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Okay, this last session that we'll be covering
on vision, the title of the message is
Wholehearted Households.
It was Joshua, the son of Nun, the
servant of Moses, who said these words that
are very famous.
Probably most of us in this room have
them on the wall of our house somewhere.
Many of us men have quoted those words
many a time on a Sunday afternoon fellowship.
Joshua is the one who said them the
first time.
He said, but as for me and my
house, we will serve the Lord.
Powerful words, words of determination, words of vision,
words that have inspired many a couple, many
a time, for thousands of years.
You would think, if you didn't know the
context of those verses, you would think that
Joshua made those statements when he was a
young man.
It seems like the statement that a young
man ought to make.
As for me and my house, we will
serve the Lord.
But in actual reality, Joshua was an old
man when he said those words.
Joshua was 110 years old when he said
those words, amen?
So you think, oh wait a minute, what
is this old guy saying words like that
for?
Those are words for me to say.
I have my family to raise yet.
What's he saying words like that for?
He's 110 years old.
Surely he knows it's about time to pass
on.
Why is he saying such words?
There's a reason.
He's 110 years old.
He's not a young man dreaming dreams and
visions.
He's 110 years old.
It's been 70 years since God said of
him, He wholly followed the Lord his God.
We look over his life, and it's no
question about it that that is exactly what
he did.
He did wholly follow the Lord his God
all of his days.
I like Joshua.
He's one of my heroes.
And I like the one sitting down there
too.
He's one of my heroes, amen?
Joshua is speaking prophetically as he proclaims his
intent and the intent of his whole family
in these words that he says.
He has passed on the zeal and love
of God to the next generation.
And he's speaking prophetically, and he's speaking knowing
what his generations are going to do.
You see, when a man said, My house
in those days, he just wasn't talking about
the ones that he had underneath his roof.
Joshua, when he said those words, there were
four generations of his children standing there in
that crowd of people when he said those
words.
When Joshua at 110 years old said, As
for me and my house, we will serve
the Lord.
He could say those words prophetically because he
had wholly followed the Lord and he had
a wholehearted household.
And his children rose up after him and
those after them and the next ones after
them.
That's how Joshua could say such words.
He was a true patriarch, wasn't he?
Joshua is a good example of a wholehearted
Jewish home.
Spiritual Israel was totally consumed with raising their
children for Jehovah.
Some years ago, I discovered this as I
was studying for a message on the home.
It thrilled me as I began to look
into what Jewish home life was like to
a spiritual Jew.
It thrilled my heart to see the ordered
life, the life that was ordered around raising
children.
As I was meditating and studying these homes
of spiritual Jewish Israel, it dawned on me
this is the kind of home that our
Lord Jesus was raised in.
This is the kind of home John the
Baptist was raised in.
Probably the kind of home that John the
Apostle and Peter the Apostle and the other
ones was raised in.
You see, it wasn't some happenstance accident that
when Messiah showed up on the scene, Peter,
James, John, Nathaniel, Simon, Peter's brother Philip and
all those, it wasn't just an accident that
all of a sudden their hearts were ripe
and ready and open to receive the Messiah.
This is probably the kind of home that
they had.
Let's consider what those homes were like.
Number one, they built their houses to be
family centered houses.
The house had small rooms in it, which
were bedrooms and things like that.
And there was one large family room right
in the middle.
In that room, they did cooking, they did
sewing, they did their eating in that room.
They had their devotions in that room.
That room was hospitality room.
That room was family time in the evenings.
That room was a place where everybody gathered
to sit and talk in the middle of
the day.
It was their living room.
We've got to change that name, you know,
in our land.
Now, the living room, that's where you go
and sit down.
But in those days, it was the living
room where everyone lived together.
They built their houses that way on purpose.
And we see some of that even in
this area where we live.
We see men rising up and building a
house.
And all the while they're building it, they
have things in mind.
They have children in mind.
They build this big house, you know, with
six, seven bedrooms in it.
You think, my, what do you need all
those bedrooms for?
But if you have 12 or 14 children,
you need a few bedrooms.
They built it with some vision in mind.
I noticed as I was studying the beautiful
order of the Sabbath evening in a spiritual
Jewish home.
