Participants:
Series Code: BTLP
Program Code: BTLP000106A
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00:39 Hello and welcome to Behold the Lamb presents.
00:41 I'm Chris Shelton, your host, 00:42 I want to thank you for joining us today. 00:45 This is message number 14 out of 25 Bible studies 00:49 that correlate with this Bible study guide 00:52 entitled Sharing God's Love Makes You Happier 00:56 What The Bible Says. 00:57 We're working together with Brother Richard Bland 01:00 of United Prison Ministries 01:01 and developing accompanying messages 01:04 to his God given Bible studies. 01:06 This study guide was developed 01:08 to address the 25 most asked questions 01:11 Brother Richard has received 01:13 in his many years of Bible study. 01:15 And without a doubt, 01:17 today's topic deals with a heart wrenching, 01:20 soul searching, 01:21 and prayer pleading question for sure, 01:24 and that being of successful parenting. 01:27 I know it was for me, I prayed for my children 01:30 while they were yet in the womb. 01:32 I pray that the Lord would send the right person 01:35 into their lives to be wonderful, 01:37 godly helpmates once they were grown. 01:40 And I still pray daily for their protection from evil, 01:44 and for them to be convicted 01:46 and to be converted to the truths of God's Word. 01:49 Being a Christian mother, 01:51 we know all too well that the enemy is out to prey 01:54 upon our children and to steal them away 01:56 from having an eternal home in heaven. 01:59 There are steps that we all need to take 02:01 in order to have successful parenting skills. 02:05 But before we discover some of these steps 02:08 with Pastor Kenny Shelton today, 02:10 let's visit 3ABN and listen to a song 02:13 that is entitled "Because of Who You Are" 02:17 as sung by my sister-in-law, Tammy Chance. 02:28 You spoke the words 02:30 And all the worlds came into order 02:35 You raised Your hands 02:37 And planets filled the empty skies 02:42 You placed the woman and the man 02:46 Inside the garden 02:49 And though they fell 02:51 They found compassion in Your eyes 02:56 Oh, Lord, I stand amazed 03:00 At the wonder of it all 03:04 Yet a greater wonder brings me to my knees 03:10 Lord, I praise You because of who You are 03:17 Not for all the mighty deeds that You have done 03:24 Lord, I worship You because of who You are 03:31 It's all the reason that I need to voice my praise 03:37 Because of who You are 03:45 One holy night 03:47 You sent Your promise from a virgin 03:52 And promise grew till He revealed to us 03:57 Your heart 03:59 Enduring love displayed throughout Your Crucifixion 04:06 And through Your depth, 04:08 You tore the dark and grave apart 04:13 Oh, Lord, I stand amazed 04:17 At the wonder of it all 04:21 Yet a greater wonder brings me to my knees 04:27 Lord, I praise You because of who You are 04:34 Not for all the mighty deeds that You have done 04:41 Lord, I worship You because of who You are 04:48 You're all the reason that I need to voice my praise 04:55 Lord, I praise You because of who You are 05:01 Not for all the mighty deeds that You have done 05:08 Lord, I worship You because of who You are 05:15 You're all the reason that I need to voice my praise 05:21 Because of who You are 05:28 Because of who You are 05:35 Because of who You are 05:53 Thanks for joining us once again here 05:55 at Behold the Lamb Ministries, 05:56 and we appreciate so much coming into your home. 05:59 Now, again we may be through the television, 06:00 may through be radio or whatever it might be, 06:03 but we thoroughly enjoy spending this time with you 06:05 as you write and tell us, praise God for that. 06:08 And we want to continue to encourage you. 06:10 You remember us in your prayer and financial support 06:13 that we may get this message around the world 06:15 and then Jesus can come. 06:16 You won't want to miss this, as you heard on those, 06:18 my wife introduced this program, 06:20 we're going to be talking about successful parenting. 06:23 You may wonder where that's going to go. 06:25 But, you know, we're going to go into the Word of God 06:27 because God has a lot to say 06:28 about being a successful parent. 06:31 And some of us look at ourselves in the mirror 06:32 and say, "Oh, God, have mercy on me." 06:34 And He will. 06:35 But before we get into, let's kneel, shall we? 06:37 I'm going to kneel here 06:38 if you'd like to kneel and pray with me. 06:40 Let's do it together. 06:42 Loving Father in heaven, we thank You for Your Word, 06:44 we thank you for this privilege, 06:45 this opportunity 06:46 to be able to lift our voice and praise adoration 06:49 to find out what You have to say 06:51 about this wonderful, wonderful subject of parenting. 06:54 Bless us now, we pray with the power of thy Spirit. 06:56 Bless every word, everything that's said and done. 06:58 May hearts and minds be open. 06:59 Maybe we receive that what You have for us, 07:01 and we thank you in advance, in Jesus' name, amen. 07:06 Again, it's important to have your Bible, 07:07 I always encourage you to do that. 07:08 Get a pencil and paper 07:10 'cause everything that's said from the pulpit 07:11 doesn't necessarily mean that it's true. 07:13 And so you have to check. 07:14 The Bible says, "Study to show thyself," what? 07:17 "Approved unto God." So that's what we do. 07:19 You have to check it out 07:20 because the sign out front says a certain name, 07:22 because, you know, we say, 07:24 "Well, the Bible said, the preacher said." 07:25 What does the Bible say? 07:27 I'm going to bring this up. 07:28 I don't know if they studied in another class 07:29 or anything different, 07:31 but these are things that's going on in the world. 07:32 I want to spend least amount of time as I can, 07:35 but I think it's very important to realize 07:36 that we're in the end of time. 07:38 Does everybody agree? 07:39 We feel like we're in the end of time, 07:40 Jesus is coming, 07:42 things are going to be happening, 07:43 they are happening, 07:44 just one thing after the other. 07:46 So every day you open your eyes, 07:47 something that big is happening. 07:48 This is in the rotunda 07:50 by the way of the Illinois State Capitol. 07:53 That's in Springfield. 07:55 So this is, you know, in the rotunda, 07:56 something has been put there. 07:58 There's now a satanic statute. 08:01 Did anybody read that in a paper? 08:02 Now there's a satanic statue, right, 08:05 that's in the rotunda there. 08:07 They're celebrating both Santa and Satan. 08:11 Kind of interesting, isn't it? 08:13 Why are they doing these things? 08:14 Think about it. 08:15 Which if I say celebrating Santa 08:17 and celebrating Satan. 08:19 Boy, oh, boy, if I don't say this, 08:22 I'd be ashamed of myself later. 08:23 They both have the same origin. 08:27 Tomorrow you'll get this. 08:28 No, you're not going to get it now. 08:30 Both have the same origin. 08:32 Now again, a lie is a lie. 08:34 Are you still with me now? 08:36 And it comes from the what? 08:38 Father of lies in John what? 8:44, 08:40 it comes from the father of lies. 08:42 You want what they named this Satanic statue? 08:47 Snaketivity? 08:48 Do you have heard Snaketivity? 08:51 It depicts a hand holding an apple 08:55 with a snake wrapped around its arm. 08:57 Think about it. 08:59 The statue was designed, and founded, 09:01 and funded by satanic temple of Chicago. 09:05 That's kind of interesting, there's a Christmas tree there, 09:08 there's the nativity scene there, 09:11 there's a seven branch candlestick 09:13 that represent that which was in the Old Testament, 09:16 you know, sanctuary. 