|
|
|
|
The Hearts Of The Children! By Pastor Bill Taylor A publication of My Father's House, inc. Volume 6//Issue 1 Behold, I’ll send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And he’ll turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse. (Mal 4:5,6) In Isaiah speaking of the final judgment God says, “Because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore the curse has devoured the earth.” (Is24:5,6) “Among the people, it shall be like the shaking of an olive tree, like the gleaning of grapes when the vintage is done.” (vs13) He means there’ll be very few people left. The foundations of the earth are shaken. The earth is violently broken, the earth is split open, the earth is shaken exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall totter like a hut; its transgression shall be heavy upon it, and it will fall, and not rise again. It shall come to pass in that day that the LORD will punish on high the host of exalted ones, and on the earth the kings of the earth. They’ll be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and will be shut up in the prison; after many days they’ll be punished. (Is24:18-22) This occurs at Jesus’ second coming where the wicked are destroyed (Rev19:15) and held captive in hell for a thousand years (Rev20:4,5) until the Great white throne judgment. (Rev20:11-14) During that 1000 years Jesus and His saints will rule on earth in His millennial Kingdom. And as His saints we’re to have patience while God prepares the pit for the wicked. That You may give him (the upright) rest from the days of adversity, until the pit is dug for the wicked. (Ps94:13) Again in Isaiah; The treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously, indeed, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously. (Is24:16b) So Fear and the pit and the snare are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth. And it shall be that he who flees from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit. (Is24:17,18) Jeremiah also speaks of the Lord’s Judgment day. “The LORD will plead His case with all flesh. He’ll give those who are wicked to the sword.” (Jer25:31) “And at that day the slain of the LORD shall be from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth. They’ll not be lamented, or gathered, or buried; they’ll become refuse on the ground.” (Jer25:33) “I’ll utterly consume everything from the face of the land,” says the LORD; “I’ll consume man and beast; I’ll consume the birds of the heavens, the fish of the sea, and the stumbling blocks along with the wicked. I’ll cut off man from the face of the land,” says the LORD. (Zep1:2,3) Some of the reasons God’s judging are because of Those who worship and swear oaths by the LORD, but who also swear by Milcom. (vs5) Today that would represent double minded Christianity, as in trying to serve God and mammon. (Mt6:24) And Those who’ve turned back from following the LORD, and haven’t sought the LORD, nor inquired of Him. (vs6) Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him. But we’re not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul. (Heb10:38, 39) It shall be, in the day of the LORD’S sacrifice, that I’ll punish the princes and the king’s children, and all such as are clothed with foreign apparel. (Zep1:8) These are like christians who dress, act and/or talk like the world. It’s shameful to see ‘believers” with body piercings, tattoos and worldly attire. Jesus’ disciples aren’t to act like pagans. There must be a visible difference between Christians and the worldly. For I didn’t speak to your fathers or command them in the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices. But this is what I commanded them, saying, “Obey My voice, and I’ll be your God, and you’ll be My people. And walk in all the ways I’ve commanded you, that it may be well with you.” Yet they didn’t obey or incline their ear, but followed the counsels and the dictates of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward. Since the day your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I’ve even sent to you all My servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them. Yet they didn’t obey Me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers. So you shall say to them, “This is a nation that does not obey the voice of the LORD their God nor receive correction. Truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth.” Cut off your hair and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on the desolate heights; for the LORD has rejected and forsaken the generation of His wrath. (Jer7:22-26,28,29) This morning in prayer the Lord began showing me what causes His judgment and wrath to fall upon a generation of people is very much related to how a “generation of parents” has dealt with the children which they’ve begotten. When God says this is the generation of His wrath He’s saying the previous generation has begotten a generation of children who’ve grown up to be so wicked that God can’t deal with them in any other way than judgment. For example, the wickedness of the Amorites is fulfilled (Gen15:16) when a generation of Amorite children grows up to behave so badly there’s no way to stop them except by destruction. And how a generation gets that bad has to do with parents who don’t teach their children to do good. So parents must maintain a righteous relationship with their children and raise them properly if they want to prevent God from cursing the earth. (Mal 4:6) As also children are to obey their parents. (Eph6:1) Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise: that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth. (vs2,3) Thus there are many places where the Scriptures are concerned with the relationship between “believers” and their children, and God’s relationship with both. Bring charges against your mother, bring charges; for she’s not My wife, nor am I her Husband! I’ll not have mercy on her children, for they’re the children of harlotry. For their mother has played the harlot… (Hos2:2,4,5) Certainly if you don’t obey God yourself and have a right relationship with Him your children aren’t going to grow up to be God’s children. They’ve dealt treacherously with the LORD, (Hos5:7) Remember judgment comes because the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously. (Is24:16) It’s a great treachery to say you love God, yet not be faithful to Him. If you don’t do the things He says, you’re just pretending to serve Him when in fact you’re not serving Him. Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he’ll keep My Word; and My Father will love him, and We’ll come to him and make Our home with him. He who doesn’t love Me doesn’t keep My Words; and the Word which you hear isn’t Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.” (Jn14:23,24) If you don’t obey Him you don’t love Him. For they’ve begotten pagan children. (Hos5:7) Remember Jeremiah, “This is what I commanded that you’d obey Me.” (Jer7:23) There’s a very superstitious form of “christianity” running rampant today! It’s superstitious because it has no foundation in Truth, like for example thinking a rabbit’s foot is lucky. Likewise because you’ve become a “christian,” in the sense you believe Jesus is the Savior and the Son of God, won’t cause your life to be blessed anymore than a rabbit’s foot will unless you have a relationship with Jesus in which you obey Him. One of the greatest Truths the bible teaches and I don’t know how much more plain God can make it is you reap what you sow! (Gal 6:7) Your actions produce consequences and when you’re deceived in such a way as you don’t sow rightly you reap bad things because of the wrong things you’re doing. So an essential part of salvation is coming to the Lord in repentance where He can change what you’re doing and teach you to do good things that are agreeable to God. To really be saved you must learn to behave in ways that will produce good fruit from your actions. The ways of the Lord are wise, good, and righteous. When God teaches you to do things His way what you do will produce beneficial consequences. But to think you’ll be blessed because you profess to believe in Jesus when you don’t obey Him is superstitious. Think of it this way, if you come to the Lord but don’t change your actions to His you’ll still get the same bad consequences you’ve been getting before you came to Him. It’s an essential purpose of God’s salvation to change your behavior. To have a true faith in Jesus is to say, “Jesus, Your way of doing things is better than mine. I’ve reaped trouble because I’ve done things my way. My way is producing bad fruit and it’s coming back on me and destroying me. So please Lord save me, and show me how to change my actions so they’ll bear good fruit.” If you’re sincere and in true faith when you come to Jesus, He forgives your past sins and delivers you from many of their consequences but then He begins to show you new ways to do things according to His Word, His Spirit, and according to love. He gives you a new heart so you can do things a better way. Old things are passed away. All things have become new. (2Cor5:17) And don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Rom12:2) In changing the way you do things you’ll get different results. It’s insanity to keep doing the same thing and expect to get a different result. And it’s insanity to think that just because you’re now a “Christian” you can do the same things you used to do and get different results. You can’t drive south and end up going north. And your life won’t change because you become a Christian unless you change direction in the things you’re doing. You can’t drive south from Florida and get to New York. God’s trying to get us to agree with Him, hear Him and understand His ways of doing things so we can function in this life in a way that produces good results. He’s opening our eyes and helping us to see but if we don’t obey what He’s telling us to do then we won’t get the blessings. The bible says over and over. “It’s not the hearers, but the doers of God’s Word who are saved.” (Mt7:24-27) Real salvation isn’t found in merely acknowledging Jesus. True salvation is coming to Jesus and listening to Him and obeying Him because of who He is. But in any area in your life where you continue to hold on to the old ways of doing things you’ll continue to receive the old evil consequences. This is something we often deal with in our children. When they come to the Lord they often hold on to many old habits, familiar ways of playing, inconsiderate things they do. And when they do that there’s no good fruit in that area of their life. The good fruit doesn’t come until they repent of the old way they’ve been doing things, and come to a better way of doing things; God’s way of doing things. Only then will their lives begin to change. It’s the same with adults and everyone else in the Kingdom of God. Wherever you don’t repent and change your ways, you won’t get the fruit that comes from God in that area. Every place you hold to the fleshly way of doing things and refuse to look to Jesus you’ll keep reaping what the flesh gives which is death instead of what Christ gives which is life. If you don’t understand that your religion is vain. True Christianity is to come to Jesus and say, “Jesus teach me Your ways so I can do the things that produce good fruit” then you listen to Him and change your ways according to everything He teaches. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I’ve commanded you. (Mt28:19,20a) They’ve dealt treacherously with the LORD, for they’ve begotten pagan children. (Hos5:7) Though they bring up their children, yet I’ll bereave them to the last man... Ephraim will bring out his children to the murderer. (9:12,13) I’ll give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts. (vs14) They’ll bear no fruit. Yes, were they to bear children, I’d kill the darlings of their womb. (vs16) The children of a false “christianity” are cursed by God. Many scriptures testify how God blesses the children of the righteous (Ps112:2) and curses the children of the unrighteous. (Rev2:23) But this doesn’t mean He’s making the children of the unrighteous pay for the sins of their parents. God says you’ll die for your own sins and if the children of the unrighteous will turn away from the sins of their fathers God will save them. (Ezek18:14-17) There’s no enigma in God’s cursing the children of the unrighteous if you understand when children aren’t raised in the Lord they usually end up worse than their parents and God has to deal with them accordingly. Even when “believers” don’t listen to the Lord to obey what the Spirit and the Word say as to how to raise their offspring they generally end up with very troublesome children. To raise children rightly according to the Word of God you must be very close to the Holy Spirit and if you don’t follow the Word and the Spirit you won’t get good results. “Therefore I’ll yet bring charges against you,” says the LORD, “And against your children’s children I’ll bring charges.” (Jer2:9) The mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children, to such as keep His covenant, and to those who remember His commandments to do them. (Ps103:17,18) There’s a promise of great blessing from the Lord upon the children of those who obey God, and even concerning the disobedient whom God prophesies He’ll scatter amongst the nations, He says, “When you return to the LORD your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, that the LORD