Please turn in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter
6 verses 4 through 9. Deuteronomy chapter 6 verses
4 through 9. Today we are going to consider the
subject following up on the sermon last week
about covenant children or holy children. Today
we want to look at the subject nurturing and
training children in Christian faith and practice.
This is going to be part one, as I'm not able
to get through all of the subject matter that
I had, so we're going to divide this into two
sermons. Today is part one. Deuteronomy chapter
6. The place of Deuteronomy is where the people
of Israel are gathered together and they're ready
to enter into the promised land. And Moses calls
them, and he calls them... to hear the word of
God once again and to hear the law that was revealed.
And in so doing, he also reminds them of many
things that the Lord has done. In chapter 6,
he is speaking to them about the commandments
of the Lord. And he comes with this great statement,
this great command in verse 4. Hear, O Israel,
the Lord our God, the Lord is with you. You shall
love the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your soul and with all your strength.
And these words which I command you today shall
be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently
to your children and shall talk of them when
you sit down or when you sit in your house, when
you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when
you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign upon
your hand. They shall be as fundus between your
eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of
your house and on your gates. The next passage
that we're going to consider is Proverbs chapter
22 and verse 6. Proverbs 22 and verse 6. Here
again is the word of the Lord. Train up a child
in the way he should go, and when he is old,
he will not depart from it. And then one more
in the book of Ephesians chapter 6. Ephesians
chapter 6 in verse 4. And you, fathers, do not
provoke your children to wrath, but bring them
up in the training and admonition of the Lord.
Let's pray. Father, we have considered these
various passages in your word. For Lord, you
have inspired these and you have given them to
us, Lord, for us to consider. So Lord, as we
have read them, and now as we look at them and
attempt to... Seek to understand this in a greater
detail. We pray that you would grant the power
of your Holy Spirit. We pray that every word
that is spoken today might be pleasing in your
sight, that our words and our thoughts, Lord,
would glorify you. I pray, Lord, that you would
illuminate our hearts today by the power of the
Holy Spirit, that you would lead us and speak
to us. I ask this all in Jesus' name. Amen. We
are blessed to have many age groups in this congregation,
from newborn children and children just about
to be born, to teenagers, single adults, and
families, some of who are in the trenches right
in those childbearing years. Others of us are
navigating the middle years of childbearing,
and some of us has left those years behind. and
are now enjoying our grandchildren. But lest
you think that this sermon is directed only to
those rearing children, and that there's really
not too much for you in it, I assure you that
that is not the case. Because our subject today
is all about discipleship, and discipleship belongs
to every stage of adulthood. Whether you are
in your 20s getting started with a family, Or
if you are in your 80s, there is a place for
you to be an example, to teach, to love, and
to encourage others. Remember that every time
when there is a baptism, after I ask the questions,
I then turn to the congregation and I ask this
question. Do you, the congregation of Grace Reformed
Church of Weezer, receive these baptized as members
of this church? and promise to undertake the
responsibility of supporting these parents as
they nurture these children to the Christian
faith and practice to the glory of God. And you
all answer with a hearty amen. We do this. We
commit. And at this time, you have committed
yourself to bless and support parents who are
in the trenches, to bless them, to give words
of encouragement to them, and to help in this
discipleship process. Because this is part of
the Great Commission. Often when we think of
the Great Commission, we think of foreign missions.
We think of going into the far off lands and
bringing the gospel. Or we think of street evangelism.
Or we think of other things like that. But this
is just as much part of the Great Commission.
This follows right up on the command of Jesus
to baptize the nations and to teach them to observe
all things that he has commanded us. Matthew
28, verse 19 and 20. God calls each of us. to
use our gifts to glorify him and to be a part
of the edification and benefit of the body of
Christ, which is the whole discipleship process.
So I want to take consideration of the role and
responsibility of parents in the discipleship
of the children that God gives you. But to all
of the others, let us also be there as support,
as encouragement, with words of wisdom, words
of caution, or whatever it may be, as the Lord
gives us that wisdom. But to the parents, we
want to look more closely at the discipleship
of the children that God has given you. For when
God gives you children, they are your nearest
disciples and your first. As we saw last week,
they are God's children. And he has given them
to you as infants so that you can bring them.
