Training Children - Proverbs 22:6 - The Wise Family

The modern goal in raising kids is comfort and safety. Until those children are old enough to decide who they're going to be Christian.

Our goal in parenting is the exact opposite right. Our goal in parenting is not to provide enough time for a child to figure out their destination in life.

Our goal as a parent is to help them conform to the set pattern and destination that God has for the moment say something you will never be more countercultural as a Christian then when you decide to parent a child to conform to God's dreams for their life rather than the American dream, right give a copy of Scripture only by to take it out and turn with me to Proverbs chapter 22 today were to be chasing down this big idea why's families trained their kids all right. I love the term training that comes up and I in this passage in Proverbs because training means equipping training means to dedicate someone for a particular purpose.

Training means to set them on a path to godliness and to maturity rather than making sure that they have the space and the experiences to figure it all out on their own. There is a massive difference in the way the Christians are called to raise their kids than the world and I get it because the scent tears of the world says many times to believers the world says why are you so uptight what why do you consent will are you trying to fit the mold in the shade them in this particular destination, why not let them, figure it out on their own. But here's the reason because our goals for kids are not nice decent people with good jobs that is too low a bar. Christians are not raising kids for the American dream. We are raising kids, for God's dreams. We are not raising kids in hopes that they will listen attain a nice life.

We are trying to raise radical people that are willing to give their lives away and that is a totally different thing and to do the habits you gotta train someone to do that you gotta use all little kids play mine craft of pedagogical blocks and all the stuff you gotta think of every day of their life as a block to lay the foundation for a set path that God has for them. That's what it means to train kids and death were to get into one verse, but here this weekend arrived, read a bunch of times. Let me go ahead of his rewards and it will just keep going back through to circlet a bunch of times I'll be talking through this verse and make sure we understand it and it will come on the backside of this message with three quick applications hopefully will change our tomorrow based on what we have learned today.

All right, Proverbs 22 verse six is what it says in the popular passage. Some of you might know it train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it. Now I know that man right on the heels a kids week and not all of our campuses.

We have a lot of new people here this summer.

We are probably a lot of new people here even this very weekend, so let me just pause and tell you, where were going. This summer we are to be spending five or six weeks. In the book of Proverbs specifically looking at areas where the wisdom literature of God intersects family life okay and and one of those is here today with training kids want to make sure you understand the nature of wisdom literature and general wisdom literature is one of the greatest gifts that God ever gave humanity okay to get hit with and he didn't just create us. He gave us literature in the book in the Bible that we can navigate the world by he gave us this beautiful gift is such a gift that I rarely do a personal devotion in my life without a piece of that devotion, at least a little bit of it being part of the wisdom literature because I understand there's a lot of things I want to glean from God's instructions for the world that he created that I would rather learn from him. Then her by experience okay and learned by the regret of, having walked through something very, very hard. The Bible is filled with things that we just need to know and he wants us to know them on the front end because he loves us that much. He wants you to know that cosigning a car loan for a friend is a disaster okay key. He wants us to know that when were always talking sin is inevitable. He wants us to fully understand some things about his world that sex outside of marriage won't just drain your health. It can drain your wealth and your whole life. He wants us to see a lot of these things before we have to go out and to live that he wants you to know right on the front end being friends with the gossip will burn you some point your life like he wants to give you that on the front end is a beautiful thing that God has given us the wisdom literature and that's what were talking about this summer.

That's were getting into today. Now, one more quick thing about this man. Why are we doing this now and probably and every single generation of preacher stands up with wisdom literature and they say it is never been more needed than it is right now and are probably all right every time you get into a new generation is like maybe a whole new set of things that were dealing with and I'm to go ahead and say that's what I know we have a whole new set of things and and generationally speaking, we never needed wisdom maybe more than we need it now. In general, and for the family. In particular, are you think about it like this wisdom is life by God's design and we learn that from the Bible.