your God will bring you back from captivity... And the LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.” (Dt30:2,3,6) So if you and your children will return to obeying the Lord, God will set you free and give you life! May the LORD give you increase more and more, you and your children. May you be blessed by the LORD, who made heaven and earth. (Ps115:14,15) For He’s strengthened the bars of your gates; He’s blessed your children within you. (Ps147:13) I’ll pour water on him who’s thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I’ll pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring. (Is44:3) This was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. But in Joel it was also promised that your sons and your daughters would prophesy when the Lord pours out of His Spirit on them. (Act2:17;Joel 2:28) For the promise is to you and to your children. (Act2:39) Whatever God has promised you, He also promises your children. And when God says, “I’m the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,” He’s saying, “I’m the God of Abraham and his children and his children’s children.” God wants to be our God and our children’s. So the children of the obedient are blessed but to the disobedient: These two things shall come to you in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood. (Is47:9) The brood of evildoers shall never be named. Prepare slaughter for his children because of the iniquity of their fathers, lest they rise up and possess the land, and fill the face of the world with cities. (Is14:20,21) Thus God promises if you’re truly His people He’ll bless your children, pour His Spirit upon your children, reveal Himself to your children, and save them. On the other hand, concerning those who are His enemies He’ll generally destroy their children because such children usually perpetuate and expand the iniquity of their fathers. Of course on an individual basis there are exceptions; any child who repents and says, “I’m not going in the way of my fathers,” God will accept that child’s repentance. (Ezek18:14-17) But the unhappy truth is a child usually carries on the sins of his father, committing those sins again and even worse. So in the passage where Jesus says “You build and adorn the prophet’s tombs and yet your fathers killed them,” He’s saying, “You haven’t really disassociated from or repented of the sins of your fathers, so when I give you opportunity you’ll behave towards the righteous in the very same way as your fathers. You’ll carry on in that same persecuting spirit as they did and God will bring on you all the blood from righteous Able to Zechariah. He’s going to hold you responsible for the sins of those you’re acknowledging to be your fathers because you’re not repenting of their sins but continuing to repeat your fathers’ sins.” (Mt23:27-36) So we can see from this the children wouldn’t be held guilty if they’d repent and not enter into the sins of their fathers but there’s a very strong propensity for children to repeat and carry on their father’s sins for which cause there’ll be a great slaughter prepared for them lest they rise up and possess the land. (Is14:20,21) God isn’t going to let the wicked possess the land. He’s going to destroy them to prevent that. So the generation of His wrath will be a generation that doesn’t listen to the Lord. They’re a generation He’s tried to turn and tried to get them to repent but they won’t. And they’ve become the generation of His wrath because they’ve even surpassed the iniquities of their fathers. To bring this home, I was watching a preview recently to an animated movie that was very shocking to me. The name of the movie was Heavy Metal 2000 and the star is a dominatrix, an overly sexual vixen type woman with very scanty clothing. She’s a warrior, killing lots of men and behaving in a very lewd manner in the way she moves her body and such. And I thought, “My goodness, this must be an adult only cartoon.” About the time that thought hit me the narrator said, “Kids, this movie is not for your parents.” Then he went on to say there were over 200 bad words in it. And it became apparent there are groups of people today who are marketing things to children that even in this wicked generation most parents would reject. And these wicked profiteers are teaching the children to hide these things from their parents. So we’re going to have children in this generation who pretend to be one thing in front of their parents while they’re doing other things behind their parents back and they’re being taught to do that by the elements of our society who are profiting from fomenting a rebellious spirit in the children. This is a very pervasive danger because there’s such a great profit potential in selling such things to these rebellious children. The shock factor found in so many, such as piercings, tattoos, and some young people’s fashions are all expressions of this rebellious spirit! The music industry has also been flagrantly wicked in stirring up rebellion in children against authorities and parents. All of this has its root in the love of money. (1Tim6:10) In today’s world many children have liberal amounts of money to spend. As far as the western world goes we’re living in a very prosperous time and that affects our young people. When kids have that much money there’s sure to be somebody who wants to take it from them and one way to get their money is to play to the thing the kids cater to and scratch the ears of the children just like false preachers scratch the ears of the false christians to get their money. (2Tim4:3,4) And to scratch the itching ears of the children is to tell them they’ve a reason to be rebellious. Tell them they’re smarter than their parents. Tell them things they want to hear. Tell them their parents are stupid and from an old-fashioned generation that doesn’t know anything. Tell them they’re growing up in a new generation that’s much wiser than their parents. So since you have all the knowledge, its right for you to sneak around and hide these things from your parents because they’re too dumb to understand. So they lead the children to hell for the sake of money. There’s no doubt that’s going on. But in addition there’s a population bulge that will probably strike at the economy of our country somewhere after 2020, which is going to make it very difficult for young “working” people to be able to support the elderly and it will shake the foundations of the society if there’s not some kind of miraculous intervention by God, some kind of a break thru in technology or some unforeseen blessing that would circumvent this disaster. But we can’t count on such a deliverance when our society is wicked and not looking to God. There might be a possibility of escape if we have