1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:08,280 Would you turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Proverbs, 2 00:00:08,520 --> 00:00:13,840 chapter 13, verse 22? If you can't get there fast, 3 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:15,120 it's OK. It's very short. 4 00:00:15,240 --> 00:00:16,880 I'm going to say it a million times this morning. 5 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:19,840 And so you might even have it memorized by the time we're 6 00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:21,960 done. Proverbs, 1322. 7 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:28,240 This is the word of the Lord. A good man leaves an inheritance 8 00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:32,640 to his children's children, but the sinner's wealth is laid up 9 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:35,120 for the righteous. I'll read this to you again. 10 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:43,000 A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, but 11 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:46,560 the sinner's wealth is laid up for the righteous. 12 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:49,240 This is the word of God. Let me pray for us. 13 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:53,600 Father in Heaven, we thank you for this morning. 14 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:57,680 And Lord, we do thank you for the mothers that you have 15 00:00:57,840 --> 00:01:02,520 stacked our church with. We thank you for for the 16 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:06,360 mothers, for the grandmothers. We thank you, Lord, for all of 17 00:01:06,360 --> 00:01:09,040 the good gifts that you have given us through those who 18 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:12,960 brought us into the world and those who nursed us and, and 19 00:01:12,960 --> 00:01:16,200 raised us into adulthood. And so I pray, Lord, that our 20 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:20,800 mothers would feel honored today as we turn our attention to the 21 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:24,160 men in the congregation. And I pray, Father, that you 22 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:29,200 would you would help the men here to here without, without 23 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:34,040 any semblance of discouragement, some of the high standards that 24 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:38,400 your word has for us. But that we as dependent men, 25 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:42,960 men that are solely dependent upon you to do all of the work 26 00:01:42,960 --> 00:01:46,960 that you require in and through us, that this would be a sermon 27 00:01:46,960 --> 00:01:50,120 that excites us to the possibilities that you intend 28 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:53,840 the fruit that you intend to bear through us. 29 00:01:54,320 --> 00:02:02,960 And that we would that we would run to you daily for for 30 00:02:02,960 --> 00:02:06,640 empowerment, for direction, for clarity on how to carry these 31 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:09,560 things out. And so would you bless our time 32 00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:14,320 thinking about your word. We ask it in the name of Jesus, 33 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:17,000 Amen. OK. 34 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:24,440 So many, many years ago, I was thinking and praying about what, 35 00:02:24,640 --> 00:02:29,560 what to preach on Mother's Day. And where I landed was I, I was 36 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:32,640 originally thought, well, I'll preach on biblical femininity. 37 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:37,360 And the concern was, as you know, sometimes when you see the 38 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:40,680 standard that God calls us to, and it's a really high standard, 39 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:44,160 there is no more important vocation in the history of 40 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:49,160 mankind than being a mother. I dare you to find one it it 41 00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:51,520 doesn't exist. It's a very, very high calling. 42 00:02:52,040 --> 00:02:57,080 And so I thought, man, if I, if I call robustly for what 43 00:02:57,080 --> 00:03:01,040 biblical femininity is biblical motherhood is, I might bring 44 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:03,680 inadvertently a discouragement on Mother's Day. 45 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:06,920 And I don't want to do that. So on Mother's Day, I'll preach 46 00:03:06,920 --> 00:03:10,840 at the men in an effort to give our mothers the gift of a 47 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:17,480 better, more sanctified, more Christ like husband, father and 48 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:20,000 such like that. And then on Father's Day, we'll 49 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:23,200 turn about his fair play. Good for the goose, good for the 50 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:25,080 gander. We'll talk to the ladies on 51 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:29,760 Father's Day. OK, so my, my desire today is to 52 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:32,640 talk to particularly the men of the congregation. 53 00:03:32,640 --> 00:03:34,560 Doesn't mean you should check out if you're a lady. 54 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:39,400 It should mean you should you should be listening close to see 55 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:41,960 the type of things you ought to be praying for your husband, 56 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:45,440 praying for your father, praying for your future husband. 57 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:51,120 And also if you happen to be a wife in the congregation. 58 00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:55,680 That these are the types of things that when you see even an 59 00:03:55,760 --> 00:04:01,840 inkling towards these things in your husband that you would tell 60 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:04,880 him so that you would put your arm around him and say thank you 61 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:07,880 for these things. I see what God is doing and help 62 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:11,040 him to see that because the reality is a lot of us are going 63 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:14,480 to see these things and think, oh, like, I wish it were me help 64 00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:20,600 him to see these things. OK, so a wise man once said that 65 00:04:20,959 --> 00:04:26,200 we all of us, we kind of see our lives as a movie and that we are 66 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:28,880 the, the A Lister actor in the movie. 67 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:31,240 We're the we're the we're the lead in the movie. 68 00:04:31,840 --> 00:04:36,200 And the the problem with that is when we when we see our lives as 69 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:38,320 a movie that everything revolves around us. 70 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:42,560 So congratulations everybody. You guys are cameo extras in my 71 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:44,320 life movie. Congratulations. 72 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:46,440 Doesn't that just edify us? All right. 73 00:04:47,840 --> 00:04:51,400 The problem with that is when we see our lives as a movie and us 74 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:55,600 as the main character, we could really discourage because if we 75 00:04:55,600 --> 00:04:59,440 were honest and you saw yourself as a character, the center of a 76 00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:03,480 movie, you would either be despaired because it's like, 77 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:11,000 man, this guy stinks, or yeah, you, you would, you would be 78 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:14,120 despairing because your your character is not what you want 79 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:16,760 it to be, or you would just be frankly bored. 80 00:05:16,760 --> 00:05:19,240 It would be like, I don't, I don't want to watch this movie. 81 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:22,360 He's doing the same thing again and again and again. 