For The Love Of Our Children

“For The Love of Our Children”

Psalm 127:3, 4

Just as an arrow is only as good as the bow that shoots it, so children are only as good as the parents that raise them. That is…parents that really care, parents that really invest in their children’s lives!

Who wants to hunt or defend themselves with crooked arrows! Just as straight arrows are indispensable for the success of the archer, so are strong children the success of society!

Our society is only as good as the next generation! I ask, how is our next generation in 2 areas: Morally and Spiritually? Notice that I didn’t say, the condition of social security, military strength or the national debt! Because none of that will matter if our children have no moral or spiritual foundation! Nothing else matters if our children are not straight arrows!

It’s a frightening thing when a child at such a young age becomes crooked in their thinking, in their behavior and in their morals…Listen…once society breaks the child’s foundation – society as it is, does not have the power to fix it!

Ecclesiastes 1:15 “What is crooked cannot be made straight...”

I ask, are we raising a Proverb 2:15 generation? “Whose ways are crooked, and who are devious in their paths.”

We’ve seen the breakdown of our family over the last 2 decades and now we are left with a mess on our hands! We’re left with families without value!

As Dr. Dobson states, “After decades of wild expenditures… it is appropriate that we ask what we have accomplished with these precious resources (children). What did we get for our money? Did the experts and the reformers deliver on their promises? Are our children better off now than before…?”

We better start reinvesting our resources because:

· In California, only 25% of every tax dollar reaches the public school classroom.

· The SAT scores of U.S. children are at their lowest levels in 30 years.

· American teenage girls have 450,000 abortions yearly.

· Tonight, 45% of all children in the U.S. will sleep in homes without their father.

· 70% of 18 year olds now endorse the idea that it is morally acceptable to have children outside of marriage.

· 78% of California high schools now have medal detector.

· 35% of California teens dropout of high school.

· Everyday the average American 7 year old will watch 6.5 hours of T.V.

· The teenage suicide rate has risen 350% since 1960.

· Every 21 seconds an American teenage girl gets pregnant. Currently California has the highest rate in the world!

Ronald Reagan said, “If we fail to instruct our children in justice, religion and liberty, we will be condemning them to a world without virtue, a life in the twilight of a civilization where the great truths have been forgotten.”

I ask - are we now experiencing the reality of this statement?

For The Love of Our Children, We Must:

1. Protect From a Cult Centered Environment.

2 Corinthians 11:13 “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.”

America has fast become the melting pot for cultic activity. Before 1860 there was very little cult activity in America. More than ever parents need to know whom their teens are associating with! I know this is a scary thought, but when was the last time you went in to their room?

George Gallup states, “This is the most crucial decade in history. Designer, a la carte religion flourishes as traditional Christianity is undermined by counterfeits.”

If you go to our website, you can get the message I brought last Sunday night and learn the physiological structure that make up the average cult.

How do we define a cult? Any religious group that:

· Is in search of any new kind of mystical experience.

· Denies one or more of the essential teachings of historic Christianity.

· Demands strict control over anyone’s life.

· Quickly tries to hypnotize or brainwash new recruits.

Not only do cults want your child but also the occult preys on teens! So let’s look at 2 disturbing areas:

a. Satanism.

Satanism preys on the teenager that doesn’t fit into the normal flow of life and has a very dysfunctional home life. The recruiter for Satanism isn’t looking for the 30 year old, but rather the 14 year old.

It’s a major contributor to crime across this nation. In 2003, Calavaras County had 48 crimes that were connected to satanic rituals.

Satanism uses 3 things to recruit with:

· Promise of power

· Promotion of sex

· Provisions of drugs

Sean Sellers was a Satanist, at the age of 16 killed a convenience store clerk and then his own parents.