
Earthly possessions can’t be trusted
28 Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf.
Every day something of worldly value is broken, destroyed, lost, or stolen in some part of the world.
Many who suffer this type of loss may never completely recuperate from it emotionally or financially.
However those who truly trust in God and His heavenly riches only have to suffer temporary loss from the world, but they will gain much more in the Lord’s peace, joy, and grace.
SLIDE:
Earthly possessions can’t be given in exchange for your soul
26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
What is this saying?**
When we all stand before God, there won’t be one earthly possession in our hands.
Both saints and sinners come before the King of kings with only what we did with our lives—either accepting or rejecting Jesus.
Those who put their trust in Him will have no reason to fear; however, those who rejected God for the pursuit of riches will have much sorrow and regret.
SLIDE:
Earthly possessions are worth less than a good name
1 A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.
Many people underestimate the value of a good name in the pursuit of wealth and earthly possessions.
Yet a good reputation brings a lifetime of blessings and respect; while the loss of reputation brings scorn that will follow people to the grave and beyond.
Those who turn down financial opportunities to keep their good name will be blessed beyond measure in God’s economy.
The Mountain tops of life are dangerous places….WHY - because our hearts are IDOL factories!!
Husbands – Dads – we must teach our kids these truths!
Think of this verse:
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
· Dads, do you trust that God will work out ALL things together for good – for YOUR KIDS – who love Jesus?
· IF SO – understand that YOU are a MEANS by which God will WORK ALL THINGS together for good for those who LOVE HIM…
· YOU leading your home and teaching your kids GOD’S TRUTH - IS probably the MAIN means by which God does this…
· AND SO – how you doin?
· Is this happening in your home?
· Is it a priority?
What have we seen today?
SUMMARY
Dads - We are called to lead our kids in…
We’re not merely after their OBEDIENCE - but their OBEDIENCE in the Lord!
The Instruction of the Lord
Fathers are Called to Teach Their Children
God’s Blessings Are Received by Faith, Not Earned
The World Will Kill Us By Withholding Itself From Us
The World Will Kill Us By Giving Itself to Us
To close today, we’re gonna switch it up a bit.
- Earlier this year, I really started thinking about my kids future…IN RELATION to my future.
- I don’t know how much longer I have left…
- And so I was thinking….
- If I could only say one last thing to my kids….what would I say?
- If I knew today was my last day on this earth…
- What would I want to tell them before I go?
- And SO – most of you know I like to write songs – and so I wrote one
- And the song itself – is what I would want to tell them. (I wrote it with that in mind)
I assume you can relate to the words - as I think this would be a prayer we all have for our kids.
- And so we’ll close with a song today – Rachel is gonna actually come up and sing with me…