And then I want you also see this right, we need wisdom from God's Bible to combat the foolishness that we find in the world. Wisdom is life by God's design and we needed because we find ourselves in a foolish world and those influences are coming upon us all the time we live in a day and age were family think it's normal to take on so much debt that you're crushed and he just can't even breeze it. We live in a day and age where major movements throughout our nation that decry the quote patriarchy of the nuclear family. We live in a day and age where people are scared because the backlash of culture to even define what a woman is.

This is where we lived. You think we need wisdom. If your kids need with their families and it was all those are national issues as big something four-way okay how do you stop the money fights that are right there home college students. How do we as individuals and families actually engage with the vulnerable with the poor in a way that helps without hurting parents that are to send your kids off to school for the first time because we got a bunch of those are.

This church is dripping with young families to have that age and you're trying to figure that out, and how do we talk to our kids about biblical sexuality, knowing that what we say. Depending on where they are is already labeled hate speech.

We need the wisdom from the Scripture, maybe more than we have ever needed it right now and that's why were getting into the summer, and this is why where it hit a few these issues in the first one is this idea of training up a child or I train up a child in the way that he should go, and even when he is old he will not depart from delicious, walk through this right what is train up mean train out means to instill a particular skill set or set of behaviors. Training means to equip somebody for a particular task, biblically speaking, training you what you can cross references and other Old Testament passages such training means to dedicate something for a particular purpose. That's what we are to do with our kids figured on their own where to dedicate them to a particular way of life to initiate them into a path that takes them into godly maturity and love for God's mission is to say if I can save or simply it is to set their direction or maybe a little more touchy.

Training is aiming that's what it is is trying to get their direction to be going in the way that God says it should go, and we are to be doing this from a very early age from a formative stage in their life, Christian parents got understand the people in the community.

This applies to grandparents if you got nieces and nephews manager single enter in our church and you're around and you have a chance to influence the children's ministry that is here. We all have this unit mandate from Scripture to aim them to train them, give them a particular set of skills in order that they would have this life of godliness and to maturity and it is the absolute opposite of what we get from the world. Some of you might be brand-new this weekend. Some of you might be newer to mercy your newer to Christianity made. This is one of those things where you gotta realize this is a stark difference from the way the world thinks about kids. So much so that the intro this message in the first, whatever, five or seven minutes of it is probably enough to make some people's heads explode up every year. The podcast because the mantra of our society is that the truth of who you're supposed to be and the destination of your life emanates from you and is to be validated by the community that the community your family especially your dad is supposed to be there to validate whatever it is that's coming out of you in whatever direction you have decided it is every modern Disney movie that is ever been quite why does no one along for the ocean pretty much because her dad told her not to. Okay it what what why did you know why is is I hate you don't let your powers be out and it's like the whole movie frozen is about letting go, not so that 500 times because I Joe was the exact day today when it came out minute. It states the culture mantra and the truth is in you to be validated by the rest of us and the Bible has it the exact opposite what the Bible says for parents for for those of us that are involved in training kids for grandparents for nieces. You know you got nieces, nephews, whoever it is the direction of your child's life is not set by them and really it's not about you the direction of their life is supposed to be sent by God and coached by you. I understand okay and it and listen all those about families that this summer now know we got a lot of people are not there we a lot of singles in the church. A lot of young people, or maybe just, come in and are not quite married yet or whatever so much that we can glean how much understand this might be one of those that you put in the bank for later but also might be one of those you realize if you are not lifestage. There's a bunch of kids in this church that need to be aimed and maybe you can have at hand and that made you serve in our kids ministry. Are you one that prays for the parents that are and your group. Even if you're not a parent you're praying for them and praying for their kids by name manager jump off the sideline to get involved this year.

If you didn't, you need to next year with Mercy Hills kids we going to celebrate this. No.

