Teach Your Children A Divine Imperative
Deuteronomy 6:4-7
· The fundamental truths of life are to be handed down to our children
· Speak to the children what is in your heart, not just academic knowledge, “shall be in thine heart, and you shall teach them diligently”
· More than doctrine (teach that also, this is a propositional statement), but your life with Christ: tell them what you’ve been through, what you’ve felt with Christ, the personal times you’ve had with Jesus
Proverbs 22:6
· A general principle, not a warranty
· But one thing is sure: if you don’t train them up in the right way, they will not have anything to depart from and thus no good foundation from which to base their decisions
· Do not minimize the old adage that when the pressure is on we “run home to momma;” that is, we revert to what we were taught by our parents
Proverbs 17:6
· “Children’s children” are grandchildren, the crown of old men and women: it is a blessing to know our children’s children
· “The glory of children are their fathers” is that children take pride in their parents, even when they wear the wrong clothes and embarrass them; this pride is from teaching them the truth, not in being fashionable
· Adolescence does not count: this starts about the time they hit 22 yrs old (LOL)
Psalm 127:3-5
· Children are a blessing from God: there are joys that can only be known through children
· It’s not a right, for not all can have children; there are many other blessings out there
· But it is a blessing of its own flavor, and is to be appreciated for the blessing it is
· Raising children and experiencing children is a divine gift; and there’s nothing wrong with a lot of them
1 Samuel 1 (26-28)
· Hannah was barren but offered to the Lord her child if He would grant her prayer
· He did and she did; she knew that children were not her possession, but the Lord’s
· Honor the Lord through the children, not with the children; they are a part of your life with Christ, not your exclusive possession
Ephesians 6:1-4
· A Spirit-controlled life (5:18) has an impact on the family relationship
· Children obey their parents because this is pleasing in the Lord’s sight
· The Lord blesses this with prosperity and longevity: it is a general rule that those who honor the God-given leadership of their parents avoid a lot of the pitfalls that come on those who do not, pitfalls which result in bad decisions
· Fathers are the spiritual leaders of the family but must not exasperate their children with inconsistency, tyrannical demands, or petty favoritism
Proverbs 10:1
· Wisdom is the thing, and words of wisdom can bring wisdom to our children and our joy
· Children can send us to the heights of euphoria and the depths of despair
· There are no guarantees, only guidelines: with hope and prayer
Joel 1:3
· Hand down the truth from generation to generation: let the children know and hear your words
· They will hand it down; the greatest legacy is not in what you leave them, but what you show them
Mark 10:13-14
· The spirit of a child is the spirit of Christ’s kingdom: humble, trusting, loving
· And of the sin nature, which cannot be dismissed: demanding, selfish, rebellious
· The teachings of Christ’s kingdom are designed to deal with the ravages of the sin nature
· So let the children come: it is a divine imperative
You will be known by what is handed down to you and what you’ll do with it
You’ll make your own way with what you were given, in freedom and responsibility, but “that life” is handed down by the parents to the children
“That life” was not always easy and not perfectly lived (some crying involved), but you know they loved you
So, teach your children well; it does have an impact; maybe not immediately visible, but like the pull of gravity we will remember and base our lives on those handed-down values
Although this is a few days after Memorial Day, we should honor those who have given all to protect our freedoms.
John 15:12-14
This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Those who have laid down their lives to protect the freedom of their countrymen paid the ultimate price. Freedom comes with a price: the responsibility to obtain it and then maintain it. This requires vigilance, courage, sacrifice, and honor. Recognizing heroes gives us hope.
· You don’t have to be a believer to be a hero, to love something else more than self
· Even those who are not saved give tribute to the values of vigilance, courage, sacrifice and honor
· Why? Because it is instinctive to give self to something bigger; we are all created in the image of God, and this instinct comes to us from God
· We know these things instinctively (“we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal”) because God has placed them in us, regardless of the problem of sin
· We all long for a better life, a better home, a better country, and a better world; this too is instinctive
· God has provided these things upon our faith in His Son, who truly loved us more than self and was the ultimate hero that should be remembered/memorialized
· Christ is the ultimate example of the selfless hero: all other heroes (whom we honor on Memorial Day) are following His example
· This does not save them personally, but observing their sacrifice is another revelation of the love of God to mankind
Jud 17:6 In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
Jud 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
1Ki 15:5 Because David did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, and turned not aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.
· These Scriptures contrast those that did only what was in their self-interests and a leader that did what was right in the eyes of the Lord (and even he was not perfect as noted)
· It is a necessity for social order that our leaders see themselves subject to a higher calling and not just personal pleasure
· This is how freedom is won and maintained
Why bother to sacrifice since we’re going to heaven anyway?
· It is difficult for people to understand why Christians should engage in social and civic responsibilities when:
· This world is not our final home
· We are longing and striving for heaven
· There is a “sweet by and by”
· The atheist doesn’t have to explain why there is suffering, but they do have to explain why there is any good at all.
· It is the existence of heaven that requires dealing with conditions here on earth, conditions that we will try to improve by defending truth and justice
So why are we involved?
· For freedom – men are only truly free when free from sin; no political body can change the soul; and we are only free from sin when have the guarantee of heaven
· For accomplishment – to work is honorable, to sacrifice divine; before we enter the presence of God, we first have His presence enter us in this sin-cursed world to transform our lives
· For our fellow man – to lead them to faith as we have been led, out of a sense of gratitude of the blessings we have received with the desire to share this with others: “greater love hath no man than this”
· Heaven is the search for satisfaction (Heb. 11:13-16)
· Even though dissatisfaction can be a result of sin, it can also be the inherent longing for a “better life” because of the heaven-shaped vacuum in our souls
· We know we are not complete, so this dissatisfaction is a necessary pain in order to endure this life
We were built for heaven
· Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:7-9, made for man)
· The tree of life for the healing of nations; we were born to long for this place (Rev. 22:1-2)
· The better country, the shining city on a hill, the Promised Land: the song of our soul
· Life is a journey, not a destination
Being a hero, honoring heroes, and making this world a better place with truth and justice, are a part of the journey (I Peter 2:13-17
