WEBVTT 00:00:00.520 --> 00:00:03.399 Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there. 00:00:04.919 --> 00:00:08.179 You know, since today is Mother's Day, fathers, 00:00:08.320 --> 00:00:12.519 don't forget to do the dishes for your wives. 00:00:14.080 --> 00:00:16.539 But if you don't get to them today, they'll get 00:00:16.539 --> 00:00:23.000 to them tomorrow. But Mother's Day is the third 00:00:23.000 --> 00:00:27.019 most attended church service. And according to 00:00:27.019 --> 00:00:30.879 an article in... 2021, Mother's Day, was the 00:00:30.879 --> 00:00:34.759 busiest day for restaurants. According to another 00:00:34.759 --> 00:00:40.600 article, mothers in America are influencing 73 00:00:40.600 --> 00:00:45.659 .1 million children. It's just such a blessing. 00:00:46.299 --> 00:00:49.520 You know, as Pastor Nathan said, we wouldn't 00:00:49.520 --> 00:00:52.920 be here without you mothers. 100 % of us in this 00:00:52.920 --> 00:00:56.840 room today are here because of mothers. And we 00:00:56.840 --> 00:00:59.409 just... Thank you guys. Thank you guys for being 00:00:59.409 --> 00:01:02.729 faithful. Thank you. Yeah, thank you. That wasn't 00:01:02.729 --> 00:01:04.670 a mother, by the way, but it was somebody who 00:01:04.670 --> 00:01:06.870 said that. But since it is Mother's Day, I would 00:01:06.870 --> 00:01:10.950 like to encourage all the mothers who are expecting 00:01:10.950 --> 00:01:15.390 their first child or a mother who already has 00:01:15.390 --> 00:01:18.969 a child, young or old. I believe the Lord put 00:01:18.969 --> 00:01:24.450 on my heart to give a few steps as to how to 00:01:24.450 --> 00:01:28.120 walk with your children. How to gladly walk with 00:01:28.120 --> 00:01:31.980 your children in truth and in love. You know, 00:01:32.019 --> 00:01:35.000 I also heard that a mother once said, if being 00:01:35.000 --> 00:01:38.700 a mother was easy, then fathers would do it. 00:01:39.340 --> 00:01:42.780 And unfortunately, some fathers have taken on 00:01:42.780 --> 00:01:45.819 that challenge and said, I could do that. Anyway, 00:01:46.739 --> 00:01:50.040 we won't go into that. There's one, no, I'm not 00:01:50.040 --> 00:01:51.780 going to say it. But this morning, we're going 00:01:51.780 --> 00:01:53.819 to be looking at those few steps, how to gladly 00:01:53.819 --> 00:01:57.500 walk in truth and love with your children. We're 00:01:57.500 --> 00:01:59.780 also going to talk about how to fight against 00:01:59.780 --> 00:02:03.099 the evils of the world and how to prepare your 00:02:03.099 --> 00:02:06.140 children for the brokenness and the sinful world. 00:02:07.599 --> 00:02:12.259 You know, unfortunately in America, divorce rates 00:02:12.259 --> 00:02:16.340 have been skyrocketing. More and more homes are 00:02:16.340 --> 00:02:21.430 being divided. by divorce, abortions, even different 00:02:21.430 --> 00:02:26.349 beliefs within mothers and fathers. But it's 00:02:26.349 --> 00:02:29.689 not just our homes, it's our schools, you know, 00:02:29.710 --> 00:02:33.849 and our workplaces, and unfortunately, some churches. 00:02:34.629 --> 00:02:37.169 You know, some hearts of mothers and fathers 00:02:37.169 --> 00:02:39.389 are being hardened with one another, between 00:02:39.389 --> 00:02:42.870 one another. Their relationships are beginning 00:02:42.870 --> 00:02:46.020 to grow indifferent. Their hearts are growing 00:02:46.020 --> 00:02:49.659 cold for one another, so much so that they begin 00:02:49.659 --> 00:02:52.479 to stop loving one another. And unfortunately, 00:02:52.719 --> 00:02:59.460 this results into divorce. Children today are 00:02:59.460 --> 00:03:02.400 seeing this. They're seeing this in their homes. 00:03:02.419 --> 00:03:04.379 They're seeing this in their schools. They're 00:03:04.379 --> 00:03:08.280 seeing all the division in churches outside, 00:03:08.599 --> 00:03:11.819 you know, just in the world. The enemy has been 00:03:11.819 --> 00:03:14.919 attacking many households. causing the division, 00:03:15.219 --> 00:03:20.400 causing doubt, causing oppression, and causing 00:03:20.400 --> 00:03:23.280 depression. And our children are the ones who 00:03:23.280 --> 00:03:25.919 are feeling the worst of this. They're getting 00:03:25.919 --> 00:03:31.479 the worst end of it all. Because false ideologies 00:03:31.479 --> 00:03:34.139 are being taught in our schools. Public schools 00:03:34.139 --> 00:03:39.759 are teaching LGBTQ, and children are being indoctrinated 00:03:39.759 --> 00:03:43.139 with all these false things. You know, in schools 00:03:43.139 --> 00:03:46.979 they're telling you just do what you want. Whatever 00:03:46.979 --> 00:03:50.659 makes you feel okay, just do that. You know, 00:03:50.680 --> 00:03:52.919 they tell 8 to 10 year olds that if you want 00:03:52.919 --> 00:03:55.719 to be a girl today and a boy tomorrow, it's fine. 00:03:57.639 --> 00:04:00.500 It's okay, do that. The worst part is the enemy 00:04:00.500 --> 00:04:03.659 is having a field day with this. The enemy is 00:04:03.659 --> 00:04:09.860 loving this. So, we must fight against this as 00:04:09.860 --> 00:04:13.599 parents. I'm not a parent, but parents, you know, 00:04:13.639 --> 00:04:16.839 fight against this. Unfortunately, too, its abortion 00:04:16.839 --> 00:04:21.399 rates are increasing by 5 % each year in America. 00:04:22.120 --> 00:04:28.019 This is affecting women from ages 20 to 29. This 00:04:28.019 --> 00:04:32.240 accounts for the biggest portion of abortions 00:04:32.240 --> 00:04:36.529 that are going on. You know, the reasons for 00:04:36.529 --> 00:04:39.089 these abortions are, you know, they differ from 00:04:39.089 --> 00:04:41.509 financial constraints. You know, not being able 00:04:41.509 --> 00:04:44.449 to afford the medical bills or even being able 00:04:44.449 --> 00:04:48.990 to afford to take care of their child. Some abortions 00:04:48.990 --> 00:04:52.990 are related to unplanned pregnancies. And, you 00:04:52.990 --> 00:04:55.230 know, mothers just feel unprepared. So they just 00:04:55.230 --> 00:04:57.910 think the only way to do that is just to have 00:04:57.910 --> 00:05:00.949 an abortion. They fear being a parent. And unfortunately, 00:05:01.269 --> 00:05:04.629 mothers... get abortions because of the difficulties 00:05:04.629 --> 00:05:07.329 in their relationships with their husbands, with 00:05:07.329 --> 00:05:13.089 their spouse, and they just abort their babies 00:05:13.089 --> 00:05:15.129 because the fathers don't even want to have the 00:05:15.129 --> 00:05:17.829 baby. Now, I'm not condemning anybody who may 00:05:17.829 --> 00:05:20.269 have had an abortion or who has thought about 00:05:20.269 --> 00:05:22.430 it. I'm not condemning them at all. I just bring 00:05:22.430 --> 00:05:26.170 this up because we have an adversary out there 00:05:26.170 --> 00:05:29.449 who wants to cause this division within our homes. 00:05:30.029 --> 00:05:32.550 wants to cause this division between mothers 00:05:32.550 --> 00:05:35.509 and fathers and mothers and children and fathers 00:05:35.509 --> 00:05:38.769 and children, without God's truth and without 00:05:38.769 --> 00:05:41.649 walking in love and without walking in that truth, 00:05:41.910 --> 00:05:49.730 we have nothing. We have nothing. But walking 00:05:49.730 --> 00:05:55.730 with God in love, we have everything. So how 00:05:55.730 --> 00:05:59.079 can we fight against these things? We'll go ahead 00:05:59.079 --> 00:06:00.439 and talk about that. If you guys want to open 00:06:00.439 --> 00:06:07.680 your Bibles to 2 John. Here in our text this 00:06:07.680 --> 00:06:12.019 morning, in 2 John, John is writing to the churches 00:06:12.019 --> 00:06:14.360 about the false teachers that have been going 00:06:14.360 --> 00:06:19.560 around infiltrating the churches, teaching false 00:06:19.560 --> 00:06:25.600 doctrines, teaching false beliefs. These false 00:06:25.600 --> 00:06:28.560 teachers were going around attacking the truth 00:06:28.560 --> 00:06:32.259 of the gospel, Gnostics began to grow in number. 