1 00:00:01,080 --> 00:00:03,880 Turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 19. 2 00:00:30,620 --> 00:00:35,100 So here we are in Matthew 19. The first thing we covered last 3 00:00:35,100 --> 00:00:39,780 week is Jesus of course was talking about divorce and now or 4 00:00:39,780 --> 00:00:41,860 he was talking, he was talking about marriage primarily. 5 00:00:41,860 --> 00:00:44,180 Others were were talking about divorce and we saw that Jesus 6 00:00:44,180 --> 00:00:47,920 was emphasizing marriage. But now we continue, we're in 7 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:52,000 verse 13, we're we're going to cover a whopping 3 verses with 8 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:56,160 our sermon today. Then they were brought to him 9 00:00:56,160 --> 00:00:59,160 that he might lay his hands on them and pray. 10 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:03,680 The disciples rebuked the people, but Jesus said, let the 11 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:07,520 little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such 12 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:11,440 belongs the Kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands on them 13 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:15,000 and went away. God, I pray you would bring 14 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:18,600 revelation and light. I pray that you would move in 15 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:22,480 power as this Word comes forth. I pray that it would be deeply 16 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:25,320 received. We commit to obedience before 17 00:01:25,320 --> 00:01:28,600 the Word is breached because we love you and we want what's best 18 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:30,360 from you. And in our lives. 19 00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:35,280 God help us to be humble and childlike in our own faith that 20 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:38,400 we wouldn't be defensive, but that we would be joyfully 21 00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:42,120 receptive to the transformation that you offer through Your 22 00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:44,600 Word. If there's any surgery that 23 00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:47,680 you're going to do in us through this message, we just receive it 24 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:50,840 with gladness. Remove infection and strengthen 25 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:54,440 us as a body. Lord above it all, I pray that 26 00:01:54,440 --> 00:01:56,080 you would strengthen our children. 27 00:01:56,520 --> 00:01:58,520 I pray that you would bring our children into Your very 28 00:01:58,520 --> 00:02:00,720 presence. I pray that they would know you, 29 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:04,200 that they would see you, that they would encounter you so that 30 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:08,039 nothing could pull them or change them, so that you would 31 00:02:08,039 --> 00:02:11,640 rescue them in such a mighty way that they would recognize that 32 00:02:11,640 --> 00:02:13,720 the Lord has done it. That they would love you for 33 00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:17,000 themselves, that they would cherish you for themselves and 34 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:18,840 they they would enjoy you for themselves. 35 00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:21,600 Not because it's their family culture, although family 36 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:25,200 cultures are good, not because it's the the the culture of the 37 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:27,680 the country that they live in, although that is a blessing to 38 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:30,240 them, but all for themselves because they know you. 39 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:32,960 Reveal yourself God and save our children. 40 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:36,000 Bring them into your presence in Jesus name, Amen. 41 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:41,440 So this scene follows with the children coming to Jesus. 42 00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:44,520 Remember we're he's, he's moving towards the cross, he's moving 43 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:46,520 towards Jerusalem. We're in the last few months of 44 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:49,520 his life, and now this scene is following after Jesus is 45 00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:52,080 teaching on marriage. And that's not a coincidence. 46 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:56,800 One of the reasons Jesus is so big on marriage is because Jesus 47 00:02:56,800 --> 00:03:00,320 loves children. Strong marriages create stable 48 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:04,000 homes, and stable homes are where children are most easily 49 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:07,360 going to encounter the love and the presence of God. 50 00:03:07,920 --> 00:03:11,400 So children matter deeply to Jesus and a time and a place 51 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:14,680 where kids didn't matter at all. In Jewish culture, childhood was 52 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:16,880 just seen as an insignificant part of life. 53 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:20,320 So yeah, once you become an adult, your life will have 54 00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:23,200 meaning and purpose to it. But now you're just a kid, so 55 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:26,600 children were not prioritized. But this is pretty wild because 56 00:03:26,600 --> 00:03:30,800 just in chapter 18, remember the disciples were arguing who's the 57 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:33,760 greatest among us? Jesus brings a little child. 58 00:03:33,760 --> 00:03:36,680 This wasn't long ago. This is probably within the past 59 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:39,560 30 days that Jesus brought a little child. 60 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:42,680 He said this is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven, a toddler 61 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:45,200 most likely this is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. 62 00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:47,760 So already they've forgotten that lesson and Jesus is 63 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:49,640 ministering. Jesus is working and parents are 64 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:51,800 saying I'd love for him to pray for my child. 65 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:54,040 I'd love for him to bless my child, which is a good thing to 66 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:55,640 do. Natalie and I have done that. 67 00:03:55,920 --> 00:03:58,760 There have been men of God over the years who we've just like as 68 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:00,560 they've come and minister different places and we've 69 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:03,600 greeted them and just talked with them after a service over a 70 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:04,520 meal. We just said, hey, would you, 71 00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:07,040 would you just pray for them and bless our children? 72 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:10,640 Not because that as Jesus, not that we don't pray for and bless 73 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:14,480 our own children all the time, and yet still we sense the 74 00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:17,920 presence of the Lord in a way that we just, we just would want 75 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:20,160 to see what the Lord might say through the man of God. 76 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:23,880 We're not putting pressure, we're not elevating man with any 77 00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:31,040 kind of I've lost the word popular is not the word famous. 78 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:35,480 No, no Christian fame or anything like that, but just 79 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:38,600 recognizing the gift of God. And so that's, that's what's 80 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:40,560 happening here. Now, of course, in this case, 81 00:04:40,880 --> 00:04:42,840 these parents are very wise. These parents are doing it 82 00:04:42,840 --> 00:04:44,720 right. This is Jesus himself. 83 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:47,360 So they're pressing in that the disciples go, hey, hey, don't 84 00:04:47,360 --> 00:04:49,320 bother the master with, with kids. 85 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:52,040 Don't bother the master with, with little children. 86 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:53,960 He doesn't have time. He's doing important work. 87 00:04:53,960 --> 00:04:56,200 What, what's the important work? Ministering to adults, of 88 00:04:56,200 --> 00:04:58,600 course, because adults are what really matters. 89 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:01,560 Well, that's not true at all. People are what matter to God. 90 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:04,920 Little people, people who live in their mommy's wombs, matter 91 00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:06,720 to God. People who have been born matter 92 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:08,760 to God. All people matter to God. 93 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:12,440 Really old people matter to God. People who are dying and will be 94 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:14,440 gone soon, they matter deeply to God. 95 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:17,280 Everybody is precious and matters to the Lord. 96 00:05:17,280 --> 00:05:21,520 It's man who puts rankings on people's power, on people's 97 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:24,120 value, on people's position. The man who says, well this is 98 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:27,120 more valuable, 1 might be more useful than the other. 99 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:30,240 Is an adult more useful than a child? 100 00:05:30,240 --> 00:05:32,360 Well, sure, an adult is typically going to be more 101 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:35,800 useful than a child is, but the Lord said we that hasn't 102 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:38,280 indicated anything to do with their value values. 