Fathers (Part 2 of 2)

The being a father is a tremendous blessing also carries with it an incredible responsibility today on Truth for Life weekend. Alistair Begg encourages fathers to invest themselves fully in raising their children were in Colossians chapter 3 verse 20 but we begin today in the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament the picture of the father is a picture of that man who takes both the word and uses it to instruct and takes his life and uses it to train the Old Testament in Proverbs gives to is this great and perplexing verse 22, six train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it. The positive side of the equation is there in Ephesians chapter 6 don't exasperate them because that will only crush their spirits. Instead, bring them up in the training instruction of the Lord for the good news and bad news. The bad news is is a long-term project. The good news is is a long-term project. This is long-term investment.

This involves both negative and positive. You see that in the phraseology it involves lip and involves light. You need to train them.

The Lord is for examination and intervention and you need to instruct in other words, you didn't let them grow up without care and you dare let them grow up without control. This involves instruction, discipline, encouragement, admonishment, and again, all within the framework of a loving home in a father's loving heart. Note I have tried to keep before me, a number of axis which I'll share with you for your edification. I hope and there are these if were going to get serious about this. We have to remember that our children are all of this and more. Their sensitive special silly selfish, sinful, and if souls that will inhabit eternity. Just all those asses just hit them with you and very very quickly.

Our children are sinners there born with a bias towards evil from the womb. They are wayward and the speak lies our children are silly. As part of being children. Child here tonight. Don't take this in an unkind way you're supposed to be kind of silly your Your silly and your silly as well when it comes to the way you ought to go because you don't always good for you and your tempted to enjoy was bad for you.

Thirdly, a child is selfish. Each of us is turned to his own way, my way song in adulthood is simply the expression of a child in the very earliest days, but it is equally true that each child is special. I need to go back over this again with some hundred and 39 reminders of the intricate nature of God, the establishing of DNA and personality and gifts and so on. In the same special child that is silly and selfish and sinful is also sensitive. We covered that each of these children has a soul that will last forever. Now we are at the real number of things. The raising of children. The responsibility of fatherhood.

The arrival of a child confronts a mom and dad with an existence that is commenced for eternity that when that child is delivered into the arms of the mother and you as a father are there along with the mom and you look at this little girl this little boy you have been entrusted not only with the journey through life, but you haven't been entrusted with a light that has our soul will inhabit eternity and will either inhabit eternity in the presence of Jesus in heaven or will inhabit eternity absent.

Jesus in hell and God has given my child to you and to me in the instruction of his word is not difficult to understand. Although it is hard to apply and may only be discovered by grace and his power and goodness but nonetheless it is, therefore, is to deal with and how difficult it is when you know this, and the only way we can notice from the Bible but think of all of the people in greater Cleveland tonight, but don't know this and if you were to hear it would say nonsense. Think about the fact that our society our culture tonight is going up into a lesser extent constrained by and influenced by Judeo-Christian volumes which were pervasive 50 years ago, in a way that isn't true today. The church is marginalized. As I said this morning were known for protests were known for political punditry were known for all kinds of things but within the individual. We see the difference in that case, the child becomes the product of parental ignorance and when parental ignorance rains and confusion is abroad as I humbly suggest to you that it is then parental authority quickly loses out to the power of a rebellious heart.

I sent you one more time and it will come back to your mind very quickly tomorrow you will be in a grocery store somewhere and you will remember this phrase parental authority quickly loses out to the power of a rebellious heart. I was going to show a bit of a movie tonight but I thought of 50 movies and then I thought noise just a big distraction and and forget I can never remember the name of this movie and I didn't go to check in any case, but I was quoted near fed up here and whether that other one more time because I've seen so vividly in my mind share his mother.

There's a teenage daughter having an outrageous argument in the house and eventually through her tears and agony share as the mother shouts what am I supposed to do. She shouts of this girl. You didn't come with instructions.

You know that's that's the word on the street. There she sits there. She likes. I hear the sound coming from her bedroom, but she didn't come with instructions.

I don't know what to do with that I can get a handle on this thing at all. This is a tremendous power and impact of Christian family life transformed by the power of the Spirit and lived out in obedience to God's work.

She got to talk a little more about this. Not in a boastful way.

A word to parents of we once tiny once those of you who are in the beginning here is is is is is is a stock to you can get in on the on the front end on this one. This is this is this is Google at 15 bucks a share, not 480 okay tiny children's minds receive impressions the way moist clay receives impressions moist clay will take your hand very easily. You can fashion it right. You cannot fashion your hand in the granite but into moist clay you can make an impression.