00:06:32.660 --> 00:06:35.220 Now, the Gnostics were a group of false teachers 00:06:35.220 --> 00:06:38.519 who had beliefs that were blended with Eastern 00:06:38.519 --> 00:06:42.040 mysticism and Greek dualism. They claimed that 00:06:42.040 --> 00:06:45.420 the spirit is completely good, but matter or 00:06:45.420 --> 00:06:49.699 flesh is completely evil. They concluded that 00:06:49.699 --> 00:06:53.769 if God was truly good, how could... or he could 00:06:53.769 --> 00:06:57.410 not have created the material universe. Therefore, 00:06:57.569 --> 00:07:01.629 some lesser God must have created the universe. 00:07:03.189 --> 00:07:05.870 They also taught that Jesus did not have a physical 00:07:05.870 --> 00:07:09.629 body, the Gnostics. This teaching that they had 00:07:09.629 --> 00:07:12.709 is called Docetism, which they say that Jesus 00:07:12.709 --> 00:07:16.470 only appeared to be a human, or to have a human 00:07:16.470 --> 00:07:21.100 body, and never actually suffered pain. And never 00:07:21.100 --> 00:07:25.420 suffered the death on the cross, as we know he 00:07:25.420 --> 00:07:32.839 did. But in 1, 2, and 3 John, John disproves 00:07:32.839 --> 00:07:37.120 all of these false teachings. He goes and says, 00:07:37.240 --> 00:07:41.240 no, it's not true. But in 2 John here, John talks 00:07:41.240 --> 00:07:44.180 about truth, truth in love, and walking in truth. 00:07:44.540 --> 00:07:49.040 In just 13 verses here, John mentions truth five 00:07:49.040 --> 00:07:53.129 times. And it is believed this John is the one 00:07:53.129 --> 00:07:56.990 who wrote the gospel according to John. And when 00:07:56.990 --> 00:07:59.889 we read 1, 2, and 3 John in the gospel according 00:07:59.889 --> 00:08:02.470 to John, we see that John talks about truth. 00:08:02.589 --> 00:08:06.509 He mentions truth over 25 times. So truth was 00:08:06.509 --> 00:08:10.550 extremely important to him. But in verses 4 to 00:08:10.550 --> 00:08:13.689 6, John says this. Follow along as I read, if 00:08:13.689 --> 00:08:17.290 you will. I was very glad to find some of your 00:08:17.290 --> 00:08:20.509 children walking in truth. and keeping with a 00:08:20.509 --> 00:08:23.610 command we have received from the Father. So 00:08:23.610 --> 00:08:27.290 now I ask you, dear lady, not as if I were writing 00:08:27.290 --> 00:08:30.470 a new command, but one we had from the beginning, 00:08:30.509 --> 00:08:35.570 that we love one another. This is love, that 00:08:35.570 --> 00:08:38.690 we walk according to his command. This is the 00:08:38.690 --> 00:08:40.730 command, as you have heard from the beginning, 00:08:40.950 --> 00:08:47.190 that you walk in love. Now, this is not only... 00:08:47.840 --> 00:08:52.279 A heart that a pastor has or a pastor prays for 00:08:52.279 --> 00:08:57.340 or even rejoices in. But mothers also rejoice 00:08:57.340 --> 00:09:00.019 in this. When you see your child walking in truth 00:09:00.019 --> 00:09:03.200 and love, rejoice. Rejoice as this lady did. 00:09:03.500 --> 00:09:06.899 But pastors are blessed when they see us in the 00:09:06.899 --> 00:09:10.740 congregation just walking in truth. I believe 00:09:10.740 --> 00:09:14.139 it comforts pastors when they see this. Because 00:09:14.139 --> 00:09:16.340 not only are we walking in truth and walking 00:09:16.340 --> 00:09:18.419 in love, but we're following the commands of 00:09:18.419 --> 00:09:22.279 Christ. We're showing the Christ. We're showing 00:09:22.279 --> 00:09:24.840 how Christ lived to the world when we walk this 00:09:24.840 --> 00:09:29.299 way. So John saw that these children were walking 00:09:29.299 --> 00:09:34.320 in the way of love, of Jesus Christ. Now, mothers, 00:09:34.460 --> 00:09:40.850 please never compromise truth. Children will 00:09:40.850 --> 00:09:46.169 see that little white lie we give. Children will 00:09:46.169 --> 00:09:50.409 see the fact that we take either candy, which 00:09:50.409 --> 00:09:52.250 I used to take when I was a kid, but I no longer 00:09:52.250 --> 00:09:56.389 do anymore. But if you take that candy or if 00:09:56.389 --> 00:09:59.950 you take that device or something, when the child 00:09:59.950 --> 00:10:03.750 sees that, what happens is there's a seed that 00:10:03.750 --> 00:10:06.940 gets planted in their hearts. And that seed that's 00:10:06.940 --> 00:10:08.980 planted in their hearts will take root and will 00:10:08.980 --> 00:10:12.019 cause them to turn away from God and to turn 00:10:12.019 --> 00:10:17.000 away from truth. That will just continue to grow 00:10:17.000 --> 00:10:22.059 and they will just want to just walk away. God 00:10:22.059 --> 00:10:25.480 calls all believers to love truth since God himself 00:10:25.480 --> 00:10:29.820 is truth and his spirit abides in us and his 00:10:29.820 --> 00:10:35.450 spirit is truth. Truth is indispensable. God's 00:10:35.450 --> 00:10:39.090 truth is indispensable. A mother's joy should 00:10:39.090 --> 00:10:43.789 be to say, my children walk in the Lord. They 00:10:43.789 --> 00:10:48.309 serve the Lord and they worship the Lord. Now 00:10:48.309 --> 00:10:50.830 walking in truth is an essential part of our 00:10:50.830 --> 00:10:53.789 Christian walk. This is how we conduct our lives. 00:10:54.789 --> 00:10:57.929 Psalm 3311 says, the counsel of the Lord stands 00:10:57.929 --> 00:11:01.990 forever. The plans of his heart from generation 00:11:01.990 --> 00:11:07.129 to generation. That's our command. The plans 00:11:07.129 --> 00:11:12.870 of God's heart stands forever. The plans of God's 00:11:12.870 --> 00:11:18.370 truth stand forever. We as Christians prove that 00:11:18.370 --> 00:11:21.450 we are walking in truth and love by loving one 00:11:21.450 --> 00:11:23.370 another. That's the greatest command that we 00:11:23.370 --> 00:11:27.129 could do. Showing love to one another. Now John 00:11:27.129 --> 00:11:30.980 knew that this truth To walk in truth included 00:11:30.980 --> 00:11:34.139 accepting the truth of the gospel message and 00:11:34.139 --> 00:11:37.879 obeying the gospel message. What is the gospel 00:11:37.879 --> 00:11:41.600 message? Well, Jesus is the only way to God, 00:11:41.700 --> 00:11:45.600 God the Father. He is the divine and human mediator 00:11:45.600 --> 00:11:49.460 between God and man. And since we are sinners, 00:11:49.679 --> 00:11:55.039 deserving of death, our Lord and Savior took 00:11:55.039 --> 00:11:59.039 on that sin. And he died on the cross for that 00:11:59.039 --> 00:12:02.700 sin. All of the sins. And he rose three days 00:12:02.700 --> 00:12:04.679 later. He didn't stay in the grave. He rose. 00:12:06.639 --> 00:12:12.740 Defeating death. When we accept that truth of 00:12:12.740 --> 00:12:18.080 the gospel, then we will begin to walk in truth. 