09:19 Yeah, menorah, which is people wouldn't understand that part, 09:22 but they do now. 09:23 This is good, but Exodus, I think, 37, 09:26 you can find that in. 09:28 This is according to the Dr. Dave Druker. 09:31 He's a press secretary of Illinois, 09:33 secretary of state. 09:34 So this coming from a good source here. 09:37 It sets on a four foot high base 09:40 that reads. 09:42 Now notice this, 09:43 "Knowledge is the greatest gift." 09:45 Well, right in there I have a problem 09:46 because I think Jesus is the greatest gift 09:48 that was given to mankind, don't you? 09:51 So what's going on here? 09:52 It's all about, remember the attack on what? 09:55 Religious freedom and what? 09:57 And our speech, 09:58 which is going on for a long time now. 10:01 According to this website, 10:03 Satan's temple has chapters all over the country. 10:08 This deals with what? 10:09 Our first amendment issue, keep that in mind. 10:12 It's interesting how we want to enforce and we want to, 10:15 you know, over here, we'll do this, 10:16 and over here, we'll do that. 10:18 But a lot of things here, 10:19 we don't have freedom of speech anymore. 10:21 You don't have freedom of press anymore, 10:23 you know, you have to be careful 10:24 to everything you say, 10:26 everybody is touchy, everybody gets upset, 10:27 words just kill people, you know. 10:30 And so we're not now, we're losing this freedom 10:33 to be able to present Jesus Christ to the world, 10:35 and we need to stand against it. 10:36 But here, if you're going to as they were, 10:39 they say, "If you're going to have Santa Claus in here, 10:41 "which they say is religious, it's really not, 10:44 then we must have something that represents the devil 10:46 because that's the way that we stand. 10:48 There's another holiday display, 10:51 this is from the Freedom from Religion foundation. 10:55 Freedom from what? 10:57 Freedom from religious... 10:58 It reads this, 10:59 "Religion is but a myth and superstition 11:03 that hardens hearts 11:05 and enslaves mind." 11:09 Isn't that kind of interesting? 11:11 When I read scripture, 11:12 I see a lot of words that's called free, don't you? 11:15 I see. 11:17 There's free, there's freedom, there's freely, 11:19 there's free will in the Bible talks about there, 11:22 there's a free man, there's a free woman there. 11:25 And you know what it says? 11:26 Bible says, you know, Jesus comes, 11:27 He sets us free from something. 11:29 John 8:32 simply says, 11:31 "The truth shall set you free." 11:35 So totally everything that they put down, 11:37 you can look in scripture and find this not so, why? 11:39 Because the enemy is behind it. 11:41 We need to be aware of. 11:43 This is one of the issues that's going to hit hard 11:45 because it's going to deal with taking books 11:47 that we want to give out, 11:49 whether it be the Bible or whatever, 11:50 and somebody is going to be offended 11:52 if you hand them a Bible. 11:53 They're offended. 11:54 If you hand them any other kind of book 11:56 that talks about Jesus, they're offended. 11:57 And so nowadays if anybody's offended, 11:58 all of a sudden there's an uproar, 12:00 if it's just one person. 12:01 Things are changed. 12:03 So we need to be careful, do work while we can. 12:05 We go to our successful parenting. 12:07 This is lesson number 14. 12:10 You know, I want to, maybe just ask a question 12:12 or let's think about this together. 12:14 You know, is there such a thing as a successful parent? 12:21 Yeah, and nobody's standing up and shouting, 12:23 so that's good news. 12:24 You know, we'll check you out if you said I am. 12:26 Is there such thing as a successful parent? 12:30 And then what does it take to be a successful parent? 12:33 Is there really such a thing? 12:35 Well, I'm sure there's many, maybe just a few 12:38 that would say, 12:39 "Well, yeah, yeah, 12:41 regardless of how the children turn out, 12:42 the moms and dads say, 12:44 'Yeah, I was a pretty good parent.' " 12:46 Kind of interesting, huh? 12:48 Would a parent be a good parent 12:50 if they decide they're going to give their children 12:53 everything that they didn't have 12:54 while they were growing up? 12:56 Does that make a good parent? 13:00 There are many of us than on the other side 13:03 that would have, say, "I would like another chance." 13:08 I sure would do things differently. 13:11 Have you heard that? 13:12 If I had to do it over, I'd sure do things differently. 13:14 Well, 13:16 since we can't really do that, in that sense, 13:19 are there things that can be done? 13:21 Even now in the lateness of the hour, 13:24 the lateness of the game, 13:25 the lateness of the family, 13:27 maturity of age and so on, 13:28 is there something that we can do that might help? 13:32 Because some of us say, 13:33 "Well, we just need to look around, 13:34 there's some good parents, but, you know what? 13:36 What may seem like good traits of one good parent 13:40 doesn't seem like that to another parent. 13:43 We have different definitions of what is a good parent. 13:48 I would say, just to throw something out 13:50 for us to think about, 13:51 a good parent, a good parent would, 13:54 a good parent would want their children 13:57 to stay out of trouble. 13:58 Let's start it simple. 14:00 A good parent would want your children 14:01 to do, what? 14:03 Stay out of trouble. 14:04 Don't get into trouble, you try to help them with that. 14:06 A good parent would say, "Oh, son/daughter, 14:08 I'd like for you to do well in school." 14:10 That may be good parent, wouldn't it be? 14:14 And then maybe as a parent, good parent, 14:15 we might say, "You know, we'd like for us 14:16 to have a good home life together." 14:18 Be a happy home together. 14:20 If all of us work together, it's going to be good." 14:23 Bet could there be more? 14:24 Could there possibly more 14:26 than just the semi simple things? 14:28 You know, what are a few qualities 14:30 of a good parent? 14:33 Well, we could just say today 14:34 that we're getting into the word. 14:36 A good parent would be caring. 14:39 A good parent cares about their children, 14:41 they care about other people. 14:45 Maybe another attribute would be affectionate. 14:47 And some of us have a more difficult time 14:49 with being affectionate than other people do. 14:52 A lot of people can show love real quick, and really easy, 14:54 and say, "I love you." 14:55 And other people have a difficult time with that. 14:57 But we need to be affectionate to our children. 15:00 We need to be able to say to them, "I love you." 15:03 And you need to say it more than once. 15:07 My dad to me was a good Christian man, 15:09 but way he was raised was different. 15:10 I never once 15:12 ever, ever heard him say, "I love you." 15:14 Never once. 15:17 My mom said to him one time, 15:18 "Honey, why don't you?" Mom did. 15:22 She said, "Honey, why don't you tell the boys." 15:24 It's before Tammy came along. 15:25 Why don't you tell the boys that you love them?" 15:29 And I happen to be standing close by, 15:31 and there's little guy like this, 15:32 he reached over and rub my head like this, 15:34 and He said, "Well, they know I do." 15:38 It takes maybe more than that. 15:40 And I did, I know, I never questioned that. 15:42 Even though it may be different from, 15:44 so I never questioned. 15:45 I knew he did. You know why? 15:46 By the way he treated me 15:49 was always fair, always just, 15:51 always good. 15:53 But a good parent, what do we say 15:54 would be able to communicate with their children. 