850 kids and over 500 volunteers this week and we praise out across all of our locations and some 100. Over hundred 50 kids brand-new to mercy Hill for the very first time. These families have no idea on exactly how you know how they're coming in, and where they have been about one particular picture that I will show you guys got this is this is my favorite one of my favorite source acutely. I just have to tell okay, this is Cory on the left Kennedy on the right from the Northeast campus and what happened on Thursday of kids week is that the worship leader that campus got sick and she couldn't she can assert she was a worship leader. So they get there they don't have a worship leader Cory fourth-grade Kennedy second grade we got it. They stood up on okay we hiked we praise God for them, and we praise God for the parents and the community of faith.

It is reasonable educated.

I was just about in tears over there watching them as they are leading all of their these children are just about their same age are little bit younger white men is that not a picture of what were trying to hate.

We all have a role in aiming training is aiming now. What is the direction that we are trying to train and aim these children train up a child in the way that she should go awry listless logs on that train up a child in the way that they should do not want to go back specifically to talk to parents here for just a minute because I want us to try to get a renewed understanding of what my role as a parent, as some people walk around in our culture, and I think that my role as a parent is to provide food and shelter. Good job. You're on the same level as a possum. Okay, that's what they do as well. So we need a little more, we need a little more than outright. So then then it's like the next thing is I will. Our job is love like all you need is love great deals on bad parenting philosophy okay because there's a lot of kids with terrible behavior that are being trained with her love. The lot it's more than that. What we are called to what our role is, as parents, husband and wife father mother for people to have influence grandparents, aunts, uncles, opportunities to speak and we are there to train them and listen the way that he should go here, and others a lock to get into at this okay because there's different interpretations of this and have people come and go different ways with you, but I think the most plain readable especially when you carry the weight of that word train seat you will have to train a child to go the way that they would go naturally I get anybody their own kids know that you want to train them for that. They are going to go the way that they want to go that comes pretty natural doesn't needed instruction.

Okay, we train them not in the way that they would go but the way that they should go see we have to train them the way they should go or else they will go the way that they would go naturally and this is getting back to our cultural moment in our culture says that's right give them space and safety enough to figure out exactly what they want to let them really construct their own reality and the Bible says the exact opposite Bible says there's 2 pounds, one of them is foolishness of elites obstruction the others wisdom the wise path is about parents and those with influenced training and aiming children into the path of godliness and maturity, and the love for his mission and that's what the Bible calls us to hear here's my question very pointed right are you training them to find God's path or to walk God's path for you training them to quote find their own path. The cultural influences are all around us and escape. It seeps its way all endocrine in my life to okay I'm not new to this, it creeps into the church.

It creeps into Christian parenting were all the sudden we find ourselves trying to help them construct their own reality rather than to conform them to the path God has for them in his word, which is the wise path. You know, I see this a lot or I see this a lot where it is what we do many times as parents of Chrissy are not immune to this.

Okay what we do is parents often is that we are continuing is one way that I see it, we are continually going to our children and were asking them what they want all the time what you want to eat, what exactly do you want to do what you want this or do you want that were asking them all the time.

What do you want what do you want what do you want to listen when I'm not to say makes me a caveman and if you have not noticed as I don't care okay to tell you something in our job is to train them.

What in the world does it matter what they want.

If you have a trainee and you are the trainer. What is the point of all the time trying to figure out what it is that day.

Once right if if what they wanted was the direction they were supposed to go to the role the trainer would be irrelevant.

I will need to know that's not it. It's not what you want what you want what you want and if so what I want what I want one. I want God's direction, coached by me to help you get to the wise path. Now when the county on this before anybody tries to throw anything at me okay because I'm not okay thought out and overstated this in a McAfee audit. All right, here's what do doesn't matter what they want, you'll of course it matters what they want. For this reason, tell you why does it matter what they want matters when we start thinking about God's unique design on their life. He's given them abilities and desires that we can mold in the passions and talents for his kingdom.

That's where it matters okay so that we can only give the illustration right so I want to try to draw and just think about is what makes a lot great with the stuff okay, but I will try to draw a river right so you can maybe imagine with your your mind that this is a river. Okay, now what you think about this like this is God's wisdom.

