DATE Sept 2006
ISSUES THAT SHOULD BE SETTLED BY AGE 12!!
Luke 2:40-42.
Lu 2:40 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.
41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover.
42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. (KJV)
INTRODUCTION: (Prov 22:6) "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
Everyone be between the ages of 11 years old and 13 years old – please stand. Between 11 and 13. Those of you standing you will soon be 12 years of age – you are now 12 years of age – or you have just past the age of 12 years old. Am I right?
For the most part, the homes of today, especially those who are rearing children, have taken the approach of the humanistic society. Parents have yielded the authority of the home to that of the socially accepted approach. It seems that most homes are trying to rear their child according to how the latest TV sitcom, or to the schedule of activities prepared by the community.
What about the home in which Jesus grew up in? Have you ever stopped to think about that home? The Bible gives us a portion of the childhood life of our Saviour, Lord Jesus Christ, for a purpose. We can examine His teen years and pre-teen education and apply these recorded principles in our own children’s lives.
Too often we use Prov. 22:6, “Train up a child....” as a comfort that a child will come back to God after he/she has sown their wild oats, but I believe that it is saying that if we will use total Bible principles that we don’t even have to go through that time of waywardness or straying.
Now remember that Jesus was born of a virgin. He was all God and all man. That is hard for a natural mind to comprehend. Neither did He become more of God later on in His life. We read on further in the text we have for tonight and see that:
(Luke 2:43) "And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it."
(Luke 2:44) "But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance."
(Luke 2:45) "And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him."
(Luke 2:46) "And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions."
(Luke 2:47) "And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers."
To our youth tonight, I want to challenge them to remember that they also, and not only the adults, are to be “conformed to the image of His Son”. Therefore, this would tell us that there are some things that should be settled in our life at an early age. The reason that this doesn’t happen many times is two fold:
A. Parents Are Not Willing To Do That Which Must Be Done To Insure That The Things Are Settled.
It requires much labour to train up a child in the way in which he should go. It takes effort and hard work to rear children properly. The horse trainers say that there is more to training a horse than just reading it a book on how to win races. I believe that same principle will apply to training up our children.
B. The Child Is Not Willing To Be Submitted To The Parent.
Before you are ready to go on to adulthood you must have these issues settled. If you are past twelve and these have not been done, then you need to do it this day. It matters not whether you are 12, 14, or 20 you cannot go on to the next level until you have these issues settled.
Let me add quickly, I know some 40 & 50 year old people who have not settled these same issues, and they are part of the main problem in Christianity today.
Our children have seen so many “Reality Shows” on TV that now they have been taught to make their own decisions, ignore the parental history, live for self. Whatever you want get it.
I. JESUS HAD SETTLED THE CHURCH ATTENDANCE BY THE AGE OF TWELVE
Jesus was with His parents every time they attended the House of God. It was a settled issue. As parents, you should have already settled this matter in the heart of your child. By the time a person is twelve years old church should be as much part of their lives as is going to bed at night.
A. Teach Them Why We Go To Church.
1. To worship God.
2. To be a testimony to the lost. When passers by see this parking lot full on Sunday and again on Wednesday, it is a testimony to the fact that Jesus Christ saves sinners. It is a testimony that you, as His children, love Him.
3. To learn the Word of God. If you are here at each service then you will learn each Sunday something about God, His Word, and His Son Jesus.
4. To learn the will of God. Most men and women who are in full time service to God learned of His calling for their life at church. They certainly didn’t learn it from the shores of the lakes or the greens of the golf course.
B. Teach Them When To Go To Church.
1. Every time the church doors are open. If the doors are open and the lights are turned on, then there is something going on that you and your family need to hear.
2. There ought not be a question if you as a family go to church or not. That should be a settled issue.
Teach them the time to be at church – before church starts.
The same should be taught them about whoever or wherever they work. Arrive long before time to start to work or time for church to start.
If you are past twelve and you have not settled this matter of being in the house of God every service, then you need to start over and get it settled.
When I skipped church one Sunday to go and play with one of my friends, my mother cried when she got home. I had failed her. That night she prayed and cried, “Oh, God where have I failed? What did I do wrong that has caused Ivan to skip church?”
Mom! I was there for Sunday School – I only missed half of the service. My mom taught the world was going to end, because I skipped church. I was 14 years old. I was already sleeping by myself at night. I could take baths by myself. I could dress myself. I even shaved occasionally. I learned that day the importance of being in church every Sunday. I know how much it meant to my mother. Later I learned how important it was to me individually.