15:57 This is one of the biggest problems 15:58 we have maybe in the world today 15:59 is to be able to communicate with grownups, 16:02 with each other, 16:03 rather than communicate with a child 16:06 who is growing, 16:07 you know, mentally, physically, spiritually in every which way, 16:10 and they're changing every day. 16:12 It's kind of hard, 16:14 sometimes difficult to communicate, 16:15 but we need to. 16:17 Maybe we could help by being a positive 16:20 as a parent role model. 16:22 If we're not a good role model, 16:23 then how are our children going to turn out? 16:25 They become of alike what they behold, 16:27 what they see, what they hear, 16:29 what's going on in the home 16:31 is the way they think they need to, 16:32 you know, deal with their issues. 16:35 And that starts at certainly at very young age. 16:38 And we need to be supportive, would we say that? 16:41 You want to be supportive of your child. 16:43 Even if they're doing the wrong thing, 16:44 you want to support where you can, 16:46 and you want to try to correct that. 16:48 Absolutely. 16:49 But you don't support them 16:50 in doing the wrong thing over and over. 16:52 There has to be a change somewhere 16:53 take place. 16:55 I do know this that there's no parent. 16:59 And if I'm wrong, somebody tell me that's here. 17:01 There's no parent that can be available 17:03 to their children 24/7. 17:06 Hello. 17:08 That'd be almost impossible, you know, 24/7. 17:12 But it's important to make time count 17:14 with him every day. 17:16 Now let's get this 17:18 before we get into some passage and think about. 17:19 It's important that we spend time 17:20 with them every day, 17:22 but notice this, 17:23 it must be without distractions. 17:27 Is it all right if the pastor say, 17:28 "I get aggravated." 17:30 Oh, come on, 17:32 you get aggravated, don't you sometime, 17:34 little upset? 17:35 You know, when you call, come in, 17:37 you know, family's going to go out 17:38 and they're going to have a meal. 17:39 You already know what I'm getting ready to say. 17:41 They go out and have a meal. 17:42 There's four of them, maybe they and the kids, right? 17:44 Mom and dad's on their phone, right? 17:45 Mom's on hers, dad's on his, right? 17:48 And the two kids are own theirs. 17:50 They never look at each other, 17:51 they never say anything to each other, 17:53 they're busy talking to everybody else 17:54 evidently wishing they were there 17:56 rather than where they are at. 17:58 It's the way it seems, doesn't it? 18:01 But that's not valuable time. 18:03 That is not the time we're talking about here, 18:06 it has to be without distraction. 18:08 A small, maybe little time, 18:11 whatever limit might, you might put on it, 18:13 that would be without the TV being on, 18:17 that would be without them 18:19 sitting in the front of computer, 18:20 and you trying to talk to them 18:22 when their mind is on the computer 18:23 and what's going on there 18:25 or again, the cell phone, whatever it might be. 18:30 Have a real conversation. 18:32 And part of our conversation as parents is to learn 18:35 and I've had a hard time to learn, learn to listen. 18:38 Listen to them, 18:39 be consistent with them in your love 18:42 and in your discipline. 18:44 Be consistent. 18:45 I often said with my dad, I was one of those sassy mouth, 18:48 I had to have a whip in just about every day 18:50 that I lived on this earth, 18:52 and that was up until my teenage years 18:54 because I had a quick mouth, 18:57 and so that cost me. 19:00 But I was... 19:01 My dad was always consistent in his discipline. 19:06 He never lost his temper, never screamed, never hollered, 19:09 he just did what he said 19:10 he was going to do if I did something. 19:15 The consistency was wonderful because as my earthly father, 19:18 it helped me to realize 19:19 my Heavenly Father is even more consistent 19:22 in dealing with me. 19:24 That helped me, 19:25 and I never one time ever thought 19:28 that I was being mistreated because I was corrected. 19:31 I simply got what I asked for. 19:36 I didn't seem like I asked for it that often, 19:38 but I did. 19:43 Good parents. 19:45 Now our young people don't like to hear it, 19:47 I didn't like to hear it when I was young, 19:48 good parents will always set boundaries. 19:51 Children are not adults, 19:53 and they don't need to be in every conversation 19:55 that mom and dad have. 19:56 Is somebody still with me? 19:58 Half of you will leave, that's all right, 20:00 because we need to hear. 20:02 They are not, they are not. 20:03 Don't care how smart they are, 20:05 they do not have the experience, 20:07 they do not have that which, you know, 20:09 you've gone through 20:10 to try to help make decisions in life. 20:13 And yes, sometimes, 20:14 you know, you've got to talk with them 20:16 and got to say here. 20:17 A lot of times we say, 20:19 this is what mom and I have decided 20:20 we're going to do. 20:25 A good parent will help their children 20:28 as we were taught to learn independence 20:32 and responsibility. 20:33 You will not raise up children to be lazy 20:38 and not carry their own weight. 20:39 Are you still with me? 20:40 They need a job. 20:42 Somebody not with me, I don't like to hear that. 20:46 They need a job. 20:47 I won't keep doing it or somebody, 20:49 they need a job, 20:51 and that starts at a very early age. 20:53 Listen carefully of what they are capable of. 20:56 And as a parent, you should know 20:58 what they're capable of. 20:59 A two-year-old, three-year-olds capable of doing something 21:02 to start with. 21:05 Pick up your toys. 21:06 I don't want to pick my toys. 21:08 You will pick up those toys. 21:09 And if they refuse to do, I help them, 21:11 to help them pick it up. 21:13 It's going to be done. 21:15 And apparently, we must learn not to say something 21:17 unless you're willing to back it up. 21:22 My dad often told my mom 21:24 that 'cause she would threaten the time or two. 21:27 Dad said, "Never do that." 21:29 She said, "Why don't you tell him?" 21:30 He said, "Because when I tell them, 21:32 then I'm going to back it up." 21:34 I don't give them three or four ways to get out of it. 21:37 So when I speak, 21:38 and it's going to have to brought to a head. 21:42 And he's going to certainly show 21:44 that he was in charge which parents are. 21:46 Be good parent. 21:48 But here's an issue. 21:49 And again, our time's going to run away 21:51 with us here, but I thought it's so interesting. 21:53 Let's think it through the child health 21:56 and development experts. 21:58 Are you still there? 22:00 Including the American Academy of Pediatrics, 22:04 have all said this, 22:06 have come out against using corporal punishment. 22:10 You know, no little tap, no little spank, 22:12 don't raise your voice, 22:14 don't do anything that may be, listen. 22:18 They said this, 22:20 "Extensive research has shown," 22:24 extensive, what? 22:26 Research has shown. 22:28 They say that punishment is not only harmful 22:31 for kids' development as well as parent-child relationship, 22:37 but it's also... 22:39 Listen to this, not effective in the long-term. 22:43 My dad hadn't did. 22:44 Mom did what they did, I'd be in jail still yet. 22:49 This is what the professionals are saying. 22:52 Now we're not looking 22:53 at what the professionals are saying, 22:55 in these studies, we have always... 22:56 This is the 14th one. 22:57 We've always went back and said, 22:59 "What does the Bible say?" 23:00 If you're going to go along with the world, 23:02 teachings of the world, 23:03 look, and I might repeat it again 23:05 after a while, but I still repeat it. 23:07 The world is in a mess, our children are in a mess. 23:10 It's getting worse and worse. 