Or we could say maturity okay whatever you want to say right so this is God's wisdom. This is maturity and this is the river okay here's the deal. If they stay within this river. If we keep them in this current because of our decisions in their life not to trainee what you want what you want what you want okay but where to say there are questions that Omar can ask you because this is what God wants. If I keep them in this river. Now it matters greatly what they want because this is about passions and talents and abilities, and unique wiring in their life and eventually when they become believers, spiritual gifting okay so okay with me if you like them trying to get my minor on this.

I'll give you a quick way. Maybe it will maybe will click okay. Many of us and maybe some of you today. Maybe some other campuses are asking your kids do you want to serve in a ministry at the church you're saying. Do you want to serve and the right question is where do you want to serve. See, it matters how God is wired them where you want to serve as a question. The stays in the stream of the river. Do you want to serve as US the trainer asking them as a trainee if you want to be in the river, or if you don't to be in the river. This is not part of their decision. This is our job as parents as trainers to say no. The questions are to stay within the river.

Not are not not, are you going to save some of your money, but how much, and by what means not, are you going to exercise your body and eat things that are healthy. But what do you like inside of those things. See, it's not like oh I don't like the eggs well okay for them to go ahead and do the cocoa puffs three times a day all day every day.

That would be asking outside in the Bible to is clear is that your body is a temple in the glory of the young manager strength is clear is that we should ask the questions for their desires and abilities, but only from within the stream of the current is going to take them into godliness.

And this is the path that we are to keep them on trained them up with them all right. Give them a particular set of skills. Yes I know, Liam Neeson intake taken it all that okay if I give them behaviors that are to get them to where you want to ask them questions about the way they should go inside of the stream, but this takes us to God's direction for their life. And then the Scripture says this is a beautiful thing is a proper way to get into this, that when they are overlooked. Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from and how much could we say here. Train them in the way they should go and when they are old they will not apart from it meant that's what we want. Yes Christian parents as as grandparents as people of influence some of you guys serve in kids every single week. We have kids classroom leaders that are 1920 years old.

I heard testimony from one of them. The hag huge goes for kids weekend student And all that your training your aiming and what is the hope. What is the goal that when they are old they will not apart from it, they will have been set on a path right now letting me say this, we gotta say this only get back to the very end of the message as well and some of you have heard this passage in your already feeling pretty rough because the reality is, maybe you have kids that are wayward. Maybe you have kids of grown up and begun to make decisions and you got understand something I must say this over and over throughout this this series but you gotta hear me today. Proverbs are not promises that is a misunderstanding of the genre of Scripture in a sinful world. There are times when the link between God's wisdom and a thriving life that is supposed to come from that is severed because of sin there. There are times and that happens.

Proverbs are general truths about the way God has set up the world and generally speaking, when we set a child on a path they will not apart from that, but that is not always true that some of you need to hear today. Proverbs 22 six.

Listen, it is not to be used as a sledgehammer of guilt in your life over maybe a child is walking away equally. So in some of your grandparents here. It's also not use as a way to create a little trophy of pride about how great our kids have turned out right.

Okay.

We were there, not in our hands that much that we are called to do what we are called to do. Ultimately, they are in God's hands.

We don't want to have to run to the cabbie out of the tunnel wants to walk in truth. Let's get back to the general truth that is your him to come back to this, though the end because I know there is pain from raising a child is spending 20 years porn into them and seeing them walk away. Understand okay the Lord. I'll get back to that but here's what got us enough that they will not depart from it is a general truth about the way that the world works and what we've got understand is that our kids are under attack. I told you this many many times. Look throughout the pages of Scripture. Satan hates kids he wants kids. He wants to tear families apart. He hates them. He wants their lives, and we have got to realize the culture that we are living in is so influenced through demonic forces and foolishness that if we want them not to depart from the way later.