103 00:05:38,280 --> 00:05:41,600 A different conversation. Jesus values and loves little 104 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:44,440 children, but the disciples still haven't learned this 105 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:47,720 lesson yet. So the Holy Spirit even recorded 106 00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:52,000 he he impressed upon Matthew, Mark and Luke to record this 107 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:54,160 moment. So that repetition is rare. 108 00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:56,560 And the Gospels, when we see a thing repeated over and over, 109 00:05:56,760 --> 00:05:59,160 that's on purpose, that's intentional by the Lord. 110 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:03,280 So again in Matthew 18, he says unless you turn and become like 111 00:06:03,280 --> 00:06:06,480 children, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven. 112 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:10,600 And now just one chapter later, they're pushing actual children 113 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:13,080 away. It's a reminder that even the 114 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:17,960 most well meaning Christians, apostles included, can sometimes 115 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:21,240 be dead wrong. That should comfort you. 116 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:25,680 That should encourage you. Sometimes even the most sincere 117 00:06:25,840 --> 00:06:29,720 and faithful Christians, even your pastor, sincere and 118 00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:32,360 faithful man of God can be dead wrong. 119 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:34,960 There's things where it's like, I think he was dead wrong on 120 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:36,360 that. And I'm and maybe I was. 121 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:38,600 It's entirely possible. You know what? 122 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:42,520 The the 12 Apostles of the Lamb could get it dead wrong on 123 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:44,120 something. A lesson they had supposedly 124 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:46,520 just learned, and now they botch it completely. 125 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:48,560 Does this mean that they're all cat? 126 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:49,800 That they should all be castaway? 127 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:52,440 No, not at all. No, they're still going to go do 128 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:54,920 the mighty work that we read about through the book of Acts 129 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:56,280 and through throughout church history. 130 00:06:56,520 --> 00:06:58,240 Still useful. This is good news for you, 131 00:06:58,240 --> 00:06:59,920 right? Have you ever been dead wrong, 132 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:04,360 or am I the only one? You're so sincere and you're So 133 00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:06,600 you got such conviction. No, to get these kids out of 134 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:07,520 here. We got important. 135 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:10,200 What you do? Hey, you idiots. 136 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:12,240 No. Bring the children. 137 00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:16,760 Let the children come to me. And then Jesus lays his hands on 138 00:07:16,760 --> 00:07:17,920 all of them. That's good news. 139 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:20,440 We're in good company. You can be dead wrong. 140 00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:23,120 Others have been dead wrong before. 141 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:25,960 You could be confused. They could have been confused. 142 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:31,000 You can unintentionally mislead or even deliberately work to 143 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:33,040 keep others out of the presence of God, which is what the 144 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:35,720 disciples were doing here. They probably weren't doing it 145 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:39,400 with that full intention, but still, it's a scary thing. 146 00:07:39,400 --> 00:07:42,160 That means you may have been hurt or hindered by other 147 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:46,280 sincere Christians in the past. I already know that you have. 148 00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:48,520 You know why? Because if you spent any time 149 00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:51,320 around Christians, you spent time around humans, people who 150 00:07:51,320 --> 00:07:54,560 have flesh, although they have been made new in Christ, they 151 00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:57,080 could still air, they could still make a big mistake. 152 00:07:57,320 --> 00:07:59,680 They could, they could be faithful in a million ways and 153 00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:02,960 they could sin against you. So that's probably happened to 154 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:04,520 you. Maybe it was their rudeness, 155 00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:07,360 maybe it was their pride. Jesus still wants you. 156 00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:10,720 Jesus still says let him come, let her come to me. 157 00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:14,800 So don't allow somebody else to be your barrier to the presence 158 00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:16,760 of the Lord. You may have been the one who 159 00:08:16,760 --> 00:08:18,840 hindered someone else from coming to Jesus. 160 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:22,160 If you know of who, and if you know of when, that's something 161 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:24,200 that you should make right. That's something that you should 162 00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:26,400 reach out and go. I thought of something. 163 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:27,680 The Lord brought this to my remembrance. 164 00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:29,680 And this might seem weird. This might seem like a long time 165 00:08:29,680 --> 00:08:30,960 ago and maybe it means a lot to you. 166 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:32,960 Maybe it means nothing to you, but here it is. 167 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:36,039 I am genuinely sorry for insert thing here. 168 00:08:36,159 --> 00:08:39,520 That's humbling, isn't it? Welcome to Christianity, welcome 169 00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:42,480 to that cross that you're going to keep getting on every single 170 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:44,240 day, that you're going to keep following Jesus. 171 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:46,960 But what a healing that might bring, what a deliverance that 172 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:49,960 might bring, what a blockage that might free up in somebodies 173 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:51,920 life. What a gift that could be. 174 00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:56,120 Don't let anyone or anything come between you and God's 175 00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:58,720 presence. Be a pursuer. 176 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:01,760 We don't have a record of how hard did the parents pursue. 177 00:09:01,760 --> 00:09:04,400 We just have the record of the disciples and they're kind of 178 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:06,120 being the gatekeepers. Oh, the Lord doesn't want to 179 00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:07,360 like that. Lord doesn't want to like that. 180 00:09:07,560 --> 00:09:09,680 We see that again. Well, Bartimaeus, whenever he's 181 00:09:09,680 --> 00:09:11,640 crying out, there's a couple blind men, they're crying out 182 00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:13,840 for Jesus and everybody's going to shut up, shut up, shut up. 183 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:16,000 Leave the master alone and he's just moving through the area. 184 00:09:16,680 --> 00:09:20,520 Son of son of David, have mercy on me, Have mercy on me. 185 00:09:20,520 --> 00:09:22,280 Everybody's going to shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut 186 00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:23,880 up. But he just persists all the 187 00:09:23,880 --> 00:09:26,920 more. A blind man following may be 188 00:09:26,920 --> 00:09:30,400 stumbling, but hungry and will not listen to anybody. 189 00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:33,000 That's the right attitude. And Jesus said, bring him to me. 190 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:35,560 And of course, the whole crowd changes their tune and they go, 191 00:09:35,560 --> 00:09:38,760 the masters calling you, come, come, He's inviting you. 192 00:09:39,040 --> 00:09:42,240 All the gatekeepers suddenly like, Oh yeah, I've learned that 193 00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:44,840 Jesus actually cares about everybody. 194 00:09:45,680 --> 00:09:49,280 So I'm going to make this as practical as I can today. 195 00:09:49,280 --> 00:09:52,560 I want to help parents know what does it look like to bring your 196 00:09:52,560 --> 00:09:53,760 children into the presence of God? 197 00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:56,560 First of all, you need to know that you should and this will 198 00:09:56,560 --> 00:09:58,600 apply to parents. For those of you who aren't yet 199 00:09:58,600 --> 00:10:01,120 parents, this will be a sermon to remember. 200 00:10:01,280 --> 00:10:04,920 And for those of you who have children that are grown or 201 00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:07,640 grandchildren at this point, you're still going to know how 202 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:10,160 to pray because I'm going to give you that's the biggest 203 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:13,880 powerful unlock from this sermon is how to pray for the children 204 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:16,000 that you love. But it is a responsibility of 205 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:20,000 parents to bring their children into the presence of God. 206 00:10:20,560 --> 00:10:24,720 You are sent by God to testify to your children about the love 207 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:28,880 of God. Your attention, your tone, your 208 00:10:28,880 --> 00:10:33,960 affection, your time, your sacrifice, and your prayers all 209 00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:36,360 tell your children something about God. 210 00:10:37,040 --> 00:10:39,760 Fathers in particular are commanded to raise their 211 00:10:39,760 --> 00:10:41,680 children. In Ephesians were were commanded 212 00:10:41,680 --> 00:10:43,720 to raise our children in the fear and the admonition of the 213 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:46,680 Lord, or the training and the instruction of the Lord, or the 214 00:10:46,680 --> 00:10:49,080 discipline and the adoration of the Lord. 215 00:10:50,080 --> 00:10:52,480 This is a command specifically given to fathers. 216 00:10:52,480 --> 00:10:54,880 Why? Because fathers are to image the 217 00:10:54,880 --> 00:10:57,600 Father God. Bad news for us. 218 00:10:57,600 --> 00:10:59,400 We do that imperfectly all the time. 219 00:10:59,680 --> 00:11:03,400 Good news for us, when we do it well, we get to represent to our 220 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:05,080 children what does it really look like. 221 00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:07,640 That was the Lord's intention. Just like our marriages don't 222 00:11:07,640 --> 00:11:11,880 perfectly unfortunately show Christ in the church, fathers to 223 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:14,560 their children don't perfectly reveal the heart of the Father. 