You can teach them about God. You can teach them
about God's word and his law, about grace and
the precepts of the Christian faith. You get
to do this most wonderful thing. to be responsible
for the formation and growth of these precious
souls that God has entrusted to you. Now, when
we talk about parenting, There's various conversations
that occur in the world around us. There's a
number of types of parenting styles that are
described and followed. There's neglectful or
uninvolved parenting. There's permissive and
indulgent parenting. There's authoritarian parenting
or even words like helicopter parenting or tiger
parenting or gentle parenting and more. There's
many different ones that are described. The style
of parenting that I believe best describes the
biblical model is the one called authoritative
parenting. That is, it's often considered, even
in the world, by many, by many psychologists,
to be the most effective and balanced. That is,
where there's high expectations, but those expectations
are accompanied by warm and close relationships,
and that parents are to set clear rules and expectations,
but they also explain reasons and listen to the
child and provide warmth and support. This encourages
independence and growth in thinking of the child,
of reasoning and self -regulation, and therefore,
Children then tend to be confident or responsible
and socially skilled, even academically successful
and emotionally healthy. Now, that's the way
the world describes authoritative parenting,
but it actually lines up pretty much with what
God says in his word about parenting. Because
God's word does speak to this. We're going to
be looking. at five overarching directives given
to parents regarding their children. Parents
are commanded by God to love them, to nurture
them, to teach them, to train them, and to correct
and discipline them. Today, I'm going to be looking
at the scriptural directives for the first two,
love and nurture. We'll get to that in a moment,
and then, Lord willing, next week, We'll finish
up with the last three. That is to teach, train,
and correct and discipline. But there's two other
foundational points that I want to make before
we get into that. And that is, actually they're
kind of tied together. It's the covenantal foundation
and the gospel foundation. When you go back and
look at what God told Abraham. In Genesis chapter
18 and 19, we have something really to grasp
from this. But I would remind you, first of all,
that Abraham is called, by Paul in the New Testament,
in Romans 4 verse 16, he is called the father
of us all. Abraham, the father of us all. So
we're going to look to Abraham here and see what
God told him. Because it's recorded in Genesis
chapter 8 and verse 19 where God speaks and he
says, For I have known him, and he's speaking
about Abraham, I have known him in order that
he may command his children and his household
after him. that they keep the way of the Lord,
to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord
may bring to Abraham what he has spoken to him.
And this speaks of the covenant foundation that
God had with Abraham regarding him and his children
or his offspring. But this is also with us in
the gospel. The New Testament speaks of this
over and over again, that we're the children
of Abraham. We are the inheritors. All who are
in Christ are the inheritors of the promises
given to Abraham. God has known us. He has saved
us. He has done great things. And because he
is in covenant with us and he has given us grace,
then we are able by his grace to keep the way
of the Lord. And we can command our children
and our household after God so that they will
keep the way of the Lord. Psalm 127 brings this
out further. Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it. Unless the Lord
guards the city, the watchman stays awake in
vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to
sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows. For
so he gives his beloved sleep. Behold, children
are a heritage. Of the Lord. The fruit of the
womb is his reward. You did not earn the children
that God gave you any more than you earned your
salvation from sin. No, it is all God's infinite
and amazing, wonderful, marvelous, and matchless
grace that he has given to you. And he gave you
children that are a heritage. From him. This
is the foundation. Of covenant and gospel. When
you rightly emphasize actions and behavior. And
didactic teaching and correction. In the discipleship
of your children. It is easy. It is easy to fall
into the works trap. Do this. Don't do this.
Or else. And the children can come to think.
That they live in a works based relationship
with you. If they obey, they are good. And if
they disobey, they are not good. Instead, you
must teach and live and declare the gospel to
them and before them, demonstrating that they
are your children by the providence of God and
that is not based on their works or your works.
Live the gospel. They are your children by God's
providence. And so you teach them to confess
their sins, to repent, to trust in Christ. And
you do it yourself when you sin against them
or others. You teach it and you demonstrate it.
And as you live in the gospel, that we are not
saved by our merits and actions, but that because
we are the children of God and they are your
children by God's grace, then you teach them
the all things of Jesus. Yes, sound doctrine,
right practice, good living, and above all, a
love for God. But it all flows from the grace
of God that he has given to you. You are raising
little Christians. Treat your children not only
as children, but also then as your brothers and
sisters in Christ. You treat them that way. You
give them the word of God from the very earliest
times as you teach and correct and instruct and
discipline them. Do unto them as you would have
them do to you and continually point them to
Christ. and that we are saved by grace through
faith and not of works, lest any should boast.
If we're going to understand the precepts of
child rearing and training that he gives in his
word, we've got to get this right. It must be
there that we are a gospel -centered family.