We've got to spend time building blocks in the formative years of their life right now, has never live in a time where training was more needed I walked into a target with my kids but decided as well as having multiple times with this particular instance is a blending of two this a couple years ago and then just last week with this is was shocking to visit the world. The kids live in you walk in a target and you find out it is completely immoral to label close or label toys, boys or girls, but what is not immoral a target is to buy an action figure from the movie boondocks Saints which is a cult classic with 230 9F bombs and 40 murders in two hours.

That's fine as long as we don't label the same time you go to the kids section and the centerpiece of all the children's books is the night before pride we live in a confusing time. We live in foolishness and we gotta realize is like if we want our if we want to give our children the best shot of not departing from the wise path later in their life. We must help them to form the way there thinking about things right now. I know a church planter in a major US city. Another name the city companies in a major US city.

They told me that he came home the other day and their child six years old little girl. She declares to them that that day her bathroom buddies were George and Troy and it's like it's like really I wish you this is long go far away, not really.

In this image try to have a meeting with the school and and you're the one that is immoral for not having an opening of mind and and seeing that a child's truth flows from within, usually tell me about where their living where they're trying to do ministry. He said in a Christian parents in this particular city that he's in intentionally. Google and solo and all that and try to find the neighborhoods that have the highest Muslim population so that they can move into those neighborhoods and I said man that that's awesome like move move in and for the sake of the mission, he said, not exactly their moving in because in those neighborhoods. The schools don't try to do such social engineering acid. I said you the straight Christian parents are trying to find the most Muslim neighborhood because they have more in common with someone from the Muslim faith and they do a modern secular person from this particular city, and he said absolutely.

My point is we are living in foolishly see all around us write anything it's always been this way you go through different seasons of history and there things that are just you look back you. How could I have ever been that way and I fully understand that this is the moment that were living in now and we got asked the question, do we want them to be strong and steadfast Christian maturity godliness love for the mission. If we don't want them to depart, then what we have to do is come back. Now we have to be able to say hey we have to train them now. If they're not going to depart down because the world is after them three quick applications of this and and I'll be done but I'm in a bucket them all in one kind of become a big thing here for us is to jot down guys we need to train children in godliness. This is this is only one verse one, application breakdown train the kids all equipped with a particular set of behaviors and skills and knowledge that sets them on a path, a dedicated path is what the Scripture would say an initiation into the path name so that one day when they are older, they will not depart from it.

I will remind you again Christian parents people that have influence grandparents, uncles, aunts, people that are are certainly kids ministry here. Our goal for these kids is not to create nice little citizens with good incomes that is too low of a bar were not try to sell them on the American dream were try to sell them on God's dream for their life.

We are not try to create people who attain a nice life were trying to create people by God spirit that will be willing to give their life away and pour their life out for the sake of the mission and to do that they need training. I hear all this stuff all the time about James E James is a they are coming through seven, the 20 something years old. It's kind of in that document.

Most of the kids week.

I was sort of engines he and you hear the starts and you hear the stuff on the news and the screen time and isolation and the end of the broken families and all of this and we see it and we say what a problem one pastor looked at it and said what the world sees a problem with churches see an opportunity this churches see an opportunity for us to enter in to say wait a minute. If we have hundreds and hundreds of children that make up our local church. Can we not commit ourselves again to training and aiming them in the right direction, but it can have to overcome the mulch of the mantra of our culture guys. It is not easy on raising kids I got 12 down to five okay it is not easy to get away from what the culture is instilled in us that our job is safety and comfort so they can figure out their path in life is not easy and will work out to do is to make a choice to say way I'm conformity to God's Not try to help them, find their own inner light or whatever it is to do that. Here's a deal to do that we are going to have to as a people become very convinced that God loves them more than we do for God has a path and a destination for them in his dreams for them are greater then the small puddles that we dream for them. He has a vast ocean that he wants for them. We gotta begin to believe that we gotta get the book to believe anything whatever God is saying about their life and his path that will be blessedness in their life.