224 00:11:14,560 --> 00:11:17,400 And yet we are supposed to significantly reveal the heart 225 00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:19,520 of the Father. Some of you had awesome dads. 226 00:11:19,520 --> 00:11:22,160 I had an awesome dad. So that's an easy lesson for me 227 00:11:22,160 --> 00:11:24,000 to absorb. And I just go, Yep, I get it. 228 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:25,280 That's a straight line connection. 229 00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:28,320 Some of you had terrible dads and that's a difficult 230 00:11:28,400 --> 00:11:31,160 connection to make. And still the Lord can reveal 231 00:11:31,160 --> 00:11:33,000 himself to you and overcome that. 232 00:11:33,120 --> 00:11:36,240 So nothing is insurmountable for the Lord and all things can be 233 00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:39,200 resurrected by our God who specializes in raising things 234 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:41,640 from the dead. And still it's an important, 235 00:11:42,560 --> 00:11:44,360 it's an important lesson for us to remember. 236 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:47,960 Parents should ask themselves this question, is my fathering 237 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:52,480 or is my mothering A hindrance or a highway to my child coming 238 00:11:52,480 --> 00:11:56,200 to Jesus? Is my fathering, is my 239 00:11:56,200 --> 00:11:57,480 mothering, is my walk with the Lord? 240 00:11:57,480 --> 00:12:00,520 Is it a hindrance to my kids? Or is it a highway if I just 241 00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:04,200 paved the road in front of them and just made it so obvious, or 242 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:06,200 have I put a bunch of obstacles in their way? 243 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:09,360 Getting your kids into the presence of God is the most 244 00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:12,120 powerful thing that you can do for them, because if they get 245 00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:16,760 into His presence, they will also get His principles. 246 00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:21,160 But the scary thing is that if a child only has the principles of 247 00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:24,760 God, the principles of God don't always lead someone into the 248 00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:27,200 presence of God. When I'm talking about the 249 00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:30,640 principles versus the presence, this idea I have, I'm thinking 250 00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:32,800 about Moses. Think about what God did with 251 00:12:32,800 --> 00:12:35,040 Moses. God drew Moses first to the 252 00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:37,160 burning Bush. Moses in the wilderness for 40 253 00:12:37,160 --> 00:12:41,280 years, he's just taking care of sheep, and God draws him to the 254 00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:43,760 burning Bush. And then later he gets Moses the 255 00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:46,840 10 commandments. The presence comes before the 256 00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:48,360 principal. If God can get you to the 257 00:12:48,360 --> 00:12:50,640 burning Bush, his principles will follow. 258 00:12:50,640 --> 00:12:52,200 But the reverse isn't always true. 259 00:12:52,400 --> 00:12:54,720 The Pharisees have all the principles of God. 260 00:12:55,280 --> 00:12:59,560 They know the rules, they know the Word, they know theology. 261 00:12:59,560 --> 00:13:03,120 They are theologians, and everybody's impressed with that. 262 00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:06,760 That is a problem. The being a theologian is not a 263 00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:10,440 problem, but being impressed with that alone is a problem. 264 00:13:10,680 --> 00:13:12,720 Fruit should be the thing that we're after. 265 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:15,680 And fruit can only come out of the presence of God, because 266 00:13:15,680 --> 00:13:17,120 apart from him you can do nothing. 267 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:19,760 Apart from Him you can know a bunch of something. 268 00:13:20,240 --> 00:13:23,920 You can know a lot apart from him, but apart from him you can 269 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:26,800 do nothing. So you see this in people's 270 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:29,440 lives. You see lots of knowledge, man. 271 00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:31,120 They know something. Yeah. 272 00:13:31,120 --> 00:13:33,880 But what do they do? Do they do anything? 273 00:13:34,520 --> 00:13:36,800 That's the ultimate test of am I connected to Jesus? 274 00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:39,880 Because if I'm connected to Jesus, fruit has to show up. 275 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:42,680 And if I'm not connected to Jesus, fruit can't show up. 276 00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:45,880 I can't manifest it. I can fake it temporarily, but 277 00:13:45,880 --> 00:13:47,280 you know who I can't fake it in front of? 278 00:13:47,680 --> 00:13:51,760 My kids, because they live with me and they see it day in and 279 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:54,480 day out, day in and day out. I can fake it in front of you. 280 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:57,720 Maybe, maybe I can put on a Sunday morning smile and do what 281 00:13:57,720 --> 00:13:59,160 I have to do. I've been around church culture 282 00:13:59,160 --> 00:14:01,320 a long time, so I know the things to say. 283 00:14:01,520 --> 00:14:05,120 I know the things to do. I know how to act bless you and 284 00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:07,960 bless you, and I know I know how to go through the motions. 285 00:14:08,160 --> 00:14:11,320 That's a dangerous and scary place to be because you're so 286 00:14:11,320 --> 00:14:13,360 comfortable. It's so familiar. 287 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:16,320 That's why I prayed the way I prayed before service. 288 00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:18,280 Lord, I know how to go through a church service. 289 00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:23,120 I know how to preach a decent sermon, say Amen, OK, thank you, 290 00:14:23,800 --> 00:14:26,960 a decent sermon, I can preach my way out of a wet paper bag. 291 00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:30,240 Can we agree on that? A wet paper, if it's wet, I can 292 00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:34,960 certainly get out, no doubt. But you get so comfortable, you 293 00:14:34,960 --> 00:14:37,440 get so used to things. It's so familiar. 294 00:14:37,880 --> 00:14:41,880 Instead of being like Moses, like we prayed earlier, God said 295 00:14:41,880 --> 00:14:44,600 go on into the promised land. Moses says I will not go unless 296 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:47,760 your presence goes with us. But God said you go ahead, I'm 297 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:49,400 not going to go. I'm sick of the people. 298 00:14:49,920 --> 00:14:52,440 And he wants Moses to intercede. This is a test. 299 00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:55,200 He wants Moses to intercede on behalf of the people. 300 00:14:55,520 --> 00:14:57,280 He wants him to have the heart of God. 301 00:14:57,880 --> 00:15:01,160 And Moses says I won't even go. I'm not going, just kill me. 302 00:15:01,240 --> 00:15:03,000 I'm not going without your presence. 303 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:06,520 I won't go. And the Lord goes, I like that. 304 00:15:07,280 --> 00:15:09,920 And the Lord did like that. That's the kind of prayer we 305 00:15:09,920 --> 00:15:11,360 want to have. That's the kind of perspective 306 00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:15,240 we have to take because our kids can see and know and taste the 307 00:15:15,240 --> 00:15:17,960 difference. If we get into God's presence, 308 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:20,120 we will always end up at the principles. 309 00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:22,640 But if we start with the principles, we will not always 310 00:15:22,640 --> 00:15:24,000 necessarily end up in the presence. 311 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:27,000 As we've said many times, the Pharisees have the principles, 312 00:15:27,160 --> 00:15:29,760 but they don't recognize the presence when He's staring them 313 00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:33,400 in the face. How many people grew up in homes 314 00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:36,120 where the principles of God were taught, but then they walked 315 00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:38,640 away because they didn't ever have the presence of God? 316 00:15:38,880 --> 00:15:41,200 There wasn't. There wasn't real affection. 317 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:44,520 There wasn't real devotion. It was just, I know the rules. 318 00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:47,480 I know the things to say. Or maybe there was, and maybe 319 00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:50,440 they were just wildly imperfect or wildly immature. 320 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:52,920 Or maybe there just wasn't growth for a long time. 321 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:54,920 Some of you were in households like that. 322 00:15:55,520 --> 00:15:56,520 You're like, yeah, that's what I heard. 323 00:15:56,520 --> 00:15:58,000 That's what I saw. It was like the principles were 324 00:15:58,000 --> 00:15:59,400 there. We're kind of like, sprinkle 325 00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:02,600 Jesus on top of everything that we do, but not really. 326 00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:07,800 If we live that way, then there's a consequence. 327 00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:11,640 We end up living as a nation that's been blessed because it 328 00:16:11,640 --> 00:16:13,560 has prioritized the principles of God. 329 00:16:13,880 --> 00:16:16,760 But without the love for God, we end up with a country that 330 00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:20,120 really isn't devoted to him. So Christian principles, I want 331 00:16:20,120 --> 00:16:22,960 to make clear biblical principles will bless your life. 332 00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:26,360 So if I could, if I could meet somebody on the street and I 333 00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:29,360 wanted to help them, the most important thing I want to do for 334 00:16:29,360 --> 00:16:31,880 them is get them the gospel. That way they would be made a 335 00:16:31,880 --> 00:16:34,720 new creation and now they can live a new life with a new 336 00:16:34,720 --> 00:16:37,480 identity. But still, biblical principles 337 00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:41,360 will bless their lives if they understand sowing and reaping, 338 00:16:41,560 --> 00:16:44,680 if they understand generosity and the Lord's financial 339 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:48,760 provision, if they understand why monogamy is objectively 340 00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:51,400 significantly better, and if they would keep their vows to 341 00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:52,880 their spouse all the days of their lives. 342 00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:55,640 Like there's a million biblical principles, we could say live 343 00:16:55,640 --> 00:16:58,360 this way, live this way, live this way to the degree the 344 00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:01,680 degree to which any human being lives out the principles of God 345 00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:04,440 is the degree to which they experience the Kingdom of heaven 346 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:06,839 in their lives. So there's that's why you know 347 00:17:06,839 --> 00:17:09,680 non believers, that's why you know, Mormons and Jehovah's 348 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:11,800 Witnesses and you go, there's some of the best folks in the 349 00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:14,480 world. There's some great folks and 350 00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:15,720 you're like, they got good morals. 351 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:18,720 It seems like yes, they do. That's what biblical principles 352 00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:21,119 do. Biblical principles will bless 353 00:17:21,119 --> 00:17:24,400 your life, but biblical principles all by themselves 354 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:28,440 applied on top of a life don't save a sinful heart. 355 00:17:29,040 --> 00:17:31,560 Only the blood in the name of Jesus does that. 356 00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:35,240 Only faith in the name and the blood and knowing who he really 357 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:37,520 is, we have to be talking about the same Jesus. 358 00:17:38,040 --> 00:17:40,880 Because unfortunately, Mormons would sit along this and go, 359 00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:42,680 yes, the name and the blood of Jesus ago. 360 00:17:43,120 --> 00:17:45,000 We're defining that name quite differently. 361 00:17:45,440 --> 00:17:47,920 And you have some very different conclusions about where he came 362 00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:49,520 from. And no, he was not the spirit 363 00:17:49,520 --> 00:17:52,040 brother of Satan. And so again, like, that's a 364 00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:54,680 different Jesus entirely, right? I could say I love Natalie and 365 00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:55,880 they go, yeah, I love Natalie too. 366 00:17:55,880 --> 00:17:58,960 And I go, no, no, no, no, we're talking about you. 367 00:17:58,960 --> 00:18:02,040 You think you know somebody, but there's a different somebody. 368 00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:05,640 So who we understand Jesus to be is who Jesus reveals himself to 369 00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:08,720 be, and that matters. Back to the point here about 370 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:11,520 prioritization of principles. Principles are good. 371 00:18:12,040 --> 00:18:13,880 I want you to embrace the principles of God. 372 00:18:13,880 --> 00:18:16,240 I want you to embrace the principles of Scripture, but 373 00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:19,680 they can never be a substitute without without having a real 374 00:18:19,680 --> 00:18:22,400 love for God, you end up with what I call country music 375 00:18:22,400 --> 00:18:25,040 Christianity. Country music Christianity 376 00:18:25,040 --> 00:18:26,840 doesn't mean you necessarily listen to country music. 377 00:18:27,080 --> 00:18:28,920 So if you don't listen to country music, you're not free 378 00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:31,400 from this possibility. Country music, Christianity, 379 00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:33,520 though, I make reference to there's a lot of country songs 380 00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:36,960 that because it's a clever songwriting tool to to put a 381 00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:40,160 juxtaposition with two things. So oftentimes country music will 382 00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:43,560 do like a drinking on Saturday night, church on Sunday morning 383 00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:45,880 kind of thing, because it's like a clever songwriting tool 384 00:18:45,880 --> 00:18:47,240 because like, oh, see how we did that? 385 00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:49,680 And then tip your hat to the man upstairs on Sunday morning. 386 00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:53,000 And then coming in a little hungover and it and it's all 387 00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:55,320 good because because he understands me and we have an 388 00:18:55,320 --> 00:18:58,760 understanding. It's unbiblical, but it sounds 389 00:18:58,760 --> 00:19:01,760 right to good old boys in the Bible belt because, you know, I 390 00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:03,760 mean, you know, put a little money in the plate at church and 391 00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:06,200 you know, Lord, you know, we're going to do we go do we gotta do 392 00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:09,240 right here, you know, tip your hat to the man upstairs and it's 393 00:19:09,240 --> 00:19:10,720 country music. Christianity. 394 00:19:11,080 --> 00:19:13,440 It's ignorance. It's where the principles of 395 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:16,120 God. That guy probably went to Sunday 396 00:19:16,120 --> 00:19:18,360 school. That musician, that band, that 397 00:19:18,360 --> 00:19:19,680 song, they went to Sunday school. 398 00:19:19,840 --> 00:19:21,880 Grandmama might still be praying. 399 00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:24,800 Grandma's Bible might be worn out, but his isn't. 400 00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:27,840 Grandmama's Bible is hanging on by a thread. 401 00:19:28,200 --> 00:19:31,320 Grandmama's bedside is worn out where her knees have worn 402 00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:34,880 grooves in the floor. Grandmama's got heart faith and 403 00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:38,960 is pursuing the Lord. But country music, Christianity, 404 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:41,080 boy, over here is going like, well, you know, America is a 405 00:19:41,080 --> 00:19:43,200 Christian nation, so we're all kind of Christian, right? 406 00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:46,520 No, my friend, I mean, you've got a lot of Christian 407 00:19:46,520 --> 00:19:49,160 principles in your life, which is a blessing to you, but you 408 00:19:49,160 --> 00:19:51,960 can't confuse the blessing of God with the very presence of 409 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:54,240 God. You can't confuse the principles 410 00:19:54,240 --> 00:19:58,000 of God with actually loving and following Jesus for yourself. 411 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:00,400 I don't know where it got lost. I don't know how we lost the 412 00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:04,480 presents from grandma to to daddy and Mama to you, but let's 413 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:07,640 restore it now with clarity, with love and devotion. 414 00:20:07,720 --> 00:20:10,840 That is the requirement. That is the expectation to love 415 00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:15,320 the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, 416 00:20:15,320 --> 00:20:16,600 and to love your neighbor as yourself. 417 00:20:16,760 --> 00:20:20,720 That's the greatest command, not to acknowledge the Lord your God 418 00:20:21,080 --> 00:20:24,920 when it's convenient. But to love him with everything 419 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:26,400 that you have and everything that you've got. 420 00:20:26,840 --> 00:20:32,320 So as a parent, your example of submission to Jesus, your 421 00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:35,400 example of genuine love for Jesus, let me say that again. 422 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:39,720 Your example of submission to Jesus, your example of genuine 423 00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:43,600 love for Jesus, you should not shove anything off there. 424 00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:48,680 Genuine love for Jesus, your example of fear of God is the 425 00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:51,000 best gift you will ever give your children. 426 00:20:51,320 --> 00:20:54,640 And if you don't give them that gift, no other gift you ever 427 00:20:54,640 --> 00:20:57,360 provide for them could possibly replace it. 428 00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:00,480 Well, we said a lot for their college. 429 00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:04,160 Congratulations. Well, you know, we left them 430 00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:06,560 bucoos of money when we died. That's a blessing. 431 00:21:07,160 --> 00:21:08,920 And we left it to our grandchildren as well. 432 00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:12,680 That's a blessing. But it's still nothing compared 433 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:14,480 to the spiritual heritage that they need. 434 00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:17,960 A father and mother who hosts the presence of God in their 435 00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:21,840 home through their living faith is the most important thing they 436 00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:26,080 could ever do for their kids. And it can't be faked because 437 00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:29,280 they live with you. They see you all the time. 438 00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:32,240 If I lack love for God, but I teach my children His 439 00:21:32,240 --> 00:21:34,840 principles, they've got this confusion, there's this 440 00:21:34,840 --> 00:21:37,240 hypocrisy. I'm injecting their hearts with 441 00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:41,440 the dead thing, so they're going to be inoculated to the living 442 00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:43,880 thing. I see that happen a lot with 443 00:21:43,880 --> 00:21:46,320 country music, Christianity. I see that happen a lot with 444 00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:48,200 Christian culture. Christianity. 445 00:21:48,520 --> 00:21:51,680 People have been, they've gotten around enough of the dead thing. 446 00:21:52,080 --> 00:21:54,600 They've gotten around enough dead Christianity, which is an 447 00:21:54,600 --> 00:21:58,080 oxymoronic phrase to say they've gotten around enough dead 448 00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:00,960 Christianity that they're like, yeah, I'm familiar with it. 449 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:02,880 Yep, Yep. Seen it, heard it, got 3 450 00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:03,920 T-shirts. Thanks. 451 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:06,400 I'm good. Like, I'm not sure that you are 452 00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:09,280 because do you love him? Yeah. 453 00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:11,400 I mean, I prayed to prayer. Pastor Bob said it. 454 00:22:11,400 --> 00:22:13,640 I did the thing Sunday 45 years ago. 455 00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:18,440 Trust me, homie, I'm good. And I got baptized and all the 456 00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:20,320 stuff. So. 457 00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:22,000 So you really love Jesus then, right? 458 00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:23,280 Yeah. Awesome. 459 00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:26,680 Well, let's talk about that. Well, that's it's kind of weird 460 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:28,960 for me. That's kind of a weird thing to 461 00:22:28,960 --> 00:22:30,960 say. Like you love him with all your 462 00:22:30,960 --> 00:22:33,400 heart, soul, mind and strength, but you don't want to have any 463 00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:36,240 fellowship around that. That's what we end up with. 464 00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:39,440 We end up with this confusion. We end up with this, yeah, I 465 00:22:39,440 --> 00:22:43,120 know some principles and I know not to follow that religion. 466 00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:46,680 I know not to follow that false cult and that Christian 467 00:22:46,680 --> 00:22:48,880 variation cult. And I know not to do this and do 468 00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:51,280 that and do the other. But I'm still not actually 469 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:53,240 pursuing the Lord. That's what I think this 470 00:22:53,240 --> 00:22:58,080 creates. People get inoculated with the 471 00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:01,400 dead thing and then the the living thing doesn't have the 472 00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:02,880 power that it should in their lives. 473 00:23:03,280 --> 00:23:07,440 If you give your children the example of real love for God, no 474 00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:10,960 failure of yours though will ever disqualify it and you will 475 00:23:10,960 --> 00:23:13,720 fail. So parents, you're not the end 476 00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:17,160 all be all God is. And that's good news. 477 00:23:17,560 --> 00:23:20,360 That's comforting. So pastor, this is a heavyweight 478 00:23:20,360 --> 00:23:22,840 indeed it is. Welcome to parenting and welcome 479 00:23:22,840 --> 00:23:24,440 to Christianity at the same time. 480 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:28,040 It's not yours alone to carry. You're you're called to walk out 481 00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:31,640 what you can, where you are in this moment, in this day. 482 00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:36,880 But hosting the presence of God in your home through worship, 483 00:23:37,120 --> 00:23:40,520 through repentance, through joy, through faith is the single most 484 00:23:40,520 --> 00:23:42,320 important work you'll do as a parent. 485 00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:45,400 You will fail. You'll be too strict, and then 486 00:23:45,400 --> 00:23:48,040 you'll be too soft, and then you'll be too tired, and then 487 00:23:48,040 --> 00:23:50,320 you'll be too busy, and then you'll be too selfish. 488 00:23:50,760 --> 00:23:53,000 All those things are realities, good news. 489 00:23:53,480 --> 00:23:55,360 There's blood. They can cover all of it. 490 00:23:55,800 --> 00:23:59,720 There's redemption. They can rescue everybody, but 491 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:01,280 you can move forward in power and you must. 492 00:24:01,280 --> 00:24:02,920 So how do we do this practically? 493 00:24:03,400 --> 00:24:04,600 How do we do this? Simply? 494 00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:06,320 How do we do this? Clearly, I'm going to share 495 00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:10,000 three ways with you as parents that we need to prioritize 496 00:24:10,360 --> 00:24:13,640 bringing our children into the presence of Jesus. 497 00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:15,320 Number one is in the motions of life. 498 00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:20,520 Deuteronomy 6 tells us to teach them as they walk along the 499 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:23,200 road, as you lie down, as you rise up. 500 00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:25,160 When are we supposed to do family worship? 501 00:24:25,520 --> 00:24:29,640 All the time, All the time. You could do family worship at a 502 00:24:29,880 --> 00:24:31,920 a set scheduled time if you wanted to. 503 00:24:32,120 --> 00:24:34,920 But any family who would do that, I would say make sure that 504 00:24:34,920 --> 00:24:37,480 that wasn't the only spiritual content in your household for 505 00:24:37,480 --> 00:24:41,360 the day. So if it was, then again, we're 506 00:24:41,360 --> 00:24:43,880 still showing our kids how to compartmentalize. 507 00:24:44,160 --> 00:24:47,000 It's God time. I know people who grew up with 508 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:49,360 it. This is this is the time, this 509 00:24:49,360 --> 00:24:51,000 is the thing. And still they were inoculated 510 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:52,800 because it was just like, yeah, yeah, yeah. 511 00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:55,000 We're getting through it. It wasn't lived joyfully. 512 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:58,280 It wasn't the, IT wasn't bubbling up out of Dad, it 513 00:24:58,280 --> 00:25:01,800 wasn't bubbling up out of Mom, but it was, hey, this is what we 514 00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:05,040 do because this is what good Christian folks do and this and 515 00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:06,880 we're good, decent American Christian folks. 516 00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:11,280 Well, what's true, what's right, what's applicable, what's wise? 517 00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:13,280 We're not really going to get into all the details of that. 518 00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:15,320 We're just going to make sure we did the things. 519 00:25:15,520 --> 00:25:20,120 So all along the way, when you walk along the road, when you 520 00:25:20,120 --> 00:25:22,480 lie down, when you rise up. So when that means when you're 521 00:25:22,480 --> 00:25:24,680 talking to men, there's spiritual conversations. 522 00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:27,080 That means when you're going to 711, there's spiritual 523 00:25:27,080 --> 00:25:29,840 conversations. That means all the time as he's 524 00:25:29,840 --> 00:25:32,920 moving in your life, man, Pastor, this sounds so hard. 525 00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:35,680 It only sounds hard if you're not really walking with him. 526 00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:37,560 That's when it sounds really hard. 527 00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:41,120 That's who this is a really hard message to hear because it's not 528 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:43,520 your walk with him isn't bubbling up out of you. 529 00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:47,440 And it feels like, how in the world am I going to remember to 530 00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:50,480 do all of these things? But for the person who's 531 00:25:50,480 --> 00:25:53,800 actually walking and dwelling with the Lord, there is no 532 00:25:53,800 --> 00:25:55,800 remembering. You know, it's like, how do I 533 00:25:55,800 --> 00:25:58,080 remember Natalie all day? I love the girl. 534 00:25:58,160 --> 00:25:59,960 She's my favorite person. I don't have to be like, oh, 535 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:03,680 yeah, how how do I, how do I deal with my wife today? 536 00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:09,240 But in the same way, when you're in fellowship with the Lord, his 537 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:13,360 framework, his, his principles are guiding your life because 538 00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:16,240 you've been in his presence. Now his principles are guiding 539 00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:19,680 that interaction that you just had and his principles are 540 00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:21,600 guiding the way that you're thinking and the way that you're 541 00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:23,800 praying and, and he's shaping your whole life. 542 00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:26,080 So for that person, this is an easy thing. 543 00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:28,640 All I'm telling you to do is say the quiet thing out loud. 544 00:26:28,640 --> 00:26:31,040 Now the thing that you were already thinking or the thing 545 00:26:31,040 --> 00:26:33,440 you were already praying as they're in the back seat, let 546 00:26:33,440 --> 00:26:35,480 them hear that. Let them know. 547 00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:37,360 And if they're old enough, you begin to instruct them. 548 00:26:37,360 --> 00:26:40,120 And by the way, they're old enough, you should always be 549 00:26:40,120 --> 00:26:43,120 instructing, always be teaching. Hey, did you at their level, at 550 00:26:43,120 --> 00:26:46,760 the three-year old level, at the four year old level, at the one 551 00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:49,000 year old level? I told you last week I was 552 00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:51,600 praying for and preaching the gospel to our babies when they 553 00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:55,240 were in Natalie's womb and they were being blessed and cared for 554 00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:56,960 even then. And we were praying that the 555 00:26:56,960 --> 00:26:58,800 Lord would fill them with the Holy Ghost. 556 00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:01,000 He filled John the Baptist with the Holy Ghost while he was 557 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:03,400 still in his mama's womb. Why wouldn't he fill my babies 558 00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:05,160 with the Holy Ghost while they're still in their mother's 559 00:27:05,160 --> 00:27:07,280 womb? So this is our prayer. 560 00:27:07,280 --> 00:27:10,280 This is our expectation. God, they need your presence. 561 00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:13,880 But all along the way, talk about the Lord in the car. 562 00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:15,760 Why? Because you're thinking about 563 00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:19,400 Him and Saints, I don't mean to imply that your every single 564 00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:21,400 waking thought is always only on the Lord. 565 00:27:21,400 --> 00:27:23,880 So if you've heard that burden, that's not a burden I'm putting 566 00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:24,560 on you. I'm just saying. 