00:12:18.779 --> 00:12:22.440 And when we understand the fact that We cannot 00:12:22.440 --> 00:12:25.840 gain salvation. There's nothing we can do to 00:12:25.840 --> 00:12:28.899 gain salvation. Nothing we can work for. But 00:12:28.899 --> 00:12:34.659 it's only by the free gift of Jesus Christ that 00:12:34.659 --> 00:12:38.039 we obtain salvation. Not any works that we do. 00:12:40.480 --> 00:12:43.080 But if we love God, we will obey his commands. 00:12:43.379 --> 00:12:46.679 We'll obey his commandments. John 14, 15, Jesus 00:12:46.679 --> 00:12:48.700 says, if you love me, you will keep my commands. 00:12:50.159 --> 00:12:55.480 Keeping the commands of Jesus does not speak 00:12:55.480 --> 00:13:00.539 to our personal morality. It emphasizes Jesus' 00:13:00.820 --> 00:13:05.279 love that he has for us and the love he has for 00:13:05.279 --> 00:13:09.759 others as well. And this demonstration, it shows 00:13:09.759 --> 00:13:12.360 us obedience, something that we should do. We 00:13:12.360 --> 00:13:14.399 should walk in obedience and his commandments. 00:13:15.259 --> 00:13:18.899 Now, our Christian walk... It starts when we 00:13:18.899 --> 00:13:21.820 accept Christ, Jesus as our Lord and Savior. 00:13:22.580 --> 00:13:24.879 Now, if you have not yet received Christ into 00:13:24.879 --> 00:13:27.600 your heart, you have not started your Christian 00:13:27.600 --> 00:13:29.779 walk, you have not started your spiritual walk 00:13:29.779 --> 00:13:36.279 yet. You are not yet tuned in with God and what 00:13:36.279 --> 00:13:40.259 he's doing. If you have not accepted Christ into 00:13:40.259 --> 00:13:43.360 your heart yet, you have not yet accepted the 00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:50.450 fact that God is truth. Now, mothers, show your 00:13:50.450 --> 00:13:53.769 children this, how Jesus lived and what Jesus 00:13:53.769 --> 00:14:00.269 did. Show them that our Lord and Savior is so 00:14:00.269 --> 00:14:04.149 good. He is forgiving. And show your children 00:14:04.149 --> 00:14:06.950 what Jesus has done for us, has done for you. 00:14:07.110 --> 00:14:10.169 Not only that, but teach them. Teach them this 00:14:10.169 --> 00:14:15.909 truth. Teach them in truth and in love. What 00:14:15.909 --> 00:14:19.740 does it mean to walk in love? Walk in love as 00:14:19.740 --> 00:14:23.519 Christ also loved us and gave himself for us. 00:14:24.580 --> 00:14:28.279 This means to display the same exact kind of 00:14:28.279 --> 00:14:34.039 self -giving love Christ gave us and shows us. 00:14:34.240 --> 00:14:37.559 It's walking that example as Christ did. Now 00:14:37.559 --> 00:14:39.519 how can we do that? How can we show truth in 00:14:39.519 --> 00:14:42.360 love? That brings me to the first step that I 00:14:42.360 --> 00:14:45.340 believe the Lord put on my heart to show you 00:14:45.340 --> 00:14:48.490 mothers. The first one is walk alongside your 00:14:48.490 --> 00:14:53.990 children in truth and love. Read the scriptures 00:14:53.990 --> 00:14:58.549 with your children. Study the scriptures with 00:14:58.549 --> 00:15:01.649 your children. Don't just, oh, well, I need to 00:15:01.649 --> 00:15:03.789 get this day off, or I just need to read this 00:15:03.789 --> 00:15:06.509 real quick. No, understand what that scripture 00:15:06.509 --> 00:15:11.149 says and tell your children. 2 Timothy 3 .14 00:15:11.149 --> 00:15:36.539 .15, Paul says this, Now Paul is talking to a 00:15:36.539 --> 00:15:39.820 young Timothy here. Timothy was from Lystra. 00:15:40.360 --> 00:15:45.389 And Paul called Timothy to walk with him. to 00:15:45.389 --> 00:15:47.950 go on his second and third missionary journey, 00:15:48.009 --> 00:15:50.690 to go around giving the gospel, preaching the 00:15:50.690 --> 00:15:53.409 truth to the world, or to those nations anyway, 00:15:53.649 --> 00:15:58.789 Paul saw that Timothy was walking the Christian 00:15:58.789 --> 00:16:02.049 life. Because when he gave the gospel, Timothy 00:16:02.049 --> 00:16:06.289 had already known the scriptures. So when Paul 00:16:06.289 --> 00:16:10.809 was talking to Timothy and preaching to Lystra, 00:16:11.559 --> 00:16:14.639 He just connected the scriptures with Jesus Christ. 00:16:15.899 --> 00:16:18.820 And so that's what we see Timothy did. Timothy 00:16:18.820 --> 00:16:22.320 was spoken highly of by Paul. And we see that 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:24.519 in all the letters that he wrote to Timothy. 00:16:24.740 --> 00:16:28.919 Paul wrote to Timothy. Not only that, but Timothy 00:16:28.919 --> 00:16:32.580 was also spoken highly of by the brothers and 00:16:32.580 --> 00:16:35.220 sisters in Lystra when Paul gave the gospel there 00:16:35.220 --> 00:16:38.799 in Acts 16. It says that he was well witnessed. 00:16:40.080 --> 00:16:44.240 To those in Lystra. People did not have to question 00:16:44.240 --> 00:16:47.179 if Timothy was a Christian or if he even understood 00:16:47.179 --> 00:16:52.620 the scriptures. He displayed, I believe, he displayed 00:16:52.620 --> 00:16:57.220 all of that in public, at home, and wherever 00:16:57.220 --> 00:17:01.659 he went. Because he was well witnessed. Now, 00:17:01.679 --> 00:17:05.099 Timothy was taught the scriptures from infancy, 00:17:05.160 --> 00:17:08.960 as a baby. Not only by his grandmother, but by 00:17:08.960 --> 00:17:11.140 his mother, and I think that's extremely important. 00:17:11.539 --> 00:17:15.119 In 2 Timothy 1 .5, Paul says to Timothy, I recall 00:17:15.119 --> 00:17:18.299 your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother 00:17:18.299 --> 00:17:21.740 Lois and in your mother Eunice, and now I am 00:17:21.740 --> 00:17:27.119 convinced is in you also. They were his godly 00:17:27.119 --> 00:17:30.799 example. They raised Timothy in the word, in 00:17:30.799 --> 00:17:34.740 the scriptures. Timothy was known for his strong 00:17:34.740 --> 00:17:38.579 faith and his trust in the Lord. His faithfulness. 00:17:40.200 --> 00:17:43.539 And I believe that he learned this because his 00:17:43.539 --> 00:17:47.579 grandmother and his mother taught him when he 00:17:47.579 --> 00:17:54.859 was just a baby. Now, mothers, are we engaging 00:17:54.859 --> 00:17:59.240 our children this way as Timothy did? Are we 00:17:59.240 --> 00:18:03.930 reading the scriptures to our children? Are we 00:18:03.930 --> 00:18:06.190 teaching them what the Scriptures say? Are we 00:18:06.190 --> 00:18:09.250 teaching them who Jesus Christ is, what God has 00:18:09.250 --> 00:18:14.829 done for us? Regardless of their age, you know, 00:18:14.910 --> 00:18:22.130 5 to 10, 15 to 18, 18 to 50, however old your 00:18:22.130 --> 00:18:24.349 children are, are you teaching them what the 00:18:24.349 --> 00:18:26.190 Scriptures say? Are you teaching them what you've 00:18:26.190 --> 00:18:29.089 learned? Are you teaching them what Christ has 00:18:29.089 --> 00:18:33.099 done for you? I think Timothy's mother and grandmother 00:18:33.099 --> 00:18:35.960 did that. That's only speculation, but I believe 00:18:35.960 --> 00:18:39.319 that. Mothers, are we dialoguing with our children? 00:18:39.619 --> 00:18:43.119 Now, dialogue is a back and forth conversation 00:18:43.119 --> 00:18:46.420 with two or three people. Or are we monologuing 00:18:46.420 --> 00:18:49.880 with our children? Just talking. No, just listen 00:18:49.880 --> 00:18:53.019 to me. Now, yes, there's a time and place for 00:18:53.019 --> 00:18:56.480 both, but I believe that when we initiate in 00:18:56.480 --> 00:19:00.799 a meaningful discussion, In a dialoguing conversation 00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:05.000 with our children, that will begin to want them 00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:07.740 to listen. Rather than being talked at, they 00:19:07.740 --> 00:19:10.940 want to be talked to. And I think that's important. 