How do you get to the point where you can trust God with your kids more than you trust yourself with your kids and only way I know to do that is to go to the gospel and to realize in the gospel, God did something approves all time and forever more than he loves them more than we do on God Almighty sent Jesus Christ to die for their sin, to die for arson all the times that we would depart from him and parenting had all the times that they will depart from the wise path and he sent his son to stand in their place. Jesus Christ walked this earth without simply laid on the cross as if he was the only center in the whole world all the sin of the world, place upon his shoulders and he died for their sin and three days later he burst forth in the grave and offers them the chance for the newness of life, and he offers us the chance for the newness of life.

Can you believe this, what the Bible says train up a child in the way should go when he is old he will not depart from a nonpartisan one time that the proverb got a promise we don't understand it from God's eyes it is a promise from God's eyes, and here's what I mean that when someone is placed their faith in Christ. Even though we know we depart all the time. In Christ, clothed in his righteousness he sees us as if we never departed from the faith, never departed from the wise path one time in our life know that is perfect love. That is a radical love. And if I become convinces a dad.

This is hard. If I become convinced the dad, the God loves my kids more than I do. If I become convinced that there really his and mine to steward.

During this time. If I become convinced of that and it becomes easier for me to yield myself and my parenting to God's path and conforming them to what he has for them rather than them finding their inner self, or will or whatever it is that the culture was safe. Three quick ways that I think we can do this and will be done right the first one is this, we gotta remember you can't take your kids somewhere. You haven't been in and many of us are like man I got the kids got it is the kids got about the kids, that will wow your clients on right if I meant what are what are we doing around gather groups and give and go as I we think it's all about them all about them all about them. Don't we understand that the greatest gift we can ever get our kids is our spiritual health.

When we are spiritually actual sisters, and physically.

We are spiritually and physically healthy.

We are honoring God with all of who we are and that is the greatest thing that we can give to them and the kid the kids. The kids okay, gather groups give go meant limitless if I if I just grab the kids and I said man does the family value the beach more or as a family value to go to church more easy, like does that doesn't hate okay asked the kids know Tintin told hey do you know a couple people in your parents commuter like what their names you know the note, can your kids see that we care about generosity.

Yes I'm giving to your local church but I just mean that yours life when there were just words is a generous people with our time in our town are treasure with our home with everything God has given us.

We want to be openhanded gather groups give what arch when our kids know that we asked the kids hate and we pray for the nations around the dinner table and we pray for neighbors. We know some people this is, the question the first thing I would say we were thinking about this path for kids is our recommitment to God's plan for artists we can be a mini conforming dance to God's wise path. If we are not all in on the Attlee and we call mercy shall be asked to flywheel may gather with local body being in a group, you know, having close connection with other forgiving being generous and being one who is on fire to go right number two I would say this training also starts with a plan okay training starts with a plan that in any like man I know I'm not great at putting things on paper and all that. I would encourage you to try.

I would encourage you to try don't have to be perfect doesn't have to be awesome but just think about it. The guy told me one time Tasha Jaeger told me this one time in an offhanded way.

He said in the best parenting advice I've ever heard is from 0 to 6 years old, teacher kids, the word no. That's it. Yup make sure they understand the word okay a little facetious, a 7 to 12 pump them so full of the Bible that when you push them. That's what comes out and from 13 to the rest of your life.

Walk beside them as they're trying to understand it and work it out in practical ways.

Now nothing I need to be your plan, sin is sufficiently a plan. I'm just saying it some framework for a plan right if some framework I think about this in our life. And like I hesitated with this, but I thought man I just went pulled it on my Evernote file and I said you know what, if you have a plan, just, read you the plan I have for art for our family. It is not incredibly detailed, is not an incredibly eloquent if they're not even complete sentences okay but I just thought you read this to you, and it's not for you to copy. Unless you have one, then copy and paste.

