It's All About Submission Series

INTRODUCTION

Listen to some statistics regarding family today:

 Every 8 seconds of every school day, a child drops out of school

 Every 26 seconds a child runs away from home

 Every 47 seconds a child is either abused or neglected

 Every 7 minutes a child is arrested for a drug offense

 Every 36 minutes a child is either hurt or killed by a gun

Why?

 In Coweta County, did you realize that there are over 270 kids in foster care.

 Reach foster care because of some type of crime

There is a breakdown in the home today. Over the last several weeks, we’ve been looking at the relationships of husband & wife, mothers, and today children. What’s interesting to me, is that of those that commented about what God had to say, not one of them saw the point of the whole passage. Rather than understand what Paul was saying, what I heard was a justification for their setup of family.

We all want to justify our way of living. We want to show we know what’s best when it comes to our marriage, our spouse, or our family. But tell me something, IF WE KNOW WHAT’S BEST, then why are 1 in 2 marriages ending in divorce? IF WE KNOW WHAT’S BEST, then why do we have those statistics?

The truth is WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT’S BEST and the condition of the family is proof of it. We have taken God’s Word and tossed it to justify a life lived without the control of the Spirit. Instead of “Being filled with the Spirit” (wisdom) as Paul says, we are “filled with self”.

OUR problem is that we DON’T LIKE THIS WORD SUBMISSION because it means that WE ARE NOT IN CONTROL.

So this morning: IF YOU HAVE A PERFECT HOME, NO PROBLEMS – NO CONCERNS, YOU ARE JUST PERFECT IN THE WIND – GO AHEAD PUT THIS BOOK ASIDE.

But if not, if you are like me, and struggle with how to raise a Godly family in this mess of a world, then I challenge you this morning TO DIG WITH ME. SEARCH WITH ME SO THAT OUR FAMILIES WILL NOT BE ONE OF THE STATISTICS.

It was BILLY GRAHAM that said: “Children will invariably talk, eat, walk, think, respond, and act like their parents. Give them a target to shoot at. Give them a goal to work toward. Give them a pattern that they can see clearly, and you give them something that gold and silver cannot buy”.

What are your children taking from your example – Mom and Dad? What do they see? Do they see home the way God set it up? Or do they see one playing the other, cutting, picking, manipulating, arguing, fighting, misery, and everything God would not have them see? Yea man, they have a target!

Q: Mom’s & Dad’s! What voice are you obeying as a parent? Is it pop psychology? Is it the latest videotape series? Is it nothing at all but pure selfishness? Are you flying in life by the seat of your pants?

There is a Book out there that will help you parent. One that will help you not be one of the statistics. It’s the all time best seller – God’s Word. But it’s not the way of the world. It’s different. It’s against society. But it’s proven, tested, and secure IF WE WOULD BE TRUST IT’S VOICE.

PRAYER

Kids, a lot of today’s passage is directed to you giving you 2 Commands in your part of the family. You see, just like Mom and Dad, you too have a part.

I. (6:1) OBEY

1. READ VERSE 1

a. 1ST OF 2 COMMANDS: “OBEY YOUR PARENTS”

The Greek for the word “OBEY” is an interesting one.

It carries the idea of a soldier listening carefully instructions from his commanding officer. It’s a word of action.

c. KIDS, Paul is addressing you directly here.

 Doesn’t say, “Parents, have your kids obey”

 The word “children” comes from the Greek “teknia”.

Doesn’t mean “little ones” as we think. It refers to any person living under the roof of a parent’s home.

APPL: Whether you or 9 or 19, 3 or 23, if you live under your parent’s roof, then you are a ‘teknia’. If you eat their food, use their bathroom, then this is the Word of God for you. OBEY YOUR MOM AND DAD.

2. How is this “obedience” to take place? “IN THE LORD”.

a. 5-18) “Be filled with the Spirit” –

• 19- being kind to each other (respectful)

• 20- being thankful for your parents – they are gifts

• 21- being submissive to them in the reverence of the Lord

3. Parents, think about this a moment: