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In our last two programs, we were considering

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the Christian home, the place which Satan has

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attacked from the days of Adam and Eve

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and which is under tremendous attack today.

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In our last two programs, we considered the

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relationship between husband and wife.

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Today, we want to continue and consider God's

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plan for bringing up children.

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Children were part of God's perfect will from

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the time He created man and woman.

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When He created Adam and Eve, the very

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first words that He spoke to Adam and

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Eve, mentioned in Genesis 1.28, were these,

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Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth

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and subdue it.

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They were to have a physical relationship with

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each other and produce children.

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That was God's will.

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And in the last book of the Old

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Testament, in the last page of the Old

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Testament, we see an emphasis on that.

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Why did God tell Adam and Eve to

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be fruitful?

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Their children were to reflect God's image, just

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like Adam and Eve were to reflect God's

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image.

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God created Adam and Eve that they might

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reflect His image.

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Adam could not do it alone, Eve could

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not do it alone.

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Together, they were to show the character and

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the nature of God.

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There are things a man can show of

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God's nature, there are things a woman can

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show.

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Together, there would be a balance.

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And their children were to carry on fulfilling

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that ministry in the next generation.

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In Malachi chapter 3, we read, there are

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two things that the Lord mentions in verse

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14 and 15.

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Malachi chapter 2, sorry chapter 2 verse 14

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and 15, in the middle of verse 14

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it says, The Lord has been a witness

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between you and the wife of your youth,

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that you have dealt treacherously, though she is

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your companion and your wife by covenant.

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First thing He speaks to them in the

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last page of the Old Testament is your

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relationship with your wife.

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The wife of your youth, why does He

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emphasize that?

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Maybe you are both fifty, sixty years old

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today.

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But when you chose her, she was a

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young, attractive person in your eyes.

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And your husband was a young, attractive man

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in your eyes.

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But you have dealt treacherously with each other.

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You have not been faithful, even though she

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is your companion and your wife by covenant.

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Do you know that marriage is a covenant?

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And you promise to be faithful to her?

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And she is meant to be your companion,

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your friend.

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How many of you husbands can honestly say

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that your wife is your best friend?

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She should be.

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That's what God says in the last page

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of the Old Testament.

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And how many of you can say, I

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have not dealt treacherously with her?

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Or if you have, that you have repented.

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And you seek to be faithful to her

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now.

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This is God's will.

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And then He goes on in the next

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verse, Malachi 2.15, to say, And what

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was God seeking in uniting you as husband

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and wife?

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I am paraphrasing the words.

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What was God seeking in uniting you as

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husband and wife?

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He was seeking a godly offspring.

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He was seeking godly children, that in the

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next generation.

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And they would transmit it to the next

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generation.

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Godly offspring.

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Not just offspring.

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It's easy to have children.

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But to bring up children in a godly

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way, that's a task of a lifetime.

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It requires sacrifice.

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It requires sincerity, wholeheartedness in our life to

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God.

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Just like God is the binding force that

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holds husband and wife together.

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It is only with God's power that we

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will be able to bring up our children

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in a godly way in this evil generation.

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The way your children have turned out is

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an indication of whether you have lived in

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a godly way in your own home.

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Do you know what the Bible says about

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the way children turn out later on in

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life?

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It says in Proverbs, chapter 22, verse 6.

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Train up a child in the way he

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should go.

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Even when he is old, he will not

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depart from it.

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Now, either that is the stupid opinion of

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a man, or it is the inspired word

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of God.

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What do you think it is?

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If you accept this as the inspired word

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of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, then

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listen to it.

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If you do the first part of that

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verse, the second part will be automatic.

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What is that?

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If you train up your child or children

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in the way you want them to go,

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He doesn't say a spiritual way.

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No.

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He doesn't say if you train up a

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child in a godly way.

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No.

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Maybe you want your children to make money

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in the world.

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Okay.

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Fine.

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Train up a child in the way you

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want him to go.

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When he is old, he will not depart

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from it.

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Why are your children running after money today?

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Because you trained them up in that way.

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When they are old, they will not depart

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from it.

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Why are your children seeking for greatness in

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the world?

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Because that is what you wanted for them.

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You may speak high-sounding spiritual language and

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be an elder in a church and many

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many things like that.

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But if your children are worldly and wayward

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and unconverted, Dear parents, I don't want to

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condemn you, but I would encourage you to

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take the blame instead of blaming circumstances, people,

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etc.

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Humble yourself and say, Lord, it's my fault

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that my children are not converted.

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It's my fault that my children are not

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following the Lord.

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When you take the blame, then God can

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help you even if you have been a

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failure.

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Do you know that God can help you

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even if your children have left your home?

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They have gone away and you recognize today

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that you are a miserable failure in the

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way you brought them up.

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That today they are unconverted.

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Now when I say they should be living

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for God, I don't mean they should become

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full-time workers or preachers or evangelists or

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pastors.

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No.

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That's a matter of calling.

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God doesn't call everybody to full-time Christian

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work.

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But they should be born again.

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They should be disciples of Jesus.

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99.9% of people are called to

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work for the Lord in a secular job.

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But they should all be disciples of Jesus.

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Every single one of them.

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So we are not to train up our

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children to become full-time workers or pastors

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or preachers or evangelists or missionaries.

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No, that's not primary.

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We train them up to do the will

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of God, to be disciples of Jesus in

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whatever God calls them to do.

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If God calls them to be evangelists, that's

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fine.

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But they must be disciples.

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Whether they are nurses or teachers or engineers

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or missionaries or evangelists or pastors or whatever

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it is, they must be wholehearted disciples of

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Jesus.

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Whether they are teachers or clerks or peons

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doesn't make a difference.

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They must be wholehearted disciples of Jesus.

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And that's what we are to train them

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up in from earliest childhood.

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To show them that the only thing worth

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living for in this world is the kingdom

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of God and His righteousness.

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And the children must see it in their

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parents.

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They must see the way their parents live.

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They must see what their parents live for.

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And if children see that you as parents

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have lived for money, even though you go

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to some church and speak high-sounding spiritual

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things over there, don't blame your children if

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they grew up doing what they saw you

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doing at home.

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If they saw that even though you preached

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wonderful things in the church on Sundays, you

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lived as hypocrites at home with other standards,

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you can't blame your children for going astray.

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Train up a child in the way he

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should go.

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When he is old, he will not depart

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from it.

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I believe that is the word of God.

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It can work for the good of the

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children or the bad of the children, depending

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on how you bring them up.

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Why do you think Judas Iscariot went astray?

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Was it because he was not dedicated to

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the Lord as a little baby?

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He probably was.

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He was probably taken to the temple exactly

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like Jesus was taken to the temple and

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dedicated to the Lord.

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But it's quite likely that after dedicating him

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to the Lord, his parents brought him up

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for the world.

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Maybe when Judas Iscariot did little wrong things

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as a child, maybe bringing back from school

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somebody else's pencil or rubber or something like

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that, his parents ignored it.

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When you ignore the little thefts and the

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little lies that your children do, you are

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training them to be thieves and liars when

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they grow up.

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Even a small thing.

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Supposing you see your child has come home

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in the kindergarten class with a pencil that

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you never gave him, and you ask him,

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how did you get this pencil?

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And he says, well, somebody stole my pencil,

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I don't know who it was.

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So I found somebody else's and I took

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it.

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And you give him the impression that he

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is a smart boy.

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You have trained him to be a Judas

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Iscariot when he grows up.

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It starts with a small pencil.

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It may end with robbing a bank.

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What do you need to tell that child

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at that time?

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You need to tell that child, if somebody

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else robs your pencil, it doesn't mean you

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can rob somebody else's.

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Go tomorrow and give it back to the

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teacher, or to the person who it belongs

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to, and say, I am sorry I took

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this.

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My dear friends, very many times, parents are

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responsible for the godless way in which children

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grow up.

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Do you realize that God wants you to

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bring up godly offspring?

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And the responsibility primarily comes upon fathers.

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We read in Ephesians 6, and verse 4,

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Fathers, bring up your children in the discipline

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and instruction of the Lord.

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There are two things we need to give

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to our children, instruction and discipline.

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Instruction in the Lord means not just the

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stories of Joseph and David and Moses, that's

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all good, but also principles of righteousness, of

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honoring parents, honoring, speaking respectfully to older people.

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Who is going to teach children all this?

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Who is going to teach little girls modesty

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of dress and behavior?

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Parents!

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If you don't teach your little girls principles

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of modesty and behavior, they are going to

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pick up practices from the television screen, and

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from the pictures of the film stars they

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see.

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Take this responsibility seriously from today.

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If you have failed and your children are

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grown up, repent, take the blame, and ask

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the Lord to change them even today.

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If fortunately your children are still with you

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at home, then say, Lord, give me grace

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to bring them up in a godly way.