567 00:27:24,920 --> 00:27:27,680 But isn't it a frequent 1? Isn't he a frequent one? 568 00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:29,480 Aren't his principles and his ways? 569 00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:32,440 Like if your life is truly his and you're submitted on the 570 00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:35,480 altar of Jesus, then then yeah, everything I'm doing belongs to 571 00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:36,920 Him. That's why this isn't a heavy 572 00:27:36,920 --> 00:27:38,840 burden. I'm just saying, say it out loud 573 00:27:39,280 --> 00:27:41,680 is why you pray with your kids. You thank God throughout the 574 00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:44,480 day. You invite them to help you when 575 00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:48,080 you're blessing others. You pray whenever there's a 576 00:27:48,080 --> 00:27:50,720 need. You're reading and discussing 577 00:27:50,720 --> 00:27:53,080 Scripture together. You're telling them what the 578 00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:55,240 Lord is teaching you. You're confessing your sins. 579 00:27:55,240 --> 00:27:58,520 So let me tell you as somebody who has never had the 580 00:27:58,560 --> 00:28:03,120 consistent, this is our family Christian time, I've always done 581 00:28:03,120 --> 00:28:05,320 it on the fly. That's all I've ever known. 582 00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:07,520 I used to feel guilty. I used to feel bad. 583 00:28:07,520 --> 00:28:09,880 I'm like, I'm not a good father, I'm not a good husband, I'm not 584 00:28:09,880 --> 00:28:12,200 a good Christian leader because we don't have like, all right, 585 00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:15,400 it's 730. Everybody huddle up, living room 586 00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:18,520 Bibles, Jesus. And I always thought like, man, 587 00:28:18,520 --> 00:28:20,640 I thought if I was a better Christian, if I was more mature, 588 00:28:20,640 --> 00:28:22,920 if I was more disciplined, we would have that. 589 00:28:23,200 --> 00:28:28,120 And then I finally just realized like we always have that we 590 00:28:28,120 --> 00:28:30,240 always have that. That's at the breakfast table. 591 00:28:30,240 --> 00:28:32,080 Hey, what were you reading the word this morning, buddy? 592 00:28:32,080 --> 00:28:33,680 How is this that what you thinking? 593 00:28:33,680 --> 00:28:35,320 Oh, man, that's good. Let's pray this. 594 00:28:35,320 --> 00:28:38,080 And it's just and there it goes and there it flows and it's 595 00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:40,800 another conversation and it's on the back deck and it's here and 596 00:28:40,800 --> 00:28:44,160 it's there and it's it's in the hot tub and it's, it's wherever 597 00:28:44,200 --> 00:28:46,440 it's where we are because it's just real. 598 00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:50,480 If it's real to you, it will be real through you. 599 00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:53,680 So it all through the motions of life. 600 00:28:54,120 --> 00:28:56,960 Tell them what the Lord is teaching you confess your sins. 601 00:28:56,960 --> 00:28:59,680 That's a big one. Confess your sins you want to 602 00:28:59,880 --> 00:29:01,760 you want to gain credibility in your household. 603 00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:05,320 You you might think, oh then I should never confess sins. 604 00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:07,320 Just the opposite just the opposite. 605 00:29:07,320 --> 00:29:08,400 Then they're going to think I'm wrong. 606 00:29:08,600 --> 00:29:11,080 You are wrong. That's the point. 607 00:29:11,480 --> 00:29:13,800 They already know you're wrong. You just haven't acknowledged it 608 00:29:13,800 --> 00:29:15,920 yet. This is the moment now to 609 00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:18,840 actually let everybody know that you're not a psycho, but that 610 00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:21,400 you're actually humble. And you're saying Jesus is the 611 00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:23,080 hero in this household. I am so sorry. 612 00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:27,680 Would you please forgive me? And they see that humility and 613 00:29:27,680 --> 00:29:30,440 they see, man, we're serious about this Christianity stuff to 614 00:29:30,440 --> 00:29:33,480 the degree that it to the to the degree that it crushes our own 615 00:29:33,480 --> 00:29:35,560 egos. Daddy crushes his own ego. 616 00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:37,960 Mommy crushes his own ego, her own ego. 617 00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:43,720 Don't make the things of God private. 618 00:29:44,240 --> 00:29:47,240 They are deeply personal, but they are shareable. 619 00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:50,440 And you need to show your kids that God is your life. 620 00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:52,520 Well, that's not really kind of my thing. 621 00:29:53,520 --> 00:29:56,480 Well, it has to be as a parent that changes. 622 00:29:56,480 --> 00:29:59,040 I mean, it's like saying like, oh, you know, waking up in the 623 00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:00,440 middle of the night, It's not really my thing. 624 00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:02,600 Like welcome to parenting a newborn. 625 00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:05,000 Like you don't get to say that like, oh, we kind of like our 626 00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:06,360 thing is like sleeping through the night. 627 00:30:06,360 --> 00:30:08,760 It's kind of like a big like my personality. 628 00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:09,920 That's just the way the Lord built me. 629 00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:13,240 Like, yeah, I know. But parenting like there's, 630 00:30:13,360 --> 00:30:16,440 there's an exception here now, so you don't get to flow in the 631 00:30:16,440 --> 00:30:20,160 way that you want to flow all the time because through God's 632 00:30:20,480 --> 00:30:23,960 beautiful gift of children, you will be sanctified as is part of 633 00:30:23,960 --> 00:30:25,600 his intention, not his only intention. 634 00:30:25,880 --> 00:30:28,400 And yes, you will crucify your flesh and you will serve them. 635 00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:31,240 So it's not, it's not normal for me to kind of talk about my 636 00:30:31,240 --> 00:30:32,960 faith. I'm real personal. 637 00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:36,480 I'm real private with all that. Well, I understand that it's 638 00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:38,680 personal, but you can't keep it all super private. 639 00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:41,320 Your kids need to know, they need to know how to walk with 640 00:30:41,320 --> 00:30:42,480 the Lord. They need to hear about it. 641 00:30:42,760 --> 00:30:44,320 They need to hear about daddy's walk. 642 00:30:44,600 --> 00:30:47,520 They need to hear about mama's walk so that they can see that 643 00:30:47,760 --> 00:30:49,560 this looks like something this sounds like something to 644 00:30:49,560 --> 00:30:50,960 Michael. It's just not my personality. 645 00:30:51,280 --> 00:30:54,640 Again, you have to you have to level up and grow in this area 646 00:30:54,640 --> 00:30:57,360 in some way somehow. It's not my personality. 647 00:30:57,360 --> 00:30:59,440 You've heard the type A and type B personality. 648 00:30:59,720 --> 00:31:03,720 Type A super structured, really detail oriented type B. 649 00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:06,200 Where's the party? Like that's, that's me. 650 00:31:06,440 --> 00:31:11,160 I'm, I'm a type B personality. But as I continue to grow into 651 00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:14,360 manhood over the years, I realized, you know what, Joe 652 00:31:14,360 --> 00:31:18,080 Michael, you are a type B. It's a, it's a true statement. 653 00:31:18,280 --> 00:31:20,680 And still you have to be an adult. 654 00:31:21,120 --> 00:31:24,000 You have to be a man. You have to develop disciplines. 655 00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:26,000 You have to develop systems. You know, well, that's not 656 00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:27,320 really. Well then you know what, then 657 00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:30,120 it's going to be a heavier load for you than it is for somebody 658 00:31:30,120 --> 00:31:32,400 else. You know, some people eat stuff, 659 00:31:32,400 --> 00:31:34,240 eat that stuff for breakfast. I'm sure like some of you 660 00:31:34,240 --> 00:31:36,800 probably get more done before 8:00 AM than I get done all day. 661 00:31:37,080 --> 00:31:39,520 Some of my Type A brothers and sisters and you're just rocking 662 00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:42,320 and rolling and crushing it. Joe Michael's over here like I'm 663 00:31:42,320 --> 00:31:46,040 still trying to wake up, but still, what did I have to do? 664 00:31:46,040 --> 00:31:48,400 Well, I, I, I don't get to use that excuse forever. 665 00:31:49,040 --> 00:31:52,000 Well, I put the Lord made me this way and still you have to 666 00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:54,200 function in life. So in the same way. 667 00:31:54,200 --> 00:31:57,000 Well, I'm not, I don't really talk a lot about my faith and my 668 00:31:57,000 --> 00:31:59,520 walk with the Lord. You have to if you have kids, 669 00:31:59,680 --> 00:32:02,280 they need to hear about it. They need to see prayer. 670 00:32:02,280 --> 00:32:05,000 They need to hear what you're learning, what you're thinking, 671 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:07,160 how you're growing. They need to see your humility. 672 00:32:07,680 --> 00:32:08,800 Yeah, I don't. I don't feel like I have a lot 673 00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:10,200 to say. That's fine, too. 674 00:32:10,400 --> 00:32:11,880 They need to see that because you know what? 675 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:13,520 They don't have a lot to say either. 676 00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:15,040 They don't know what to think about it. 677 00:32:15,200 --> 00:32:16,480 They don't know how to process it. 678 00:32:16,640 --> 00:32:18,040 They think they're stupid Christians. 679 00:32:18,040 --> 00:32:19,200 They think they're wimpy Christians. 680 00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:21,800 They don't know. Am I the only one who's being 681 00:32:21,800 --> 00:32:23,760 attacked this way? And then they hear Daddy or Mama 682 00:32:23,760 --> 00:32:26,160 share something, and they're like, oh, my goodness. 683 00:32:26,640 --> 00:32:28,600 And instead of Daddy and Mama having the final answer, they 684 00:32:28,600 --> 00:32:31,640 say we don't know what to do. So guess what we're about to do. 685 00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:33,840 We're going to pray. And then they get to see the 686 00:32:33,840 --> 00:32:36,640 Lord move. So it's this pattern of humility 687 00:32:36,640 --> 00:32:39,360 in a Christian household where it's like daddy and Mama gets 688 00:32:39,360 --> 00:32:41,960 dumped. Daddy and Mama talk about it to 689 00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:44,280 the degree that it's appropriate with the kids, depending on what 690 00:32:44,280 --> 00:32:48,240 it is age appropriate, depending on what The thing is. 691 00:32:48,640 --> 00:32:51,480 But spiritual things kids need to hear about, man, I grew up 692 00:32:51,480 --> 00:32:54,560 here in mom and dad process spiritual conversations. 