82 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:25,360 And it would be discouraging. Now if you if you flip that 83 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:28,480 script, though, and say, maybe if your life is just as a 84 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:31,520 metaphor, your life is is a movie, but you're not the main 85 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:34,320 character. Maybe your job is to be the cool 86 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:38,160 cameo here for just a blip on the screen of someone else's 87 00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:41,480 movie, which are always the most fun when you see people you love 88 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:43,200 as a cameo. You're like, Oh my gosh, that's 89 00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:46,560 the guy from whatever. Well, this man said we need to 90 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:51,840 start seeing our own our own lives as like we want to devote 91 00:05:51,840 --> 00:05:58,280 our lives to be the the really significant influence in the 92 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:01,840 hero of the stories life in the first like chapter or two. 93 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:05,000 That's what we want to be as we want to be people who who 94 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:08,120 influence those around us, those that are going to come after us. 95 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:13,680 So that 100 years from now, 50 years from now, someone who's 96 00:06:13,680 --> 00:06:16,480 leading, someone who's bearing fruit in the world will say, 97 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:20,000 men, if I had to look back and think back about how I became 98 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:22,520 the man that I became or how I became the woman I became, that 99 00:06:22,520 --> 00:06:26,280 they would look back on you and God's grace to them through you 100 00:06:26,280 --> 00:06:29,920 and say they had a they were just really significant in a 101 00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:33,960 turning point in my life. And so that's what I want to 102 00:06:33,960 --> 00:06:37,680 think with you on this morning from Proverbs 13 again, Proverbs 103 00:06:37,680 --> 00:06:43,080 1322, listen to these words. A good man leaves an inheritance 104 00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:47,520 to his children's children. A good man leaves an inheritance 105 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:51,040 to his children's children. Now let me give you a warning 106 00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:56,520 before we labor through this. The warning is when we, those of 107 00:06:56,520 --> 00:07:00,600 us who believe God's Word, and all of us do, when we hear a 108 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:03,920 good man leaves an inheritance not just to his kids, but to his 109 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:06,520 children's children, here's what we, here's what we tend to do. 110 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:12,120 We will, we will say, OK, well then I want to rate my goodness 111 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:15,000 as a man because a good man leaves an inheritance to his 112 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:17,480 children's children. So to rate my goodness as a man, 113 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:20,120 what I'm going to do is get a blank sheet of paper, put 114 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:23,240 liabilities on this side and assets on this side and compare 115 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:25,440 those numbers. And whatever that number is that 116 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:29,040 comes out, that's my rating, that's my goodness rating. 117 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:31,920 And so if it's like all black and there's a whole bunch of 118 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:35,920 zeros, I feel like I'm great. If it's all red and a whole 119 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:38,320 bunch of zeros, I feel like I'm, I'm failing. 120 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:41,840 That is a terrible, terrible way to look at this text. 121 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:45,400 OK. It is your, your goodness as a 122 00:07:45,400 --> 00:07:46,960 man. The inheritance that you leave 123 00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:49,720 to your children's children is not just a financial 124 00:07:50,200 --> 00:07:52,480 inheritance. I don't know if you guys know 125 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:57,640 saw this, but years ago when Jimmie Johnson got elected to 126 00:07:57,680 --> 00:08:02,400 the the NFL Hall of Fame, all of these grown men, it's the, it's 127 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:05,600 the monsters, the greatest monsters in the world, right? 128 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:07,560 They're the toughest men in the world. 129 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:09,720 And they see their coach go into the Hall of Fame and they're all 130 00:08:09,720 --> 00:08:11,520 weeping. They're all happy. 131 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:14,680 His ex-wife is there, their sons are there. 132 00:08:14,920 --> 00:08:18,880 And he gets up and he starts talking about how his life as a 133 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:21,640 as a football player, he was a national championship. 134 00:08:21,640 --> 00:08:23,800 He was a great player on the national championship team at 135 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:26,520 Arkansas. Then he went on to win to win 136 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:28,000 the national championship in Miami. 137 00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:32,000 Then he goes on to win 2 Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys. 138 00:08:32,440 --> 00:08:35,280 And he gets into the to the to the Hall of Fame, the NFL Hall 139 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:37,360 of Fame. And as he was talking about all 140 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:40,679 of these things, you would think, right, Jimmie Johnson, 141 00:08:40,679 --> 00:08:43,600 like any, any, all of his sons with the last name of Johnson 142 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:46,440 say, yeah, my dad is that guy. My dad is Jimmie Johnson and 143 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:49,960 everybody knows him. And as he's talking about his 144 00:08:50,240 --> 00:08:52,960 his induction into the end of the Hall of Fame, one of the 145 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:57,240 first things he did is to to apologize to his ex-wife and to 146 00:08:57,240 --> 00:08:59,520 his children. Because he said I was, I was so 147 00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:05,360 hell bent on getting here that I was willing to sacrifice you for 148 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:08,880 me. And so he was like, I, I never 149 00:09:08,880 --> 00:09:11,600 missed, even if I was sick, I was watching film on our next 150 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:13,760 opponent. I never saw my son throw a 151 00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:17,200 football in a football game. I never got to go into the 152 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:19,840 actual football game and see and see my son. 153 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:26,320 So he's got all sorts of wealth and honor and fame to pass on to 154 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:28,920 his kids, but they would trade it in a heartbeat for just 155 00:09:28,920 --> 00:09:30,640 having had their their dad around. 156 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:34,400 So your legacy to your children is not just a financial legacy. 157 00:09:34,520 --> 00:09:38,920 So what I want to do is I want to think of about seven ways 158 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:42,800 that we leave an inheritance for for our children and for our 159 00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:44,600 wives. And again, the the whole scheme 160 00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:47,880 is that we would not that we would honor God as as men, as 161 00:09:47,880 --> 00:09:51,360 husbands, as as fathers, and that we would give our wives the 162 00:09:51,360 --> 00:09:55,400 gift of a husband that is aiming at these things with his life. 163 00:09:55,800 --> 00:09:59,240 OK. So first of all, that we would 164 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:04,080 aim at giving a covenantal inheritance to our children and 165 00:10:04,080 --> 00:10:07,560 to our children's children, a covenantal inheritance. 166 00:10:07,760 --> 00:10:12,720 So by God's grace, by God's covenant keeping grace, this is 167 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:16,680 the inheritance of a Christian man who has built his house upon 168 00:10:16,680 --> 00:10:20,680 the rock, a Christian man who says, Lord, I want to, I want to 169 00:10:20,680 --> 00:10:22,520 get married, I want to have children. 170 00:10:22,520 --> 00:10:26,880 I want to build everything on the foundation of the Lordship 171 00:10:26,880 --> 00:10:31,320 of Christ and loyalty to Him, and I want to, I want your 172 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:36,840 covenant keeping grace to be on me and on my people forever. 173 00:10:37,680 --> 00:10:42,240 OK, so the covenant promise of God is promised to 1000 174 00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:43,840 generations. I want you to listen to this. 175 00:10:44,600 --> 00:10:47,960 This is Deuteronomy 7. The Lord says to his people, you 176 00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:50,760 are a people holy to the Lord your God. 177 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:54,200 The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His treasured 178 00:10:54,200 --> 00:10:56,920 possession out of all the people who are on the face of the 179 00:10:56,920 --> 00:10:58,440 earth. Now let me just pause and remind 180 00:10:58,440 --> 00:11:02,400 you, Simon Peter. And first Peter takes these very 181 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:05,000 verses and says it to a bunch of Gentile Christians. 