23:12 Five-year-olds are shooting each other. 23:13 There's disobedience on every side of spectrum 23:16 that you can think about, nothing is going right, 23:19 and still yet they had the boldness 23:21 to stand up and say, 23:22 this is a way that should be done. 23:24 Well, evidently, 23:25 something's wrong. 23:28 I say, you know, go back to the Word of God. 23:30 I'm not talking about abuse, 23:31 I'm not talking about overdoing it, 23:33 I'm talking about the way the Bible says to do it. 23:34 Does the Bible say anything about it? 23:38 You have your Bibles, 23:39 turn with me quickly in Proverbs. 23:40 If you don't care, I'm going to run through 23:42 just a few passages. 23:43 If we don't get any farther than this, it's okay. 23:47 I want to say just to begin with here 23:49 because in Proverbs Chapter 12, we'll start with. 23:52 Are you going to be with me? 23:54 If you can't look them up, 23:55 you jot them down because I think it's important. 23:58 I think I'm in Proverbs 20, 23:59 so that means I need to turn back a page or two. 24:03 Okay, Proverbs Chapter 12. 24:05 Our first one, notice this, verse 15. 24:07 Notice how we're going to set this up 24:09 as a foundation, notice. 24:12 "The way of a fool." 24:14 Now if I said. 24:16 I better not say this. 24:17 No, I'm just saying, 24:19 you know, if I said there's only fools in here, 24:21 would anybody get mad? 24:23 Well, we got one hand up. Levi said, "He's mad." 24:26 Well, since Levi's four years old, 24:28 he'll have to get over. 24:29 Now Josh, raised his hand, I'd have to rethink it. 24:33 Notice it said, "The way of a fool is right," where? 24:38 "In his own eyes, but he that hearkeneth 24:41 unto counsel is wise." 24:43 So we need counsel sometimes, don't we? 24:45 We need to work at it together. 24:46 We need to get the counsel from the Word of God, 24:48 not necessarily from the professionals 24:52 even though they're not always wrong, 24:53 and there are some good ones. 24:54 I'm not trying to condemn everyone, 24:56 I'm just simply saying something has went wrong 24:58 because we've turned away from God's way, 25:00 and we're doing the way of the world now, 25:02 and it's a mess. 25:05 These passages will just be in Proverbs, 25:08 so we'll just turn them. 25:09 I tried to make it easy for myself and for you too. 25:11 So we just kind of turned the page here, 25:13 a couple of pages. 25:14 Next verse is Proverbs 17:24, 25:18 Proverbs 17:24. 25:26 If I can find it myself. 25:28 Okay. 25:30 I'm going to read verse 25 instead, okay? 25:33 Are we there? 25:34 Proverbs 17:25, it says, "A foolish son is," what? 25:39 "Is a grief of his father and bitterness to her 25:42 that bare him." 25:44 Of what kind of son? 25:46 A foolish son is grief. 25:48 So it's talking about parent relation. 25:49 And remember, the children may turn out because of what? 25:52 We didn't do the right things. 25:54 So we're not just blaming the children here 25:55 because we didn't do the right things, 25:57 follow the counsel of God. 25:59 They will say, "We've got a mess on our hands, 26:01 and it becomes a grief." 26:02 And you know it 26:04 if your children have went haywire. 26:06 It's a real grief. 26:10 Even if they haven't went haywire, 26:12 and they've lost their first love, 26:13 which is Christ, 26:14 and they still went haywire, they're still a mess. 26:17 And that really hurts. 26:22 Proverbs 20:20, 26:24 here's what the Bible says, notice, Proverbs 20:20. 26:28 "Whoso curseth his father or his mother, 26:32 his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness." 26:36 Wow. 26:38 Son and daughter that turns up 26:40 on their father and their mother, 26:43 God said, your lamp, 26:44 your little fire is going to be put out. 26:46 My dad used to say, "I'm going to put you on fire." 26:51 Proverbs 22:15, 26:54 the Bible says, 26:57 "Foolishness..." 26:58 Are we there? 26:59 Proverbs 22:15, 27:01 "Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, 27:03 but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him." 27:08 What does the Bible say? 27:10 See, we have people who will just look and say, 27:12 "Oh, this is just all wrong." 27:13 Don't talk to me about that. 27:16 I'm not trying to be militant about it, 27:18 I'm just saying, Brother Mark, if you come to me and say, 27:20 well, I know what it says here, but I may just say no. 27:24 The Bible said, "Who are we to say," 27:26 well, that's wrong. 27:28 The Bible talking about here in a controlled way, 27:30 the way that a Christian should handle it, 27:32 here it says, 27:34 "Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child." 27:36 That's true. 27:38 They can't help, but we're all there, 27:39 some of us still are. 27:41 There's too much foolishness. 27:42 But it says the foolishness, rather the wrong doing, 27:45 doing their own thing when they want to do it, 27:47 it says right here, 27:49 but here you have the rod of correction 27:51 shall drive it far from him. 27:55 And that written in the original language 27:57 means a stick. 27:58 It also means a branch for correcting. 28:00 Are you still there? 28:02 That's exactly what it says. 28:03 See, everybody will say, "Oh, that's me." 28:05 If you were raised in a home where you never got a whipping, 28:08 you never got corrected at all, 28:09 you probably end up being in spoil. 28:12 I almost said, spoiled brat, I wished I had enough. 28:18 I don't know if any of this that child 28:19 that has ever been raised that doesn't need correcting. 28:22 I've heard people say, "I never need to whip him. 28:23 I never..." 28:25 No, you know what? 28:26 You never do it if you get your own way all the time. 28:28 It's when you get in trouble and I get in trouble 28:30 is when it goes against, right? 28:32 Something I want. 28:35 Nobody has any trouble with, somebody not there. 28:38 Not having trouble. 28:39 We don't have trouble with anything 28:41 about as long as we always get our way. 28:43 And I'm good with... 28:44 As long as I'm getting my way, I'm good. 28:46 It's when you cross me, and I don't get my way. 28:48 Then that's going to show 28:49 what kind of character you have. 28:52 The Bible says, 28:55 "Little stick might help out." 28:58 You say, "Well, I don't know if that's enough or not." 29:00 Well, surely it is. 29:02 But still yet, Proverbs 23:13, 14. 29:04 Are you there? 29:06 It's just the same page or next one. 29:07 Proverbs what? 29:08 Twenty three, good, 13, 14. 29:11 It says this, 29:12 "Withhold not correction from the child, 29:15 for if thou..." 29:16 Oh, my, this is the word 29:18 that people will rise up against 29:19 and throw you in jail. 29:20 "If thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. 29:24 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, 29:26 and shalt deliver his soul from hell." 29:29 Now that's pretty... 29:31 Ain't that pretty clear? 29:33 We're talking about getting control, 29:35 not abusive, 29:36 not to leave mark, 29:38 but it's talking about here, you have to realize. 29:39 The wages of sin is what? 29:41 Wages of sin is death. 29:43 The wages of disobedience, 29:44 you say too, there may be a just a little bit of pain. 29:48 I'd like to rather have 29:49 that little bit of correcting now 29:50 than to go on and live your life 29:52 and end up in hell. 29:53 Are you still with me? 29:54 This is what Jesus is saying here. 29:56 There needs to be some chastising. 29:58 He corrects us here, 30:00 but will deliver that individual. 