November 6, 2022
Morning Service

2Co 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

            When you accept Jesus’ invitation to “Follow Me” by repenting of your sins and entering into the waters of baptism all things become “new.”  This is the beginning of a spiritual process, which lasts a lifetime, in which God begins to change you to become more like Jesus.  It begins with a “new perspective” as we “set our minds on things above, not on things of this earth.”  We discover that God is real and we begin to see the world through His eyes (things above) not our own (things of this earth).  God wants me to think and act a little more like Jesus and a little less like me. The next step is to identify things in your life that God is not pleased with (sin) and remove those things from our lives.  Things like evil thoughts, anger, lying, greed, and filthy language are all to be “put off” from our life.  In their place we are commanded to “put on” attributes that imitate Jesus like mercy, kindness, humility, long suffering and forgiveness.  All of these attributes will grow from the love we have for Jesus and the love for each other.  In fact, God desires that in everything we say and do we do it for Him.

 

Col 3:17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

            “All” sure covers a lot as that means when you are at work, school, church, the store and even at home.  God is with us wherever we go and will never leave us or forsake us; we are never alone.  He, through the Spirit, will enable us to live a life that imitates how Jesus lived His life, always in tune with God and His Will.  Last week we discussed the roles God has commanded for the husbands and wives inside of the home.  The husband is to be leader and lead his family as Christ leads the church giving his all for them.  The wife is commanded to follow his lead and submit to him as the church submits to Christ; following faithfully and joyfully.  God has designed this to be how the house of Jesus followers conduct themselves.  It is important that as we not only read these scriptures, but we put them into action.  In so doing we please Him and show Him our love by our obedience. 

Today our focus first turns to you children here today.  Many of you have already been baptized and began your journey with Jesus and many of you are thinking about it.  As we read these scriptures, God is speaking to each one of you personally.  He is telling you how He wants you conduct yourself inside your home and anywhere else you go.  This command is not hard to understand; it is just really hard to do sometimes.  Paul wrote this in two of his letters.

 

Col 3:20 Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord.

 

Eph. 6:1-3 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  (2)  "HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER," which is the first commandment with promise: (3) "THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU AND YOU MAY LIVE LONG ON THE EARTH."

            Kids, is that hard to understand?  God is commanding you to “obey your parents in all things.”  So, when you disobey your parents, who else are you disobeying?  Notice this command says you are to “obey you parents in ALL things!”  How are you guys doing with that?  Are there times they ask you to do things that you don’t want to do so you just don’t do them?  Is that obeying God’s command?  No, it is not and He is not pleased when you do that.  God has promised that if you obey and honor your parents, He will bless you with a long life on the earth and bless you in all that you do.  The opposite is true if you choose to disobey, God will not bless you for disobedience.  So, you have a choice to make.  You can choose your own way without God’s blessings or you can choose to be obedient with God’s blessings.  In fact, by choosing disobedience God may lovingly chastise you (punish you) for your actions to help you to make a better choice.  But if you choose to obey your parents, you are also choosing to obey God and He will bless you for your good choice.  A life with God’s blessing is so much better than one with his chastisement.  That is why you chose to be baptized, to follow Him and have Jesus as a part of your life to make it better.  So as your parents ask you to do something, remember you not only honor your parents by being obedient but also honor God.  Just as we trust God to lead us down the right path, your parents all want what is best for you.  They are commanded to raise you a certain way and they do it out of the love they have for you and their desire for you to succeed in all you do.  Now let’s look at how God has instructed them to lead you.

 

Col 3:21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.

 

Eph. 6:4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

            When he says father here, we can include mothers as well.  Parents do not rule over your children so harshly that you provoke them to be discouraged or to act out in anger against you.  Discipline is to be given, but it must be in a loving manner and done on a unified front.  Parents must be on the same page as far discipline goes.  The rules must be clear and understood as are the consequences for disobedience.  It needs to clear that IF you do this, you will get this in return.  That should simplify things, IF you are consistent with the consequences; when they choose to disobey they know that they are also choosing the consequences.  Take time to explain where they made the wrong choice and how to avoid it next time. Warnings with words often are not enough if there is no action that follows.  Proverbs tell us this truth:

 

Pro 13:24 He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly.

            Parents it is your job to discipline your children because you love them.  To let them do as they wish does not demonstrate your love, but the opposite.  Kids need boundaries and really want boundaries.  They will test those boundaries and it is up to you to be consistent in enforcing them.  I believe there is a place for spanking for deliberate disobedience, but it is never to be done as an act of anger.  Calm down and explain how their choice brought on the consequence.   There also comes a point where you must choose a punishment that better catches their attention.  A good one now is to give them an “Amish day” with no electronics at all.  Kids can you imagine a day without TV, a phone or computer?  The goal is to create a humility within children to not cower in fear over consequences, but to come to the realization that life is not just about them.  It is about first learning to submit to the authority of their parents and then that is transferred to submitting and respecting their teachers and other authority figures in their lives like coaches and police officers.  Proverbs again tells us this:

 

Pro 29:15 The rod and rebuke give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.

            A child left to his own will fail; they need discipline, boundaries and consequences for their actions.  Respect taught through discipline for authority figures and submission to them is the base in which their submission to Christ will be built.  A child with no respect for authority and a perspective that the world revolves around them will find it difficult to yield themselves and fully submit to the call of Jesus to “Follow Me.”  Parents I hope that is the ultimate goal for your children that they choose to follow Jesus.  Career choices, athletic achievements, or awards for their talents must be secondary to their salvation.  “Set your mind on things above not on things of this earth.”  “Seek first the kingdom of God and He will take care of everything else.”  Lead your children to believe in Jesus and then let Him lead them from then on.

            In summary of this message; children you are commanded to obey your parents in ALL things. Disobedience to them is disobedience to God.  Following Jesus requires you to make good choices that line up with His commands we find in the Bible and He will bless us for that.  Parents you have a job to do in raising the children God has blessed you with.  Instill within them a respect for authority and point them to Jesus who is able to save their souls.  Do it in a loving manner and be an example to them of what a true Jesus follower looks like.  This challenge is a huge one, but the Spirit and your church family are always there to help and to guide.

 

Heavenly Father thank You for showing us how You would have us to conduct ourselves at home.  Open our eyes and hearts to understand that by obeying Your commands we are demonstrating our love to You.