182 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:07,760 But this is you. This is your inheritance because 183 00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:11,800 of your relationship to Christ, that out of all the peoples, you 184 00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:13,680 are a chosen race of royal priesthood. 185 00:11:13,920 --> 00:11:18,480 You are a people for listen to this, for God's treasured 186 00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:21,080 possession out of all the people in the face of the earth. 187 00:11:21,080 --> 00:11:24,760 That's you and that's me. Peter says it was not. 188 00:11:24,760 --> 00:11:27,400 Now this is humbling. We don't want to see this, but 189 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:30,040 it's there. It is not because you were more 190 00:11:30,040 --> 00:11:32,440 in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on 191 00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:36,160 you and chose you for you were the fewest of all the people. 192 00:11:36,440 --> 00:11:39,040 Why did God love me? It's because I'm so handsome and 193 00:11:39,040 --> 00:11:41,720 I'm so great. No, no, why? 194 00:11:42,320 --> 00:11:45,520 Why did he love them? But it's not because you were 195 00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:50,520 the most, but it is because the Lord loves you that watch this. 196 00:11:50,520 --> 00:11:56,160 He is keeping the oath that he swore to your father's that the 197 00:11:56,160 --> 00:11:58,560 Lord brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you 198 00:11:58,560 --> 00:12:01,400 from the House of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh, king of 199 00:12:01,400 --> 00:12:03,160 Egypt. And then he gives this 200 00:12:03,160 --> 00:12:07,120 imperative command like you need to remember that it wasn't you. 201 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:10,000 It's not your love ability. It's the covenant keeping God. 202 00:12:10,680 --> 00:12:14,280 He promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and therefore you saw 203 00:12:14,280 --> 00:12:18,160 his mercy on you. And so Moses says in Deuteronomy 204 00:12:18,160 --> 00:12:21,880 7. Know therefore that the Lord 205 00:12:21,880 --> 00:12:27,760 your God is the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast 206 00:12:27,760 --> 00:12:30,560 love with those who love Him and keep His commandments. 207 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:37,680 Listen to me to 1000 generation, think about how precious that 208 00:12:37,680 --> 00:12:40,320 would be. If God comes to me and says Will 209 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:43,720 Martin I knew you before the foundation of the world and I I 210 00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:48,000 covenant myself to you, I will be gone to you forever. 211 00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:50,880 That would be the an amazing promise. 212 00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:55,840 But if I am worth half of a turd, what am I going to say to 213 00:12:55,840 --> 00:13:00,200 God when I'm married and I have 8 souls that have come from my 214 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:03,680 loins? God, thank you for being my God. 215 00:13:03,720 --> 00:13:06,240 What about my people? Is there any hope for them? 216 00:13:06,920 --> 00:13:10,560 That's the promise of the old and the new covenants that that 217 00:13:10,560 --> 00:13:15,960 is realized in Christ, that God promises to be God to us and to 218 00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:18,760 our offspring for 1000 generations. 219 00:13:18,760 --> 00:13:22,320 This, brothers and sisters, is where we get the notion of 220 00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:26,960 infant baptism, right? So we have, we have this idea 221 00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:30,240 that that in the Old Testament you would ask who was 222 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:31,960 circumcised? And in the old covenant there 223 00:13:31,960 --> 00:13:33,800 were two types of people that were circumcised. 224 00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:38,280 There were children physically born in inside the covenant, 225 00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:41,440 born 2 covenant members. They were circumcised 226 00:13:41,440 --> 00:13:43,480 immediately. And then you had this open 227 00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:46,240 invitation to any stranger who wanted to come in. 228 00:13:46,680 --> 00:13:49,120 If you want to come in and be a part of the covenant community, 229 00:13:49,360 --> 00:13:52,800 you believe that God is God and you come into the community and 230 00:13:52,800 --> 00:13:54,800 then you're circumcised. And then there's one rule for 231 00:13:54,800 --> 00:13:57,080 everybody. And it's the same in the new 232 00:13:57,080 --> 00:14:02,040 covenant that we baptize, we put children of Christians into the 233 00:14:02,040 --> 00:14:06,800 covenant when they're born, we baptize them and we, we put them 234 00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:09,080 in, in the covenant of the covenant community. 235 00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:13,160 And we welcome outsiders who've never known Christ to believe in 236 00:14:13,160 --> 00:14:18,280 him and be baptized. And so this, this idea of a, of 237 00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:23,480 a covenant tool, a covenantal inheritance that we're passing 238 00:14:23,480 --> 00:14:26,040 on to our children and to their children that we're putting the 239 00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:29,640 name of the triune God on them before they ever knew that he 240 00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:32,680 was around, because God intends to be their God. 241 00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:35,360 And so I'll just say this as well in passing, and it's, it's 242 00:14:35,360 --> 00:14:38,360 really helpful. Think about for a moment, think 243 00:14:38,360 --> 00:14:40,760 about the difference between the old and new covenants, the new 244 00:14:40,760 --> 00:14:44,760 covenant that the New Testament says repeatedly that we have a 245 00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:47,360 better we have it better than the old system. 246 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:50,720 Would you guys yes and Amen that does anybody want to go back to, 247 00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:54,080 to blood and goats and calves and all that stuff or do we have 248 00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:57,560 enough in Christ? Christ is very much better. 249 00:14:57,840 --> 00:15:02,400 OK, better covenant built on better promises with better 250 00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:04,640 oaths the the book of Hebrews tells us. 251 00:15:04,760 --> 00:15:09,360 And so let me ask you something. Let's say you had a health 252 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:12,680 insurance program that cost you quite a bit, but it was really 253 00:15:12,680 --> 00:15:15,160 good coverage and it, it covered you, your wife covered your, 254 00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:17,240 your children and it's, it was really expensive. 255 00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:19,080 It was really costly. It was all you can do to pay for 256 00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:21,080 it. But everything, everything is, 257 00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:23,840 it's covered. It's great insurance, you know, 258 00:15:23,880 --> 00:15:26,600 really small deductible, really small copay, all of those. 259 00:15:26,600 --> 00:15:28,600 And then your insurance agent comes to you one day and he 260 00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:30,920 says, listen, I've got great news. 261 00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:32,920 I've got a better system for you. 262 00:15:33,720 --> 00:15:36,440 This system is going to be all the coverage that you've ever 263 00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:38,840 had before, but it's going to be free to you. 264 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:41,880 There's no co-pay. There's there's nothing annexed 265 00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:42,840 to you. There's no there's no 266 00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:45,520 deductible. It's just everything is free and 267 00:15:45,520 --> 00:15:47,880 it's all yours. Isn't that a great deal? 268 00:15:47,880 --> 00:15:49,560 And you would say, man, that's amazing. 269 00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:51,400 And then he says, but here's the catch. 270 00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:56,320 The in the in the in the old system included your children. 271 00:15:56,320 --> 00:15:59,120 This one does not. So it's all free to you, but 272 00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:02,200 your kids are now not covered, you would say. 273 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:06,120 In what possible world is that a better covenant? 274 00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:08,240 Is that a better insurance program? 275 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:11,760 Well, when the new covenant comes to us, it is given to us 276 00:16:11,760 --> 00:16:13,560 and to our children. That's what Peter says at the 277 00:16:13,560 --> 00:16:18,280 very first Christian sermon to Christian people. 278 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:21,160 Repent to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins. 279 00:16:21,160 --> 00:16:22,640 You will receive the Holy Spirit. 