00:19:11.819 --> 00:19:14.480 There's more chances when we dialogue with our 00:19:14.480 --> 00:19:16.400 children, they'll have more questions. They will 00:19:16.400 --> 00:19:19.920 be more engaging. And they will listen more, 00:19:20.039 --> 00:19:25.700 I believe. You know, there's a song. It's an 00:19:25.700 --> 00:19:28.910 older song. Harry Nilsson sang it. Everybody's 00:19:28.910 --> 00:19:31.190 talking at me. I don't hear a word they're saying. 00:19:32.549 --> 00:19:37.549 That is very true. I mean, as a child, when my 00:19:37.549 --> 00:19:40.470 parents did that to me, I didn't listen because 00:19:40.470 --> 00:19:43.289 I just felt, you know, but again, not every child's 00:19:43.289 --> 00:19:46.210 the same. I understand that. But if you make 00:19:46.210 --> 00:19:48.609 somebody feel completely less than and just, 00:19:48.630 --> 00:19:50.970 nope, you listen to me and this and that. And 00:19:50.970 --> 00:19:53.569 again, there is a time and place for that. But 00:19:53.569 --> 00:19:59.400 they are humans. They are people. You know, in 00:19:59.400 --> 00:20:02.579 sales, they always said, the best way to engage 00:20:02.579 --> 00:20:06.359 a customer is to ask open -ended questions. You 00:20:06.359 --> 00:20:08.839 know, like, what brings you in today? Or, you 00:20:08.839 --> 00:20:10.579 know, what can I help you find? Stuff like that. 00:20:11.799 --> 00:20:13.559 We should do that with our children. We should 00:20:13.559 --> 00:20:15.660 ask them open -ended questions. Instead of saying, 00:20:15.880 --> 00:20:19.440 did you enjoy Children's Church today? Yes? No? 00:20:19.880 --> 00:20:21.720 We should ask them, hey, what did you learn in 00:20:21.720 --> 00:20:24.900 Children's Church? And then... Whatever they 00:20:24.900 --> 00:20:26.900 say, you just go springboard off of that. Oh, 00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:29.400 we learned about David and Goliath. Oh, really? 00:20:29.700 --> 00:20:31.480 And then you just talk about David and Goliath. 00:20:32.039 --> 00:20:34.500 That's the best way to do it. Engage with them. 00:20:34.859 --> 00:20:40.259 Ask them open -ended questions. Intentionally 00:20:40.259 --> 00:20:43.339 engage them, though. Intentionally. Not because 00:20:43.339 --> 00:20:46.119 you feel like you have to. Wanting to know about 00:20:46.119 --> 00:20:48.859 their day and listening to them. That's the best 00:20:48.859 --> 00:20:55.359 way to do it. We should be having these discussions 00:20:55.359 --> 00:20:59.259 about Scripture and about different things that 00:20:59.259 --> 00:21:03.940 happen in life. But we shouldn't just talk at 00:21:03.940 --> 00:21:05.680 them or preach at them. We should be talking 00:21:05.680 --> 00:21:08.160 with them and talking to them. We should have 00:21:08.160 --> 00:21:13.279 discussions on who Christ is. You know, Proverbs 00:21:13.279 --> 00:21:17.460 22, 6 says, Start a youth out in his way. Even 00:21:17.460 --> 00:21:20.259 when he grows old, he will not depart from it. 00:21:20.670 --> 00:21:23.430 Another translation says, train up a child in 00:21:23.430 --> 00:21:25.970 the way he should go. And when he is old, he 00:21:25.970 --> 00:21:29.250 will not depart from it. You know, the idea here 00:21:29.250 --> 00:21:33.329 is your primary goal for raising your child, 00:21:33.450 --> 00:21:36.349 whether it be, oh, I want them to be successful. 00:21:36.450 --> 00:21:38.329 I want them to be a football player. I want them 00:21:38.329 --> 00:21:42.509 to be this and that. Our primary goal should 00:21:42.509 --> 00:21:46.950 be to teach them to trust in the Lord and to 00:21:46.950 --> 00:21:49.970 rely on the Lord. That should be our primary 00:21:49.970 --> 00:21:53.490 goal. They will know God when you show them that 00:21:53.490 --> 00:21:57.890 you know God. They will want to follow God when 00:21:57.890 --> 00:22:02.329 they see that you are following God. So walk 00:22:02.329 --> 00:22:04.829 alongside your children. Teach them who God is, 00:22:04.910 --> 00:22:07.690 what God has done in your life. Show them those 00:22:07.690 --> 00:22:11.069 real examples. Teach them the scriptures as Timothy 00:22:11.069 --> 00:22:16.829 was taught. You know, in Deuteronomy 6, 4 to 00:22:16.829 --> 00:22:21.349 7, It says this, listen Israel, the Lord our 00:22:21.349 --> 00:22:25.289 God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God 00:22:25.289 --> 00:22:27.809 with all your heart, with all your soul, and 00:22:27.809 --> 00:22:30.809 with all your strength. These words that I am 00:22:30.809 --> 00:22:34.549 giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat 00:22:34.549 --> 00:22:38.430 them to your children. Talk about them when you 00:22:38.430 --> 00:22:40.849 sit in your house and when you walk alongside 00:22:40.849 --> 00:22:43.769 the road and when you lie down and when you get 00:22:43.769 --> 00:22:49.160 up. You know, we may be too busy sometimes. We 00:22:49.160 --> 00:22:53.119 may be too busy at work, too many appointments, 00:22:53.220 --> 00:22:59.920 but never be too busy to read Scripture to your 00:22:59.920 --> 00:23:04.480 children. We should be repeating, we love the 00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:08.539 Lord our God with all of our soul, with all of 00:23:08.539 --> 00:23:10.640 our hearts, and with all of our minds, and with 00:23:10.640 --> 00:23:14.220 all of our strength. We should be talking to 00:23:14.220 --> 00:23:16.579 our children about this when we're at home, when 00:23:16.579 --> 00:23:19.960 we're driving. At all costs, wherever we are, 00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:23.980 we should be engaging them with the word. Before 00:23:23.980 --> 00:23:26.819 we wake up, or once we wake up, that's the first 00:23:26.819 --> 00:23:30.859 thing we see. Before we go to bed, it's the last 00:23:30.859 --> 00:23:36.480 thing we see, scripture. If you're a mother today, 00:23:36.619 --> 00:23:39.819 and you recently accepted Christ, and you're 00:23:39.819 --> 00:23:42.579 still learning about Christ and his love, i would 00:23:42.579 --> 00:23:44.720 encourage you to read the bible with your children 00:23:44.720 --> 00:23:49.140 to walk alongside them and learn with them even 00:23:49.140 --> 00:23:52.940 if that means getting an action bible like the 00:23:52.940 --> 00:23:57.000 ones we have in children's church if it means 00:23:57.000 --> 00:24:01.119 to to do that then do that get that action bible 00:24:01.119 --> 00:24:04.380 read with them and learn the scriptures with 00:24:04.380 --> 00:24:08.200 them you know they teach the gospel in those 00:24:08.200 --> 00:24:09.920 action bibles otherwise we wouldn't have them 00:24:09.920 --> 00:24:14.329 here but They teach the gospel there. So walk 00:24:14.329 --> 00:24:18.369 alongside them, learning with them. You know, 00:24:18.410 --> 00:24:23.670 when children see their parents, their eagerness 00:24:23.670 --> 00:24:28.990 to learn, and parents are telling their children 00:24:28.990 --> 00:24:32.349 what they are learning, you'll be surprised that 00:24:32.349 --> 00:24:36.589 their eagerness will be to want to listen and 00:24:36.589 --> 00:24:40.849 to want to know more about God. So be eager about 00:24:40.849 --> 00:24:43.990 that. I encourage you guys, be eager. You know, 00:24:44.009 --> 00:24:48.390 Jesus walked with his disciples. He taught them 00:24:48.390 --> 00:24:52.910 the things of God's heart. Jesus spent time with 00:24:52.910 --> 00:24:57.130 his disciples. He lived with them. He taught 00:24:57.130 --> 00:25:00.390 them how to live by faith. Jesus taught them 00:25:00.390 --> 00:25:04.069 how to serve. And Jesus taught them humility. 