We trust in Christ. We live by grace toward one
another and toward God. With that foundation,
Let's now look at these first two directives
of God about the key parental responsibilities
in the discipleship and training of God's covenant
children. The first one is to love your children.
Now, I'm going to say right at the outset, what
do you mean love? Of course we love our children.
They're ours. And yet there are many who do not
love. And furthermore, there are many more that
do not biblically love. So we're going to look
at the word of God about biblical love or loving
our children as God calls us to. Titus chapter
2 verse 3 and 4. The older women are to teach
the younger women to admonish the young women.
They're to admonish the young women to do what?
To love their husbands and to love their children.
Right there. Love their children. And then we
see this in 1 John 3, verse 18, in God's attitude
toward his children. And John, as he's speaking
here, he says, My little children, let us not
love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in
truth. So we are called here to love those, to
love these children, and whether that's children
as in a family or children as in a church, which
John was probably speaking of. He says, let us
not love in word or tongue. That doesn't mean
we don't say, I love you. No, but it means that
it's demonstrated in our deeds and in the truth.
We give them the truth, and by the deeds that
we do, we show and demonstrate that we love our
children. And then we have this wonderful verse
in Psalm 103, verse 13, which shows the fatherhood
of God, and it applies it to us as well. He says,
as a father, And this is in the sense of compassion
and love. As a father does toward his children,
so also the Lord does toward us. Now I start
with this one because love is the foundation
of all action from God to his people as our foundation.
I'm going to repeat that because it's very, very
important. Love is the foundation of all action
from God to His people as our Father. We see
all that God has done for us. The many different
benefits. We see His glorious attributes. But
all of God's actions toward us flow from a foundation
of love. Love. Is why the father sent Jesus to
lower himself to be a man. And to suffer and
die and rise again. This most familiar verse
in John 3 .16. For God so loved the world. That
he gave his only begotten son. That whosoever
believes in him should not perish. But have everlasting
life. What is the foundation of the action of
God? Love. He so loved the world then that he
gave. Why do we love God? Hear these words from
John the Apostle again as inspired by the triune
God. And we have known and believed the love
that God has for us. God is love. And he who
abides in love abides in God and God in him.
Love has been perfected among us in this, that
we may have boldness in the day of judgment,
because as he is, so are we in this world. There
is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out
fear, because fear involves torment. But he who
fears has not been made perfect in love. And
then we have this power -packed sentence. We
love him because he first loved us. This is the
action. Love is the foundation of all action
from God to us, his people, as our father. Since
that is the case, then we must learn how to model
our love as parents to our children from the
way God loves us. God is our example. God has
loved us first, and therefore we can learn to
love our children in that way. He has modeled
it for us. This love ought to be a grand, overarching
love, the foundation of all action. It's sacrificial
and it's comprehensive. Now sometimes, this or
some parts of this love comes naturally. It's
just... There, a child is born and you look down
on the baby and just your love, the love just
starts to flow immediately for this baby. God
speaks of this in Isaiah 49, 15. Can a woman
forget her nursing child and have not compassion
on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget,
yet I will not forget you. So this is God demonstrating
his covenant love by the example of a mother's
love for her child. So, but in other ways, we
must learn how to love our children by the grace
of God and how he loves us, even when we are
unlovely. And sometimes your children will do
things that are unlovely. Sometimes they will
do things, and sometimes it's things that might
need some correction and so forth, but other
times it's also, it's just, there's just problems
there, and they do things that we wish that they
wouldn't, or in ways that, things that are unlovely.
But this is a reminder in how God loves us in
spite of that, and so we also are to love our
children, even when our children sin against
us, and they will do that. we must love them
still. And as we love our children first, they
also will love us. When a father or a mother
withholds love and affection from a child or
abuses the child or is harsh, a taskmaster, or
overbearing, or when a parent violates a child
with inappropriate behavior, Or when a child
is neglected or ignored. Or when a child can
never please a parent. Then great hurt and harm
comes that affects the child for the rest of
their life. Now God gives grace in those very
difficult circumstances. But it still affects
the child when we have our loves wrong. And we
sin against them. Even more important. The child's
view of God is most times greatly distorted or
marred or diminished. There are so many times
when there has been a very neglectful father
that then the son or the daughter will get into
really perverse sin in some way, crying out for
love or affection, but doing all of the wrong
ways and seeking for it in all the wrong things
to do. It affects them. And then their view of
God is also greatly distorted and diminished.