On the Sabbath evening, it was an evening
when the family prepared for the Sabbath.
The father, he didn't prepare.
On the Sabbath evening, he went away to
the synagogue to hear preaching and to worship
God.
While he was away, the family was very
busy.
They were busy taking baths, putting on their
best clothes, making a nice meal, putting out
the best plates they had and preparing the
best food they had for the Sabbath evening
meal.
The table was set.
Everything was in its place.
The Sabbath light was burning and all the
children and mama were there waiting for dad
to come home.
Well, when the dad came home, he gave
his Sabbath evening blessing to all the children.
He did it every week.
And when he came home, when he walked
through that door, all the children knew I'm
going to get a blessing.
Everything's in place.
The table's made.
We're going to have a nice meal together.
We've got our nice clean clothes on.
Everything is prepared.
We're waiting for dad.
And when dad gets home, I'm going to
get a blessing.
When that door opened up and that father
walked through the door, the children lined up
with expectancy and they looked up at their
father to wait their turn for to get
a blessing from their dad.
And he lined them up and reached his
hands out and put his hands on their
head and spoke words of blessing upon each
one of them.
It was part of every Sabbath evening.
The Jewish father taught his children the word
of God, according to Isaiah, chapter 28.
It was line upon line, precept upon precept,
here a little, there a little.
Which, by the way, is an awesome training
program when you think about it.
Deuteronomy, chapter six, verse one through seven, which
speaks about teaching your children the word of
God.
We'll look at that in more depth later
on.
But that portion of Scripture was believed and
obeyed by every serious-minded Jewish father.
They chose their occupations based on Deuteronomy, chapter
six, verse one through seven.
Many times when a young man was determining
what is he going to do for his
occupation, as he looked ahead, thought about getting
married, thought about having a family, he thought
about his occupation and he would look at
his options.
And one of the things he would ask
himself is, can I fulfill Deuteronomy, chapter six
with this job?
Oh, I don't think I will be able
to.
I want to take this job.
I will not go in this direction.
I will not take a job that will
take me away from my family again and
again and again for days and days and
days all through the year.
I cannot do it.
I cannot fulfill Deuteronomy, chapter six.
I will not take this job.
I will take a lesser job.
Because they believed those verses were supposed to
be obeyed.
Lord, help us.
This father taught his children the Word of
God.
He broke it down in words and illustrations
that they could understand.
He would constantly connect the actions of their
life with the commandments that were in the
Word of God.
He would say to them, this is why
we pray the way we do.
Here is a verse that tells us why
we go to the synagogue.
Everything they did had a reason, which was
backed up with the Word of God.
And the father's responsibility was to connect the
life they were living with the Word of
God, which they had in their possession.
Sound good?
Amen.
Also, in this way, the father methodically, daily
catechized his children in all the laws of
God.
It was his responsibility.
The father taught them how to read.
This was done early in life, very early
in life.
What was his motivation?
Did he have college on his mind?
Was he thinking, my child needs to be
a good reader so that my child could
read lots of books.
I'm going to teach him to read early.
No, that wasn't his motivation.
His motivation was simply this.
I want my child to be able to
read the Word of God.
So we will teach the child to read.
That was his motivation.
They all had the same learning to read
curriculum.
Did you know they had a learning to
read curriculum back in those days?
They all had the same one.
It worked beautiful.
Here it is right here.
The Word of God.
That was their learning to read curriculum.
He would sit down in the evenings with
the children and begin with the Hebrew alphabet
and go over it.
All of it sounds, what they mean, how
they should sound, how they're said.
Then once they mastered the Hebrew alphabet, then
into the little simple words, which you find
in the Word of God, reminds me of
some of the things we did with the
children as they were learning how to read.
And sit them down with a Bible and
tell them, now you find this word every
place you can in this chapter in the
Bible.
And they would mark the word in the
Bible.
There it is.
There it is again.
There it is.
That's what the father would do.
Once they mastered those simple little words, then
he moved on to bigger verses in the
Bible.
And eventually the child could read the Jewish
text of the Word of God.
The father taught them to memorize Scripture long
before they could read.
As soon as they could understand sounds and
know what words meant, the father began to
teach them to memorize Scripture.
