Trusting God with your Family

Intro:

If you were to go on a long road trip in the car from here to Disneyland… you pick which one..... what would be on your playlist? My wife knows the Forest Gump sound track like it is her life soundtrack! She watched it on the way to the beach at the beach and on the way home from the beach as an elementary kid.

Music has a special place in our lives in special moments..... that album in highschool.... that road trip.... etc.

Open up to Psalm 127 and lets take a look at an original playlist for the Israelites as the traveled the ascending road into Jerusalem 3 times a year for their festivals.

Psalm 127 ESV

A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon. 1 Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. 2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. 3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. 4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. 5 Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Is this Psalm connected.... it looks like two things slammed together..... Building, Watching, and working.... and FAMILY?

A Psalm of Ascent

Babies and the Grandparents....everyone 3 times a year are making a pilgramige and this is the playlist..... mile one with the children screaming.... are we there yet.... and mile 10 when the grandparents are filled with excitement for the end of the journey but dealing with the pain of a failing body......

Psalm 127 puts all this into perspective as a psalm of ascent......

Yes they would come up to the marvelous city of Jerusalem and pass the watchmen....

and head to the Temple in all of it’s beauty......

Trust and dependency is the main theme of this psalm..... Do you trust God with your plans, do you trust God with your protection, do you trust God with your work?

This morning, I want to zoom in on verses 3-5.... I have wrestled with this psalm this week and found that I could have easily done 4 sermons...... This morning, I have felt the conviction of these verses in my own heart and want to share this with you..... God is at work....

Do you Trust God with your Family?

Psalm 127:3–5 ESV

3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. 4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. 5 Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Children are a HERITAGE and a REWARD.

They are the future caretakers of the Mom and Dad.....

They are the future financial representation of the family on Earth

They will defend and protect them in the future...

They are the spiritual legacy for the faith to be passed down to

They are not a guarantee - God is not obliged to give you..... it says here that they are a gift. God is not obligated to give you children, it is truly a gift. A fruit given by God in His timing and in His way.

They are not a hinderance - They are not a problem to be solved

They are not an annoyance - God created them to glorify him at every stage of their life! From the coos and giggles to the screams and sweaty teenage years....

They are not a distraction -

They are not second class church citizens - They are not put on the sideline and told to wait their turn to be a part of the body of Christ.

THEY ARE a HERITAGE and A REWARD. It may seem that they are a handful.... but they have a purpose to leave a heritage and legacy and they are ultimately a reward, a gift to be stewarded from God.

Here we see an image of arrows in the hand of a warrior......another pastor describes this about arrows

An arrow must be Shaped

The stick must become aireo dynamic...... It must be trimmed and readied to be used by the warrior on the bow.

Parents.... you have learned your child since birth.... what he needs to eat, when he needs to sleep.....

What he needs to walk, run, and use the bathroom

What he needs to learn in order to be an adult in the world

What sports teams to root for…etc.

There is often a neglect in parents in regards to the spiritual needs of the Child.”d

Parents......how are you shaping your to know Jesus as their Savior?

It is easy to pass the shaping of your Child spiritually off to someone else...... In an amazon online shopping world.... we treat the church as a place for the kids to get there morality and be “shaped” for their spiritual needs.

Dt 6 or 2 Timothy 3 or Ephesians 5 or so many others. And statistically speaking your are with your children astronomically more than any volunteer or leader at this church...... What they see you believe and behave is how they see faith.

An Arrow must be Directed

If you aim at nothing, you hit it %100 percent of the time.....

If you do not aim your family towards the church, God-dependency, and faith in Jesus...... you will make that happen every time!.....

Is it difficult to direct your children towards trust and faith in Jesus?.... Yes and no

Yes forming a new habit can be difficult.... going to the gym and eating healthy..... it takes time to form the habit.... but once it is formed it is easy.

Proverbs 22:6 ESV

6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Parents what are you training your child for in adulthood? Are you directing them towards trust and faith in Jesus or away from it? What are you aiming your family at?

An Arrow must be Released

children are invincible weapons to be shot into the world for the kingdom of God. - Steven Lawson

How many parents and grandparents have released spiritual babies into the adult world?

How many parents and grandparnets have been reluctant to release children into the world because they wanted to keep their quiver full with their hand on the arrow?

These children stand in the gate with the father.... they are an army of arrows! Ready to be launched

Solomon hear his warning from his life.....

700 wives and 300 concubines.... He had 3 children mentioned in the Bible.... do the math..... He was innefective in shaping, directing, and releasing children into the world..... It was said that he 1 Kings 11:3-4

1 Kings 11:3–4 ESV

3 He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. 4 For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.

Apply this Family point for today at LCBC:

We are starting a Home Group this fall on Wednesday nights for families......with the goal of applying this Psalm....

How can we walk alongside young families to shape, direct, and release their children as arrows?

We are combating several opposing viewpoints..... Kindergarchy or the “opposite babyish adults”.... Parental handoff.... Meet my needs…

Read the Bible together, Discuss it, Pray, Accountability, Sing....

We are going to do this together..... Because this is not something that is learned alone… it is in community

Breaking bread, sharing face to face, opening the Bible together… praying.... the Holy Spirit works

We have children in our worship service with us.... and in the life of our church!

a. the #1 reason a young adult gave for staying in church is “family upbringing”. When is it easiest to teach a habit to a child? Teach them a new language? Teach them the truths of the Bible? When will they learn all about corporate worship together?..... Watching what your parents believe and how they street level actually live out their faith! NOT A KIDS MINISTRY, NOT A YOUTH MINISTRY, NOT A CHILDREN’S PROGRAM...... CAMP..... MINISTER..... CHURCH....

b. Dr. James Dobson says that the faith or faithlessness of a child can be a direct reflection of the parent’s spiritual life.

c. Speak of Krystles role with Zach on Sunday - Encourage parents to engage and talk to your children about the sermon......

3. Children are a heritage from the Lord

a. How many of you are related to a child in your family in the building this morning?

b. The Bible makes it clear in the NT that we are saved from our sins and saved into the local church as brothers and sisters in Christ (numerous places) ( Eph 2:19, Romans 12:10, Galatians 6:10, 1 Timothy 5:1-2).

c. How many of you are related to a spiritual child in your family in the building this morning?

Children are a heritage from the Lord.... we must all join in making disciples of these children together.

If we are going to come alongside these families in our church to make disciples of their children… then we all have a part to play in shaping these young arrows!

LCBC.... how will we choose to see children in this building? in the life of our church? Do we desire to leave a legacy and make disciples of these children? Will we raise them up so that future pastors, missionaries, worship leaders, teachers, deacons, and ministers are raised up at 200 Longbranch.... The children today are our mission field and it is a reward to have them it is a part of our heritage.

Sunday morning Bible Study Teachers

Sunday morning Bible Study Substitute

Nursery workers

Youth Wednesday night adults to disciples teens

Conclusion:

We have some work to do with God......

Repent from a sinful view of Children - They are a heritage and reward

They are not a guarantee

They are not a hinderance

They are not an annoyance -

They are not a distraction -

They are not second class church citizens -

Parents how are you handling those arrows?

Church how are we committed to shaping, directing, and releasing arrows?