THE CHILDREN
Deuteronomy 4:7 – 10 “For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him? And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day? Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren, especially concerning the day you stood before the Lord your God in Horeb, when the Lord said to me, ‘Gather the people to Me, and I will 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.’
Introduction: Children are important. They are important to God and to the church; and should be important to you. The disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?" Calling to His side a child, Jesus put the child in the midst of them..."(Matthew 18:1-2). Children play a major part in the future of our church and churches around the world. They our future! Because children are important we have a responsibility to Love, Teach, Protect, and Win them.
I. Love the Children
A. Psalms 127:3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward. (NASB) Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward.
B. Children are a “reward” from the Lord. That means that they are to be cherished and valued.
C. Mark 10:13 - 16 (NKJV) Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.
D. Every child needs to know he’s loved.
E. Psalm 104:13-14 "As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who honor him, for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust."
F. Children need to be loved unconditionally. Unconditional love is love with no strings attached. No matter what the child does, the love remains. It is something a child can always count on. Conditional love is love that depends on performance. Conditional love is commercial, used as a reward or as part of a trade of affections. With conditional love, children have to be successful to gain their parent’s love. Unconditional love does not lend itself to measurement. Children who experience unconditional love feel safe and secure. Sadly, children who experience conditional love feel insecure and afraid.
Unconditional Love’s Effects on Children Conditional Love’s Effects on Children
• Feel secure, safe and validated in the relationship
• Focuses on responsibilities
• Willing to take risks to grow
• Experiences a safe haven to face a judgmental and performance-oriented world
• Feels inner peace, cooperative and confident in relating to others
• Focuses on strengths • Fears loss of relationship or is indifferent
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• Focuses on loss and fear
• Focuses on being cautious
• Experiences an insecure world where there is no place to rest and refuel
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• Feels competitive towards others
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• Focuses on deficits
II. Teach the Children
A. Deuteronomy 6:5 - 9 (NKJV) You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
B. A Father and his small son were out walking one day when the lad asked how electricity could go through the wires stretched between the telephone poles. “I don’t know,” said his father. “I never knew much about electricity.” A few blocks farther on, the boy asked what caused lightning and thunder. “That too has puzzled me,” came the reply. The youngster continued to inquire about many things, none of which the father could explain. Finally, as they were nearing home, the boy said, "Pop, I hope you didn’t mind all those questions." "Not at all," replied his father. "How else are you going to learn!" - Our Daily Bread
C. Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV) Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.
D. Teach them to obey authority. We live in a culture that tends to reject authority. We chaff against being told what to do. We don’t trust people in charge. We don’t believe in our senators and representatives. We don’t trust our police. We don’t believe our pastors and priests. We challenge our teachers. And, children learn quickly, we don’t have to listen to our parents.
E. Deuteronomy 5.16 "Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you."
F. Ephesians 6.1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.!
G. A father once gave this message to his son: "As long as you live in this house you will follow the rules. When you have your own house, you can make your own rules. In this house we do not have a democracy. I did not campaign to be your father. You did not vote for me. We are father and son by the grace of God, and I accept that privilege and awesome responsibility. In accepting it I have an obligation to perform the role of a father. I am not your ’pal.’ We can share many things, but we are not pals. I am your father. This is 100 times more than what a pal is. I’m also your friend, but we are on entirely different levels. You will do, in this house, as I say and whatever I ask you to do is motivated by love. This will be hard for you to understand until you have a son of your own. Until then, trust me." - copied
III. Protect the Children
A. The early American Indians had a unique practice of training young braves. On the night of a boy’s thirteenth birthday, after learning hunting, scouting, and fishing skills, he was put to one final test. He was placed in a dense forest to spend the entire night alone. Until then, he had never been away from the security of the family and the tribe. But on this night, he was blindfolded and taken several miles away. When he took off the blindfold, he was in the middle of a thick woods and he was terrified! Every time a twig snapped, he visualized a wild animal ready to pounce. After what seemed like an eternity, dawn broke and the first rays of sunlight entered the interior of the forest. Looking around, the boy saw flowers, trees, and the outline of the path. Then, to his utter astonishment, he beheld the figure of a man standing just a few feet away, armed. It was his father. He had been there all night long. Our Daily Bread
B. Mark 9:42 (NKJV) But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea.
C. Protect your child from influences which war against his or her soul.
D. Proverbs 29:15 A child left to himself brings shame to his mother.
E. Are we diligent in protecting them from the evil that could bring them spiritual injury? Are we teaching them about the threats of the world, the flesh, and the devil? (1 John 2:13 - 17 (NKJV) I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, because you have known the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one. Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.).
F. Do we know their friends? Do we monitor their computer activity?
G. One of the best ways to protect your child is by instilling within them a set of values that he or she obtains from the example that you set before them.
H. Just Like Daddy A teardrop crept into my eye as I knelt on bended knee;
Next to a gold haired tiny lad whose age was just past three.
He prayed with such simplicity “Please make me big and strong,
Just like Daddy, don’t you see? Watch o’er me all night long.”
“Jesus, make me tall and brave, like my Daddy next to me.”
This simple prayer he prayed tonight filled my heart with humility.
As I heard his voice so wee and small offer his prayer to God,
I thought these little footsteps someday my path may trod!
Oh, Lord, as I turn my eyes above and guidance ask from Thee;
Keep my walk ever so straight for the little feet that follow me.
Buoy me when I stumble, and lift me when I fail,
Guard this tiny bit of boy as he travels down life’s trail.
Make me what he thinks I am is my humble gracious plea
Help me ever be the man this small lad sees in me!
IV. Bring the children to Christ
A. Mark 10:13 - 16 (NKJV) Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it." And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.
B. Matthew 19:13 - 14 (NASB) Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. 14But Jesus said, "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
C. Parents don’t like to think of their children as being lost, and sometimes children don’t like to face the fact that their parents are lost. We are prone to think in terms of the other fellow’s children perhaps being lost, but not our own. But the truth is that anyone, having reached an age of understanding, who is without Christ is lost. If one child, in leaving the church building, were to get lost on the way home—that is to say, lost from the presence of his or her parents, the police, friends and the whole community would be called out to search and search until the lost child had been found. The parents would be in tears and beside themselves, tasting their bitter tears because their child was lost. Yet there are children (some who are adults by now), perhaps, in your very own home who are lost, lost to God, lost to Christ, lost to life and lost to the New Birth; but you lie down at night and sleep soundly without a thought of the doomed, helpless, lost condition of that lost child. How can you be so unconcerned? - copied
D. Parents should aim at bringing their children to a saving knowledge of Christ. It is the shared responsibility of the parents and the church body to remove any obstacles and to lead children to Jesus. Although parents are primarily responsible for providing biblical training, it is the responsibility of the church to provide support, additional training, and the necessary resources for both the children and parents.
E. The influence you have on your child is evidenced by Timothy. 2 Timothy 1:1 - 5 (NKJV) Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, To Timothy, a beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also.
Disclaimer: Source material for this sermon has been gleaned from many different sources. I have attempted to acknowledge these sources whenever possible. Please feel free to use this message as God’s Holy Spirit directs your heart.