They learned them by repetition.
They said them over and over again until
they could quote them.
Scriptures, songs, meaningful poems.
He put them into their hearts and their
minds because he knew that they would need
it.
Usually one of the first psalms that they
focused on memorizing was Psalm 119.
That would probably be the last one we
would focus on.
That was the first one they focused on.
Amen?
We'll take Psalm 100.
But they took Psalm 119.
The longest one.
But if you ever studied Psalm 119, you
know why they took Psalm 119.
It is filled with the zeal and love
and commitment to follow the Word of God,
learn the Word of God, and obey the
Word of God.
And besides that, every one of those little
portions follows the Hebrew alphabet right down the
line.
They taught them Psalm 119.
Oh, we need to follow this wholehearted example
in our own children's lives.
Our children also have quick minds.
They can learn very fast.
They can learn faster than we think they
can.
They can learn much more than we think
they can learn.
We need to stretch our minds in these
things, brothers and sisters.
They can memorize chapters and chapters of the
Bible before they can even read.
We need to follow this example and catechize
our children.
We are the Sunday school teacher, brothers and
sisters.
We are the Sunday school teacher.
We need to be the ones that sit
them down and make the Bible practical and
apply it to their everyday life.
We are the ones that should interpret the
Bible to our children in the world that
they live in.
The world changes with every generation.
And it's the Father's responsibility to take the
Word of God and apply that book to
the world that we live in.
See, 50 years ago, they didn't have computer
games where people killed each other and splattered
blood all over the screen.
They didn't have those things 50 years ago,
but we have them now.
Somebody needs to pick up the Bible and
find a reason why that's hellish.
Because it is.
Many, many people get uneasy about standards and
rules in the church, but many fathers are
not willing.
They are not willing to make the sacrifice
that are needed to put these principles in
the hearts of their own children.
It's not the church's job to make the
rules to keep your children in line.
It is your responsibility to take the Word
of God and break it down and in
zeal and enthusiasm put it in your children.
That's our responsibility as fathers.
We need to be the ones that sit
down and take the Bible and open it
up and tell our children, this is why
we pray the way we do.
This is why you see people raising their
hands on Sunday morning.
This is why the sisters have a covering
on their head.
This is why we do this.
This is why we do that.
We're the ones that are supposed to do
that.
What a shock to me it is so
many times when you meet religious people in
this county where we are and you ask
some of them, why do you do that?
Well, I don't know.
Why do you have this covering on your
head?
Oh, well, Mom did.
Mom did.
That's a poor excuse for putting one on
your head.
Mom did.
Because the Word of God says so.
That's the answer.
Back to the Jewish father.
The boys, they went to school.
When they turned eight years old, they went
away for formal schooling.
The girls, they had school at home.
They learned from their mother.
There was book learning.
They had studies they had to do.
But most of the focus was on preparing
those young ladies to be able to keep
a home for some godly young man someday.
That's what they did.
And the boys, they went off to school
during the day.
Some people may react to this, you know,
and say, hey, that's not right.
The girls didn't get the opportunity to have
an education.
And I don't believe in that.
I think girls need to have an education.
No problem with that.
However, this clearly shows a clear division of
labor and responsibility, which is being lost in
our land.
It's being lost.
I mean, it's so lost now that ladies
will say to their husbands, you do the
dishes.
You take care of the children for two
years.
I'm going to work.
Awesome thoughts.
Back to the boys.
Who do you suppose they got to train
these boys that they sent off to school
when they were eight years old?
No reflection on young teachers here.
But they didn't go looking for a 19
or 20 year old boy or a young
lady who wanted a job teaching.
They would not put their children underneath a
young one like that.
God bless you, teachers.
Nothing against any of you.
But we're just looking at the example of
these men.
They found the most spiritual rabbi that they
could find.
And he was the one who trained those
boys at school.
Why?
Because they were raising up leaders for the
nation of Israel.
That's why.
And that's no little thing.
May God lift up our sights and raise
our eyes that we could see higher than
where we see.
Why am I saying all of this?
What does it mean to us?
Spiritual Israel raised their children on purpose.
That's what I gleaned as I studied this
Jewish home.