Those tiny children that you have been looked after tonight at home with her mom. They believe what you tell them they trust your word.

They believe that you want the very best for them. They believe all that you can never start too soon in forming an impression on the moist clay of the lines or to change the picture you can redirect an apple tree when it is errantly planted and very narrow in its radius, but once it gets girth and roof structure and strength is no longer possible to move it around without significant cost know when you think of that and you say well give me a couple of pointers to go home.

Here they are.

It is absolutely vital that we keep in mind that our children are prone to sin in being a dad. You have to remember that your child wants to sin. You can probably be too cautious but most of the time it would be better to be a wee bit more cautious when people who don't really know what they're talking about tell you that your children are fantastic that your daughters are exemplary that their good. Their wonderful their mature their kind and their well mannered. Remember this, their hearts can be set on fire by sin in an instant that very lovely daughter you have made very quickly lose all of the benefits of her female innocence because her heart is prone to sin and it is a naïve father who operates in a cavalier fashion and it is a peculiar skill to learn how to deal with them on that journey. Secondly, don't cherish the notion that it's possible to complete this task without correcting our children are not going to belabor this at all, but we can't allow our children to do wrong without punishment and the reason we cant is because God says we can't is so politically incorrect to talk about any form of punishment, spare the rod and spoil the child, and so on. The foolish son will live there. The Lord will drive it from rings of all these huge pictures of European courts and horrible dreadful things that have been happening in recent days that dreadful misappropriation of this procedure does not give the lie to the benefit of what God describes, and to fail to do this will be to know the misery of Eli remember says of Eli that his sons who are the Hartney and Finney asking me to complete hash of things in the judgment of God fell on Eli wife because it says he failed to restrain, that was the one thing he could've done and he didn't thoroughly remember how God treats his children.

He chases as he withholds things from us he needs as we do the same. Fourthly, train them in the Bible, you can make them love the Bible but you can make them learn the Bible you can make them at least acquainted with the Bible, but of course that demands that dads know the Bible demands guides reading the Bible demands that dads will take them where the dance of gone lead them to God in your prayers.

Pray with them and pray for them long before they can read they can still kneel down beside you either bad or whatever you like to kneel and don't assume that your teenagers are so disinterested that they want at least be prepared to allow you to lie on their better, at least on the bottom of the bed and say I don't know if you want to pray if you want to close your eyes on what you want to do, but I want to pray with you before I leave your room tonight because I love you and because frankly I don't know what to do with you and then pour your heart out to God in the hearing of your teenager. The lecture that just tell God of God. You know I love the school so much because you know this boy is the apple of my eye, God, you know, I give my kidneys. Both of them for this long after I won them bashful.

See when you can talk to your children about God, you can always talk to God about your children and sometimes you can talk to God about your children while your children are there and I know you're going to say this is vested interest on my part, but no, it's not an I will stop now I what I wrote in my notes here.

I hope you will misunderstand me. Show them that church matters show them that church matters sailors were nothing you would expect from from a pastor you know. People out of the services so he could throw this in every available opportunity. While I wasn't that if I wasn't planning on being a pastor. I know I am one, but you have to tell them that in the gathering of God's people. Jesus is there.

You have to tell them that in the preaching of God's word. He convicts of sin, and he converts people and he sanctifies them.

And my advice to you is this, that, as long as your children are in your home until they leave for college or university that you make it part and parcel of your lungs together as a family that your children come to church with you that you do not allow them to grow up with a habit of making excuses that you do not accept the homework copout and the reason that you don't is because you can get it out of your mind that their eternity is the focus of your concern. Who cares if they are the best in the swim team. Ultimately, who cares if they become such a financial success. Ultimately was not somebody who said what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and lost his arms. Do you expect your children to care for their souls. If you don't, they won't says Murray McShane and another era set it before them as a high and holy and solemn duty to attend church and believe me, the day will come very likely when they will bless you for the deed. I bless God for my parents.

In this respect, I was not in my teenage years getting up going all. I can't wait to go to church all church more church. George give me my voluptuousness go to church, gnawing on Alastair where are you not telling you where are you, you know where were going, let's go and I bless God for their memory of my father's hand holding the Bible even when I didn't want to look at didn't stop still turn it up still held because he believed that although he couldn't make me like he could help me become acquainted with and he had a sneaking suspicion that, in the exercise of the simple and Judy.

It would have a restraining influence on my teenage sinful mind and he was right because the entry of God's word brings light on how well a young man keep his way pure, but by paying heed.