280 00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:29,640 The promise is for you and for your offspring and for as many 281 00:16:29,640 --> 00:16:31,000 as the Lord will call to himself. 282 00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:35,920 And so they understood and we understand a covenant 283 00:16:36,360 --> 00:16:38,640 continuity. And This is why we baptize our 284 00:16:38,640 --> 00:16:41,520 children. And so gentlemen, we need to 285 00:16:41,520 --> 00:16:45,800 think in terms of the covenant succession of God to his 286 00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:49,480 faithfulness to, to us and to our children to 1000 287 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:51,720 generations. I was thinking about this this 288 00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:54,840 week and I'm, I'm glad my dad is not here because it would be 289 00:16:54,840 --> 00:16:58,440 hard for me to talk about it. But my, my parents got a divorce 290 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:02,880 when I was in 3rd or 4th grade and there's a lot about my 291 00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:05,880 upbringing that I would not wish on my worst enemy. 292 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:09,920 OK, so some, some things were, were not great, but I want you 293 00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:15,880 to understand that I am the, the reason I love Christ, the reason 294 00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:19,800 I love God's word, the reason I've, I've devoted my life to, 295 00:17:19,880 --> 00:17:25,319 to, to teaching and explaining God's word is directly because 296 00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:30,600 of my dad. I got no, no money from my dad. 297 00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:35,800 But when my parents got a divorce, he moved to Bonham, 298 00:17:36,120 --> 00:17:38,680 mom's in Denton. And so when they would drive 299 00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:42,000 halfway and hand me off in the worst place in the world, I wish 300 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:44,040 I could burn it to the ground, but it's Jack in the crack in 301 00:17:44,040 --> 00:17:45,240 McKinney. It's jack-in-the-box in 302 00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:48,080 McKinney. That's where we would, we would 303 00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:51,640 drive up and my dad, whom I love, would be with me in one 304 00:17:51,640 --> 00:17:53,240 car. And my mom, whom I love, would 305 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:55,960 be in another car and I would get out and I would go get in 306 00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:58,640 the car and they couldn't talk to each other because it had all 307 00:17:58,640 --> 00:18:01,640 fallen apart. And it was just no, no child 308 00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:03,520 should see that. And it's hot. 309 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:08,240 But as hard as that was on those drives, it's one of the greatest 310 00:18:09,160 --> 00:18:13,080 childhood memories that I, that I have that I can, that I can go 311 00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:15,760 back to is being in the car with my dad and saying, Hey, tell me 312 00:18:15,760 --> 00:18:17,880 a story. And he would say, do you want a 313 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:19,400 football story or do you want a Bible story? 314 00:18:19,400 --> 00:18:21,840 And it was almost always no, tell me a Bible story. 315 00:18:21,840 --> 00:18:25,920 And he would just pour the scriptures into me and I from 316 00:18:25,960 --> 00:18:30,880 from as early as I can possibly remember, I just loved God's 317 00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:33,480 word and it and it was not despite my dad. 318 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:36,960 It was because of him. That is a covenant inheritance 319 00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:40,440 that is mine. And so if God if God gave me the 320 00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:44,440 opportunity, look, I'll rewind and I'll give you door a you you 321 00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:47,080 will come to know Christ later in life, but you won't know 322 00:18:47,080 --> 00:18:49,520 anything about the word. You won't have been raised on 323 00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:52,760 the things of God, but from your dad you'll get a billion dollars 324 00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:55,840 cash. Or you can just go back and redo 325 00:18:55,840 --> 00:18:58,840 and get a love for God's word, a love for Christ. 326 00:18:59,120 --> 00:19:02,680 When you were tiny, which would you choose? 327 00:19:02,680 --> 00:19:04,560 I would not have to hesitate for a moment. 328 00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:08,720 He gave me a much greater inheritance by giving me a love 329 00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:11,680 for the Word of God than any finances he could have ever 330 00:19:11,760 --> 00:19:14,600 bestowed upon me. And so, brothers, you give your 331 00:19:14,600 --> 00:19:18,040 children and your children's children a spiritual inheritance 332 00:19:18,040 --> 00:19:22,160 by being in a covenant with Christ, by honoring him as Lord. 333 00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:26,200 And so man, for the sake of your for the sake of your children's 334 00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:31,080 children, trust the Lord, honor him, obey him, grow in the 335 00:19:31,080 --> 00:19:34,400 knowledge and obedience to his word and pass that central 336 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:36,840 passion onto your children. And your children's children 337 00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:40,520 will reap a reward because God has promised and he will keep 338 00:19:40,520 --> 00:19:44,080 his word. And I would just say, man, we 339 00:19:44,080 --> 00:19:47,160 we're in this sweet moment in our church where we can look 340 00:19:47,160 --> 00:19:52,680 around and like some of you are like coming into those the 341 00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:54,200 beginnings of the grandparent years. 342 00:19:54,480 --> 00:19:58,000 And you we get to see, you might not see it, maybe you do, but we 343 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:02,000 get to see the covenant legacy of God's grace upon your 344 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:06,760 children and their children. And it's just beautiful. 345 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:10,320 Shoot for that, brothers. OK, Second kind of inheritance 346 00:20:11,120 --> 00:20:15,520 is a relational inheritance. OK, so let me ask you. 347 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:17,600 And again, don't get discouraged. 348 00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:23,000 Just like allow. Allow the Lord to to to invite 349 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:27,280 an examination of your home. How is the atmosphere of your 350 00:20:27,280 --> 00:20:30,000 home? Is your home a place of like of 351 00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:34,200 of like grinding stress where there's attitudes and and mom 352 00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:37,400 and dad are not on the same page where where everybody's 353 00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:41,760 frustrated? We Roy read you from from the 354 00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:45,880 book of Colossians like the the command to husbands is to love 355 00:20:45,880 --> 00:20:47,720 our wives and to not be harsh with them. 356 00:20:48,120 --> 00:20:51,640 And so brothers, are you being are you being tender with your 357 00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:53,320 wife? Are you being loving with your 358 00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:55,600 wife? You can be tough for your wife. 359 00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:59,240 Scratch that, you must be tough for your wife. 360 00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:02,560 But are you being harsh with her or are you being tender? 361 00:21:02,560 --> 00:21:04,880 Are you being kind with her? Do your kids get to see you 362 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:09,600 flirt with her, open her door, compliment her, take care of 363 00:21:09,600 --> 00:21:12,360 her? Or do they always hear you being 364 00:21:12,360 --> 00:21:17,080 harsh with her? Second, from from Colossians, 365 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:22,480 don't exasperate your children, Christian men, we are bad about 366 00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:24,080 this. And listen, it takes one to no 367 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:27,080 one, OK? Requiring things of my children 368 00:21:27,080 --> 00:21:29,400 that I want for them because I know it would be good for them, 369 00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:32,120 but things that I don't do well, right? 370 00:21:32,120 --> 00:21:36,200 How is that for an exasperation? Stop yelling at each other, 371 00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:38,360 right? You just can't do that. 372 00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:41,440 It doesn't work. It's exasperating. 