a great revival but if we don’t the hand writing is on the wall and we’re headed for a time when it will be very difficult for Social Security to accomplish what it’s promised. There’ll eventually come a time when nursing homes will be overwhelmed and there won’t be enough resources to pay for all the medical problems and such that the burgeoning elderly population requires. Trying to make the young people pay for all this will be putting them under a terrible economic burden that they’re sure to resent and won’t endure if they don’t have a great love for their parents. But what the bible foretells is in the end times people will be very wicked, and children will even put their parents to death. They’re going to be disobedient and unloving. (Mt10:21;2Tim3:2,3) So there’s a time coming in as close as two decades where there’ll be great economic troubles coming upon the United States and the world. To get thru this perilous time will require a lot of love and understanding in the people, yet what’s likely to happen is just the opposite because at the same time this tidal wave of baby boomers is moving towards the time where they become nonproductive, which will severely strain our economy, at the very same time and even now evil forces are trying to cause the children to be separated from their parents, to hate their parents and regard their parents as foolish and stupid. Can you see the devil’s plan? Satan is trying to set a trap by cutting the children off from any relationship with their parents, any love or understanding, at the same time this problem in the economy is going to require even more love for the elderly than usual. Satan has used such tricks before. For God commanded, saying, “Honor your father and your mother” and “He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.” But you say, “Whoever says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God’ -- then he need not honor his father or mother.” Thus you’ve made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. (Mt15:4-6) So we can see the problem coming. And what’s awesome about this is the only thing that would prevent this judgment would be to have godly homes where godly parents have relationships with their children. Remember the Law of Moses, My servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I’ll send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And he’ll turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse. (Mal 4:4-6) Yet too often the greatest enemies to doing this are the “christians” themselves. For example there’s been marching in the streets by “christians” since I’ve been a child. Twenty or so years ago when I was new to the Lord there was a lot of political “christianity” trying to ban books and movies, etc. What has it availed? Nothing. Concerning “Heavy Metal 2000” the “churches” won’t even march anymore. They’ve given up! The wickedness has increased to such a place there’s no way of politically fighting it. But it was never the “church’s” calling to fight sin politically anyway. Because it’s not the government’s job to raise your kids. It’s yours! One reason many people today don’t properly raise their kids is it’s too expensive for them, if not in money, in time. They have to give up too much of themselves. They’ve developed a lifestyle and a way of living where they don’t have enough time for their kids. Raising their children interferes too much with their career goals, or social lives. So they want the schools to raise their kids, they want the daycare to raise their kids, they want everybody else, even the church to raise their kids but they don’t want to raise their kids themselves because it costs them too much and it gets in the way of their personal enjoyments. What’s going to happen? These are the very people whose children will rise up and kill them. Because the elderly parents cost too much they won’t take care of them. So such parents will reap what they’ve sown. Often we’ve tried to talk to the so-called “christians” around us about how God’s showing us we can properly raise our children in the Lord. But most can’t receive these things. They think it’s impossible to do what we’ve done. But we’ve done it so it’s possible. The most important thing you need to understand concerning real Christianity is God doesn’t bless you just because you “believe” in Him, He blesses you because you obey Him. Where there’s a people who obey Him, God will change what these people do and because they change what they do, the obedient will alter what they reap. It’s the very things everybody else continues to do, especially those who say it’s impossible to stop that causes them to reap judgments and disaster. Because such “believers” don’t have faith, they continue to follow the wisdom of the world and the opinions of men which are the very things that are destroying them. They’re a people who don’t have the courage to obey what God’s showing them to do. They often reject His instructions outright and don’t even try to find a way to obey Him. They’re just like the evil generation of Jews who wouldn’t enter into Canaan although God had given them the land and said He was with them. Because they fear the giants in the land, they’ll die in the desert. Faithless people love to say, “I can’t” but under the present circumstances where it concerns your children you don’t have a choice! You’re going to lose them if you don’t find a way to change things. Don’t tell me you can’t. You might as well orphan your children right now if you’re going to say, “I can’t save them, or I can’t change my life in such a way as to reach them.” Something has to be done and you’d better get rid of the “I can’t” attitude and look for something you can do. Because this is for sure, if you don’t do something you’re going to lose them forever and you’re going to lose your own soul too because the reason you’re losing your children is you aren’t behaving as real Christians. Because if you were real Christians God would show you how to keep your children. Your first step must be to repent and ask God to show you how to be a Christian that obeys Him and His Word. Then from there He’ll begin to show you how to reach your children. Being a new stepfather I’ve had my children for less than two years yet I know them better than most people who’ve had their children all their lives. Much of this is due to the fact I hold daily bible studies with the children. Every day except Sunday when we have church most of the day we have bible study. The bible studies average about an hour. I require the boys to pray, read their bibles and then come into the study with something to share. Most of the time I don’t add anything except comments to what they’re sharing. But we always make it a requirement that