30:01 If we say that's wrong, 30:03 they're determined to keep doing it, 30:04 then there has to be in that. 30:06 You got to bend the twig while you can. 30:08 When that twig gets too big, 30:09 I bet, you can't bend that twig. 30:11 They've got their own mind. 30:12 They may try to fool you thinking they've bent, 30:14 but they've not. 30:15 The way you bend a twig is 30:16 where you've been a little sapling. 30:18 You get a little crooked like sapling, 30:19 or little tree, it's all been over there, 30:21 you straighten it up. 30:22 You know, there's a lot of trees planted by the road, 30:23 they'll have a little boards in too before that? 30:25 What are they doing? 30:26 They're straightening it out because it's crooked. 30:28 And if you let it go, it'll get worse than that. 30:31 So you can't let it go. 30:33 Man, being a good parent, what it's talking about here. 30:38 You say, "Well, maybe that's enough." 30:39 Well, maybe it's not enough. 30:42 And if we just really think about this, 30:44 just cross the page, same chapter right there, 30:47 verse 24 and 25. 30:51 Notice what it says, 30:52 "The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: 30:56 he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him." 31:00 Wow. 31:02 "Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, 31:06 and she shall bare thee shall rejoice." 31:11 See, nothing brings more happiness to mom and dad 31:13 for the children to do well. 31:15 You want them to do well, 31:17 you're not trying to take anything away from them, 31:19 anything that's good from them. 31:22 Proverbs 29:15, 31:23 I might just keep going, I don't know. 31:26 There's another one here. 31:27 Proverbs 29:15, 16 or 17. 31:32 It says, "The rod and reproof giveth wisdom, 31:36 but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame." 31:39 Are you still there? 31:41 Verse 17, "Correct thy son, he shall give thee rest, 31:45 yea, he shall give thee the delight unto thy soul. 31:52 Proverbs 30:5. 31:54 Notice, "Every word of God is," what? 31:57 Things we just read here, what does the Bible say? 32:00 "Every word of God," in Proverbs 30:5, 32:03 "Every word of God is pure. 32:06 He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him." 32:11 So even though they say, "These may be personal, 32:14 our personal thoughts toward, well, we shouldn't do this, 32:17 and we shouldn't count, 32:18 and we should put them in a corner, 32:20 we should do everything. 32:21 That's not... 32:22 I never, I've never found that in here. 32:24 It might work in some cases, 32:25 it wouldn't have worked with me. 32:29 We have to know our child, we have to be willing to work. 32:30 And that's not popular today, 32:33 get yourself in trouble for that. 32:37 All of a sudden, one time my son, 32:40 it was years ago that, 32:41 you know, when you got a whipping at school, 32:44 you got a whip when you got home. 32:46 Say nowadays, you say, 32:48 "Well, who you're going to trust?" 32:49 The teacher, oh, don't know. 32:50 Well, then you trust the teacher, 32:52 you knew who they were. 32:53 So got home, Jeremy brought a little note with him. 32:55 He's about seven or eight. 32:57 He said, "Well, I got a whipping at school." 32:59 I said, "Well, oh, Jay, 33:01 you know, I'm going to work most time, 33:03 and last thing you want to do when you come home was 33:04 have some confrontation, 33:06 you know, you'd like for it to be nice and quiet." 33:08 I said, "Jay, you know what that means?" 33:10 "Yeah, I do but. 33:12 Well, but, but..." 33:14 "And I said, "Well, but what?" 33:16 He said, "Well, one of my classmates told me 33:18 you can't do that anymore." 33:20 Oh man, all of a sudden I felt the hair on my neck 33:25 starts to stand up. 33:26 Obviously, I've got some on my arms now stand, 33:28 and said, "He's challenging." 33:30 And so I thought, "Well, okay," I said, 33:32 "Well, what are you talking about Jeremy?" 33:34 "Well, they told me that you can't anymore 33:36 because that's a form of abuse, 33:38 and all I have to do is call the police, 33:40 and they'll come and get you, 33:42 and put you in jail if you do it, so now..." 33:44 I said, "So now, here's the phone. 33:47 I suggest that you call the police right now. 33:50 And I'm going to beat you until they get here." 33:53 Okay, nobody's getting. 33:54 Now I wasn't going to do it, but you follow what I'm saying? 33:56 He was bold. 33:58 He was going to challenge the laws, 33:59 and I simply said, "No, you go ahead." 34:01 I did, I gave... 34:03 That time when you still had the phone you did. 34:05 I said, "Dial the number yourself, 34:07 Jeremy, and I'm going to start in on you. 34:11 And they'll have to pull me off when they get here." 34:14 And I said, "Now, what do you think about it?" 34:17 He said, "Oh, no, dad, I don't want that. 34:19 I'm not calling anybody." 34:21 I said, "Good idea, 34:22 now let's get your spanking get over with." 34:24 Yeah, well, I know it's too difficult to some 34:25 if you're not raised that way, 34:27 but I'm telling you got to do what... 34:28 You can't be challenged 34:31 and not do anything about it. 34:34 But it's interesting what this futile things 34:36 we read there quickly as we did, 34:37 you know, studying, 34:38 you can find where the professionals 34:40 ever mentioned the importance of what the Bible says. 34:43 You'll never find that. 34:47 And man's plan has failed. 34:50 The thinking of modern man today dealing 34:52 with children has failed. 34:56 And it started with Dr. Spock long time ago. 35:00 That's my own two cents, I only pull it if I want to. 35:06 We have almost abandoned God's way 35:09 of parent and child relationship. 35:13 The Bible predicts even the environment 35:15 that we're talking about, and tells us in the end time, 35:18 notice Ephesians 6:1, jot it down, 35:21 we gonna move quick as we can, only got 20 minutes left. 35:24 And tells us, Ephesians 6:1 says, 35:26 notice this, here's what the Bible said, 35:28 "Children, obey your parents." 35:31 Did you get it? 35:32 Now we have people say, 35:34 "Well, no, parents don't deserve." 35:35 A child has no business saying that to begin with. 35:37 We realized one another, 35:38 we need have respect for each other, 35:40 it needs to be that way. 35:41 "Children obey your parents," notice this, "in the Lord." 35:46 You got godly parents, I mean, there comes a time you say, 35:48 "Man, I can't. 35:50 You get old, I can't do that anymore." 35:51 I can't do those things because it's ungodly. 35:54 In the Lord, you have to do that. 35:56 In the very beginning, God said in His law, 35:59 Ten Commandments law, Exodus 20:12, what does he say? 36:02 "Honor thy father and thy," what? 36:05 "Honor thy father and thy mother 36:06 that your days may be long upon the land, 36:09 which the Lord thy God has given thee," right? 36:12 The first commandment would promise, 36:13 God said, "When children obey their parents, 36:15 their life will be longer." 36:17 Many lives are cut short for young people 36:19 because they disobeyed. 36:21 Mom and dad said, "Don't get near the railroad track, 36:24 and they did." 36:25 Mom and dad said, "Don't take these drugs." 36:26 They did. 36:28 Mom and dad said, "Don't play with the guns." 36:29 They did. 36:32 Over and over and over, 36:33 honor your mother and your father. 36:38 Referring to the last days, 36:40 the Bible is clear in 2 Timothy 3:2, 36:42 what does it say about the way the man is going to be, 36:45 the children's going to be? 36:47 In the last days 2 Timothy 3:2, it says, "For men shall be," 36:51 what? 36:53 "Lovers," as it notices, 36:54 and we'll get down to the nitty-gritty 36:55 because of our time. 36:57 But it said that children will be what? 36:58 Men will be... 36:59 They'll be disobedient to parents, 37:02 they're going to be unthankful, and unholy. 