It was very clear.
These people were serious about raising children.
They did many things on purpose.
They had verses to direct them.
They had visions to inspire them.
And they did it with their whole heart.
And we need to follow their example.
We have more available to us than what
they had.
Surely we can follow their example.
We ought to be able to pass it
up.
Because the Holy Ghost has been given at
pentecost unto us and to our children.
We need to follow their example and reap
some of the powerful results that we looked
at here yesterday.
Remember what I said earlier here about the
home life of the Lord Jesus and John
the Baptist?
Consider that for a minute.
When the Father in heaven was searching for
a home for one of his chosen vessels,
what kind of a home do you think
he was looking for?
Hmm?
A haphazard one?
No.
I don't think so.
I think the Father knew what He was
doing when He selected Mary, when He selected
Joseph.
I think He knew what He was doing
when He selected Elizabeth and Zachariah to be
the ones who would raise two very precious
chosen vessels for God and for His kingdom.
I think He knew what He was doing.
I believe those two men grew up in
homes somewhat like what I just described.
Think of these words of John's parents.
It says in Luke chapter 1, They were
both righteous before God, walking in all the
commandments and ordinance of the Lord blameless.
I wonder what kind of home they had.
If they were walking in all the commandments
of the Lord blameless.
That means all these verses that we have
all over the walls and in the back
there.
They were walking in all of those blameless.
God knew where to put John the Baptist,
didn't He?
By the way, He still knows where to
put John the Baptist.
He still knows where to put John the
Baptist.
Remember all those pictures that we've been looking
at already.
Those arrows, those olive plants, those mature plants,
those polished cornerstones.
All those illustrations that we've been looking at.
Spiritual Israel lived off of those pictures.
That was the fuel that flamed their fires.
Those very pictures, these visions was the fuel
that produced the Jewish home.
Just like where we looked at.
Filled with vision, methods and actions.
Spiritual Israel took the visions and the methods
and produced the action that raised up godly
children for Yahweh.
May God help us to do the same
thing.
The question is, are we willing to pay
that kind of price?
You see, we live in America.
You know, and you know how America is.
There is a price tag on a beautiful
home like this.
It is well worth the price.
But the question is whether we're willing to
pay the price.
That is the question.
Older folks often testify with tears after they've
sat through a series of meetings like this.
They will stand with tears and say, oh,
if I would have only heard these words
when I was starting out with my home.
I've had a few young couples come up
to me already this week.
Just marry, maybe have one little baby or
maybe one in the womb.
I tell you what, they are so right
and so broken and so open to listen
to every word that is being said.
You know why?
There's something very earnest about how they're looking
at their family and their home life.
It would be good for all of us
to learn from those young couples that have
a little one in the womb.
And from those old couples who would stand
and say with tears running down their face,
oh, I wish I could have heard these
words when I was raising my children.
I would have taken heed to them and
saved myself lots of heartaches.
And I would have saved my children from
wreck and from ruin.
Well, are willing to pay the price.
Who then is willing to consecrate themselves to
the Lord, so that the grace of God
may flow through them to change their priorities
and make the changes so that godly children
can be trained to walk with God with
all of their heart.
Up till now, not many are willing to
do that.
And I praise God, it's changing.
But you know, through the years, I've noticed
this.
There's lots of people who get excited about
the home tapes.
But there's not very many people who take
the whole thing seriously.
There's not very many people.
I can always tell when somebody took it
seriously.
You walk into their house, it's clear in
20 minutes.
How will we do?
What will we do?
Who then is willing to consecrate themselves to
the Lord in such a way?
How many homes do you know where the
children are all out for the Lord, burning
with zeal?
Praise God, I know many now.
But oh, how many more God wants it
to be.
Like I said yesterday, it is the will
of God.
It is the heart of God that it
be that way in every one of our
homes.
Who then is willing to pay the price?
The church should be full of gray heads
who have raised a generation of soldiers that
are out on the fields, here and abroad,
building the kingdom for the Lord Jesus Christ.
The church should be full of gray heads
who have done that.
You know, and I thought about it as
I was meditating upon these facts.
We owe the next generation of parents an
example that they can look at and follow
just like that.