Look at the relationship described in the Bible
about the relationship between God the Father
and His Son, Jesus Christ. And we will learn
from this about love. And children, you look
to Jesus also as your example on how to love
and serve and obey your parents. We seek how
Christ modeled obedience to the Father. And that
teaches us as children to learn this as well.
So we're going to look first in John 8, verse
29. Jesus says, And he that sent me is with me.
The Father has not left me alone. But I always
do those things that please him. That's the love
of a child to the Father. But then Jesus, In
the days of his flesh, when he had offered up
prayers and supplications, with vehement cries
and tears to him who was able to save him from
death, and was heard because of his godly fear,
though he was a son, yet he learned obedience
by the things which he suffered. Hebrews 5, verse
7 and 8. But then also, we see the converse here.
The father was immensely pleased with his son,
and everybody knew it. When he had been baptized,
Jesus came up immediately from the water. And
behold, the heavens were opened to him. And he
saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove
and alighting upon him. And suddenly a voice
came from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son
in whom I am well pleased. At the transfiguration.
While he was yet speaking, behold, a bright cloud
overshadowed them. And suddenly a voice came
out of the cloud saying, this is my beloved son
in whom I am well pleased. Hear him. Parents,
do you ever tell your children that you're pleased
with them? That you love them in that way? God
the Father was willing for the world around there,
all who could hear this audible voice from heaven.
to know of his stamp of approval on his son.
They knew it. They heard it. Our children need
to bask in knowing of our love for them. Our
love, our blessing, our approval, our rejoicing
in them. We see another example of Jesus and
his love. where Jesus is described as the good
shepherd. He goes after the wandering sheep.
And he gives us a good example of how to go after
children who start withdrawing from us or start
wandering. Love should compel us to try to find
out what is going on and to minister love to
the heart of our children. Perhaps someone comes
to the dinner table and we see. Something's wrong.
Something's just not quite right. You know, there's
an attitude or maybe there's a real desire in
just getting attention. Often getting attention,
really seeking to get attention is indication
of something else. And so it's a good time for
parents to just, okay, what's going on here?
Can we talk about this? You know, we love you.
We care for you. Can you tell me what's going
on in your heart or describe to me? There's a
ways that we can do this as the example here.
We give our lives. We attempt to try to find
out what's going on and to minister love to the
heart of the child. The good shepherd gives his
life for the sheep. He goes after wolves to chase
them away. And the sheep... Are given into his
care. Jesus gives the parable of the lost sheep.
In Matthew 18. And it is so moving and compelling.
And it is in the context. Of not despising the
little ones. So often we break this parable.
Out of the context. But here the context. Jesus
says. Take heed that you do not despise one of
these little ones. For I say to you that in heaven.
Their angels always see the face of my father.
Who is in heaven. for the Son of Man has come
to save that which was lost. What do you think?
If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them
goes astray, does he not leave immediately? Does
he not leave the 99 and go to the mountains to
seek the one that is straying? And if he should
find it, assuredly I say to you, he rejoices
more over that sheep than over the 99 that did
not go astray. Even so, it is not the will of
your father who is in heaven that one of these
little ones should perish. The parable of the
good shepherd is in the context of little children,
of caring for them and of seeking out. The lost.
Oh parents. Let us love our children. Like God
loves his son. And like God loves us. Let us
express it to them in ways that they can understand
it and know it. Let us rejoice over them. As
God our father rejoices over us. As Zephaniah
3 verse 17 says. The Lord your God in your midst.
The mighty one. He will say, he will rejoice
over you with gladness. He will quiet you with
his love. He will rejoice over you with singing.
Let us love our children. Number two, we are
called to nurture our children. Ephesians chapter
six, verse four. And you fathers do not provoke
your children to wrath. but bring them up in
the training and admonition of the Lord. We see
types of this also in 1 Thessalonians 2, verse
7, and Colossians 3, verse 21. Fathers, it is
to you that the apostle here turns, and he gives
this command in this verse. For you, as fathers,
are responsible for the well -being of your household
and for the bringing up of your children. Your
wife is to be by your side and she works it out
in the daily life of your children while you
are working. So value her insights and understand
that she bears the household and that bears the
children and manages the household. For the wise
woman builds her house, Proverbs 14, 1, and she
watches over the ways of her household and does
not eat the bread of idleness, Proverbs 31, 27.