37:06 Now do you see that today? 37:07 Children today are unthankful, many. 37:09 There are some that we know there, 37:10 I don't target. 37:12 Praise God for the good. 37:13 But most of them are unthankful, 37:14 ungodly, they're unholy. 37:18 They're disobedient to parents, 37:20 they think they can stand in your face and tell you 37:22 what you're supposed to do. 37:24 That should never be, 37:25 that should never come out of their mouth. 37:29 There's ways in which it should be done, 37:32 we understand that. 37:33 Because you know why? 37:35 Because children are a gift. 37:37 They are blessing from the Lord. 37:38 I'll give you a quick example. 37:39 You remember back, 37:41 and we go back to Genesis Chapter 33, 37:43 Genesis 33:5, 37:45 this is where Jacob met his brother 37:47 after they had been separated for a while. 37:50 Was Jacob afraid of Esau? 37:53 He did not want to meet his brother 37:56 because he knew that his brother was going... 37:57 He knew in his mind he was going to kill him. 38:00 And so what did he do? 38:01 Well, during this time they were separated, 38:02 here God had blessed Jacob, 38:04 and Jacob had a lot of women and children 38:07 that were there. 38:08 And so when it came time, when God said, 38:10 "You need to make this right with your brother, 38:12 you need to get it right," 38:14 then all of a sudden, what did Jacob say? 38:15 Well, I've got it, 38:16 you know, he's pretty smart man. 38:18 I've got a plan here, right? 38:19 But when my brother comes in way and distance here, 38:21 I'm going to put all the women and all the children in front. 38:23 Sound like a real man, didn't he? 38:26 He had a plan, the reason in his mind, 38:30 I'm going to put the women and children all out there, 38:32 and he see all of those 38:33 and realize may be they're with me, 38:35 and maybe he'll decide not to kill me. 38:39 Interesting thought. 38:41 And interesting when Esau rode up with his... 38:44 How many did he have? Maybe 300 or 400? 38:46 I mean he had some warriors. 38:48 Man, now they're easy prey. 38:49 As soon as Esau rode up there, he looked, 38:51 and he's seen all of those little children 38:53 and all the women right there, and he said, scripture says, 38:58 "Jacob, who are all of these with you? 39:01 Who are these?" 39:03 He took note. 39:05 Who are these? 39:08 What did Jacob say? 39:09 Do you remember that? 39:10 Jacob said, "The children which God has so graciously 39:15 given thy servant." 39:17 You notice what he says? 39:19 He's so graciously given. 39:21 He's saying, "Look, these children 39:22 that God gave me are a gift." 39:25 Our children are what? 39:26 They're gift from God. 39:28 This helps us to understand that. 39:30 They are a gift of God. 39:32 Esau was serving, and story goes on. 39:34 It take time to read all of that if you can. 39:37 But right then and there, 39:39 he say, "Oh, he's got women and children. 39:41 And these children are a gift of God, 39:43 and they need the man in the home, 39:45 they need the head." 39:48 Genesis Chapter 18 deals with the promise of the birth 39:52 of Isaac to Abraham. 39:54 You know that story well, 39:55 so we won't go into that part of it. 39:57 But notice in Genesis 18, we're talking about here, 40:01 Genesis 18:19. 40:04 Talking about the birth of Isaac to Abraham, 40:07 it says here, "For I know him," God's talking about him. 40:10 Why is he going to get the promise? 40:11 And why this, he said, "For I know him 40:13 that he will command his children 40:15 and his household after him, 40:18 and they shall keep the way of the Lord, 40:20 and to do justice and judgment." 40:22 Man, how wonderful that is, praise God. 40:24 Notice, to be a successful parent, 40:28 we must consider the Book of Deuteronomy Chapter 6. 40:31 You turn with me, if you will. I'll just read that with you. 40:34 In the Book of Deuteronomy, 40:37 Deuteronomy 6:5-9, 40:41 Deuteronomy 6:5-9. 40:47 The Bible says, notice this, 40:49 "And thou shall love the Lord thy God with," what? 40:52 "All thine heart, with all thy soul, 40:54 and with all thy might. 40:57 And these words which I command thee this day, 40:59 shall be in thine heart." 41:01 Now notice what we are to do? 41:02 He's talking about well successful parenting. 41:05 Well, there's a way to be a successful parent here. 41:08 And the Lord is telling, 41:09 this is the way that has to be done. 41:11 First of all, you love the Lord God 41:12 with all your heart. 41:14 If you're going to be a good parent, 41:15 we must love God with all of our heart. 41:17 We can say, "Well, we've done good, 41:19 and we've taken care, and we've done that." 41:20 You got to have the love of Christ in your heart. 41:22 Notice this, then it says, 41:24 "Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, 41:28 thou sittest in thine house, when thou walkest by the way, 41:32 and when thou liest down, and went thou risest up." 41:36 Did we get that? 41:38 We're to teach them, right? 41:40 We're to teach them the way of God, 41:41 we're to teach them the law of God. 41:44 We have to deal, 41:45 right, supremely with God and our fellow man. 41:48 Wherever you go, you teach your children, 41:50 right, in the morning, right at noon, and at night. 41:53 Think about it. 41:55 A lot of families are destroyed and they're messed up 41:56 because we didn't do that. 41:59 And we can't figure out what went wrong. 42:00 But we didn't raise them, 42:02 and the Bible talks about the admonition of the Lord. 42:06 Manuscript 43 written in 1907 says this, 42:09 "This obedience works out for us the divine will, 42:13 bring into our lives." 42:15 Notice this, "righteousness and perfection 42:18 that was seen in the life of Christ." 42:22 Ain't that beautiful? 42:23 When you teach the children the right thing, what happens? 42:26 We're teaching them to be obedient 42:28 and to love God supremely. 42:30 This brings the righteousness and perfection 42:34 of Jesus Christ into the life. 42:37 This is what we need as parents, 42:38 this is what the children also need. 42:42 In Deuteronomy Chapter 6, we find the word, "love." 42:46 Over and over, He said the word love. 42:49 And it has meaning to me, at least for the parents, 42:52 and for the children to love. 42:54 To love the Lord. 42:57 Do you notice there was the first principle. 42:58 Once again, it was the first principle 43:00 given to them is to love. 43:03 That means to have a desire for, 43:06 that means to have affection for, 43:08 that needs to be inclined. 43:11 You teach them, and the children become what? 43:13 Inclined to love the Lord. 43:15 When they're inclined to love the Lord, 43:17 they're inclined to love their parents, 43:19 love their parents, love the Lord. 43:21 And so they're inclined, 43:22 that's going to be their desire, 43:24 that's going to be their first principle. 43:26 Our relationship with God is based on what? 43:30 See this is what the world is lacking, 43:31 successful parenting. 43:33 Think about love, 43:34 relationship to God is based on love. 43:37 You read that in 1 John 4:19. 43:41 Love is the foundation, love is the basis for. 43:45 He came seeking us, isn't that right? 43:47 We're to love. 43:48 And sometimes we don't show that love. 43:51 Children pick up on that rather quickly. 43:52 They're not showing love in return, 43:54 they're not showing respect. 