the messages they bring must be pertinent to our lives. We aren’t just idly theorizing about biblical truths. We’re learning how to live Christ-like lives, so the bible study message always has to come home to our own behavior. Now in those bible studies where we spend an hour a day together, do you know what’s going on besides learning the bible? We’re actually getting to know each other’s hearts. It isn’t just scriptural instruction but its heart to heart sharing that’s going on. Through sharing Scriptures we’re getting to know each other’s inner man. So in a year or two of bible studies I’ve learned to know my boys better than most parents know the children they’ve had all their lives because in the average home today most parents haven’t had an hour of heart to heart with their children in a month. Concerning their children most parents today don’t have communication, they have words. Have you ever heard a child talk? He’ll get the idea he’s going to build a kite and he’ll tell you all the details of it, “I’m going to get the paper from this place, I’m going to get the glue from that place, I’ll get the sticks from another place, and the string from somewhere else and I’m going to tie it up to a fishing pole and go down to the field and fly it.” And he says, “Momma, what do you think of this? What do you think, momma? What do you think of my kite idea? Should I make it blue or should I make it yellow? What picture should I put on the kite, momma? What kind of a tail should I put on the kite?” And he’ll babble on for an hour and a half about his kite. Now tell me when you’re done with that if you’ve had any heart to heart. You’ve had words. But there isn’t anything that touches the conscience. If you don’t touch each other’s consciences in a family relationship you’re nothing but puppets. You’re not real. You’re dead to each other. Your whole life is wrapped up in externals like a cartoon or something. The only way you can be alive and have real relationships is to get inside each other by touching your hearts. Materialistic conversation, the endless drivel that comes out of carnal people, has nothing to do with who people really are. It has nothing to do with what’s real in life. And if you don’t break thru that and get to where you can touch each other’s conscience you’ll never know anyone and they’ll never know you. But by manifestation of the Truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. (2Cor4:2b) Jeffrey gave a testimony recently of where he saw he’d mistreated his younger brother. He was expecting his brother to live up to the standard set for him but never helped him see how to do it and just punished him for not doing it. Jeffrey’s expressing what’s going on in too many households where the parents are ruining their kids by setting a standard expecting them to meet it but never talking to them to find out where they’re at – what’s in their hearts – getting to know them – what do they need – where is it they don’t see straight – what is it they don’t understand about how to do good versus evil. Most parents never really get to know their children because they’re too busy to have quality time with them as in a regular bible study. A good bible study is a place you can get to know each other by the heart. You can touch each other’s consciences and become a real family in a good bible study! Any Christianity where the parents aren’t having bible studies with their children will fail because that’s one of the first things God tells His people to do. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren… let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children. (Dt4:9,10) Talk to your kids. Tell them about God’s ways! Explain these things to them. It’s important you teach the bible to your children because God’s Word deals with the moral concerns of life. It gets to the heart of good versus evil and in the bible studies you can really get to know what your children’s problems are, where they’re failing morally and why; where they can’t do it and why; what they really want to do, what they seem to understand but don’t understand versus what they do understand. For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Heb4:12) In a good bible study you’re getting to know your children and God is helping you fill in the blanks with them so they can see straight. Another aspect of this is if you’re doing your bible study rightly the children are getting to know how much you care about them, that you’re not just trying to force religion down their throat but you’re actually getting personally involved in helping them live right. Next to bible studies, homeschool is the most beneficial thing you can do to save your children. You can’t put your children into the public school system without exposing them to grave dangers. “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord.” (2Cor6:17) Those dangers include the various sins that wicked unbelieving children can get them into: sex, drugs, thievery, the foul language and rebellious spirits and attitudes that are so common in today’s youth. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy. (2Tim3:2) Such wicked behavior is often contagious from one child to another. Do not be deceived, evil company corrupts good habits. (1Cor15:33) The foolish dress codes of the children and their incredible pride concerning what’s in and what’s out is often enforced with intolerable cruelty, mocking, excluding and even physically abusing those whose parents don’t have the financial means to keep up with latest fads and fashions. Some “rich” children shun worse than any church you’ve ever seen if somebody doesn’t measure up to their standards. If you send them to public school it’s certain you’re exposing your children to all these things. If it’s absolutely impossible for your children not to go to public school (as in a single parent household) it’s still not impossible to have a bible study before you send them off. It’s also not impossible to spend time with them at home after school and find out what they have been going thru so you can prayerfully help them handle it. But your goal should be to get them out of the public school system as soon as you can because of the terrible dangers in it, particularly at the Jr.high and highschool levels. Christian schools aren’t always an answer because they’re prone to many of the same problems as public schools having the same wickedness in many of their children. What’s worse is they’re often heretical in their teachings about God. So as soon as possible get the kids into homeschool. But first you may think, “I don’t know enough to teach them!” You’ll learn! You have the book with the answers in it. So you have an advantage. Another excuse is the expense. But