Family Time
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The Family Is Designed To Nurture Each Other.
The Family Is Designed To Nurture Each Other.
No child ever feels more alive - more secure - than when they are with their parents. Do you remember getting separated from your parents in the store when you were little?
Ill: When I found myself in the wrong car at Drug Town.
We all came into life with a desperate need to be nurtured, cared for, and to deeply, emotionally connect with our parents.
Somehow, we as parents reason that the time our children need us most is when they are little - when they are so dependent upon us.
Parents, the fact that our teenagers can feed and dress themselves is no reason to conclude that they no longer need us.
Teens - the fact that you can feed and dress yourself is no reason to conclude that you no longer need your parents.
Our teenagers may not need help brushing their teeth but they desperately need spiritual guidance and mentoring. Their needs transition to being less physical and more spiritual.
Is it any coincidence that the devil creates more family distractions, more fragmenting opportunities, more life pressures when our children are teenagers?
Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)
That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
In Ephesians 6:4, we see the word, “nurture.” That word means “training, upbringing, discipline, educate, to promote the growth of...”
The family is the unit that God has designed to be used to promote the growth of young people in every area but especially spiritual growth. We see that even in the life of Christ...
And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.
Because God has designed the family for this purpose, can their be an doubt, then, why Satan hates our families so much?!?
Nurturing takes time.
Nurturing takes time.
And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
There is no “Reader’s Digest Condensed Version” of parenting.
God in His infinite wisdom has given parents about 18 years in which to nurture their children.
Unfortunately, some parents wait until the very last minute to accomplish the “nurturing.”
Ill: Parents go away for the night and leave a list of chores to do. Children wait until the last minute to get them done.
I have heard it said, of parenting, “The days are long; the years are short.”
Patch the Pirate wrote a song, entitled, “Cherish the Moments.”
Read my book, rub my back;
Mommy, listen to my prayer.
Let me sit in your lap.
Daddy, fly me through the air.
Throw a ball, make a snack;
Can we go to the park?
Tuck me in, hold me close;
I'm afraid of the dark.
Cherish the moment;
Soon you'll be apart.
Cling to the mem'ry;
Clasp it to your heart.
Soon comes the day when
you'll have no child to hold,
So cherish,
cherish the moment.
Think ahead to a time
When your little ones are grown;
Hold them tight, don't lose sight
Of the blessings you have known.
Think ahead to a time
When your little boy's a man
And you'd give anything
Just to hold him again.
Determine to make nurturing time a reality.
Determine to make nurturing time a reality.
We cannot ignore God’s command to nurture our children. How we actually go about fulfilling this command in our own individual families is up to each of us - individually. We just must determine to make it happen.
Combine quality time with quantity time.
Combine quality time with quantity time.
As is always the case, Jesus Christ is the best example that we have for this. We see this truth in Matthew chapter 5. The Sermon on the Mount, which is contained in Matthew chapter 5-7, was directed to the disciples.
And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
We also see this truth from the Apostle Paul:
But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
Nurturing takes time. If it is to happen, we must determine for it to happen and we must seek to combine quality time with quantity time.
Young people, in this passage of Scripture we generally focus on the “Children obey.” This morning, we have looked more at the “Fathers…bring them up in the nurture.”
While we’ll get to the “obey” part later, for now, think about that word “honor.” That means to “highly value.” If you have been shrugging off your parents’ involvement in your life, shunning them to your friends, and avoiding them, you’re not only deeply hurting them, you are getting reeled into the devil’s fishing boat! It’s a trap! Don’t fall for it. Resist the course of culture. Determine that you will honor - highly value - your parents!
Parents Are Challenged To Find Balance.
Parents Are Challenged To Find Balance.
Balance: That seemingly unattainable experience in our lives where we are at peace and all the various aspects of our lives are in harmony!
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
Ill: Juggle - Before I can juggle 3 items, I must learn to juggle 2. Before I can juggle 2 items, I must learn to juggle 1.
Deuteronomy chapter 6:4-9 deals with that one item that we must get a handle on if we are to experience balance in our lives. That one “item” is the Lord!
We are challenged to love God with our whole hearts.
We are challenged to love God with our whole hearts.
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
Is there anything that you love more than God?
We are challenged to keep God’s Word in our hearts.
We are challenged to keep God’s Word in our hearts.
Blessed is the man That walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor standeth in the way of sinners, Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord; And in his law doth he meditate day and night.
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, That I might not sin against thee.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
We are challenged to teach God’s Word to our children.
We are challenged to teach God’s Word to our children.
We will not hide them from their children, Shewing to the generation to come The praises of the Lord, and his strength, And his wonderful works that he hath done.
That they might set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep his commandments:
God must have first place above everything else in our life. Before we can be the parent He wants us to be, He must have all of us and we must live daily in full abandon and surrender to His good pleasure. Only then can “balance” come to our lives!
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Ask yourself:
Why should our children obey us if we are not obeying God?
Why should our children love God if we love anything else more than God?
Why should our children spend time with us if we are not spending time with our Heavenly Father?
The Family Must Make Time Together a Top Priority.
The Family Must Make Time Together a Top Priority.
Turn to Deuteronomy 6:4-9.
And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
It should be pretty clear from this verse that teaching our children God’s Word should be a priority. Therefore, time together as a family should be a priority.
Parents, don’t accept - especially as your children get older - distance in your relationship with your child as normal. It’s not normal.
Young people, don’t accept distance in your relationship with your parents as normal. It’s not normal.
We must understand that we are dealing with a culture that distances fathers and their children.
But, Pastor Campbell, I don’t have a “normal family.” What do I do?
In the absence of a godly father - or some other family situation that is not “normal” - only the wonderful grace of God can fully meet the deep needs of a young person’s heart.
That they might set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep his commandments:
Closing:
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Where’s your time? How do you spend your time? To nurture our children in the Lord takes time.
Grandparents, pray for your children and their relationship with your grandchildren. How might you, lovingly, encourage them that “the days are long but the years are short?” How might you encourage them to nurture your grandchildren? How might you encourage your grandchildren to reach out for their parents?
Church family, how might you encourage the parent/child relationship of those within our church family? How might you encourage those young people, in our church, who might not have a father? How might you encourage them to set their hop in God?
This message was for everyone. Respond to the working of God in your life.