693 00:32:54,840 --> 00:32:57,240 So like they get to, they get to mature even if they're not 694 00:32:57,240 --> 00:32:59,200 talking, even if they're just in the back seat. 695 00:32:59,400 --> 00:33:01,880 But they're getting here, daddy and Mama talking and they're 696 00:33:01,920 --> 00:33:04,760 they're, they're connecting dots and maybe they seem like they're 697 00:33:04,760 --> 00:33:07,400 not listening, but they are. They're learning, they're 698 00:33:07,400 --> 00:33:10,240 processing, and they're seeing. This is what healthy marriage 699 00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:12,120 looks like too. We discuss the things of the 700 00:33:12,120 --> 00:33:15,000 Lord together. That was the first thing we the 701 00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:17,360 first practical way we do it is in the motions of life. 702 00:33:17,640 --> 00:33:20,680 The second way we practically do it is in the church. 703 00:33:21,520 --> 00:33:26,000 Sunday worship should be an immovable, fruitful tree. 704 00:33:26,800 --> 00:33:29,960 It is a wonderful gift to gather with God's people. 705 00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:32,880 Sunday worship is a priority of all priorities. 706 00:33:33,080 --> 00:33:35,400 A fruitful tree. When you go to cut the grass in 707 00:33:35,400 --> 00:33:39,280 your yard and you come across a big tree, do you plow over it? 708 00:33:39,640 --> 00:33:41,360 You don't. You go around it. 709 00:33:41,560 --> 00:33:44,640 Everything in the yard has to be built around this tree because 710 00:33:44,640 --> 00:33:47,240 this tree is not moving. This tree is here to stay. 711 00:33:47,400 --> 00:33:52,280 This tree has roots that go down 306090 feet in all directions 712 00:33:52,280 --> 00:33:54,680 into the ground. This tree is the thing that we 713 00:33:54,680 --> 00:33:57,200 build around. You can build a tree house in 714 00:33:57,200 --> 00:33:59,160 the tree, but we're not cutting down the tree. 715 00:33:59,160 --> 00:34:00,520 We're not stump grinding the tree. 716 00:34:00,520 --> 00:34:02,480 We're not going out. We're going to ignore the tree. 717 00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:05,200 This is what Sunday worship is supposed to be. 718 00:34:05,480 --> 00:34:09,040 This is an important and basic Christian obedience. 719 00:34:09,199 --> 00:34:12,000 It is not an ornament to your faith. 720 00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:14,360 It is not a luxury. It is not an exception. 721 00:34:14,480 --> 00:34:17,040 It's a spiritual need for Christian obedience. 722 00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:19,639 If it's raining, we go to church. 723 00:34:20,239 --> 00:34:22,040 If it's beautiful weather, guess what? 724 00:34:22,960 --> 00:34:25,679 We go to church. If we don't feel like it, we go 725 00:34:25,679 --> 00:34:28,440 to church. If it's Father's Day, we go to 726 00:34:28,440 --> 00:34:31,400 church. If it's someone's birthday, we 727 00:34:31,400 --> 00:34:34,520 go to church. It's a sports tournament, we go 728 00:34:34,520 --> 00:34:37,199 to church. If it's National Sleep In and 729 00:34:37,199 --> 00:34:40,960 Eat Ice Cream Day, we will violate National Sleep In and 730 00:34:40,960 --> 00:34:42,960 Eat Ice Cream Day, we'll go to church. 731 00:34:42,960 --> 00:34:44,760 You can have ice cream afterwards if you like. 732 00:34:46,320 --> 00:34:49,280 Why do we do all this? Because we want to be dogmatic. 733 00:34:49,280 --> 00:34:51,280 No, no, this is super basic stuff. 734 00:34:51,560 --> 00:34:54,760 Not to earn favor with God, but because He has already poured 735 00:34:54,760 --> 00:34:58,480 His favor on us and we want to be in His presence and in His 736 00:34:58,480 --> 00:35:00,280 manifest presence with His people. 737 00:35:01,320 --> 00:35:03,960 This is a priority staple that I cannot overstate. 738 00:35:05,160 --> 00:35:07,320 And as a pastor, when you share these things, you're always 739 00:35:07,320 --> 00:35:09,720 worried that your flock is going to be offended. 740 00:35:11,360 --> 00:35:14,600 And at the same time, how much would I have to hate you to not 741 00:35:14,600 --> 00:35:18,520 tell you about one of the most powerful, simple staples of the 742 00:35:18,520 --> 00:35:21,200 Christian walk? So I do pound the pulpit on 743 00:35:21,200 --> 00:35:23,800 church attendance, on how I feel a little uncomfortable. 744 00:35:23,800 --> 00:35:28,680 We'll settle that for yourself. But it is so, so fundamental. 745 00:35:29,320 --> 00:35:31,560 There's one of the things I talk about with my clients there. 746 00:35:31,560 --> 00:35:34,120 There's different sales, as we talked about it in the coaching 747 00:35:34,120 --> 00:35:37,600 I do for husbands and fathers. And there's one of these sales, 748 00:35:37,600 --> 00:35:40,880 one of these really practical things that I say is like, if 749 00:35:40,880 --> 00:35:43,320 you're only going to do 1, do this one. 750 00:35:43,320 --> 00:35:46,400 And it's a weekly family meeting because it's just so 751 00:35:46,400 --> 00:35:49,080 overpowered. Like you fight so far out of 752 00:35:49,080 --> 00:35:51,520 your weight class with just this one weekly family meeting. 753 00:35:51,680 --> 00:35:54,440 The value that it brings to shape a family culture, the 754 00:35:54,440 --> 00:35:57,520 value that it brings to change the dynamic in a household, it's 755 00:35:57,520 --> 00:36:00,600 just a superpower. It's just like so, so, so simple 756 00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:04,200 to say, hey, if you do nothing else, start leading a weekly 757 00:36:04,200 --> 00:36:07,280 family meeting and it'll be like an incredible superpower for 758 00:36:07,280 --> 00:36:10,880 your family culture to the same thing to a new believer that 759 00:36:10,880 --> 00:36:14,840 what do I do now? Like, well, here's the most 760 00:36:14,880 --> 00:36:19,120 obvious superpower state law could give you like be in the 761 00:36:19,120 --> 00:36:22,280 church faithfully with the body of believers hearing the word of 762 00:36:22,280 --> 00:36:24,160 God preach and get in that fellowship. 763 00:36:24,440 --> 00:36:27,280 Like do not pass go, do not collect $200. 764 00:36:27,560 --> 00:36:29,360 Like why? Well, because that's the thing 765 00:36:29,360 --> 00:36:31,800 that's going to guarantee and secure all the other things that 766 00:36:31,800 --> 00:36:33,920 you need to keep building. Shouldn't they read their Bible? 767 00:36:33,920 --> 00:36:35,920 Should they pray? Yes, yes, yes, and a million 768 00:36:35,920 --> 00:36:39,040 more things. And also this is the power 769 00:36:39,040 --> 00:36:42,400 station in a sense that's going to continue to keep them trained 770 00:36:42,400 --> 00:36:44,680 and equipped and built up and loved and secured. 771 00:36:44,680 --> 00:36:48,360 And so we just prioritize this and it's just obvious. 772 00:36:48,880 --> 00:36:52,120 If the boys had had a jiu jitsu tournament today, guess where 773 00:36:52,120 --> 00:36:54,920 they would have been we'd have been here. 774 00:36:55,320 --> 00:36:57,320 Oh, sorry, boys, We'll we'll find another one that's on a 775 00:36:57,320 --> 00:36:58,800 different day of the week. Oh, they're all moving to 776 00:36:58,800 --> 00:36:59,920 Sundays. Oh well, they're dumb. 777 00:37:00,720 --> 00:37:02,000 Bummer. That's this. 778 00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:03,960 I would have loved to go to those tournaments, but it's not 779 00:37:03,960 --> 00:37:08,040 happening and it's not like let's vote about it. 780 00:37:08,160 --> 00:37:10,200 Let's think about it. Should we start to shift our 781 00:37:10,200 --> 00:37:14,520 family culture around jiu jitsu? No Jiu jitsu doesn't save them 782 00:37:14,520 --> 00:37:16,120 from their sins. Jiu jitsu doesn't heal their 783 00:37:16,120 --> 00:37:19,400 bodies. Jiu jitsu isn't going to provide 784 00:37:19,520 --> 00:37:22,080 for their futures, but the Lord will and the Lord does. 785 00:37:22,960 --> 00:37:26,320 So in the church. This is an important thing for 786 00:37:26,320 --> 00:37:29,160 us to continue to do. And also notice in verse 15, 787 00:37:29,600 --> 00:37:33,080 we're back in chapter 19 here. And he laid his hands on them 788 00:37:33,480 --> 00:37:36,240 and then they went away. He laid his hands on them. 789 00:37:37,320 --> 00:37:38,760 It doesn't say Jesus healed them. 790 00:37:38,800 --> 00:37:40,880 He didn't preach to them. He just touched them. 791 00:37:41,200 --> 00:37:44,600 The laying on of hands is an important biblical ministry. 792 00:37:45,040 --> 00:37:48,040 Laying on of hands can't happen through a podcast, it can't 793 00:37:48,040 --> 00:37:50,480 happen through a live stream, and it can't happen through 794 00:37:50,480 --> 00:37:52,880 Voxer. All throughout Scripture we see 795 00:37:52,880 --> 00:37:55,480 the laying on of hands. This is how we ordain pastors in 796 00:37:55,480 --> 00:37:57,600 the body of Christ. Yet we put our hand. 797 00:37:57,600 --> 00:38:00,240 Why? Why are are we the superpower? 798 00:38:00,240 --> 00:38:02,560 No. And yet still we walk out our 799 00:38:02,560 --> 00:38:04,560 obedience to the Lord in this way. 800 00:38:04,800 --> 00:38:08,720 Physical presence matters. A handshake, a hug, a hand on 801 00:38:08,720 --> 00:38:11,240 the shoulder. These things carry the weight of 802 00:38:11,240 --> 00:38:14,600 heaven in a way that we can recognize even though we might 803 00:38:14,600 --> 00:38:17,280 not be able to measure them. Can you? 804 00:38:17,320 --> 00:38:19,480 Can you measure it? No, I don't think I can measure 805 00:38:19,480 --> 00:38:20,680 it. Can you prove it? 806 00:38:21,040 --> 00:38:23,080 I don't think I have to. I think it's self-evident. 807 00:38:23,440 --> 00:38:25,000 We already recognize these things. 808 00:38:25,000 --> 00:38:27,080 We can sense these things. We can feel these things. 809 00:38:27,080 --> 00:38:29,920 They matter. What's the third way that we can 810 00:38:29,920 --> 00:38:31,640 lead our kids Practically, simply and clearly. 811 00:38:31,640 --> 00:38:33,000 The first was in the motions of life. 812 00:38:33,160 --> 00:38:36,680 The second was in the church. The third is in prayer. 813 00:38:38,200 --> 00:38:42,000 And this is where all the work really is done because even 814 00:38:42,000 --> 00:38:44,000 through those other two, prayer was included. 815 00:38:44,480 --> 00:38:46,120 Prayer is included in the motions of life. 816 00:38:46,120 --> 00:38:49,600 Prayers included in the church. But prayer? 817 00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:53,680 Pray for your children regularly and pray for your children 818 00:38:53,680 --> 00:38:55,920 expectantly. Don't pray. 819 00:38:55,920 --> 00:38:57,840 Fingers crossed. Prayers for your kids. 820 00:38:58,280 --> 00:39:02,000 Pray heartfelt prayers that put pressure on God Almighty to move 821 00:39:02,000 --> 00:39:03,320 and to come through for your children. 822 00:39:03,600 --> 00:39:05,280 Pray a prayer of faith that goes. 823 00:39:06,240 --> 00:39:08,600 If that doesn't get happened, then everybody's, then that 824 00:39:08,600 --> 00:39:10,280 prayer will be exposed. Good. 825 00:39:10,600 --> 00:39:12,360 Now you know you're praying with some edge. 826 00:39:12,360 --> 00:39:14,480 Now you know you're praying in a way that the Lord has to do 827 00:39:14,480 --> 00:39:17,320 something or that prayer was officially not answered. 828 00:39:17,440 --> 00:39:19,600 But don't pray vague prayers for your children. 829 00:39:19,960 --> 00:39:22,680 Don't pray bland prayers for your children. 