373 00:21:42,040 --> 00:21:44,960 So your marriage first, that your children second, just 374 00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:46,600 thinking about the atmosphere of your home. 375 00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:49,600 And then and then just generally when when people come into your 376 00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:52,480 home, is there the aroma of Christ, is it able to be 377 00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:56,840 discerned in your home? And praise God, a lot of us, 378 00:21:56,840 --> 00:21:59,760 most of us are, are there. I can't, I can't think of a 379 00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:02,560 single instance where I came into one of your homes and I 380 00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:05,560 thought, oh man, this place is like terrible. 381 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:12,720 There's there's always this, this Christ centered unity 382 00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:15,680 there. OK, so how do you talk about 383 00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:17,600 husbands wives? How do you talk about each other 384 00:22:17,920 --> 00:22:19,200 in your home? And I'm just this is a 385 00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:21,080 parentheses. I know I'm coming at the guys, 386 00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:23,720 but I want to say this to wives. Somebody said this to me the 387 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:25,360 other day. It was it was profoundly wise 388 00:22:25,360 --> 00:22:30,160 that sometimes wives when, when, when a couple gets married early 389 00:22:30,160 --> 00:22:32,480 on, that's where they form their best habits and their worst 390 00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:35,120 habits. And one of the worst habits that 391 00:22:35,120 --> 00:22:39,000 wives will will with a good intention will inadvertently 392 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:43,440 fall into is that they will, they will convince themselves 393 00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:46,280 that like they look at their their husband and they say, man, 394 00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:49,000 he's got two or three things that he does really well that 395 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:52,040 I'm so grateful for. And then he's got about 29 396 00:22:52,040 --> 00:22:54,880 things that just really stink that he really needs to grow up. 397 00:22:54,880 --> 00:22:56,280 He really needs to quit being a turd. 398 00:22:56,280 --> 00:22:57,800 He really needs to get this stuff together. 399 00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:01,240 And wives will start to think, especially young ones, But then 400 00:23:01,240 --> 00:23:04,160 it becomes a habit. They'll think that, look, if I, 401 00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:09,000 if I thank him for working hard to provide for us, what he's 402 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:11,520 going to think is that I've signed off on all of his vices. 403 00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:15,280 If I praise his virtue, it he's going to interpret that as like, 404 00:23:15,280 --> 00:23:17,280 hey, all of your vices are like no big deal. 405 00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:21,240 And so they withhold any gratitude, withhold any praise. 406 00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:24,440 And so husband just says, man, I'm, I'm doing the best I can 407 00:23:24,520 --> 00:23:27,960 and I get like no feedback, no gratitude from my bride. 408 00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:32,880 Again, a wise man once said that a husband slouches towards 409 00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:35,920 criticism, but he will rise up to affirmation. 410 00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:42,240 And so so wives, are your children hearing you speak about 411 00:23:42,240 --> 00:23:45,760 your husband in an honoring way? Do they get are you giving them 412 00:23:45,760 --> 00:23:50,440 that legacy of like men? Every, every time my mom opened 413 00:23:50,440 --> 00:23:52,560 her mouth, it was to praise my dad. 414 00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:56,280 There's been two or three times in the in our school where like, 415 00:23:56,280 --> 00:23:58,480 I'll pepper kids with questions behind a pulpit. 416 00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:03,520 And then on occasion I'll stick the ladies, Kelsey and Laura and 417 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:05,720 Gracie up behind the pulpit and I'll pepper them with a 418 00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:07,280 question. And it'll always be something 419 00:24:07,280 --> 00:24:09,720 like, you know, if you could change one thing or whatever. 420 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:15,440 And all of them are like, they go back and speak as though 421 00:24:15,680 --> 00:24:19,240 their husbands are the standard of all human goodness. 422 00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:21,080 And it's beautiful. It's beautiful. 423 00:24:21,080 --> 00:24:23,520 And their kids get that repetition of like, man, my mom 424 00:24:23,520 --> 00:24:27,360 thinks my dad is the cat's pajamas and it's amazing. 425 00:24:27,360 --> 00:24:30,160 So husbands, do your do your children. 426 00:24:30,160 --> 00:24:33,160 So wives, do your children hear you speaking well of your 427 00:24:33,160 --> 00:24:36,680 husband and to your husband? Husbands, how how are we 428 00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:38,240 treating our children and our wife? 429 00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:41,600 Are we setting a good example there? 430 00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:45,800 Listen to me, brothers again, your marriage is this important 431 00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:49,600 because it's a lived parable of the relationship between Christ 432 00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:52,200 and his church. And the people that most need to 433 00:24:52,200 --> 00:24:55,400 see that message preached truly are your own kids. 434 00:24:56,080 --> 00:24:59,720 Kids need to grow up in a home where where the, the husband 435 00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:02,920 reeks of Christ and the wife reeks of the church. 436 00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:05,520 And they just are on the same page. 437 00:25:05,560 --> 00:25:08,440 And again, I hope you understand I'm preaching to the choir. 438 00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:12,920 I, I feel like I know that none of us are perfect, but, but I 439 00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:15,720 see this worked out in so many of your families and homes. 440 00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:20,040 And it's, it's a treasure. So thirdly, you can leave your 441 00:25:20,040 --> 00:25:24,080 children a theological inheritance, a theological 442 00:25:24,080 --> 00:25:25,960 inheritance. And please don't think in terms 443 00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:28,760 of systematic theology. It doesn't matter if you ever 444 00:25:28,760 --> 00:25:32,880 talk about the transcendence of God and the imminence of God or 445 00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:36,160 the omnipresence of God. That doesn't matter that you use 446 00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:38,360 those words. What matters is that it's there. 447 00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:42,200 What matters is that you, you demonstrate to your children 448 00:25:42,200 --> 00:25:46,240 that you have a personal God. You delight in his sovereignty, 449 00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:49,320 you delight in his Tri unity, you delight in his covenantal 450 00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:52,160 care for for yourself and for them. 451 00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:55,520 You delight in his wisdom, you delight in his goodness. 452 00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:59,280 There's a theological inheritance is optimism about 453 00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:00,720 the world and the things have gone. 454 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:03,080 So you think about this when you follow and when you when you 455 00:26:03,080 --> 00:26:07,120 spend time with the Martin kids, you will hear them singing 456 00:26:07,120 --> 00:26:09,080 Psalms. You'll hear them talking about 457 00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:12,080 great reads and you'll hear them cussing taxes. 458 00:26:12,160 --> 00:26:13,760 That's what you'll hear from Martin family. 459 00:26:14,480 --> 00:26:16,920 And there might be a good reason for that, right? 460 00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:19,760 Because they picked that up. They picked that up from me. 461 00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:23,600 Would that they I hope they do. I hope they pick it up for me 462 00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:28,720 that there's a that there's a consistent imperfect desire to 463 00:26:28,720 --> 00:26:32,720 just live in the presence and in the power of the Lord that when 464 00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:35,640 when I'm coming up insufficient for something that I would stop 465 00:26:35,640 --> 00:26:37,960 and pray aloud so that they get to hear those things. 466 00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:41,560 So brothers, this is the theological inheritance. 