43:56 The Bible is clear, Jesus was clear. 43:59 When He was on earth, He said, "We need to love, right, 44:02 on these two, love God and our fellow man. 44:05 Think about it. 44:07 On these two hang all the law and the testament, 44:09 Matthew 22:40, that's our duty as a parent, 44:14 that's the duty of a child. 44:16 That means we're on the same page. 44:18 That means the home is going well. 44:21 That's hard to be a Christian and have unbelievers 44:24 in there living with you 'cause the older they get 44:26 because they always want to do other things, 44:28 and go here and do this, and do all that. 44:30 And we're left in a bind of whether we agree with them 44:32 or we don't rather than 44:33 set rules up that we need to sit, 44:35 which is what set up 44:37 because it's what the Bible says. 44:39 This is very, very important. 44:44 If we put God first, 44:47 it becomes easy to be obedient, 44:50 obedient to God, obedient to our parents, 44:52 obedient to. 44:54 I mean, that's what John 14:15 says, 44:56 "If you love Me, keep..." 44:59 "If you love Me, keep My commandments." 45:01 John, was it 15:10 goes on. 45:04 Jesus said, "If you keep," did you get it? 45:07 "If you keep My commandments, 45:09 then you shall abide in My love." 45:11 So we say, "Well, we love Him, we love Him, we love Him, 45:13 but if we're not keeping the commandment, 45:14 we're not abiding in His love." 45:16 This is a condition. 45:17 Did you get it? 45:19 "If you keep My commandments, then you abide in My love." 45:25 Then He goes on to say, 45:26 "Even as I have kept My Father's commandments, 45:29 and abide in His love." 45:31 He set the example for us. 45:33 Look, what a smooth relationship they had. 45:36 How smooth it can be for us in the home? 45:40 Love God with all your heart. 45:43 That means your feelings, that means your emotions, 45:47 that means your motives, that means your affections, 45:52 everything, our wills. 45:55 Our will is turned over. 45:56 So it's easy to be obedient or to do nice things 45:59 to the people that you love. 46:01 If you love, it's easy to try to bring happiness 46:04 to the other. 46:07 Responsibility of parents is overwhelming 46:10 to try to be a successful parent. 46:13 But being a successful parent, to me at least, 46:15 means there's some duty involved. 46:17 Did you get that duty? 46:20 That the duty is to keep the Word of God 46:22 ever before their little eyes and their little ears. 46:24 That's the duty. Why? 46:26 Because one day we must give an account to God 46:30 for these gifts, these children He's blessed us with. 46:36 We have to. 46:37 Jeremiah 13:17, 20. 46:41 He's talking about, you know what it says? 46:43 "Where is that, what?" 46:45 One of these days, God's going to say to you, 46:47 "Kenny, where is that beautiful flock?" 46:49 Where's that flock that I've given you? 46:52 He's going to say it to every parent. 46:54 We have to give an answer. 46:56 Where is that flock? 46:58 People say, "Well, I read that, 46:59 He's talking about the flocks and the herds. 47:01 Jesus used many times in His prayer with sheep. 47:05 And in this passage here of Jeremiah 13:17, 20, 47:09 he's talking about that, 47:10 he's talking about the Lord's flock. 47:13 That flock that I've given you, 47:15 every parent's going to have to give an account 47:18 by this figure that we're looking at here, 47:20 God shows His love for His children. 47:25 And this question goes deeper. 47:28 This question goes deeper because there's a duty. 47:30 It's directing at ministries. 47:33 It's the duty of the minister. 47:36 It's the duty of every teacher. 47:38 It's the duty of every parent 47:41 to give an account 47:45 because we are guardians. 47:48 How many of us, I wonder, can give a faithful account? 47:53 Think about it. 47:54 A faithful account. 47:56 As long as I say, "I wonder have I done my best for Jesus?" 48:00 If you're still worried about that word, 48:01 and whatever, and flock that we're talking about here, 48:04 not just the regular animals themselves. 48:06 Read Zachariah 10:3, you read that. 48:10 Read John Chapter 10. 48:12 I'm going fast 'cause you just have to jot it down, 48:13 read it. 48:15 John 10:1-6, Jesus said. 48:17 I'm talking about the Good Shepherd in this. 48:20 Jesus said, "His sheep hear His voice, and they follow." 48:24 He was using what? Sheep again. 48:26 So God says to us today, where's that flock? 48:29 You think you're getting out. 48:31 They've grown up, they went out on their own, 48:32 well that everything is released. 48:33 We are not released from that because that's 48:35 when they're tender, when they're young, 48:37 that we must be able to set and get that twig straight. 48:39 We know that. 48:41 If we don't, we'll lose them. 48:44 One church says that, one of them. 48:47 It will get John all upset, but one church mentions, 48:50 if I have their child 48:51 until they're three years of old, 48:53 there'll be nothing but. 48:57 Yeah, when they get up to three years of age, 48:59 their first three years of life, 49:00 and we know that is the most important years. 49:04 That's where they learn to do everything 49:05 by the time they're three. 49:06 Look what they have learned in three years, 49:08 and look what we've done? 49:09 We've lost. 49:12 Tremendous amount of babies, 49:13 when the day it's born in first three years, 49:15 what they've learned to do? 49:17 Communicate, and to talk, and move forward, 49:19 and to think, and try to outsmart mom and dad. 49:24 They think they're smart enough to do it. 49:26 A lot of times they do it, 49:27 a lot of time we laugh at it when they're disobedient 49:29 rather than correcting them. 49:32 The Book of Psalms... 49:38 127:3 says this, 49:42 "Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: 49:46 and the fruit of the womb is his reward." 49:49 So what are children? 49:51 It's a reward, children are gift from God. 49:54 They're worth spending some time on, 49:56 and we're not spending time because we're so busy doing. 49:59 And I have to say, I was too 'cause, 50:01 you know, younger and working all the time. 50:04 It could be a lot more time, 50:05 lot more changes that need to take place. 50:07 But then it seemed like you have to, 50:09 you know, you win breads, 50:10 you go out and you work and you do. 50:12 That's why it's so important to have a good wife 50:15 and a good woman at home to be able 50:16 to take care of those children, 50:18 raise them in the admonition of the Lord. 50:21 Today, we need to... 50:23 As parents search our hearts, examine our habits, 50:26 examine our practices, that what we do, 50:31 have we been that example? 50:33 Have we been? 50:35 The Bible says that and God says 50:37 that children are the heritage, 50:39 that means they're the possession, 50:41 they're the state of the Lord, 50:44 and we must give an account for the management 50:47 of His property. 50:49 You realize, they're not even your children, 50:50 they're not my children, 50:52 I have to give an account for what? 50:54 How I managed them because they're gift 50:56 that's given to us. 50:59 They belong to God. 51:02 This makes the education to me at least 51:04 and the training of these children, 51:07 the highest service that we can render to God. 51:11 And, you know, if we've neglected this, 51:12 there's still hope. 51:14 I want to encourage you. 51:15 We ran out of time, three or four minutes left. 51:17 There's still hope. 51:20 You remember the woman, quickly, 51:21 do you remember the woman in the Bible that lost a coin, 51:26 lost that coin. 51:28 It was just lost. 51:29 What did she do? 51:30 Think about this spiritually. 