00:25:04.329 --> 00:25:07.509 He taught them love. And he taught them how to 00:25:07.509 --> 00:25:11.859 bear fruit. Jesus not only walked with his disciples, 00:25:11.980 --> 00:25:14.539 but he knew his disciples. And he understood 00:25:14.539 --> 00:25:18.400 his disciples. Yes, Jesus being God in flesh, 00:25:18.619 --> 00:25:23.319 he knew their hearts. But I believe Jesus still 00:25:23.319 --> 00:25:27.400 learned about his disciples. I believe he gave 00:25:27.400 --> 00:25:29.779 an opportunity for his disciples to tell the 00:25:29.779 --> 00:25:32.880 truth and to listen. I truly believe he learned 00:25:32.880 --> 00:25:35.900 from them. Because he asked them questions and 00:25:35.900 --> 00:25:39.750 he engaged them and talked to them. Even though 00:25:39.750 --> 00:25:41.569 he knew their hearts, he says, who do you say 00:25:41.569 --> 00:25:49.349 that I am? He still asks those questions. So, 00:25:49.349 --> 00:25:53.390 walk alongside your children, mothers. I encourage 00:25:53.390 --> 00:25:55.430 you to walk alongside them and teach them the 00:25:55.430 --> 00:25:59.210 truth and teach them the scriptures. This brings 00:25:59.210 --> 00:26:02.789 me to the second point, the second step. Walk 00:26:02.789 --> 00:26:05.650 with your children in truth and be thou an example. 00:26:07.339 --> 00:26:13.339 Be the godly example for them. You know, in 1 00:26:13.339 --> 00:26:17.700 Corinthians 11, 1, Paul says, imitate me as I 00:26:17.700 --> 00:26:24.759 also imitate Christ. How many of us can confidently 00:26:24.759 --> 00:26:29.599 say, I say that to people, imitate me as I imitate 00:26:29.599 --> 00:26:33.900 Christ. How many of us can say that? Well, John, 00:26:33.960 --> 00:26:37.029 I go to church. At church, you know, I'm good. 00:26:37.990 --> 00:26:42.609 You know, I say, hey, brother, sister, you know. 00:26:43.549 --> 00:26:46.150 But what about when you're driving? I see some 00:26:46.150 --> 00:26:48.029 of you guys driving after church. You guys peel 00:26:48.029 --> 00:26:52.630 out and almost hit everybody. Are you guys showing 00:26:52.630 --> 00:26:55.809 that love? Are you guys being that example? What 00:26:55.809 --> 00:27:00.250 about in traffic? Who loves traffic? I love traffic. 00:27:00.990 --> 00:27:07.339 No, I don't. That was a lie. But can we say that 00:27:07.339 --> 00:27:10.839 when we're going through something hard? When 00:27:10.839 --> 00:27:14.640 we're having a tough day, can we say, hey, son, 00:27:14.839 --> 00:27:23.140 daughter, imitate me as I imitate Christ? What 00:27:23.140 --> 00:27:26.819 about at home? That's the most important place. 00:27:28.099 --> 00:27:30.420 That's the most important place to say, imitate 00:27:30.420 --> 00:27:34.539 me as I imitate Christ. We don't want to be different. 00:27:35.130 --> 00:27:38.289 At home compared to church. Now, unfortunately, 00:27:38.289 --> 00:27:43.170 far too many of us today are like, we say, well, 00:27:43.250 --> 00:27:45.269 don't look at me as an example. Look at Christ. 00:27:45.950 --> 00:27:49.269 Yes, that is very true. Christ is the ultimate 00:27:49.269 --> 00:27:53.690 example. But we do have the Holy Spirit speaking 00:27:53.690 --> 00:27:56.750 through Paul to say, imitate me as I imitate 00:27:56.750 --> 00:28:02.430 Christ. And it's important. It's important to 00:28:04.519 --> 00:28:06.920 To show that, because yes, we are sinners. Yes, 00:28:06.960 --> 00:28:09.940 Paul was a sinner. Paul sinned. Paul says, I 00:28:09.940 --> 00:28:12.599 do the things I shouldn't do and I don't do the 00:28:12.599 --> 00:28:15.400 things I should do. But he still said, imitate 00:28:15.400 --> 00:28:19.400 me as I imitate Christ. We should be encouraged 00:28:19.400 --> 00:28:23.759 with that. Christ is our ultimate example, but 00:28:23.759 --> 00:28:25.819 we should be that example to our children as 00:28:25.819 --> 00:28:28.680 well. You know, it's inevitable that our children 00:28:28.680 --> 00:28:32.160 will be like us one day. It's funny because my 00:28:32.160 --> 00:28:35.279 mom used to tell my sister, Because my sister 00:28:35.279 --> 00:28:37.960 was, she was rough growing up. She always used 00:28:37.960 --> 00:28:39.579 to beat me up. She's 10 years older than me. 00:28:39.759 --> 00:28:44.779 She's pretty scary to me still. And I'm like 00:28:44.779 --> 00:28:49.099 a foot taller than her. But my sister was, she 00:28:49.099 --> 00:28:51.940 was tough. But my mom would always say, you know, 00:28:52.019 --> 00:28:54.500 when you have kids, your kids are going to be 00:28:54.500 --> 00:28:59.200 just like you, if not worse. And so they terrorized 00:28:59.200 --> 00:29:04.079 her. And my mom's like, see, I told you so. Other 00:29:04.079 --> 00:29:06.619 than that, my sister has always been a good example. 00:29:07.940 --> 00:29:09.839 You know, every time I go to my sister's house, 00:29:10.019 --> 00:29:12.759 my sister's always like, hey, you want this? 00:29:12.819 --> 00:29:15.039 You want this? Want this? Pulling stuff out of 00:29:15.039 --> 00:29:17.460 the fridge, out of the cupboards, whatever it 00:29:17.460 --> 00:29:19.759 is. And by the end of it, I'm holding a box full 00:29:19.759 --> 00:29:22.079 of things because my sister just wants to show 00:29:22.079 --> 00:29:25.339 that love to me. And it's just, it's a great 00:29:25.339 --> 00:29:29.200 example. And her kids see that. My nephews and 00:29:29.200 --> 00:29:30.859 nieces, they've seen that. I've seen them a few 00:29:30.859 --> 00:29:34.279 weeks ago, and they too were the same way. They 00:29:34.279 --> 00:29:36.940 were also like, hey, what can I give you? And 00:29:36.940 --> 00:29:42.500 I'm just like, hey, you got $100? No. You know, 00:29:42.619 --> 00:29:47.220 it's stuff like that. Being that example. And 00:29:47.220 --> 00:29:51.099 I believe my sister did a great example with 00:29:51.099 --> 00:29:54.680 that. She did such a great example. My sister 00:29:54.680 --> 00:29:59.000 is a hypochondriac. And by being that example, 00:29:59.099 --> 00:30:02.059 her kids are too. So that also works that way 00:30:02.059 --> 00:30:05.700 too. But some people say, you know, some families 00:30:05.700 --> 00:30:07.079 would be like, or some people would be like, 00:30:07.119 --> 00:30:09.240 oh, I've seen my family do drugs, and I've seen 00:30:09.240 --> 00:30:11.400 them drink, and that's why I never did that. 00:30:11.980 --> 00:30:14.619 Well, unfortunately for me, personally, I was 00:30:14.619 --> 00:30:16.720 stupid. I had to learn the hard way. I'm like, 00:30:16.779 --> 00:30:18.420 oh, when people were doing drugs and drinking, 00:30:18.759 --> 00:30:21.480 it's going to affect me differently, but it never 00:30:21.480 --> 00:30:25.920 did. But it took me to go through that, to see 00:30:25.920 --> 00:30:31.279 those examples and want to try them. And we should 00:30:31.279 --> 00:30:33.579 be reminded that when we do these things, our 00:30:33.579 --> 00:30:36.799 children are watching. You know, our children, 00:30:36.799 --> 00:30:40.359 their minds are like sponges. But mothers, if 00:30:40.359 --> 00:30:43.400 you want your children to be men and women of 00:30:43.400 --> 00:30:48.720 prayer, then you pray. If you want your children 00:30:48.720 --> 00:30:52.460 to be men and women of integrity, walk in honesty. 