830 00:39:22,680 --> 00:39:26,000 Pray specific prayers for your children precisely that they 831 00:39:26,000 --> 00:39:28,400 would get in the Lord's presence and that the Lord's presence 832 00:39:28,520 --> 00:39:31,360 would get in them. Because that's the key. 833 00:39:31,840 --> 00:39:33,400 That was the key for Little John Michael. 834 00:39:33,880 --> 00:39:37,360 By the time the world got to me with its philosophies and its 835 00:39:37,360 --> 00:39:39,840 ideas, it was too late for me. Why? 836 00:39:39,840 --> 00:39:43,400 Because Mom and Dad had drilled in principles and said, no, no, 837 00:39:43,400 --> 00:39:47,000 that's not the correct apologetic response to that 838 00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:48,800 worldview. I didn't get any of that. 839 00:39:49,120 --> 00:39:53,680 Mom and Dad did like 0.0 worldview apologetics training 840 00:39:53,680 --> 00:39:56,360 for us growing up. But you know what I got? 841 00:39:56,720 --> 00:39:58,200 I grew up in the presence of God. 842 00:39:58,560 --> 00:40:00,960 So by the time I'm running into all these other things, I'm 843 00:40:00,960 --> 00:40:03,000 going, I don't have an answer for that. 844 00:40:03,640 --> 00:40:06,480 But it's too late for me because I've already seen him and walked 845 00:40:06,480 --> 00:40:08,880 with him and know him. I don't have an answer to that 846 00:40:08,880 --> 00:40:11,120 question, that question, that question, that question, or that 847 00:40:11,120 --> 00:40:14,360 question. Curious about some of it, but 848 00:40:14,520 --> 00:40:16,720 I'm in knock. I'm protected from that. 849 00:40:17,280 --> 00:40:20,000 I'm covered from that. I'm insulated from that in the 850 00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:22,400 presence of God. Oh, sounds like you're a little 851 00:40:22,400 --> 00:40:23,800 sheep. Perfect. 852 00:40:24,320 --> 00:40:27,160 That's exactly right. Almost sounds like I'm childlike 853 00:40:27,360 --> 00:40:29,760 in my faith, doesn't it? Almost sounds like the thing 854 00:40:29,760 --> 00:40:32,720 that persuaded and won me over was the power of the gospel 855 00:40:32,720 --> 00:40:35,640 itself. Instead of having all the right 856 00:40:35,640 --> 00:40:38,080 answers to all the things that we think are going to make a 857 00:40:38,080 --> 00:40:40,520 difference for people. That's what made the difference 858 00:40:40,520 --> 00:40:43,080 for me. That's what kept me safe even 859 00:40:43,080 --> 00:40:46,360 when I was backsliding, even when I was turning from the 860 00:40:46,360 --> 00:40:49,960 Lord, The thing that kept gripping me was his actual 861 00:40:49,960 --> 00:40:53,280 presence. It was not guilty Christianity. 862 00:40:53,560 --> 00:40:55,240 I did not feel guilty Christianity. 863 00:40:55,480 --> 00:40:58,960 I did feel guilt and I did feel conviction for my sin, but I was 864 00:40:58,960 --> 00:41:01,800 not drawn back to the Lord by I'm bad. 865 00:41:02,280 --> 00:41:04,640 The Bible Belt Christians wouldn't approve of me. 866 00:41:04,720 --> 00:41:08,960 I was drawn back to the Lord because he was in me already and 867 00:41:08,960 --> 00:41:12,080 I was still being drawn. So I remember being on my way to 868 00:41:12,080 --> 00:41:16,680 go to parties to get drunk with my friends, praying in tongues, 869 00:41:17,560 --> 00:41:20,600 saying God help me escape my stupid flesh. 870 00:41:21,160 --> 00:41:25,000 And then I know I go to the youth group and repent with 871 00:41:25,000 --> 00:41:27,160 genuine I, I put it in air quotes I shouldn't have. 872 00:41:27,160 --> 00:41:28,800 Then I repent because I'm genuinely sorry. 873 00:41:28,880 --> 00:41:30,400 What is that? That's immaturity, that's 874 00:41:30,400 --> 00:41:31,520 weakness. That's like lack of 875 00:41:31,520 --> 00:41:33,080 discipleship. That's also too much freedom. 876 00:41:33,200 --> 00:41:35,080 There's a, there's multiple factors that were going on 877 00:41:35,080 --> 00:41:37,880 there, but what, what had gripped me, what had got me the 878 00:41:37,880 --> 00:41:42,320 presence of God, the Lord wrecked me with himself in the 879 00:41:42,320 --> 00:41:45,040 best way possible and that made all the difference. 880 00:41:45,400 --> 00:41:47,040 That's what you should pray for your children. 881 00:41:47,240 --> 00:41:49,640 Pray that the Lord would grip them and that he wouldn't turn 882 00:41:49,640 --> 00:41:51,760 them loose. Not just that they would be nice 883 00:41:51,760 --> 00:41:55,320 boys and nice girls. Don't pray that for your kids. 884 00:41:55,480 --> 00:41:57,520 Pray that they would be dangerous weapons, that they 885 00:41:57,520 --> 00:42:00,680 would be arrows that you fire out into the face of your enemy. 886 00:42:00,880 --> 00:42:04,440 And you do have one and he wants to destroy your kids and your 887 00:42:04,440 --> 00:42:08,520 grandkids and beyond. Pray for their hearts to be 888 00:42:08,520 --> 00:42:11,040 soft. Pray against the lives of the 889 00:42:11,040 --> 00:42:12,560 enemy that target their identity. 890 00:42:13,240 --> 00:42:16,720 Pray that they would see the goodness and the glory of Jesus. 891 00:42:16,720 --> 00:42:18,440 And we're going to start closing. 892 00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:21,240 Bring that music up. Some Mama and them can know to 893 00:42:21,240 --> 00:42:28,600 bring the littles back in. Actually, you might need to let 894 00:42:28,600 --> 00:42:30,240 them know. Chan, just walk in there. 895 00:42:32,800 --> 00:42:36,480 Pray for their future spouses. Pray for their calling on their 896 00:42:36,480 --> 00:42:38,160 lives. Pray for their protection. 897 00:42:38,160 --> 00:42:40,680 Pray for their obedience. This is for your kids that are 898 00:42:40,680 --> 00:42:41,920 born. This is for your kids that 899 00:42:41,920 --> 00:42:44,720 aren't yet born. Pray that you would parent with 900 00:42:44,720 --> 00:42:47,440 wisdom, with clarity, and with tenderness. 901 00:42:47,560 --> 00:42:49,600 Do not underestimate what God is doing. 902 00:42:49,600 --> 00:42:52,160 When you cry out for your children, when you intercede, 903 00:42:52,720 --> 00:42:54,960 you're going to places that they might not be going for 904 00:42:54,960 --> 00:42:57,480 themselves in the Spirit. You're clearing the path in the 905 00:42:57,480 --> 00:42:59,120 Spirit. You might not always know what 906 00:42:59,120 --> 00:43:01,960 to say to your child, but you can always say their name in the 907 00:43:01,960 --> 00:43:05,280 throne room of heaven. You can always lift them up 908 00:43:05,280 --> 00:43:07,000 again. You can always say, Lord, 909 00:43:07,000 --> 00:43:09,120 they're yours. You can always devote them 910 00:43:09,120 --> 00:43:13,680 again, Dedicate them again, and that's a gift and a blessing to 911 00:43:13,680 --> 00:43:17,240 a parent's heart. To know that it's not all on me. 912 00:43:17,240 --> 00:43:18,840 Oh, I think of all the mistakes I've made. 913 00:43:18,840 --> 00:43:21,720 Some of your kids are grown and you go, oh, if I could go back 914 00:43:21,720 --> 00:43:26,160 if and wish and all those other things we have today and we 915 00:43:26,160 --> 00:43:29,120 still have a living God. So as long as our children are 916 00:43:29,120 --> 00:43:32,360 living and breathing, then the living God can still grip their 917 00:43:32,360 --> 00:43:36,200 hearts and still rescue them. It is not too late. 918 00:43:37,160 --> 00:43:39,560 This is this is a message that should bring you hope. 919 00:43:39,760 --> 00:43:40,800 This should bring you conviction. 920 00:43:40,800 --> 00:43:43,040 This should bring you joy and excitement to go. 921 00:43:43,320 --> 00:43:46,320 My God is on the move. My God is moving in my kids 922 00:43:46,320 --> 00:43:47,120 lives. How do you know? 923 00:43:47,120 --> 00:43:50,440 Because I'm praying and I know there's warfare taking place. 924 00:43:50,440 --> 00:43:52,240 Well, I've been praying for a long time and I haven't seen 925 00:43:52,240 --> 00:43:53,960 anything yet. Don't stop praying. 926 00:43:54,400 --> 00:43:57,720 Do not give up. Do not stop praying. 927 00:44:00,040 --> 00:44:03,120 Daniel prayed and prayed and prayed 21 days. 928 00:44:03,120 --> 00:44:06,160 An Angel said I was held up. The Prince of Persia. 929 00:44:06,480 --> 00:44:09,160 That is some weird stuff. You ever read your Bible and 930 00:44:09,160 --> 00:44:13,440 think it's weird or just me? OK, so he's been praying, he 931 00:44:13,440 --> 00:44:16,120 says, but I was sent as soon as you began to pray. 932 00:44:17,880 --> 00:44:20,520 But if Daniel had prayed, I guess it's not coming. 933 00:44:21,000 --> 00:44:22,280 How does all that work? I don't know. 934 00:44:22,280 --> 00:44:24,920 It's not my jurisdiction. My responsibility is to keep 935 00:44:24,920 --> 00:44:26,720 praying. Your responsibility is to keep 936 00:44:26,720 --> 00:44:29,080 praying. Prince of Persia, the angels, 937 00:44:29,080 --> 00:44:30,760 the Lord, that's his jurisdiction. 938 00:44:30,880 --> 00:44:33,560 But what am I supposed to do? There's our little blessings. 939 00:44:34,880 --> 00:44:39,280 We're supposed to keep praying, keep praying, keep expecting. 940 00:44:40,040 --> 00:44:43,480 If you want your child to know Jesus, then you go deeper into 941 00:44:43,480 --> 00:44:45,400 his presence. If you want them to believe the 942 00:44:45,400 --> 00:44:47,560 gospel, then you live like it's true. 943 00:44:47,680 --> 00:44:50,880 If you want them to walk with Jesus, then walk with him in 944 00:44:50,880 --> 00:44:55,080 front of them. And to the children, I give you 945 00:44:55,080 --> 00:44:59,640 this charge to the young men, to the young women, to the boys and 946 00:44:59,640 --> 00:45:04,440 to the girls. Obey your father and mother in 947 00:45:04,440 --> 00:45:06,720 the Lord. Honor them. 948 00:45:08,000 --> 00:45:10,480 This is the command that comes with a promise. 949 00:45:11,440 --> 00:45:13,800 Do not wait for your parents to be perfect. 950 00:45:14,680 --> 00:45:17,120 They will never be perfect. They have never been perfect. 951 00:45:17,320 --> 00:45:19,080 But Jesus is calling you right now. 952 00:45:19,080 --> 00:45:21,640 Little ones, boys and girls, eyeballs on me. 953 00:45:21,640 --> 00:45:26,240 Little ones, eyeballs on me. Boys, girls, young men, young 954 00:45:26,240 --> 00:45:29,040 women, everyone who can anyway. I know that's not a reason for 955 00:45:29,040 --> 00:45:34,080 all of them. Jesus loves you, your daddy 956 00:45:34,080 --> 00:45:38,640 loves you, your mommy loves you. I love you, God loves you. 957 00:45:38,720 --> 00:45:41,000 He cares about you, He thinks about you. 958 00:45:41,240 --> 00:45:44,640 You should follow Jesus. You should love and follow 959 00:45:44,640 --> 00:45:47,360 Jesus. Not even if daddy and mommy stop 960 00:45:47,360 --> 00:45:49,960 following Jesus, They never will. 961 00:45:50,360 --> 00:45:53,480 But even if they did, you should love and follow Jesus no matter 962 00:45:53,480 --> 00:45:57,480 what, because Jesus is worthy. And in this church you have no 963 00:45:57,480 --> 00:45:59,000 excuse. You've heard the gospel. 964 00:45:59,000 --> 00:46:01,600 You've heard me plead with you. I'm sure your parents have 965 00:46:01,600 --> 00:46:04,600 pleaded with you. Love and follow the Lord. 966 00:46:04,720 --> 00:46:07,680 You have nothing else to do. You have nothing better to do. 967 00:46:07,920 --> 00:46:10,480 It's for this purpose that you were created. 968 00:46:10,640 --> 00:46:13,520 So come to him, trust him, and obey him. 969 00:46:13,720 --> 00:46:16,560 What we're going to do now is moms and dads are going to pray 970 00:46:16,560 --> 00:46:19,320 over their kids. So if your kids are with you, 971 00:46:19,720 --> 00:46:23,320 gather them tight to you. And we're actually going to sing 972 00:46:23,320 --> 00:46:25,840 as we as we pray together. So there's one more song we're 973 00:46:25,840 --> 00:46:26,880 going to do as we close.