actually homeschooling a child costs no more than it costs to send him to public school because the children need fewer of the popular clothes and “required” student tools – notebooks etc. Probably the biggest problem most people fear concerning “homeschooling” is the time and there everybody thinks because children spend six hours in public school they have to spend six hours at homeschool. The truth is once you get the homeschool going you can do in two hours what it takes a public school six hours to do because homeschool is more efficient – more one on one. What parent couldn’t give up a couple hours of watching TV to get his children into a place of safety where they’re not being eaten alive by the wicked spirits in this “generation of God’s wrath?” (Jer7:29) Peter says, “Save yourself, from this perverse generation.” (Act2:40) How much more ought you to save your children from this perverse generation. Another problem with the public schools is they’re set up like an assembly line where the children are robots and everything is done to get the greatest productivity according to the wisdom of the world. So teachers are specialists; a Math teacher will only teach math and an English teacher only English. Also most teachers have around a hundred and fifty students per term and will get brand new students the next term. So the children are virtually anonymous to them. With few exceptions they never really get to know their students. So they present their “specialized information” to students that are strangers to them while they just roll the kids thru the assembly line and if anything is defective in one of the children there’s no time to straighten it out. They just have to ignore or discard the defective child. Now homeschool experience has taught me this; I don’t know of a single child who’s not mentally retarded where their problem with learning is intelligence. The problem is mostly character. When a child doesn’t do well in school he has a problem in that he doesn’t apply himself or he’s not disciplined or he has emotional problems where he doesn’t concentrate. Perhaps he lets his mind wander or sets his heart on other things. It’s always something of that nature. It isn’t an intelligence problem. Some of the children that have had the lowest grades in school have a very high intelligence and that shows because when they’re doing something they like to do, they can do it well. So that’s the proof it’s not an intelligence problem. Most children who aren’t doing well in school need to be dealt with on a moral basis. We must commend ourselves to their conscience. (2Cor4:2) In our bible study we’re working on the children’s consciences. Guess what I’m doing in homeschool? I’m also working on their consciences. If they haven’t done well it’s not because they’re stupid, but because they haven’t applied themselves properly. They haven’t sought to glorify God in their schoolwork. They haven’t paid attention to their Christian duties. Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1Cor10:31) We take them back to the Word of God and show them “You can do well if you’ll stop being carnal, stop letting your mind wander, stop trying to play and talk and have your belly filled all the time. If you’d decide ‘I’m going to glorify God, I’m going to concentrate, I’m going to obey my parents, I’m going to crucify my flesh and do my schoolwork as unto the glory of the Lord,’ then you’ll see a real improvement.” When you appeal to their consciences their work will improve. Now can the public school do that? The public school is utterly incapable of appealing to the consciences of the children. Do you know why? First they’re without God so they’ve no basis of appeal. If I’m righteous I can be an example to my children how they ought to be righteous and they know they should. But if I’m a worldly sinner what can I do to convict them? What are the public school teachers today? Are they holy enough by example to have any power to convict someone else? A second consideration is; how can you build on someone else’s foundation? That’s something Paul is concerned about. (Rom15:20) How can you establish your child on a solid foundation when so many others have been messing with his mind? And those others are often in severe disagreement with each other; of different philosophies, and different cultural standards. So how can you as a parent expect any kind of moral foundation or a moral structure to be established in your child when he’s being taught by godless people who can’t in any way effectively appeal to his moral senses? There’s no certain moral standard that public schools can effectually apply nor can there be any continuity in their standards. School is not only a place where children should learn their ABC’s; reading, writing and arithmetic, but it’s a place where they must acquire the disciplines to be able to start a job and finish it and to be able to get their flesh under and concentrate on their work. School must be able to teach them to exercise their minds and keep their lusts from running wild. They must acquire a strong moral foundation if they’re to be successful in their schooling. It’s not just intelligence. In life the character aspect is more important than the IQ. An intelligent person may get an answer faster but a moral person will keep going till they finish the job correctly. And it doesn’t matter if it takes a little longer as long as they stick with it until they do the job well. Character is far more important than intelligence. A “christian” of high character will make it to heaven. One with intelligence but without character will end up in hell because his uncrucifed flesh will destroy him. So we use homeschooling not just to teach the basics of math and english but to teach discipline. To teach the children how to keep their flesh under and accomplish every task for the glory of God. And we can do that as parents because we can lay a good foundation (1Cor3:11) and build on it and have a continuity in what we’re building because we’re building on something solid and doesn’t change every term. Also we have the time and intimacy with our children to be able to see what each child’s true problems are, so with God’s help we can save them. When public school teachers are grading your children all you see is the grades and you rarely see where their mistakes are coming from –what’s the cause! When I’m grading the papers for my children I can often see things their errors have in common. For example in one lesson a child may make six mistakes but each one is the same basic error repeated over and over. Mistakes like this may be caused by just one principle they’ve missed and because we can spot it, we can quickly correct it whereas public school teachers may be