00:30:54.640 --> 00:30:58.430 If you want your children... To be men and women 00:30:58.430 --> 00:31:02.950 who love and worship Jesus. That you love and 00:31:02.950 --> 00:31:09.410 worship Jesus. Be that example. If we're serious 00:31:09.410 --> 00:31:12.450 and we are obedient to Jesus, so will our children. 00:31:12.730 --> 00:31:16.109 When they see how serious we are. When our children 00:31:16.109 --> 00:31:19.529 see us praising Jesus and walking in truth. They 00:31:19.529 --> 00:31:22.190 will more than likely follow along with us. Now, 00:31:22.210 --> 00:31:23.789 I get it. There are going to be some of those 00:31:23.789 --> 00:31:26.509 who don't follow right away. There'll be some 00:31:26.509 --> 00:31:29.130 of them who fall away and some of them who lag 00:31:29.130 --> 00:31:34.210 behind and take a few years. But we shouldn't 00:31:34.210 --> 00:31:35.910 just be like, well, since they fell away, I could 00:31:35.910 --> 00:31:38.049 be differently. No, we still got to be that godly 00:31:38.049 --> 00:31:42.049 example. Show them that true love that Christ 00:31:42.049 --> 00:31:45.789 has for us. You may have a child who fell away 00:31:45.789 --> 00:31:48.630 from God and who doesn't want to listen to you. 00:31:49.200 --> 00:31:51.339 Who doesn't want to hear scripture? Who doesn't 00:31:51.339 --> 00:31:54.160 want to go to church ever again because they 00:31:54.160 --> 00:31:57.859 may have had such a horrible experience, whatever 00:31:57.859 --> 00:32:01.980 it is? I ask you this, have you surrendered your 00:32:01.980 --> 00:32:09.579 child to God? Old or young? Have you allowed 00:32:09.579 --> 00:32:12.200 God to take control of that situation? Have you 00:32:12.200 --> 00:32:15.160 allowed to step out of that situation and allowed 00:32:15.160 --> 00:32:18.900 God to be in control of it? Isaiah 55, 9 says, 00:32:19.200 --> 00:32:23.039 so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts 00:32:23.039 --> 00:32:26.059 than your thoughts. God is a God who transforms 00:32:26.059 --> 00:32:30.240 lives and transforms hearts. God's ways are higher 00:32:30.240 --> 00:32:34.299 than our ways. We may never understand why God 00:32:34.299 --> 00:32:36.279 does the things that he does, the way that he 00:32:36.279 --> 00:32:38.619 does. You know, sometimes we think, hey, God, 00:32:38.680 --> 00:32:42.859 this is a perfect example. God, this is the perfect 00:32:42.859 --> 00:32:44.599 time to go and do this. And God's like, nope, 00:32:44.720 --> 00:32:47.599 and waits like two years. It's because his ways 00:32:47.599 --> 00:32:50.960 are higher. He is higher than all of us and knows 00:32:50.960 --> 00:32:53.880 all things, and he knows every single outcome. 00:32:54.279 --> 00:32:57.339 What we think may be a great time may not be 00:32:57.339 --> 00:33:00.380 that great time. God knows that. God knows that 00:33:00.380 --> 00:33:04.500 that's not going to be the outcome. But we must 00:33:04.500 --> 00:33:08.660 trust God and pray in all situations and submit 00:33:08.660 --> 00:33:14.099 our children to God. God will accomplish his 00:33:14.099 --> 00:33:18.589 will and his purpose. We must show that those 00:33:18.589 --> 00:33:20.390 who have walked away, that we're not going to 00:33:20.390 --> 00:33:22.849 treat them any differently than we do a brother 00:33:22.849 --> 00:33:25.049 and sister in Christ. We will show that we will 00:33:25.049 --> 00:33:31.990 teach them, I love you as Christ loves me. Remember 00:33:31.990 --> 00:33:35.829 what Hannah said when she made a vow to God saying, 00:33:35.990 --> 00:33:39.490 Lord of armies, if you will take notice of your 00:33:39.490 --> 00:33:42.470 servant's affliction, remember and not forget 00:33:42.470 --> 00:33:46.299 me. And give your servant a son. I will give 00:33:46.299 --> 00:33:53.420 him to the Lord. Do what Hananiah did. Dedicate 00:33:53.420 --> 00:34:00.319 your child to the Lord. God will do great things 00:34:00.319 --> 00:34:04.500 when we submit all to God. And that also includes 00:34:04.500 --> 00:34:06.599 our children, giving up our children, submitting 00:34:06.599 --> 00:34:12.800 them to God. But in Timothy 1, chapter 4, verse 00:34:12.800 --> 00:34:15.869 12, Paul says to Timothy, set an example for 00:34:15.869 --> 00:34:18.610 the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, 00:34:18.809 --> 00:34:23.230 in faith, and in purity. This isn't for the leaders 00:34:23.230 --> 00:34:25.550 in the church only. This isn't for the pastors 00:34:25.550 --> 00:34:29.070 or just for the evangelists or whatever. No, 00:34:29.110 --> 00:34:33.510 this applies to parents as well. Be the example 00:34:33.510 --> 00:34:37.170 in speech. That means not cursing at somebody 00:34:37.170 --> 00:34:40.510 who makes you mad and then turning around and 00:34:40.510 --> 00:34:41.809 saying, well, I don't know where my child got 00:34:41.809 --> 00:34:45.820 this. cursing from, you know? But be that example. 00:34:46.900 --> 00:34:50.480 Walk in conduct. Are you reading the scriptures 00:34:50.480 --> 00:34:54.780 intentionally? That's that example. Are we praising 00:34:54.780 --> 00:35:00.260 the Lord? Be an example in love. Show the love 00:35:00.260 --> 00:35:04.320 of Christ to all. Now, like I said, children's 00:35:04.320 --> 00:35:06.960 brains are like sponges. You know, they absorb 00:35:06.960 --> 00:35:10.400 everything. I unfortunately absorbed all the 00:35:10.400 --> 00:35:12.300 wrong things, so I had to learn the right things 00:35:12.300 --> 00:35:16.139 later on, but that's just how it is sometimes. 00:35:18.079 --> 00:35:22.059 Show your child how to be Christ -like, and they 00:35:22.059 --> 00:35:26.239 will follow. Walk alongside your children and 00:35:26.239 --> 00:35:30.800 be an example to your children. And now the third 00:35:30.800 --> 00:35:34.599 step. Prepare your children to walk out into 00:35:34.599 --> 00:35:38.909 the world. Prepare your children for pain and 00:35:38.909 --> 00:35:42.389 persecution. When we prepare our children for 00:35:42.389 --> 00:35:45.170 pain and persecution, it helps them to understand 00:35:45.170 --> 00:35:51.449 that we live in a fallen world. That this life 00:35:51.449 --> 00:35:56.389 is not perfect. When we prepare them for pain 00:35:56.389 --> 00:35:59.769 and persecution, they will not have false expectations 00:35:59.769 --> 00:36:02.469 when they get to school, when they get to work. 00:36:03.210 --> 00:36:05.590 Or even out in the world. They won't have those 00:36:05.590 --> 00:36:08.010 false expectations. Because we're telling them, 00:36:08.090 --> 00:36:11.730 this world is full of pain. And we will endure 00:36:11.730 --> 00:36:15.130 pain one day. And we will endure persecution. 00:36:16.070 --> 00:36:20.570 But be of good cheer. Christ overcame the world. 00:36:21.670 --> 00:36:24.409 Now we can assure them with four things. There's 00:36:24.409 --> 00:36:28.190 these four last things. Is when we prepare our 00:36:28.190 --> 00:36:31.590 children. The object of our pain and persecution. 