The World's Greatest Undertaking
The World’s Greatest Undertaking Deut. 6:1-9
EBC 5/7/09
As we think this morning about our mothers one thing of great value comes to mind- the raising of our children.
Someone asked Former President George Bush what he thought his greatest accomplishment was:
1- He might have mentioned his time as a Pilot in WWII
2- He might have mentioned his 8 years as V.P under Ronald Reagan
3- He might have spoken of his time as head of the CIA
4- He might have spoken of his times as the Ambassador to China
5- He might have spoken of his times as President of the US
6- But, his greatest accomplishment he felt was that his children still came to him.
Psa. 127:3- in this day we live in we seem to have forgotten the blessings of the lord. We live in an era when children are considered a burden and parenting is seen as a nuisance.
We must remember that our children have been given to us by God to mature them in the image of God.
Let’s talk for a few minutes on raising our children:
I.Right Living (1-3)
A.Successful parenting always begins with the parents relationship with the Lord.
B. Parents will never be the Parents they need to be until they have a walk with the Lord that He approves of.
1. A reverence (2)- we are told to fear the Lord to have reverence for his glory. We are told to bring our lives under his leadership.
a. A godly parent places God’s will above all else.
2. A reaction- when we fear the Lord as we should then we will be obedient to His word. There is no better witness for a mom and dad than for the child to see the Bible is important to the parents, that God’s word is the rule for the home.
a. God’s standards should be our standards.
II.Right Loving (4-5)
A.We must love the Lord supremely.
1. He is to be our focus (4)there are to be no other Gods in our lives. Many times our children see us acting in a way that other things are put before the Lord. Many it’s down time, a friends, a job, a hobby- how do we explain that to our children?
a. Whatever comes ahead of God is an idol.
b. Our children needs to see that in our lives nothing comes before the Lord.
c. Why do you think many children rejected the faith of their parents- it’s because there was no reality in their faith.
2. He is to be our fixation (5)- our love for God is to motivate us in every area of like. Our children need to see our love for God is real.
III.Right Learning (6-9)
The word of God should be the primary motivator in our lives in raising our children
A.We are to store them up (6)- the word is to be in me and to change me. If I expect the word of God to impact my children then it has to impact me. Nothing happens thru me until it happens in me.
1. It is important then parents have a time of Bible study and prayer.
2. If we expect to raise godly children we must first be godly parents.
B. We are to share them (7-9) we are to diligently teach the word to our children.
1. Diligent- to whet, to sharpen. This carries the idea of penetrating something. Our training must penetrate the children’s minds.
2. We are to assist our children in developing a set of convictions that will guide them thru life.
a. 1 Thess 2:11- 3 ways to influence our children
1. Exhort- we are to come alongside and encourage them
2. Encourage- seek to bring out the best in our children by encouraging them in the things they do correctly
3. Charge- to correct. There are times when we simply cannot condone what our child is doing and we have to correct them. Do this with a reasonable attitude. The Parents need to be the claiming influence in the home.
a. Each child is uniquely formed by God
b. Each child has a sin nature- Susannah Wesley, who raised 17 children, including John and Charles Wesley, and who I would consider to be somewhat of an expert said this about discipline, "The parent that studies to subdue self-will in his child works together with God in renewing and saving a soul. The parent who indulges it does the devil's work, makes salvation unattainable, and does all that in him lies to damn his child, soul and body forever.”