Some of us that are getting older, we
owe the next generation that kind of an
example.
Let's look at another wholehearted household.
Turn with me to 1 Corinthians 16, the
house of Stephanas.
Here we have the testimony of a wholehearted
household in one sentence.
God didn't need to write five or six
pages about this house.
One sentence said it all.
That's what I like about God's word.
He could take one little sentence and it
is so packed with meaning you could spend
three hours on one sentence.
That's the way God's word is.
The testimony of the house of Stephanas.
Let us read it in verse 15 of
chapter 16.
I beseech you, brethren, ye know the house
of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of
Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to
the work of the ministry.
I beseech you, brethren, that ye submit yourselves
unto such and to everyone that helpeth with
us and laboreth.
Now, it seems to me that Stephanas was
an elder in the church at Corinth.
But Paul says some amazing words about this
household here.
They were the first converts in that area.
There's not a whole lot said, but what
is said is powerful.
They entered in to the gospel with joy
and enthusiasm and the family caught the fire.
It's very clear.
This family, they're one of my models.
I follow the example and the model of
this family.
And it's a special family to me because
of that word, addict.
It's a strong word.
I know what it means.
I used to be addicted to drugs and
alcohol.
And when I focused in on that word,
after God opened my eyes to the reality
of what a home could be like, and
I saw that word, I said, God, I
know what that word means.
And that word means exactly what we understand
it to mean.
It means they were hooked.
They couldn't help themselves.
Just like Paul said, I can't help myself.
The love of Christ constrains me.
It drags me around after souls.
I'm just a slave to the Spirit of
God, Paul says.
Well, that's the way it was with the
house of Stephanus.
They were addicted.
They were hooked.
Very interesting, the word know.
Paul says there, you know the house of
Stephanus.
That word know is a powerful little word.
It's an experiential word.
What Paul was saying by that is, you
know that you know that you know by
the way that you have seen them live.
You know the house of Stephanus.
You've seen it.
Paul wasn't just telling them they're addicted.
He was saying, you know this whole household
is addicted to the work of the ministry
of the saints.
Hallelujah!
What an example for every one of us
to follow.
Amen?
A bunch of children that are so hooked
on serving others that they can't help themselves.
They have to do it the next day
in order to get a fix again.
Bless God, that's the right kind of fix.
You can get hooked on that all you
want.
And by the way, it is addictive too.
Bless God.
If you've never had the joy of leading
a soul in Jesus Christ, you don't know
what addiction is yet.
Here we have a husband and wife who
so loved the Lord Jesus Christ, the whole
family was affected by it.
They allowed themselves to get so hooked on
serving the saints at Corinth that they couldn't
help themselves but serve and serve and serve.
That the testimony of the church was clear.
Everybody knew that whole house is sold out
to God.
Wholehearted families affect the next generation, brothers and
sisters.
You know, as Brother Willie's family was sharing
with us this morning, all those words of
faith and all of that.
You know, I thought about it.
According to the promises of the Word of
God, my family is secure.
Because I love God with my whole heart.
My family is secure.
You study it in the Bible.
It's that way.
It's not an accident.
That whole thing passes on from one generation
to the next.
All I have to do is keep the
fire burning in my own soul.
Bless God, my family's sure.
But I do need to keep my fire
burning in my own heart.
Amen?
If I start cooling off, they start cooling
off.
Unless they're old enough to stand on their
own two feet, then sometimes they pull up
next to Dad and say, Dad, let's go.
Let's get it.
Praise God for that.
My son Daniel has done that to me
a couple of times and I'm grateful for
it.
Hallelujah.
This is a model family to us, brothers
and sisters.
Ten years from now, what will they say?
Can they say that about your family?
Will they say that about your family in
ten years?
That whole house is hooked on God and
hooked on ministering to people.
They're an example.
They're a model family to every one of
us.
Let's look at the wholehearted house of the
elders.
The wholehearted house of the elders.
We know in 1 Timothy and also in
Titus, we know very clearly that God gives
qualifications for leadership in the church.
And there are many things that God says
in there.
But have you ever noticed that most of
the time when God is speaking about the
qualities of character that an elder should have,
God uses one word.