51:32 We got a son or daughter, they're lost, they went out, 51:34 they're out, they're out in the world. 51:36 This woman lost the coin. 51:37 What did she do? 51:39 She searched until she found it. 51:42 She did what? 51:43 She searched until she found that lost coin. 51:46 Sometime we don't, our son, daughter, 51:48 they go out in the world, 51:49 and we leave them out there by themselves struggling 51:50 and we're not there. 51:52 God have mercy on us. 51:53 We're to search for them until we can find them. 51:56 That's what she did. 51:58 That means we have to work for our households. 52:02 That means there's a work to be done. 52:04 And then we can say with joy, one day we can sing with joy. 52:08 It's Isaiah 8:18 comes to mind, 52:10 it says, "Behold, I and the children 52:13 whom the Lord hath given me." 52:15 Now what does it say here? 52:17 "Behold, I and the children." 52:20 God answers the prayers of last days of the mother, 52:22 the praying mother. 52:24 One day if we search and we keep looking 52:26 for that lost coin, that little piece of silver 52:28 as it were, one day we'll be saying, 52:30 "Oh, I and the children." 52:33 How wonderful that'd be. 52:36 Wherever we are at, wherever we may be, 52:39 I'll tell you right now, there's a lost coin. 52:41 There's a lost coin that's around us. 52:44 There's a piece of silver that needs to be found. 52:49 Finding, just looking and finding that last coin, 52:51 what do we do? 52:53 We quickly present Christ to them again 52:55 as a sin pardoning savior. 52:57 We tell of His love that He has for them. 53:00 The value of a soul. 53:01 Who can estimate the value of one individual? 53:05 If you want to know, 53:06 I'll tell you quickly as we close today, 53:07 you've got to go to Gethsemane. 53:09 If you want to know the value of a soul, 53:11 one soul that Christ would have done what He did, 53:13 just one person. 53:14 Go to, go over His last hours, 53:17 see those sweat as it were great drops 53:19 of blood coming out of Him. 53:21 Look at Christ hanging on the cross. 53:23 Look at His body that was marred 53:25 more than any man. 53:28 His vision, the Bible said was marred more than a man. 53:30 His mama couldn't recognize Him, 53:31 they beat Him to a pulp, 53:33 hear Him to cry out in the end result, 53:34 "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?" 53:40 Why have You forsaken Me? 53:42 All He did this for my redemption, 53:44 for your redemption. 53:48 For just one, He laid down his life. 53:52 Keep this in mind, my friend, 53:53 and you will see and you'll better understand 53:55 and I will too, the value of one soul, one individual. 54:00 No human being would ever be saved, 54:03 whatever been saved, 54:04 if Christ had not made personal effort. 54:06 He's looking for that lost coin. 54:08 He's looking for that lost sheep, 54:10 and that was me. 54:11 By personal effort, and aid of the Holy Spirit, 54:14 souls can be rescued from the bondage of sin. 54:17 Our children can be rescued. 54:20 Proverbs 22:6, as we close, says, 54:22 "Train up a child in the way he's," what? 54:24 "He should go, and when he is old, 54:26 he shall not depart from it." 54:30 Friend, we have that opportunity 54:31 and privilege today, behold, Jesus. 54:33 If you've made all kinds 54:34 of mistakes raising your children, 54:35 don't give up. 54:37 Pray for them, put them on the altar, 54:38 pray for them daily, seek for them, work for them. 54:40 And God said, 54:42 "One of these days, they're going to say, 54:43 'I and my children stand together." 54:45 Let's have a quick prayer shall we before we close. 54:49 Loving Father in heaven, 54:50 we thank You for Your precious Word, 54:51 thank You for the promises that You have given. 54:53 All they bring to light and happiness to our soul 54:55 that You're always there with us, 54:57 You'll never leave us, never forsake us, 54:58 and the answer to prayer of bringing our children home. 55:00 In Jesus' name, amen. 55:03 Thank you for joining us. We'll see you next time. 55:07 Hello and welcome back, friends. 55:09 God's Word is so full of hope, direction, and encouragement. 55:12 And I am the one, 55:14 I'm so very thankful for all the many promises 55:17 in His words that we may claim for our children. 55:20 Ultimately, though, the choice of heaven 55:23 or hell belongs to them. 55:25 It is their choice. 55:26 But as parents, 55:27 successful parenting skills will begin first 55:30 by strengthening our relationship 55:33 with our Heavenly Father, 55:35 and then living out that saving love 55:38 of Christ as a living example to our children. 55:42 Successful parenting is training them up in the way 55:45 that they should go back to reflecting the image 55:48 of God in their lives as they see that same image 55:52 in the lives of their parents. 55:54 Successful parenting is loving our children enough 55:57 to guard and direct their minds away 56:00 from the enticements of the world to the principles 56:03 of godly living in love, and listen in patience, 56:08 and love, and in patient. 56:10 Successful parenting is holding on as tight 56:13 as you possibly can to your Savior's hand, 56:17 and drawing from history, and His wisdom. 56:21 To be a successful parent is a job 56:23 that we are totally inadequate to do on our own. 56:29 Successful parenting is knowing 56:31 that we are but children ourselves 56:33 in the school of Christ. 56:34 And as children, we make mistakes. 56:38 And as children, 56:39 we need to seek forgiveness and direction 56:42 from our Heavenly Father, 56:44 and then impart the same forgiveness 56:46 and direction to our children 56:48 as heaven's representatives here on this earth. 56:52 We want heaven to be a big family reunion. 56:56 Therefore, we must take what little time. 56:59 It's such little time, it goes so fast that we have 57:03 with our children, and devote that time, 57:06 the time that is needed in preparing them 57:09 to be a good Christ like citizen here 57:12 on this earth, and then heavenly citizens 57:15 and the earth made new. 57:18 And should you like to make this wonderful message 57:20 a part of your study library, 57:22 we want to enable you to do just that. 57:25 Therefore, we are making this message available 57:28 to you for a love gift of just $8 or more. 57:31 And when you order just a single message 57:34 from this 25 lessons set, 57:36 you will also receive one Bible study guide again 57:40 that is entitled Sharing God's Love Makes You Happier 57:44 What The Bible Says. 57:46 You may also order the complete set, 57:49 25 hours of study for the love gift 57:53 of just $175 or more. 57:56 If you do that, 57:58 you'll receive five Bible lessons 58:00 study guides for free. 58:01 You would find it hard to find any kind of study 58:06 for that price. 58:07 And if you have been blessed by today's message, 58:10 would you please consider supporting 58:12 Behold the Lamb Ministries on a regular basis, 58:15 so that we may continue to share God's messages 58:19 literally around the world. 58:21 All you need to do is simply call us here in the US 58:25 at Behold the Lamb Ministries at 618-942-5044, 58:31 that's Central Time. 58:32 Or you may write to Behold the Lamb Ministries, 58:35 PO Box 2030, Herrin, Illinois 62948. 58:40 Email your order 58:42 to BeholdtheLambMinistries @yahoo.com. 58:45 You may also order these messages on our website 58:48 at BeholdtheLambMinistries.com. 58:51 Friends, until next time, 58:52 may our precious Lord continue 58:55 to bless you and your children. |
Revised 2019-04-08