too busy to notice the root problem. They have a hundred and fifty other papers to mark. But I can contact my child immediately and explain to him what he’s doing wrong then and there. Public school teachers can’t do that. That gives homeschool teachers a great advantage over public school teachers. We can see what’s causing our child’s problem and whether it’s something missed in their teaching or whether it is something disciplinary. And we can deal with problems and correct them quickly. Another blessing in teaching our own children is they get to understand we aren’t out to beat them down but we’re here to help them to do things right. Because my children can see I’m not just forcing them to do the work but when they don’t know how to do it I’ll help them, they know I’m on their side. So when it comes time to chasten or discipline they know I’m not out to destroy them. I have a right to discipline because they know I care about them and much of that comes out of our homeschooling experiences. They’ve learned in homeschool that I’m there to help and not to hurt them. Those are some side benefits of homeschooling that are rarely noted. There are tremendous benefits in doing things God’s way. Homeschool helps establish good parent child communications. Even when we’re correcting papers and working things out, there’s often opportunities for some true heart to heart which means we’re not strangers to our kids. Something else we avoid in having a Christian home is the way many of the children in the world entertain themselves while their parents have no knowledge of or control over or participation in what the children are doing. Of course our children occasionally go out by themselves but most of their entertainment is family. For example, we may prescreen a movie and if it’s clean we can watch it with them. Then when the movie’s over and the boys want to talk about it we can relate to what they’re saying. Often we can bring moral considerations into the conversation so it’s not just idle words, but a fruitful fellowship that commends us to each other’s consciences (2Cor4:2) while helping us get to know Christ and each other better. There are also times we go to the park or the beach and such as that. So we have a true fellowship with one another in our Christian home and that fellowship extends from bible study to homeschool to entertainment. It’s customary in our home that we have at least one meal a day together, usually dinner! And what happens at dinner? We talk. Sometimes the children babble and we have to correct that but often the conversations become useful in moral areas. We often discuss manners and sometimes can put to the test whether your God is your belly. Is someone stuffing themselves by taking the biggest piece of cake or can the children exercise love and temperance at the dinner table? There are many practical things that may come up for discussion at dinner. So how many unexpected blessings are we receiving as collateral benefits to the things God shows us to do; to have bible study, to homeschool, to share in the children’s recreation; things which we couldn’t have known when God told us to do them how important the unseen and unexpected side benefits were? That’s what the false “christians” are missing when they try to do things in the way of the world. They can’t see the wisdom of God and don’t understand the purpose of coming to God is to listen to Him, trust Him to do it His way and demonstrate God’s wisdom is better than the worlds. And when so-called “believers” won’t take the steps of faith to get to know God, to listen to Him and obey Him they end up professing to believe in a God who’s useless to them because they won’t do what He teaches. So they do what the world does but want God to bless it. But He’s not that kind of God. Why is it Jesus teaches you must be a doer of His Word? Because until you change what you’re doing, you won’t change what you get. And it isn’t the mere fact that you believe in God that changes what you receive or blesses you. It’s the fact that you believe in God in such a way as to let Him show you how to change what you’re doing. That’s where the blessing comes from. Any Christianity that’s looking to God to save you and take you to heaven without looking to God to show you how to live rightly is missing the whole point! Likewise any Christianity that’s praying for God to save your children without looking to God to show you how to raise your children so they can really get to know God is going to fail. Here’s a personal example concerning a man I’ve known for years. When I met him he was involved in a prison ministry and his daughter was only twelve. She was involved in school soccer and he’d often excuse her love for sports telling me “sports” are in the bible. This is of course untrue except for Paul’s allusion to running our race to win Everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. (1Cor9:25) which means we Christians aren’t involved in temporal “sports” since it’s they (the unbelievers) who run for the perishable crown, while we believers run for the eternal. His daughter is now 20 years old and she’s working in a bar. She’s unsaved. He keeps telling his friends, “I’m praying for her and one day God will break thru to her.” Perhaps God will eventually save her, but the best opportunity this man ever had for God to get thru to her was when she was twelve years old when he could have sat down with her and talked heart to heart and showed her the things of God and done something in her life where God could become real to her. How does he expect God to reach her now that she’s out of the home, living in fornication, partying with and surrounded by sinners where she’ll probably end up married to some worldly man. Now she’s headed full speed to hell. But she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives. (1Tim5:6) So how do you expect God to reach her now if you couldn’t reach her while she was living with you as a young and impressionable child? This man had no real relationship with his daughter while she lived with him. He never got to know her rightly or teach her about God because he was too busy with other things including a prison ministry where he was trying to save men he didn’t even know while he ignored the spiritual needs of his own daughter. (1Tim5:8) Do you think he had a daily bible study with her? No! He’s the kind who may think such things are of works! “We don’t need to do works. God will save her. He will do it all by Himself.” Yet this man is willing to “work” to save prisoners. Of course we can’t do anything without God, but when God moves He almost always uses people and it’s up to you to be available so He can use you! Also it’s right for you to pray for Him to use