467 00:26:41,560 --> 00:26:47,240 Don't be some Armenian whack job that that that paints the 468 00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:50,520 picture of God as a distant Father in heaven who's just sort 469 00:26:50,520 --> 00:26:55,120 of watching you do the rat race and waiting to ZAP you when you 470 00:26:55,120 --> 00:26:59,080 take the wrong turn. No, God is with you that he's 471 00:26:59,160 --> 00:27:02,400 near, He's sovereign, He's guiding, He's instructing, He's 472 00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:06,360 close, He loves. Trust God's promises to you and 473 00:27:06,360 --> 00:27:07,880 then start living like they are true. 474 00:27:09,080 --> 00:27:12,520 And as you try and seek to leave a theological inheritance to 475 00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:14,800 your children, I would just challenge you to ponder a new 476 00:27:15,120 --> 00:27:18,600 what the Almighty can do if with His love, He befriends you. 477 00:27:18,600 --> 00:27:22,920 What would it look like to be a friend of God in front of your 478 00:27:22,920 --> 00:27:24,880 wife and in front of your children? 479 00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:29,400 Beautiful. Fourthly, leave them an 480 00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:33,360 ecclesiastical inheritance. And again, I'm preaching to the 481 00:27:33,360 --> 00:27:36,920 choir. Think about the type of church 482 00:27:36,920 --> 00:27:40,120 that you go to is, are are you going to A to a church that 483 00:27:40,120 --> 00:27:43,440 wants more than anything to exalt the name of Christ, to 484 00:27:43,440 --> 00:27:46,520 preach the standard of God's word so that we can all repent 485 00:27:46,760 --> 00:27:51,040 and be and be be transitioned to that standard? 486 00:27:51,040 --> 00:27:55,040 Are we going to a church where the, the people in leadership 487 00:27:55,040 --> 00:27:57,760 are the type of people we want our, our daughters to marry, we 488 00:27:57,760 --> 00:28:02,240 want our sons to be like, Or is it like, are we going to the 489 00:28:02,240 --> 00:28:05,040 type of church that just always tells us what we want to hear, 490 00:28:05,040 --> 00:28:08,760 that always wants to, to make us comfortable and never wants to 491 00:28:08,760 --> 00:28:11,480 challenge us on anything, never wants to disagree. 492 00:28:12,520 --> 00:28:15,280 The, the type of church that you go to really matters. 493 00:28:15,280 --> 00:28:18,880 And then listen, the, the, the way that you go to that church 494 00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:22,520 really matters. We, we are a very simple church. 495 00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:26,720 We get together basically consistently once a week. 496 00:28:27,560 --> 00:28:30,280 And so and, and that's on purpose. 497 00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:33,880 We don't want you to be here at the church building seven days a 498 00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:35,920 week. We had a season of that early on 499 00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:38,800 and it was not very fruitful. We want you to, we want to 500 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:41,400 gather together and worship and renew the covenant with God. 501 00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:44,640 And then we want to scatter. And so any involvement in the 502 00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:49,040 families of the church is going to be like kind of on us to, to, 503 00:28:49,280 --> 00:28:53,400 to, to pursue. And so we need to be, we need to 504 00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:56,040 be demonstrating that to our children that we have a, that we 505 00:28:56,040 --> 00:28:59,440 have a covenantal ownership of the body of Christ. 506 00:28:59,440 --> 00:29:02,440 And so I was trying to think about a good way to articulate 507 00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:05,600 this. And I was, I was telling Scott 508 00:29:05,600 --> 00:29:09,560 like right before he, he said, and then our, our church is 509 00:29:09,560 --> 00:29:14,200 growing and praise God, it is. And I saw, I saw some pictures 510 00:29:14,200 --> 00:29:17,320 the other day of the, of the renovation of our sanctuary, 511 00:29:17,400 --> 00:29:20,000 right? And it was awesome because like 512 00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:24,560 there's pictures of virtually everybody in our church at the 513 00:29:24,560 --> 00:29:27,200 time doing, you know, doing work. 514 00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:30,520 And, and I, there's a, there's an overwhelming absence of my 515 00:29:30,520 --> 00:29:32,800 presence there. I was just like not, not a, not 516 00:29:32,800 --> 00:29:37,680 a part of it, but and, and, and didn't even see what all you, oh 517 00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:40,080 man, they showed up and stand before I didn't even know. 518 00:29:40,080 --> 00:29:43,160 That's amazing. And so you, you watch, you watch 519 00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:45,280 all of that. And, and I was telling Scott 520 00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:47,560 like in one of those pictures, there's a picture of our worship 521 00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:53,000 service when we used to be, you know, more lightly attended. 522 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:54,800 And then it was an off Sunday for that. 523 00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:58,440 And it was just like, they were like 8 of us here. 524 00:29:58,960 --> 00:30:02,520 That's what I felt like. OK, But but here's what's here's 525 00:30:02,520 --> 00:30:05,560 what's marvelous. It's like those those that were 526 00:30:05,560 --> 00:30:08,240 here had this idea of a family involvement in the church that 527 00:30:08,240 --> 00:30:11,000 like good or bad, we're just here, this is our this is our 528 00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:13,840 place. And, and what's really, what's 529 00:30:13,840 --> 00:30:19,880 really interesting is I remember when, when Cody and Rimley and I 530 00:30:19,880 --> 00:30:25,680 can't remember what stage of his, of his, you know, doctoral 531 00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:29,680 program he was in, but he had an option to go. 532 00:30:29,720 --> 00:30:32,240 Like he had an option to, I could go here, I could go here. 533 00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:34,200 And I was asking him when he came, like, what are you 534 00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:36,480 thinking? And what was so cool is he was 535 00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:39,640 like, well, we're just really involved in our church here. 536 00:30:39,640 --> 00:30:41,680 And so we're going to go, do you guys remember this where he's 537 00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:44,480 like, we just man, we love the community here. 538 00:30:44,480 --> 00:30:45,960 And so we're going to, we're going to be here. 539 00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:49,960 It was like, who, who? What a strange and glorious 540 00:30:49,960 --> 00:30:52,640 thing, right? To say we're in a culture where 541 00:30:53,160 --> 00:30:56,120 any of us say, hey, we got a, we got a we got to pick up roots 542 00:30:56,120 --> 00:30:57,480 and we got to move to where the work is. 543 00:30:57,480 --> 00:31:01,480 Nobody bats an eye at that. But it's rare to have somebody 544 00:31:01,480 --> 00:31:05,480 say, you know, we're going to be here because of our involvement 545 00:31:05,480 --> 00:31:07,880 in the church here. And I think again, it's that 546 00:31:08,120 --> 00:31:09,640 legacy. It's like what they grew up 547 00:31:09,640 --> 00:31:11,960 with, right? We just were a part of, we're a 548 00:31:11,960 --> 00:31:13,440 part of the church and it's beautiful. 549 00:31:13,520 --> 00:31:16,640 And so I might ask, where in the world did Cody get that 550 00:31:16,840 --> 00:31:20,400 mentality? And we know ecclesiastical 551 00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:24,960 inheritance 5th is a political inheritance. 552 00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:26,440 Notice it's on the 5th. It's not. 553 00:31:26,440 --> 00:31:28,720 This is not top of all things, right? 554 00:31:28,720 --> 00:31:30,000 This is not the most important thing. 555 00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:31,160 This is not where we should start. 556 00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:34,920 But listen to me. Faithfulness will always, always 557 00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:37,400 land here. It'll impact this eventually. 558 00:31:37,400 --> 00:31:43,960 So September 17th, 1787, when the Constitution was ratified, 559 00:31:43,960 --> 00:31:48,680 the story goes that Ben Franklin steps out of the meeting and a 560 00:31:48,680 --> 00:31:51,480 lady who I think was very famous, I always heard it as a 561 00:31:51,480 --> 00:31:54,760 story of just some some rando lady who asked a great question 562 00:31:54,760 --> 00:31:56,360 like man, how did she have that one loaded? 563 00:31:56,520 --> 00:31:59,000 But she was very sharp. She was very well known. 564 00:31:59,600 --> 00:32:02,560 And she yells out, well doctor, what do we have? 565 00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:07,440 A Republic or a monarchy? And Ben Franklin chuckled and he 566 00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:13,280 said, and I quote, a Republic, if you can keep it, you've got a 567 00:32:13,280 --> 00:32:15,800 great form of government, the best form of government 568 00:32:15,800 --> 00:32:19,000 available to sinners, if you can keep it. 569 00:32:19,960 --> 00:32:23,920 And that's a big if. Like can we guard the things 570 00:32:24,280 --> 00:32:28,080 that that are part of our political inheritance from our 571 00:32:28,080 --> 00:32:31,280 forefathers and can we guard them so that we can pass them 572 00:32:31,280 --> 00:32:32,720 on? So there are a couple guys 573 00:32:32,720 --> 00:32:36,800 running local guys that are running for office 1 for, for 574 00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:40,320 state, state Congress and then one for county judge. 