He should be temperate.
He should not be this.
He should be this, using one word.
But when God gets to the home, and
this is the Spirit of God, when the
Spirit of God got to the home, He
breathed out whole sentences to make it very
clear in the church what kind of elders
you need to ordain.
Basically, if you want to understand what God
was saying in there, you look at this
man's household.
Is it a wholehearted household?
If it is, then you know that man
has been living right behind closed doors.
Ordain him.
That's what God says.
Oh my, wouldn't that change things in all
the many pulpits in the United States today,
if all of a sudden God sat every
minister down and examined his heart, and found
that the family was wanting, and the children
were rebellious, and they were fighting with Dad
behind closed doors, and God said to all
those ministers, you go take a seat and
let somebody else get up and preach, until
you get your house in order.
I wonder how many pulpits would be empty
after that session with God.
Wholehearted households of the elders.
A man's family is the greatest revelation of
who he really is.
You know what they say?
Character is who you are when nobody is
looking.
And may I say, character is who you
are when the door is shut and nobody
else is around but your family.
That's who you really are.
See, with our families, we don't put on
a show for them, because we get used
to them.
They're there all the time.
Our families are the greatest revelation of who
we really are.
That's why God says his house must be
in order.
A house that is in order has a
man who has been living for God behind
closed doors.
Mark it down.
The one produces the other.
When you find a house that is in
order, I guarantee you, you can find a
man who's been living right behind closed doors.
Our family gives us away.
That's a bit of a sobering thought at
times, but our family gives us away.
You cannot hide the true facts, dear brothers.
Sometimes parents think they can, but time gives
them away.
The chickens always come home to roost, and
the true reality of how it really was
behind the doors comes out.
Our family gives us away.
If father and mother are sober, the children
will be sober.
If father and mother are critical, the children
will be critical.
If father and mother are full of foolishness,
the children will also be full of foolishness.
A man's family speaks volumes about his private,
everyday life.
That's why God put those qualifications there for
an elder, because a man's family speaks volumes
about his private, everyday life.
Now, that can be very painful at times,
but it also can be very, very exciting.
Amen?
It can be very exciting.
I realize that there's some pretty heavy things
that we're saying here, but we are beginning
to move beyond the inspiration and into the
practical.
We need to face our needs.
There are some changes that need to take
place, even with us who have gathered here
with a wholehearted desire to have a godly
home.
There needs to be some changes made.
We need to be serious about our homes.
Many, many of our homes are going the
way of most American homes.
Nowhere.
Few are willing to pay the price and
turn their hearts and their homes around.
We are too busy to raise godly children,
which will hit the mark someday.
We're too busy for that.
That doesn't make sense to me.
Too busy for that?
But that's the way it is.
The priorities are different, aren't they?
Too busy making money.
Too busy building a big business.
Too busy pursuing the American dream.
Or maybe we're just too busy in the
rat race of American society, you know?
You know the rat race of American society?
You know what it is?
You know why they call it a rat
race?
You put a rat in a little cage,
you know, and they put a little wheel
in that little cage with the rat.
And the rat gets up on that wheel,
and he goes, and he goes, and he
goes, and he goes, and he runs, and
he runs, and he runs, and then he
finally jumps off of there and pants for
a while, but once he rests, he gets
right back in the wheel, and he runs,
and he runs, and he runs, and he
runs!
That's the rat race!
Any of you in the wheel?
Stop the wheel!
I want to get off!
Glory!
It's a waste of time!
And I'll tell you what, even this county
is pretty guilty of it, you know?
We are so busy running to all the
good things that you can do around here,
we don't have time to walk with God!
Many of us!
And they're not evil things, they're good things!
But they're not the best.
See, the good is often the enemy of
the best.
When you get right down to the reality
of things, the good is often the enemy
of the best.
Nobody gets drug off to the bar around
here.
No, we just run over here, and run
over there, and go to this, and go
to that, go to bed at eleven o
'clock, get up at six, get a quick
fifteen minute bite from God, and go off
to work!
And our families are showing it.
That's for the home congregation here.
In business, we say, and it's true, you
get what you pay for.
Amen?
Well, brothers and sisters with the family, it
is also true.