I don't care if they these bullets working your gun for discipleship, then great right but maybe will set you on the path. This is pulled right out from for my notes in art, little family you know diagram we have in television frame for family family Devo in the morning with a story that neither has to be a culture of talking about God and life throughout days and weeks. Spiritual and physical health go together and neither can be prioritized to the detriment of the other first mission trip before their own elementary school sex thought before fifth grade that may be news for my kids this weekend.

If they are hearing is okay lunch or short trip to the creation Museum before high school. Questions about politics and culture are encouraged and have to be fully answered. From a biblical worldview. Full immersion into the life of the church at every level bend over backwards to foster godly bonds of friendship and hold with whole families and individual friends marked transitions at 1316 and graduation with meaningful moments and extravagant gifts. International mission trip in high school. Memorize key Proverbs along with other various Scriptures before graduation. Learn about God and the world from a key resource list before they are out of high school. Now that is not incredibly detailed it's one paragraph my point is you have a plan that you have you have you written something out and then none of this is Bible I could be small and some of this money, push me out will write make your plan okay meant make a plan.

Training starts with a plan.

I've never tried to attain much of a goal in my life not taken one step back and trying to write out some things about how we are going to get their training up a child in the way they would go and having one it doesn't. Apart from that, when they're older doesn't happen by accident that happens with intentionality and with God's favor and with God's spirit and God's blessing thing in it a another quick resource is our family resource Center is the link to that again God is right on our website and you can go to that Haven how I want to close for this weekend is this one, because I fully understand from very personal relationships that I have no some of us might say today when you don't get your kids are young enough you can still, control where there you don't know what it's like to have a child raised in the faith way and the fact is, you're right.

I don't, but as a pastor and I watched many people walk through and here's what I've seen.

There sure Christians that walk through that some men would Charles along with pricing and there's going to be brief. Understand go down there.

So in the walk with brief in prayer and there so you become absolutely crushed and despondent. The Bible talks about this things happen in our life. Some people get depressed. Other people get crushed.

Some people get struck down on the droid. Why is your ultimate hope was the greatest desire for life. See, here's the deal that it is not going to just say this was on the step in and say okay there people and even in this church. Maybe that our campuses that would say answered the number one thing I want in my life is to see my kids would Jesus, you might say that my thing.

I want my kids to walk with Christ more than anything else in my life. I know Moniz will be burning as when we finish the sentence. My deepest desire is anything other than God himself. We have moved him out and move something else and not a list is worshiping something a set of circumstances. A possession amendment something to happen is worshiping something other than the creator God should be one of the deepest desires of our heart absolutely need is not big enough to be number one. Scripture says that Hope deferred makes a horse in the one place that we know that our hope will never be deferred is when our hope is in God himself.

Ronnie says that God is to be our one thing Colossus is that he is to be before all things here. Here's what I want to do tonight minimum for some of us the pain of the middle want you to try and some way, somehow, as we begin to worship as I begin to pray to ask. I want to release.

That doesn't mean you doesn't mean you're not a walk with them doesn't mean you're not a fight for them on your knees every single day means. It just means that that is not going to be my deepest desire of my heart.

My deepest desire to be you write today God wants that for you right) father, we come before you know, we declare that the children of this church already in your hands. They are made up of hundreds and hundreds of families there people that them, whether there even kids, or whether there is that they work with here are surrogate aunts and uncles and older brothers and sisters love the kids this church father prayed he would keep them and help us be a church that aims now through more training of them. Father I pray right now for those in our church and I know the numbers in the dozens if not hundreds of people that have children who are raised in the faith that were trained in godliness that walked away afraid he would convince those families of two things. First, God, and their relationship with you is to be prioritized and preeminent is to be the biggest thing in their life Lord whether their kids ever come back to the faith or not you are still called their name and you are there. God as hard as this is to say that is enough for us as we have observed God also pray right now for families in that situation that they would understand that the story is not over.

In Christ name we pray.

Amen