575 00:32:40,720 --> 00:32:43,200 And we were talking to the county judge candidate about 576 00:32:43,560 --> 00:32:49,400 he's, he was a army. What are those things? 577 00:32:49,480 --> 00:32:52,520 Chopper, chopper pilot. He was talking about how he got 578 00:32:52,520 --> 00:32:54,600 into politics. He said I had no intention to 579 00:32:54,600 --> 00:32:59,480 run, but Goosky Eastman, the guy running for for Congress, he 580 00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:03,720 said he we were talking and I was lamenting the leaders that 581 00:33:03,720 --> 00:33:09,040 we have and Goose Gisman told Mr. Holman, He said, hey, if 582 00:33:09,040 --> 00:33:13,040 only idiots and evil men will run for office, then your 583 00:33:13,040 --> 00:33:15,560 children will be governed by idiots and evil men. 584 00:33:17,120 --> 00:33:18,640 That's a pretty great way to look at it. 585 00:33:18,800 --> 00:33:23,200 Like if the only people that will run are idiots and evil 586 00:33:23,200 --> 00:33:25,960 men, then that's all we're ever going to have. 587 00:33:25,960 --> 00:33:30,160 And so part of faithful Christian men throughout 588 00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:36,280 history, part of that has been this reluctant but willing idea 589 00:33:36,400 --> 00:33:40,800 that, you know, we we really should stand up and take 590 00:33:40,800 --> 00:33:46,400 responsibility for political evils, especially in our local 591 00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:49,080 area. And so one of the, one of the 592 00:33:49,080 --> 00:33:51,680 reasons our country is the way it is, is that good men have not 593 00:33:51,680 --> 00:33:55,080 thought, thought deeply about political inheritance that 594 00:33:55,080 --> 00:33:58,240 they've received and the one that they owe to their, to their 595 00:33:58,240 --> 00:34:00,920 children's children. And so we need to resurrect this 596 00:34:00,920 --> 00:34:02,640 idea that we're supposed to count. 597 00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:06,760 And what we're doing now, it really does impact that whole 598 00:34:06,760 --> 00:34:09,639 $90,000,000 bond thing from LaGrange ISD. 599 00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:13,000 That was, you know, we're all talking about like, we, we got 600 00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:14,320 it, we got to bless the children. 601 00:34:14,320 --> 00:34:16,440 Our children are the future. And it's like you're talking 602 00:34:16,440 --> 00:34:20,000 about saddling them with debt for, for 30 years, they're going 603 00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:21,600 to be grandparents before they pay it off. 604 00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:23,679 That's not, that's not forward thinking. 605 00:34:23,760 --> 00:34:29,920 OK, so, so let me just briefly say abortion has to end for the 606 00:34:29,920 --> 00:34:32,520 sake of a political inheritance that we could pass on. 607 00:34:32,520 --> 00:34:35,480 And we can't make all abortion in the whole world. 608 00:34:35,480 --> 00:34:38,400 We will one day because Christ is Lord and he's going to bring 609 00:34:38,400 --> 00:34:41,480 his Lordship everywhere. But we could absolutely start at 610 00:34:41,480 --> 00:34:44,960 home and make sure that in our county and in our state that 611 00:34:44,960 --> 00:34:48,639 this evil cannot be done. We need to make sure that 612 00:34:48,639 --> 00:34:53,480 property tax ends in our state. And I know that's a huge ask, 613 00:34:53,480 --> 00:34:56,960 but as Roy told us before he prayed for us, God is more 614 00:34:56,960 --> 00:35:00,920 willing to give us big things than we are willing to ask for 615 00:35:00,920 --> 00:35:02,760 big things. But property tax has to die 616 00:35:03,080 --> 00:35:07,400 precisely because that is a sin against the inheritance that 617 00:35:07,400 --> 00:35:09,640 we're giving to our children's children, right? 618 00:35:09,920 --> 00:35:14,160 The, the, the property that God gives men belongs to men, not to 619 00:35:14,160 --> 00:35:16,640 governments, not to states. And so there's all sorts of 620 00:35:16,640 --> 00:35:20,320 biblical taxation that is fitting, that is OK. 621 00:35:20,320 --> 00:35:24,080 That we should pay and gladly pay the property tax is not one 622 00:35:24,080 --> 00:35:27,440 of them. We should fight that staunchly. 623 00:35:28,400 --> 00:35:31,400 We should fight state-run education staunchly. 624 00:35:32,120 --> 00:35:35,800 All of these things have brought about the apostasy of nearly 8 625 00:35:35,800 --> 00:35:38,440 of 10 children raised in Christian homes. 626 00:35:38,440 --> 00:35:41,360 That has to end, right? The, the statistics are out. 627 00:35:41,360 --> 00:35:45,320 It's, it's between 70 and 80% of Christian, of Christian kids 628 00:35:45,320 --> 00:35:48,680 punt the faith two years after leaving home for college. 629 00:35:48,680 --> 00:35:54,360 And so we would ask whose job is it to fix all these things when 630 00:35:54,360 --> 00:35:58,520 we are a Republic, We're a Republic as long as we can keep 631 00:35:58,520 --> 00:35:59,320 it. Whose job? 632 00:35:59,440 --> 00:36:01,320 Well, it's our job. It's our job. 633 00:36:01,320 --> 00:36:03,760 And if we don't do it, it ain't going to get done. 634 00:36:03,960 --> 00:36:08,240 I heard a a man preaching to Eli's, the students at Eli's 635 00:36:08,240 --> 00:36:09,680 college. And he was talking about these 636 00:36:09,680 --> 00:36:12,800 very things, the Constitution. And he said, listen, guys, if 637 00:36:12,800 --> 00:36:18,040 you don't knuckle down and study here, nobody's going to do this. 638 00:36:18,320 --> 00:36:21,560 Nobody is requiring even just a cursory reading of the 639 00:36:21,560 --> 00:36:24,600 Constitution anymore. And so if you guys don't do it, 640 00:36:24,600 --> 00:36:27,920 if y'all don't endeavor to rebuild what we have lost, it's 641 00:36:27,920 --> 00:36:30,200 not going to get done. So we are Christian men. 642 00:36:30,200 --> 00:36:33,200 Our job is to disciple the nations so that we can leave our 643 00:36:33,200 --> 00:36:35,200 children a political inheritance. 644 00:36:35,840 --> 00:36:37,480 I have two more and I'm almost done. 645 00:36:37,680 --> 00:36:41,120 Sixthly, we need to leave our children an economic 646 00:36:41,120 --> 00:36:43,840 inheritance. And again, it's not just the 647 00:36:43,840 --> 00:36:47,160 dollar sign that's it's the, it's a bad way to look at it. 648 00:36:47,600 --> 00:36:51,160 We need to leave them things like a cheerful and a diligent 649 00:36:51,160 --> 00:36:53,720 work ethic that we would understand and teach our 650 00:36:53,720 --> 00:36:57,600 children that work existed before sin into the world, 651 00:36:57,880 --> 00:37:01,640 right? Not that life in the garden was 652 00:37:01,640 --> 00:37:04,520 just a continual Sandals resort, right? 653 00:37:04,520 --> 00:37:06,960 Where it's all inclusive and you don't have to do anything. 654 00:37:06,960 --> 00:37:10,360 You just lay there in the hammock and as the man said, 655 00:37:10,360 --> 00:37:13,720 drink your Mai tais. No, they had to be fruitful, 656 00:37:13,760 --> 00:37:18,360 fill the earth, subdue it, have dominion, right. 657 00:37:18,400 --> 00:37:22,920 And so teaching our our children that that they're to have a 658 00:37:22,920 --> 00:37:24,880 cheerful and a diligent work ethic. 659 00:37:24,880 --> 00:37:30,000 So I am in the next couple of weeks, I'm about to get 660 00:37:30,200 --> 00:37:34,680 hopefully my first daughter-in-law. 661 00:37:34,840 --> 00:37:36,640 And I say hopefully it's going to go through. 662 00:37:36,640 --> 00:37:38,000 She's obligated. She can't get out of it. 663 00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:41,480 Now I'm saying hopefully in that Judah finds one that's as 664 00:37:41,480 --> 00:37:44,800 awesome as Grace's. But I asked her one time try to 665 00:37:44,800 --> 00:37:47,520 put her on the spot because I think the world of her dad and I 666 00:37:47,520 --> 00:37:49,280 just like I keep waiting for the shoe to fall. 667 00:37:49,280 --> 00:37:51,920 Like where where's the chink? Like where is he? 668 00:37:51,960 --> 00:37:54,320 Where is he? Where's he hiding all of his 669 00:37:54,320 --> 00:37:57,080 sin? So I'm like, Hey, tell, tell me 670 00:37:57,080 --> 00:38:01,160 about your dad and I I wasn't asking about his his vices. 