In fact, Fathers are to teach your children to
obey the law of their mother. As in, my son,
keep your father's command and do not forsake
the law of your mother. Bind them continually
upon your heart. Tie them around your neck. Proverbs
6, verse 20 and 21. But this verse is addressed
to fathers. You are responsible, which is why
God commands the father not to provoke the children
to wrath. To bring them up in the nurture, the
training, and the admonition of the Lord. And
so to you fathers, you are called to serve your
wife and your family. And how do you serve? By
leading them well. By leading your household
well. But as is so often the case, this calling
from God can be either neglected or abused. It
is that way in so many of God's command. There's
two ditches on the side of the road. One is neglect,
one is abuse or doing it harshly. Negligent,
lazy fathers or overbearing, harsh fathers. And
Paul speaks to both in this passage. He says,
fathers do not provoke your children to wrath
or discouragement. So this is speaking to the
one who is overbearing and harsh. Provoke to
wrath is one Greek word and it means to rouse
to wrath, to provoke or to exasperate. Exasperate.
Now there's several ways that you can do this.
You can exasperate them in several ways. You
can be overbearing and harsh. We see an example
how King Saul, which we're going to read in the
next chapter in our Old Testament passage that
we're reading through. King Saul and his rebellion
against God became harsh. unreasonable, and even
violent with his own beloved son, Jonathan. Jonathan,
who really loved and cared for his father, and
yet he became overbearing and harsh. This shows
it as a way of never being able to be pleased
or seeing a need in a child or a temptation to
a particular sin. And the father goads him with
it until he becomes angry, and then the child
is punished. Colossians 3 21 fathers do not provoke
your children lest they become discouraged so
Paul starts this verse out with this but then
Paul deals with the temptation to be apathetic
to be negligent to be lazy or uninvolved in a
child's life and so he commands the father to
be proactive in the bringing up of his children
this is not simply to be delegated to the mother
or to a nurse or a governess or anything like
that. Fathers, you are responsible for the bringing
up of your children. Paul's words are clear.
Bring them up. This means to nourish up to maturity
or to nurture them. We see examples of this in
the Bible. I spoke about Abraham already in Genesis
18. how he commanded his household to keep the
way of the Lord. Though imperfect, his faith
and obedience, even in the test with Isaac, modeled
a trust in God. We see an example of this in
Job. Job, who regularly offered sacrifices and
prayed for his children's spiritual well -being.
He showed proactive spiritual leadership without
harshness. He loved his children and he prayed
for them. Maybe they sin today, so I'm going
to offer a sacrifice for them. That was Job.
Or Joseph. the earthly father of Jesus. We read
of this in Matthew chapter 1 and 2 and also in
Luke chapter 2. Joseph was a righteous man. He
was protective. He was obedient to God's dreams
and warnings, but he also was a steady provider
and teacher. The scriptures record that Jesus
grew in wisdom as he lived there in that household.
And then we also see the prodigal son in Luke
chapter 15. where a son went his own way for
a time. When he came to himself, he comes running
back to the father. What do we see? Patience,
forgiveness, and restoration. Patience, forgiveness,
and restoration. Not provoking ongoing wrath,
but rather extending grace that restored the
son. We are to bring them up. We're to bring
them up in the training or the paideia. And that
is sometimes, some passages say training, some
say nurture. These things are kind of tied together,
but we're just going to look here. The word,
the Greek word is paideia. It's where the father
is responsible to see the whole training and
education of children, which relates to the cultivation
of mind and morals. which uses both commands
and admonitions, reproofs and even punishment.
It includes the training and the care of the
body. So bring them up in the training of the
Lord. Now, father, of course, can use various
tools and helps. There's other teachers, there's
tutors, there's even schools, there's video or
audio teachings. But it's just that the father
is responsible to see that it is done. He can't
do all of it, obviously, but he is responsible
for it. This also includes the aspect of provision.
Men or fathers, we are to provide for our children.
children our wife our household we're to labor
working with our hands that which is good so
that we can provide for our wife and children
and have give have something to give to those
in need and how much more is it your responsibility
to provide for your own household like paul says
in first timothy 5 verse 8 but if anyone does
not provide for his own, and especially for those
of his household, he has denied the faith and
is worse than an unbeliever. Then this verse
also brings out that a father is to admonish.
He is to bring them up in the admonition of the
Lord. This means to call attention to, and it
implies giving a mild rebuke or warning. This
is not referring to discipline and chastisement,
which Lord willing we'll consider next week.
But this is often done kind of like on the fly,
just a quick word about something. Like, son,
you may not disrespect your mother by speaking
to her like that. You need to apologize to her
right now. That kind of thing. Or, son, here
is how you respect a man in authority, if you
may not be worthy of that respect. Or other things
like this. It's things that are done on the fly.