00:36:32.480 --> 00:36:37.480 will produce great joy eventually. And for some 00:36:37.480 --> 00:36:40.219 right away. What do I mean? Even though there 00:36:40.219 --> 00:36:45.960 will be struggles in school, at work, struggles 00:36:45.960 --> 00:36:49.980 and pain in relationships, much anguish, Jesus 00:36:49.980 --> 00:36:52.960 being crucified on the cross and dying for our 00:36:52.960 --> 00:36:58.989 sins, when we remember that, That will cause 00:36:58.989 --> 00:37:02.590 much great joy because there's nothing we have 00:37:02.590 --> 00:37:04.889 to do to defeat the world. There's nothing we 00:37:04.889 --> 00:37:08.730 have to do to try to overturn the world because 00:37:08.730 --> 00:37:13.329 Christ already overcame the world. If we teach 00:37:13.329 --> 00:37:18.929 our children all of this, that when they go through 00:37:18.929 --> 00:37:22.849 pain, when they go through a breakup with a boyfriend 00:37:22.849 --> 00:37:25.530 or girlfriend, or the persecution of being a 00:37:25.530 --> 00:37:29.059 Christian, The Lord may not take them out of 00:37:29.059 --> 00:37:31.179 the situation, but the Lord will show them something 00:37:31.179 --> 00:37:34.019 in that situation. The Lord will speak to them. 00:37:35.739 --> 00:37:38.539 We must prepare them for that. Because in that 00:37:38.539 --> 00:37:44.139 situation, the Lord will always bring joy. What 00:37:44.139 --> 00:37:50.500 do I mean? Joseph, the son of Jacob, in Genesis, 00:37:50.579 --> 00:37:55.960 was thrown into a pit by his brothers. Later 00:37:55.960 --> 00:37:58.699 on, he was sold into slavery by his brothers, 00:37:58.860 --> 00:38:04.059 and he ended up in Egypt. Now, when he was in 00:38:04.059 --> 00:38:08.380 Egypt, he was a slave to Potiphar and his wife. 00:38:09.679 --> 00:38:14.760 And in that, he was sexually accused by Potiphar's 00:38:14.760 --> 00:38:19.480 wife. And day after day, after all of these pains 00:38:19.480 --> 00:38:22.739 and persecutions and going through all the sufferings, 00:38:23.699 --> 00:38:26.380 Finally, some years later, the Lord finally delivered 00:38:26.380 --> 00:38:32.900 him. Joseph was released from prison, and what? 00:38:33.820 --> 00:38:39.340 He became second in command after Pharaoh. Even 00:38:39.340 --> 00:38:42.360 in all of that pain, that persecution, that suffering, 00:38:42.460 --> 00:38:45.239 the accusations, the Lord brought him to the 00:38:45.239 --> 00:38:51.039 point of being above all that, being away from 00:38:51.039 --> 00:38:55.510 all of that. Joseph said this in Genesis 50, 00:38:55.630 --> 00:38:59.809 verse 20. You planned evil against me. God planned 00:38:59.809 --> 00:39:02.630 it for good to bring about the present result, 00:39:02.909 --> 00:39:07.369 the survival of many people. Those pains and 00:39:07.369 --> 00:39:10.610 persecutions that Joseph went through, they all 00:39:10.610 --> 00:39:14.849 turned into joy. God turned and transformed those 00:39:14.849 --> 00:39:20.630 into joy later on. We should tell our children 00:39:20.630 --> 00:39:24.019 this as well. We should tell our children that 00:39:24.019 --> 00:39:27.659 all the pains and persecutions are just for a 00:39:27.659 --> 00:39:36.280 little while. Christ overcame them. Number two, 00:39:36.360 --> 00:39:39.019 when we prepare our children to go out into the 00:39:39.019 --> 00:39:42.559 world, we should teach them to pray. Teach your 00:39:42.559 --> 00:39:45.760 children to have a prayer life. Teach them what 00:39:45.760 --> 00:39:50.300 prayer means. An effective prayer life is important. 00:39:51.440 --> 00:39:55.659 James says in James 5 .16, the prayer of a righteous 00:39:55.659 --> 00:40:00.380 person is very powerful in its effect. Effective 00:40:00.380 --> 00:40:03.119 prayer is powerful because when we look at 1 00:40:03.119 --> 00:40:08.480 Kings 17, Elijah comes on the scene and he speaks 00:40:08.480 --> 00:40:13.260 boldly to King Ahab. And he tells him, there 00:40:13.260 --> 00:40:16.539 will be no dew or rain during these years except 00:40:16.539 --> 00:40:20.849 by command, or by my command. Why was he able 00:40:20.849 --> 00:40:26.530 to speak so boldly to King Ahab? James 5 tells 00:40:26.530 --> 00:40:31.949 us. It says that Elijah prayed earnestly. Elijah 00:40:31.949 --> 00:40:36.269 was praying constantly and with that he was submitted 00:40:36.269 --> 00:40:40.469 to God and he was listening to God and he was 00:40:40.469 --> 00:40:47.829 declaring God's word in truth and in love. Now 00:40:47.829 --> 00:40:51.409 prayer doesn't have to be You know, long or fancy, 00:40:51.550 --> 00:40:55.789 use big words. You know, that's the way of the 00:40:55.789 --> 00:41:00.590 prophets of Baal. That's what they did. They 00:41:00.590 --> 00:41:05.610 had lengthy prayers. So did the Pharisees when 00:41:05.610 --> 00:41:07.510 they stood on the street corners and they would 00:41:07.510 --> 00:41:11.550 pray. They had the lengthy prayers. But it meant 00:41:11.550 --> 00:41:14.869 nothing because it wasn't for God. It was for 00:41:14.869 --> 00:41:17.969 themselves to look good. But Elijah here submitted 00:41:17.969 --> 00:41:25.110 himself to God. He understood that God is truth. 00:41:26.389 --> 00:41:30.130 Elijah knew to submit to God's word. Elijah prayed 00:41:30.130 --> 00:41:33.409 according to God's word. So for us, we should 00:41:33.409 --> 00:41:36.289 teach our children to pray effectively. In that 00:41:36.289 --> 00:41:39.730 way, we combine prayer and the reading of God's 00:41:39.730 --> 00:41:47.139 word. Fervent prayer is also powerful. To pray 00:41:47.139 --> 00:41:50.559 fervently. Elijah prayed fervently. When he called 00:41:50.559 --> 00:41:53.840 down fire from heaven to the prophets of Baal, 00:41:53.960 --> 00:41:57.559 he prayed fervently. Elijah kept praying and 00:41:57.559 --> 00:42:01.260 praying and praying and praying against the prophet 00:42:01.260 --> 00:42:05.099 of Baal and the prophets of Baal. He never gave 00:42:05.099 --> 00:42:08.119 up. He kept going because he believed what God 00:42:08.119 --> 00:42:11.000 told him. He believed that God was going to deliver 00:42:11.000 --> 00:42:15.030 him from these things. And after all those prayers, 00:42:15.190 --> 00:42:19.730 God answered. You know, the 12 disciples observed 00:42:19.730 --> 00:42:24.050 Jesus raising the dead, healing the sick, feeding 00:42:24.050 --> 00:42:26.949 the multitudes, preaching the word, walking on 00:42:26.949 --> 00:42:31.250 water, casting out demons, and so on. But did 00:42:31.250 --> 00:42:34.349 you know that Jesus' disciples asked him how 00:42:34.349 --> 00:42:39.690 to do one thing? That was how to pray. In Luke 00:42:39.690 --> 00:42:42.389 11, 1, it says, he was praying in a certain place. 00:42:42.409 --> 00:42:44.710 When he finished, one of his disciples said to 00:42:44.710 --> 00:42:48.130 him, Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also 00:42:48.130 --> 00:42:50.670 taught his disciples. They understood the power 00:42:50.670 --> 00:42:53.929 of prayer. They understood that they needed to 00:42:53.929 --> 00:42:58.329 pray. Otherwise, they never would have asked. 00:42:58.630 --> 00:43:01.650 The 12 disciples knew that effective prayer is 00:43:01.650 --> 00:43:07.219 powerful. And when we pray fervently, And consistently, 00:43:07.300 --> 00:43:11.980 it is also powerful. Mothers, teach your children 00:43:11.980 --> 00:43:20.019 just as Jesus taught his disciples to pray. Number 00:43:20.019 --> 00:43:22.380 three, when we prepare our children to go out 00:43:22.380 --> 00:43:25.139 into the world, remind them this, that Jesus 00:43:25.139 --> 00:43:29.900 has conquered the world. Teach them that Jesus 00:43:29.900 --> 00:43:34.039 overcame the world. John 16, 33. Jesus says, 00:43:34.059 --> 00:43:36.340 I have told you these things so that in me you 00:43:36.340 --> 00:43:39.019 may have peace. You will have suffering in this 00:43:39.019 --> 00:43:42.780 world. Be courageous. I have conquered the world. 