According to your word. Murray McShane is a big screed what he says and I don't like the young people's corner.

I don't like the young people sitting by themselves because they might be fiddling around writing notes to one another and checking out the girls and everything else.

I understand that Murray but you know what all taken even on that basis just to have them within the sound of the gospel and you know what dads this is the most provocative thing I'm going to say all night I've said my advice to you is that you make Sunday worship among the people of God. An absolute six point here's the most provocative statement remain. If you don't do that. It's either because you don't believe are your check. You don't have guts to lead your kids your kids now lead you.

Do you want them to lead you when-year-old do you want them to pray for you as you approach eternity. Do you want them to open the Bible and speak to you of the assurance of God's love and truth. When your mind has begun to go when your faculties are no longer functioning. How will that ever happened. You see, not only is the thinking of their souls first, and often very necessary thing for them. But it is that it is it affects not only them but it also affects our comfort and our peace because if you're honest, if you're a Christian mom or a Christian that our happiness in large part is dependent on whether our children walk with Christ. Children says one of the Puritans have caused the saddest years that man ever had to ship but finally we did all this and you lay it out and believe me is give me a sore hand on the sore hard on them much much personal thought. Ultimately we cast ourselves on a covenant keeping God. Ultimately we go back to Proverbs 22 six.

Yes, we know it is a preferable statement. We know that is not a categorical promised to an individual but we know too that it is what it is train up a child in the way that he will go and when he is old he will not depart from it.

I doesn't say how I get the last word to Murray McShane's is a great thing.

I wrote this out and I'm going to put it in my little black book says McShane. Many children I doubt not, shall rise up in the day of judgment, and bless their parents for good training children who never gave any sign of having profited by during their parents lives. The post humus Joyce of we depend on our heavenly father so that we can fulfill our responsibilities as earthly fathers your listing to Alastair big on Truth for Life. We can Alastair will close today's program with prayer in just a minute, so please keep listening. But first I want to remind you about our book recommendation this month.

It's a book titled the whole armor of God, how Christ's victory strengthens us for spiritual warfare. The Bible makes it clear that Satan is a very real enemy.

He is out to destroy our jobs or marriages, even our families. We need a battle strategy in this book teaches us how to be prepared for spiritual battle how to take the necessary precautions the book the whole armor of God focuses on one element of our protection of the time. Each chapter describes a different piece of God's armor from the belt of truth to the sword of the spirit, we learn what each piece of marble represents and how we can put it on for spiritual protection. There are questions at the end of each chapter that will help us better understand how to put on each piece of armor and the final chapter focuses on prayer we talked about why it's so important for us to be praying continuously find out more about the book the whole armor of God. When you go to our website Truth for Life.org today.

We also will make you aware of a special offer. It's a Puritan classic on the topic of spiritual warfare.

A series of books called the Christian in complete armor.

This is a highly regarded three books set that can help you be prepared to face the powerful attacks from the enemy. These books have been read for generations.

You can purchase the collection from Truth for Life today.

Look for the Christian in complete armor online@truthforlife.org/store. Now let's join Alastair with the closing prayer father I pray that out of all of these words you will help us especially as dances fathers to come before you and acknowledge how deep your love is for 75 students beyond measure. You don't love us unconditionally, but you love us unconditionally. In Jesus we are far more sinful than wherever prepared to acknowledge and yet in Jesus were far more loved and welcomed than we ever dared hope CS Lewis pointed out yet so often in dealing with our children because we love them so much and because we want to ensure that certain things happen. We think not only to dig dig the the furloughs for them but we want to put the curbs opened just drive them all the way home to heaven or we can do it we can make them love Jesus, we can make them love the Bible but we can introduce them to the Bible and we can endeavor to introduce them to Jesus. And so I pray that you will pick up the chins of men who feel disheartened, they might go forward in faith believing that those of us who have been naïve and silly may be reined in, encourage to take seriously the principles of your word and if it please you Lord that you will in this time and in this generation, use the blessings and benefits of Christian family living in streets and in communities as a pointer to the love and grace of the fatherhood of God. We think of all the children that are around us on a weekly basis all their little life's all their tender excitement sent hopes and dreams all of the things that make them who they are and how we love to see them and how we long after the that they may be in Christ, and that they may be in heaven help us then to do all that we can and all that we should by your grace. To this end, for Jesus sake, we ask Bob Lapine hope you can join us again next week and we begin a new series in first Corinthians titled firm foundation, we discover why God gives his children spiritual gifts Bible teaching of Alastair big is furnished by Truth for Life where the Learning is for Living