Perhaps it might be you walk past your daughter's
room and you see it's a mess and you knew that
your wife had told her to clean it up. And so
you say, daughter, your mother asked you to clean
up the room and it is still not done. This needs
to change immediately. So go clean up your room
right now. That kind of thing. Or, and this.
Should happen more often, I think. Daughter,
you are dressed inappropriately. Here's what
a man or how a man thinks when he sees you and
you don't want to inspire that kind of thinking.
Those kinds of things are how a father is to
bring them up in the admonition of the Lord,
etc., etc. There could be many other illustrations
of that. Now, again, conversely, there are many
examples of apathetic Passiveness of apathy,
I should say, and passiveness or passivity in
the scriptures and in history. We see a most
notable example of this in the priest named Eli.
Eli was the priest just before Samuel. And we
find this written about him in 1 Samuel 2 and
3, where he failed to restrain his sons. They
grew up to be wicked, but they were still priests.
but they would take for themselves the best out
of the sacrifices, and they would lay with the
women that came to offer sacrifices. And of the
scripture, the scripture gives great judgment
on Eli that he did not restrain his wicked sons,
and it led to judgment on his house. His passive
neglect provoked dishonor and ruin of his household
and of his descendants. No matter what you teach
verbally, if you live in that kind of a way,
by your own disorderly ways or laziness or irresponsibility,
you then are teaching your sons and daughters
laziness, disorder, and irresponsibility. If
you do not keep your word or clean up after yourself
or not diligent in work or in maintaining the
state of your household, then your children will
most likely follow in your footsteps. He who
has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of
the diligent makes rich. Proverbs 10, verse 4.
Or be diligent to know the state of your flocks
and attend to your herds, for riches are not
forever, nor does a crown endure to all generations.
Proverbs 27, 23, and 24. We are called to teach
and to demonstrate, to admonish and bring them
up, but also by the power. Of example. The power
of example. Now mothers. You are also key in
this. As you manage the household. You have great
opportunity to do good. And create a lasting
effect on children. I know this passage is speaking
to the fathers. But I also want to speak to you
mothers. And we certainly pray and desire that
you might be the virtuous wife who actively builds
her household through diligence and foresight,
through care for her family and industry and
generosity and wisdom. We see excerpts from this
in Proverbs 31, verse 11, the heart of her husband
safely trusts her. So he will have no lack of
gain. Verse 15. She also rises while it is night
and provides food for her household. Verse 27.
She watches over the ways of her household and
does not eat the bread of idleness. Or verse
28. Her children rise up and call her blessed.
And her husband also and he praises her. Now
mothers you also can be tempted in two different
ways. First of all through laziness. or abandoning
your role as the keeper of the house and the
manager of the household. So there's that. It
can be just simply laziness or abdication of
what God has called you to. Or you can also stand
against your husband in his administration, in
his training and discipleship, and become contentious
or quarrelsome or create a hostile environment
in the home. Your house. As Proverbs 14 .1 says.
The wise woman builds the house. But the foolish
pulls it down. With her hands. We have this sad
account. In 1 Kings chapter 21. Verse 25. Of
the woman Jezebel. Scripture says. But there
was no one like Ahab. Who sold himself to do
wickedness. In the sight of the Lord. Because
Jezebel his wife. Stirred him up to it. What
an indictment that is. So, fathers, mothers,
if you see yourself going into the ditches here
of apathy or carelessness or irresponsibility
or of being harsh or overbearing, then again,
run to the mercy seat of Christ. If you see this.
Then do not despair, but repent. Ask God for
help and take steps to correct your ways. Go
to wise men or wise women and ask for help and
for grace. It is there, I promise you, because
the promises of God are yes and amen in Christ
Jesus. And as you are a follower of Christ, He
will equip you with what you need to be a faithful
father or a faithful mother. Love your children.
Yes, we are called. to love our children, but
that love also includes nurturing them, cherishing
them, providing for them, and bringing them up
in the Lord. Raising covenant children, dearly
beloved, is a high and a holy calling. Love and
nurture your children. but in the context of
the gospel and under the lordship of Christ.
By God's grace, there can be many generations
raised up who hope in him, who keep his commandments,
and who declare his praises to the next generation.
May the Lord help us all to be faithful in this
discipleship work for his glory and for the good
of our children, our grandchildren, and yes,
for the whole church. Let's pray.