You get exactly what you pay for.
Consider these words, in light of your precious
children here.
Now, this is an application, but it's a
good application.
Very good application.
See, it's time.
What we need is time.
That's our problem.
We need time.
Listen to this application.
2 Corinthians 9, verse 6, But I say,
He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly.
And he which soweth bountifully shall reap also
bountifully.
Did you get that?
That verse can be applied to every one
of our homes also.
How much more is this whole thing true
with your family?
You get what you pay for.
If you're just going to pay a couple
dollars, then you'll just get a little bit
of an investment.
Problem is, with the family, you don't see
for 20 years.
That's the problem.
See, if you'd see in two months, we
would shake ourselves and change our priorities.
But we don't.
You know, you get on the rat race,
you get on the wheel, you go, you
go, you go.
All of a sudden, five years went by,
ten years went by, all this time went
by, all of a sudden those little children
are now young people, and all of a
sudden you see them parting from you, their
hearts moving away from you, their convictions are
not like you, and all that stuff.
And then you realize, oh, oh, something went
wrong here.
Something went wrong.
Too late, my friend.
Too late.
Sure, you can turn them around.
Sure, you can make some adjustments.
But oh, you missed it!
You missed it when it was important!
Make the investment, dear brothers and sisters.
Raising children is no sideline issue with God,
nor is it a sideline issue with me.
Outside of the ministry, guiding my home and
raising my children is the most challenging, maturing,
self-denying, time-consuming thing that I do.
It's not a part-time job.
It's not.
It's not a sideline issue.
It's not something that you just fit in
here and there and then you're off about
all your other things.
Well, you may say, it's not fair.
My mom and dad failed.
My parents failed.
I'm sitting here, I'm hearing all that you're
saying.
I didn't get all that.
My mom and dad didn't do it right.
And because of that, I'm where I'm at
right now.
Well, dear brother, dear sister, it's true, mom
and dad, maybe they failed.
But you know, you can do two things
with that failure.
You can take that failure and let it
make you better.
Or you can take that failure and let
it make you bitter.
You have the choice which one you're going
to do.
But here's the reality.
Whether you want to face it or not,
here's the reality.
That's all in the past.
Now it's our turn.
Okay, so dad didn't do too well.
Okay, so they tried, but they didn't do
so well.
Okay, so it messed us up a bit.
Okay, so we cripple our lungs every now
and then.
But now it's your turn.
What are you going to do for yours?
We can't sit there and moan over how
a mom and dad failed.
Now it's our turn.
Let us rise up in faith and believe
the Word of God, believe the promises of
God, like the psalm said to us, that
God is able, well able to do exceedingly
abundantly above what we all ask or think.
Raising children is part of a high calling
of God in Christ Jesus.
And God is calling for us to repentance,
true repentance, like it says in 2 Corinthians
7, you know.
Yea, what clearing!
Yea, what desire!
Yea, what vehement desire, God said.
That's the kind of repentance God is calling
every one of us to, brothers and sisters.
He's calling us to that.
That concludes all of our meditations on vision.
But I promise you there will be some
more flowing out here and there.
Shall we pray?
I love you, Lord, and I lift
my voice to worship you,
O my, take joy,
my King, in what you hear.
May it be a sweet, sweet sound in
your ear.
Yes, our God and our Father, we do.
Lord, we love you.
That's why we're all here, Father.
We love you.
We love our children.
We want to raise them in such a
way that they will love you.
That's the longing of our heart, Father.
We want our children to rise up and
love you.
For you are the King, you are the
Lord, and beside you there is no other
God.
Oh, Father, we love you this morning.
Have mercy upon us.
Give us the kind of hearts that we
need to do these things that we've heard,
Father.
We do by faith believe you this morning,
Father.
These things shall come to pass in our
hearts and our lives.
You will give us the desires of our
heart.
You will work in us to will and
to do of your good pleasures.
Hallelujah!
We believe that, Father.
God, I commit all of these dear parents
and all these young people and all these
children into your care this morning.
Lord, would you take us on, Lord.
We don't want to stay where we are.
Take us on to higher ground, Lord, whatever
that costs.
We pray this in Jesus Christ's name.
Amen.