671 00:38:01,160 --> 00:38:03,600 I was asking about his virtues. I said, you know, what do you I 672 00:38:03,600 --> 00:38:05,440 think the question, if I remember right, I asked her, 673 00:38:05,880 --> 00:38:07,840 what virtue have you seen in your dad? 674 00:38:07,840 --> 00:38:10,360 Have you grown up with that? You hope Eli bears well? 675 00:38:11,200 --> 00:38:16,960 And she thought for a moment and she said, I have and I quote, I 676 00:38:16,960 --> 00:38:21,680 have never heard my father complain about work, not one day 677 00:38:21,680 --> 00:38:27,480 in his life. Now that's wild to me because 678 00:38:27,480 --> 00:38:30,560 work is the work, right? I mean, like he he's but he's 679 00:38:30,560 --> 00:38:35,680 never complained about work. And so Lord willing that that 680 00:38:35,680 --> 00:38:38,800 woman who grew up in that home with that man, seeing him never 681 00:38:38,800 --> 00:38:45,000 complain about work is going to is going to be raising up humans 682 00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:47,960 that will call me grandpa. And she's going to be telling 683 00:38:47,960 --> 00:38:50,320 them, Hey, when you when you bellyache about work, you're not 684 00:38:50,320 --> 00:38:52,280 being like your grandpa Roy. That ain't, that ain't going to 685 00:38:52,280 --> 00:38:54,080 fly, right? It's a, it's a, it's an 686 00:38:54,080 --> 00:38:57,960 inheritance, it's an economic inheritance, this idea of, of 687 00:38:57,960 --> 00:39:00,720 the preciousness, the God glorifying aspect of work, it's 688 00:39:00,720 --> 00:39:04,680 talents and it's tools, right? It's like, what, what do you, 689 00:39:04,880 --> 00:39:06,400 what do you teach your kids how to do? 690 00:39:06,400 --> 00:39:08,960 What kind of tools have you have you given them? 691 00:39:09,760 --> 00:39:14,600 And so again, like there there are especially I said at the 692 00:39:14,600 --> 00:39:16,960 beginning, we're in this sweet spot in our, in our church where 693 00:39:16,960 --> 00:39:21,000 we're seeing the, the kids that that used to be in diapers and 694 00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:25,800 we get to see them rising up and, and bearing and bearing 695 00:39:25,800 --> 00:39:30,400 fruit, the real good fruit. And so just, I mean, I, the, the 696 00:39:30,400 --> 00:39:32,000 list could go on and I'm not going to keep you long. 697 00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:37,200 But we had, we had Joe Sampson came in and fixed our red truck 698 00:39:37,200 --> 00:39:39,120 the other day. The other the other week it 699 00:39:39,120 --> 00:39:42,400 broke again, by the way. So but but it, he did fix it. 700 00:39:42,400 --> 00:39:45,280 He did figure it out and fix it. And then Josh and Justin and Joe 701 00:39:45,280 --> 00:39:48,600 and Braden and, and I'm not even sure who else came, but they 702 00:39:48,600 --> 00:39:50,680 came over and they were working on my on my tractor. 703 00:39:50,680 --> 00:39:52,960 And they did, they did get the weed eater going and tractor 704 00:39:52,960 --> 00:39:57,240 parts are, are on order. But you just, you look at, you 705 00:39:57,240 --> 00:40:02,000 look at the, the, yeah, just that idea of, of a, of a work 706 00:40:02,040 --> 00:40:04,920 ethic that you see and the, and the kids. 707 00:40:04,920 --> 00:40:07,400 And that is a real, that is a real inheritance. 708 00:40:08,360 --> 00:40:11,600 The the idea of imagination and longing and an entrepreneurial 709 00:40:11,600 --> 00:40:14,320 spirit that like, we want to, we want to count, we want to put 710 00:40:14,320 --> 00:40:17,320 our hands to work and we want to, we want to earn, we want to 711 00:40:17,320 --> 00:40:20,360 build families. We want to build, Yeah, an 712 00:40:20,360 --> 00:40:23,480 economic inheritance. And so those are those are part 713 00:40:23,600 --> 00:40:26,520 of what it means to leave as a good man, to leave an 714 00:40:26,520 --> 00:40:28,280 inheritance to his children's children. 715 00:40:28,520 --> 00:40:32,920 And lastly, and I'm done with this, a Sacramento inheritance, 716 00:40:33,960 --> 00:40:36,760 that we are a church that is built upon the rock of the 717 00:40:36,760 --> 00:40:41,480 covenant whose name is Christ. And if we let Christ speak for 718 00:40:41,480 --> 00:40:47,600 Christ, we will, we will hear him say like in Mark 10 when 719 00:40:47,600 --> 00:40:50,480 Jesus saw it, he was indignant and he said to them, let the 720 00:40:50,480 --> 00:40:54,120 children come to me, do not hinder that word. 721 00:40:54,120 --> 00:40:58,640 For hinder means do not lop, do not clip, do not prune, do not 722 00:40:58,640 --> 00:41:01,960 prevent, do not cut off. Don't cut them off. 723 00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:08,600 Those children don't cut them off, do not hinder them, for to 724 00:41:08,600 --> 00:41:13,320 such belongs the Kingdom of God. Wise men once said that children 725 00:41:13,320 --> 00:41:15,880 are faith factories. They trust the word of their 726 00:41:15,880 --> 00:41:18,640 betters and they pick up on things really quickly. 727 00:41:19,280 --> 00:41:21,720 In the old covenant, children receive circumcision and they 728 00:41:21,720 --> 00:41:23,720 partook of the covenant sacrificial food. 729 00:41:24,200 --> 00:41:29,640 So why then, why then do we get the get to the new covenant, 730 00:41:29,840 --> 00:41:34,200 which is broader, which is more inclusive, which is so much 731 00:41:34,200 --> 00:41:38,720 better, and somehow think that things have changed. 732 00:41:40,680 --> 00:41:44,640 There is explicit command from the Lord not to hinder the 733 00:41:44,640 --> 00:41:47,240 children, but to let them come. And without a shred of biblical 734 00:41:47,240 --> 00:41:51,080 evidence, we somehow think that we should withhold them from 735 00:41:51,080 --> 00:41:52,640 baptism or from the Lord's table. 736 00:41:52,640 --> 00:41:55,880 And listen, I'm, I'm, I'm this was, this is my view for a very 737 00:41:55,880 --> 00:41:57,440 long time. Took me a really long time to 738 00:41:57,440 --> 00:42:01,280 see it, but I'm telling you, once you see it, you can Unsee 739 00:42:01,280 --> 00:42:03,160 it. And, and you realize how, how, 740 00:42:03,640 --> 00:42:06,880 how wrong it is when, when we bring our children to church 741 00:42:07,360 --> 00:42:11,960 and, and we sing with them and we pray with them and we, we 742 00:42:11,960 --> 00:42:14,320 affirm them when they come and when they're joyful here. 743 00:42:14,320 --> 00:42:16,440 But then when it comes to baptism or when it comes to the 744 00:42:16,440 --> 00:42:20,080 Lord's Supper, we say, Hey, this is, this is not for you. 745 00:42:20,080 --> 00:42:22,640 This is the very thing that unsettled me on that position is 746 00:42:22,640 --> 00:42:24,840 Judah saying like, take me to the table. 747 00:42:24,840 --> 00:42:28,840 And I'm like, no, come and welcome, welcome to Christ. 748 00:42:28,960 --> 00:42:31,920 And my son says let me come. And I'm like, no. 749 00:42:32,720 --> 00:42:35,080 And I remember sitting down like, alright Lord, you got it. 750 00:42:35,080 --> 00:42:37,000 You got to show. You got to show me, 'cause I'm 751 00:42:37,000 --> 00:42:40,040 really uncomfortable with this. So brothers, I love you. 752 00:42:40,680 --> 00:42:43,680 Put your children in the covenant through baptism and 753 00:42:43,680 --> 00:42:46,720 then welcome them to the table. Give them the inheritance that 754 00:42:46,720 --> 00:42:48,720 Christ has commanded you to give them. 755 00:42:49,400 --> 00:42:52,400 Baptism is first. Like circumcision, baptism is 756 00:42:52,400 --> 00:42:56,600 first and then comes the table. But don't attempt to be more 757 00:42:56,600 --> 00:42:59,400 holy than Christ. Raise them up in the faith and 758 00:42:59,400 --> 00:43:01,240 they will not depart from it when they are grown. 759 00:43:02,080 --> 00:43:06,760 This bread is the body of Christ, broken for you and for 760 00:43:06,760 --> 00:43:10,040 your children. This cup is the blood of Christ 761 00:43:10,040 --> 00:43:12,720 shed for you and for your children and for your children's 762 00:43:12,720 --> 00:43:16,120 children to 1000 generations. The table is by the Spirit's 763 00:43:16,120 --> 00:43:19,440 power working through faith, a real participation in Christ 764 00:43:19,480 --> 00:43:22,440 together. So when you come here, you are 765 00:43:22,440 --> 00:43:25,720 coming to Christ, and when you take and eat from this table, 766 00:43:25,720 --> 00:43:29,560 you are receiving Christ himself in a mystery, and so are your 767 00:43:29,560 --> 00:43:32,760 children. So come and welcome to Jesus 768 00:43:32,760 --> 00:43:36,960 Christ. Let me pray for us, Father, we 769 00:43:37,920 --> 00:43:41,480 we pray that we would be imitators of God. 770 00:43:44,720 --> 00:43:48,600 Lord, you like the psalmist says the lines of my inheritance, 771 00:43:48,600 --> 00:43:50,400 they have fallen to me in pleasant places. 772 00:43:50,720 --> 00:43:52,760 Lord, you've chosen these things for us. 773 00:43:54,400 --> 00:43:59,640 You have you are a God who gives an inheritance to your children, 774 00:44:00,280 --> 00:44:02,760 your child who is Christ and then threw him to your 775 00:44:02,760 --> 00:44:08,040 children's children to us to 1000 generations. 776 00:44:08,040 --> 00:44:10,920 And Lord, we want to imitate that and we want to be a part of 777 00:44:13,840 --> 00:44:17,160 a, part of your covenant, keeping grace to our, to our 778 00:44:17,160 --> 00:44:18,840 children and to our children's children. 779 00:44:18,840 --> 00:44:22,520 And so, Lord, we just in, in seeing these things and the 780 00:44:22,520 --> 00:44:25,760 possibility and your intention in these things, my, my gut is 781 00:44:25,760 --> 00:44:28,040 to say, man, I could never accomplish that. 782 00:44:28,040 --> 00:44:31,360 And that's the point. We can't, but you've promised. 783 00:44:31,360 --> 00:44:38,440 And so help us, Lord, to, to, to stand on those promises and to 784 00:44:38,520 --> 00:44:43,040 act on those promises to live as though you are a covenant 785 00:44:43,040 --> 00:44:45,440 keeping God. For you have always been and 786 00:44:45,440 --> 00:44:49,520 ever will be a promise keeping covenant keeping God. 787 00:44:50,240 --> 00:44:55,400 And so, Lord, I pray God, for the men in our church, that our 788 00:44:55,960 --> 00:44:59,600 grandfathers and great grandfathers and and fathers and 789 00:44:59,600 --> 00:45:03,920 future fathers, Lord, I pray that you would do everything 790 00:45:03,920 --> 00:45:09,200 necessary in US so that as good men we could leave an 791 00:45:09,200 --> 00:45:13,640 inheritance to our children's children for your glory and for 792 00:45:13,640 --> 00:45:15,680 our joy. Lord, would you meet us at the 793 00:45:15,680 --> 00:45:17,480 table? And would this be a table that 794 00:45:17,480 --> 00:45:20,560 strengthens us in that endeavor? We ask it in your name. 795 00:45:21,160 --> 00:45:21,400 Amen.