you. And you need to consider wisely what things are open for you to do. You’re living in a house with people you love. You have authority in that house and much influence. You’re the man of the house or a parent in that house; so you can minister to your children and get to know them and you can do many things for them that will help them to know God. Consider, this may be the best opportunity God will ever give you to reach your children. Who else will ever know your children better, love them better, and be able to minister to them better than you? No one else should be able to love your children better than you. No one else should be able to raise your children better than you. If you don’t do the job it probably won’t get done. The world can’t raise your children for you. Be ashamed, O Sidon; for the sea has spoken, the strength of the sea, saying, “I don’t labor, nor bring forth children; neither do I rear young men, nor bring up virgins.” (Is23:4) The world can’t raise your children – only you can! But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children, to such as keep His covenant, and to those who remember His commandments to do them. (Ps103:17,18) If you’ll get right with God He’ll save your sons and daughters. But getting right with Him means being obedient to Him and following His Spirit. In “My Father’s House” now that we’re obeying Him, God is saving our children. Yet He’s not doing it apart from us. He’s saving our children thru us by using us. We’re having bible studies with our children and we’re talking with them about God. We’re watching over their entertainment. We’re praying for them and with them and getting involved in the things they do. He’s saving our children because God is important to us and we’re making God important to them. God’s Word is coming out of our mouths and God Himself is manifesting in our love towards our young ones and in the way we’re living towards them because God is alive in us and His love is moving upon our children thru us. That’s how He’s saving our children. It’s a sad fact that most “christians” and “churches” are totally ignorant of the way they ought to be raising their children in the Lord! And when we try to tell them how if they’ll look to God He’ll save their children, many don’t even want to understand what we’re saying. They can’t receive such things as God’s doing in us. They don’t even understand what looking to God means; to follow His instructions and obey Him. How can you change the way you relate to your children? You have to change the way you think about them and the way you behave towards them. You must change the things you talk about. You’re even going to change the way you pray. But you can’t stop at just praying. You must expect God to show you effectual things to do for the saving of your children. I pray for my children everyday, and everyday, often instantly, God gives me an opening to talk to them concerning the things I’m praying about. So it’s not like God’s saying, “Ok, I’ll take care of this and you just go back to bed.” But rather it is like “Ok. Bill. We’ll straighten that out. Here’s how we’ll do it. You’ll talk to them about this and I’ll convict them!” We’re co-workers with Christ. It’s an error to think God will do it without you and it’s an error to think you can do it without God. There are multitudes on both sides of that error. “I’ve prayed so God’s going to do it! I’m going to let my daughter play soccer and run around with the sinners while I never have any real time with her, because God will save her anyway.” You’re expecting God to work without you being His fellow worker. But then you’ll see people who are so strict and legal that they force every precept of their religion on their children in the flesh and the kids can’t take it. When people try to change their children’s behavior without the love and the wisdom of God they always fail. But if you’ll depend on God – look to God – love God – care about God – talk to God; you’ll become a fellow worker with Him and by His Spirit He’ll show you His way to do the needful things and those ways will be blessed. Then you’ll bring forth a good harvest and good results because you’re listening to the wisest mind in the whole universe and doing things the way He says they should be done. And that’s where God’s true salvation is found for you and your children. Those who won’t take the time to do this don’t count the souls of their children as precious – it’s always expensive to buy and to keep what’s precious! And what’s more precious than the souls of your children? Prophecy: There’s no generation gap in My family, saith the Lord. For all know me from the least to the greatest and they all speak the same language, which language is My Word by My Spirit, which language is holy love. And in My Kingdom the parents know Me by spending time with Me as they know their children by spending time with their children. And they can help their children to spend time with Me and learn to know Me because the parents know Me. So you can bring your children to Me and I’ll help you do that and I’ll receive your children when you bring them to Me and I’ll show them as I’ve shown you that I can be their God as I’m your God. There’s no generation gap in My family, saith the Lord. And where that gap exists it’s because of sin, it’s because of flesh, it’s because of selfishness. It’s because of doctrines of demons and the workings of satan that children are separated from their parents and the parents don’t know the minds and hearts of their children. The generation of My wrath – the children whom I’ll destroy in that day are the spiritually dead who’ve been ignored by their parents, emotionally aborted by their parents, even cast away by an uncaring generation of parents who had no quality time for them nor for Me. They’re a generation of orphans who were left to their own devices to raise themselves and became prey to every kind of demon because their parents didn’t love them, care for them, watch over them and lead them to righteousness. It shall not be so in My house, saith the Lord. But My people will love their children, they’ll bear the cross for their children, they’ll lay down their lives for their children even on a daily basis, and they’ll watch over their children and get to know their children. They’ll help their children to know Me and their children will become My children and I’ll bless them, both parents and children, saith the Lord. (Prophecy delivered at “My Father’s House”)
The Glory of His Grace is offered free of
charge. However, tax-deductible contributions can be made to “My Father’s House”
and are much appreciated.
113 Martin St. Indian Harbour Beach, FL, USA 32937
|
|
Copyright © 2006 My Father's House Incorporated
|