00:43:45.679 --> 00:43:48.699 When we see our children stumble, when we see 00:43:48.699 --> 00:43:51.059 them fail or going through pain and persecution, 00:43:51.360 --> 00:43:54.159 tell them to be courageous. Jesus overcame the 00:43:54.159 --> 00:43:56.980 world. And that's a great reminder for us as 00:43:56.980 --> 00:44:01.840 well. Jesus lived the sinless life. Satan could 00:44:01.840 --> 00:44:05.860 not conquer Jesus. Although he tried, sin never 00:44:05.860 --> 00:44:10.119 once tainted Jesus. Jesus conquered the world 00:44:10.119 --> 00:44:14.639 by defeating death on the cross. When we show 00:44:14.639 --> 00:44:17.739 our children that, they will respect what Jesus 00:44:17.739 --> 00:44:21.239 has done for us, and they will understand that 00:44:21.239 --> 00:44:23.780 what Jesus did for us on the cross wasn't just 00:44:23.780 --> 00:44:27.780 for nothing. It was for all of us, for all the 00:44:27.780 --> 00:44:32.829 world. Jesus took on our sins and our failures, 00:44:33.030 --> 00:44:36.269 and as believers, as one who has accepted Christ 00:44:36.269 --> 00:44:40.110 into our hearts, and believing that Jesus Christ 00:44:40.110 --> 00:44:44.190 is Lord, we can also enjoy that victory with 00:44:44.190 --> 00:44:49.130 Christ that he won. I like what one pastor said. 00:44:49.269 --> 00:44:52.170 He said, the Christian race is the only race 00:44:52.170 --> 00:44:54.510 in the world that begins at the finish line. 00:44:54.730 --> 00:44:58.860 We don't fight for victory. we fight from victory. 00:44:59.199 --> 00:45:02.500 The battle's already won. Jesus has already overcome. 00:45:04.179 --> 00:45:07.119 Those are great words to hear. And when we teach 00:45:07.119 --> 00:45:10.159 our children this, when they're going through 00:45:10.159 --> 00:45:14.019 their pain, persecution, and they remember what 00:45:14.019 --> 00:45:17.679 Christ did for us, they will remember that, and 00:45:17.679 --> 00:45:20.940 they will rejoice. We should prepare our children 00:45:20.940 --> 00:45:24.159 for this type of thing. We should prepare our 00:45:24.159 --> 00:45:28.059 children to have that faith, that Christ taught 00:45:28.059 --> 00:45:33.940 his disciples. That Christ taught his disciples 00:45:33.940 --> 00:45:36.800 that there was going to be trials and pains and 00:45:36.800 --> 00:45:41.500 tribulations. So when our children go through 00:45:41.500 --> 00:45:44.519 pains, trials and tribulations, they're not taken 00:45:44.519 --> 00:45:49.219 by surprise. My mom taught me this in scripture. 00:45:49.960 --> 00:45:53.300 I've seen this before. It's in scripture. I know 00:45:53.300 --> 00:45:57.239 how to handle this. And then the last one is, 00:45:57.320 --> 00:46:01.179 which I was reminded in first service, was forgiveness 00:46:01.179 --> 00:46:06.480 and repentance. Teach our children forgiveness 00:46:06.480 --> 00:46:11.559 and repentance. Talk about forgiveness. You know, 00:46:11.579 --> 00:46:14.280 teach your children to forgive and to be forgiving. 00:46:15.079 --> 00:46:17.960 You know, Christ forgave us so we should also 00:46:17.960 --> 00:46:22.420 forgive others. When our children are acting 00:46:22.420 --> 00:46:24.920 up and they're going through a phase of just, 00:46:24.960 --> 00:46:29.570 you know, We shouldn't hate them. We should forgive 00:46:29.570 --> 00:46:33.530 them. Why? Because Christ forgave us. Show them 00:46:33.530 --> 00:46:36.150 what forgiveness is because when they're in trouble 00:46:36.150 --> 00:46:39.610 and they see that you're angry, when we show 00:46:39.610 --> 00:46:43.690 them how to be forgiving and loving, they will 00:46:43.690 --> 00:46:46.590 want to come to us after and ask for forgiveness. 00:46:46.789 --> 00:46:50.690 They will not be afraid of us. And they won't 00:46:50.690 --> 00:46:54.840 be afraid to ask for forgiveness. Teach them 00:46:54.840 --> 00:47:01.420 forgiveness and repentance. But mothers, I thank 00:47:01.420 --> 00:47:08.780 you. I thank you for just being mothers and being 00:47:08.780 --> 00:47:13.179 obedient to Christ and listening to God. You 00:47:13.179 --> 00:47:16.860 know, there's a few godly women in my life, godly 00:47:16.860 --> 00:47:21.780 mothers, I would say, is, you know, my sister. 00:47:23.119 --> 00:47:26.820 And I would say my stepmom. She's been such a 00:47:26.820 --> 00:47:31.179 godly example. My mother -in -law. And there's 00:47:31.179 --> 00:47:35.179 another one I just wanted to thank. And that 00:47:35.179 --> 00:47:44.579 is Christiana Bromley. Yeah. When my wife and 00:47:44.579 --> 00:47:49.500 I started coming to Hosanna, she had this love 00:47:49.500 --> 00:47:53.880 that she was just so loving. and caring. She 00:47:53.880 --> 00:47:56.780 showed that. And I was just like, yeah, I know 00:47:56.780 --> 00:47:58.760 she's a mother because she has that mother's 00:47:58.760 --> 00:48:02.280 love. And without even knowing me, she, for some 00:48:02.280 --> 00:48:06.440 reason, accepted my wife and I. She didn't have 00:48:06.440 --> 00:48:09.980 to, but she showed that godly love. And I will 00:48:09.980 --> 00:48:13.599 never forget it. So when you see her, tell her 00:48:13.599 --> 00:48:17.440 thank you. Oh, she's here. Stand up. I'm just 00:48:17.440 --> 00:48:24.170 kidding. Don't stand up. But this morning, today 00:48:24.170 --> 00:48:28.349 and every day, I just thank you mothers. And 00:48:28.349 --> 00:48:31.690 I just pray that you guys just continue to be 00:48:31.690 --> 00:48:35.130 faithful. Listen to the Lord. Teach your children. 00:48:35.690 --> 00:48:38.690 Walk alongside your children. Be that example. 00:48:39.489 --> 00:48:44.289 And teach them about pain, persecution, and suffering. 00:48:45.929 --> 00:48:49.630 And teach them about forgiveness as well. Let's 00:48:49.630 --> 00:48:55.760 pray. Father God, we're just so thankful. We're 00:48:55.760 --> 00:48:58.579 so thankful that you have blessed each and every 00:48:58.579 --> 00:49:04.840 one of us with a mother, Lord. Lord, we're just 00:49:04.840 --> 00:49:10.800 in awe that our mothers can handle so much. We 00:49:10.800 --> 00:49:13.019 know that they go through a lot, Lord. They could 00:49:13.019 --> 00:49:18.559 take on so much. They deal with children, young 00:49:18.559 --> 00:49:21.780 and old, and even... They're husbands who also 00:49:21.780 --> 00:49:24.980 act like children. But Lord, we just thank you. 00:49:25.039 --> 00:49:28.139 We thank you for showing the love to the mothers, 00:49:28.179 --> 00:49:33.059 and then the mothers show the love to us. And 00:49:33.059 --> 00:49:36.199 therefore, we can show love to one another, not 00:49:36.199 --> 00:49:38.300 only because of our mothers, but because of you. 00:49:39.659 --> 00:49:42.380 Jesus, we just thank you. Thank you for dying 00:49:42.380 --> 00:49:45.460 on the cross for our sins. Thank you for just 00:49:45.460 --> 00:49:52.190 paving the way. And just the blood that you shed 00:49:52.190 --> 00:49:57.469 for us, we just thank you so much. Lord, we're 00:49:57.469 --> 00:50:03.570 overcome. We're just thankful that you overcame 00:50:03.570 --> 00:50:06.309 the world. There's nothing that we had to do. 00:50:07.329 --> 00:50:09.469 Thank you, Father, for everything. It's in Jesus' 00:50:09.550 --> 00:50:13.409 precious name we pray. Amen. Lord bless you guys.