Hear me, you need the house of God. You need it Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, Revival time, and every other time that something is going on down there at the church. The evening church services are more important than getting ready for school tomorrow. Parents, if you teach and practice staying home from church during evening services because tomorrow is a school day, you are making a giant mistake.
If you haven’t gotten this settled, then your place is in the altar tonight settling this before God.
II. JESUS HAD SETTLED THE RESPECT ISSUE BY THE TIME HE WAS TWELVE Vs 46.
Lu 2:46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. (KJV)
Notice the order:
A. Listen First. That is called respect.
Remember who we are talking about here. The Lord of Glory. The One who created the universe, the One who hung the moon in its place, the One who put the stars in the heavens, Who at twelve years of age understood the need of respecting His elders, listened first.
Those who are growing up in today would have never made it in the 1940’s. You would have been dead meat. One time of talking back to your mother or dad and you would have found yourself in orbit.
My dad never spanked me nor my older sisters. My mother told the story many times that when my older sister was three years old that they were at someone’s house visiting and Elaine, my older sister, was running with the other children her age. Apparently they were making too much noise, and my dad said, “Elaine, sit down and be quiet.”
My mother said that Elaine sat down immediately, right in the middle of the floor. She didn’t pass “Go”, she didn’t collect $200. She sat down in obedience.
Why? She knew to listen, and when she heard the voice of her father, she knew to obey. This had been accomplished without having ever spanked her or being beaten with a horse whip. (Don’t misunderstand me, I am for whipping a child. Every child needs about four or five good whippings every day.) You can make your child mind. You can teach them respect without having to kill them.
Now listen to me. There are parents in this room right now who need to take heed from my older sister. You need to teach your children respect. Teach them to listen.
I hear these children talking back to their parents. The dad or mom will say, “Now come on and make daddy happy.” Or “Mommy doesn’t want you to act ugly.”
Hey, that won’t teach respect. I’ll tell you how to do it, In three “easy lessons”:
Lesson #1 - Make the punishment much more severe than the pleasure of the disobedient act.
Lesson #2 - Repeat Lesson #1.
Lesson #3 - Repeat Lesson #1 and Lesson #2.
We used to have an electric fence around our place and our cows would go to that fence ONCE and only ONCE and stick their nose to that fence, and they never need a reminder. They knew that they did not want to play around fences.
Are you trying to tell me that your child is not as smart as an “Old Jersey Cow?”
I have heard parents say, “They are just hyper-active.” No, they are disrespectful. Here’s a good one, “They are still in the learning stage.” Isn’t that smart. Of course they are still in the learning stage. That’s why you must teach them to be respectful.
Too many of you have been influenced by this humanistic philosophy of warping your child if you make them mind. If you have adopted this, then you are the loser.
Teach your child to listen.
1. Listen to their preacher. I won’t ruin their minds if they listen to me. I won’t brain wash them. I won’t turn them into zombies.
2. Listen to their elders. Hey, kids adults DO know more than you. You parents DO know more than you. Your teachers at school DO know more than you. (If they are born again Christians and believe like we do.)
Teach them to listen. Jesus listened first.
3. Listen to your mother.
There is something about a pre-teen or early teenagers that think that moms grow dumber and dumber as the teen grows older. That is just not true. Moms, do not allow your child to argue with you. Hey, mom, you are always right. You have the choice of making the rules. You can make them any way you want to, and it is up to the child to follow YOUR rules. I used to change the rules right in the middle of the game, if need be. I could do that. I was the daddy. My kids played the game of life the way I wanted to play.
Some of you are scared to death to make your children obey. You are afraid of your child. God meant for children to be a blessing, not a threat to society.
Last Tuesday, my wife and I went to dinner with the Lewis’. There was a family setting right behind us with a child about two years old. Something happened the child didn’t like and he threw his plate in the floor – food and all. The mother got down in the floor and cleaned it up. It’s not that hard to teach a child to obey.
Teach them respect.
I don’t recall any of our three sons ever talking back to their mother. They knew that if they did, that their dad would deck them right there. They would have gotten decked twice, once by their mother, and then by me. I always made the punishment much more severe than the pleasure of disobeying. It just wasn’t worth it.
B. Ask Later. That’s called learning.
If you will listen your question may be answered before you ever have to ask it.
III. JESUS HAD SETTLED THE PURPOSE OF LIFE ISSUE BY THE TIME HE WAS TWELVE Vs 49
A. At The Age Of Twelve He Realized That There Was Purpose For Him. (Luke 2:49) "And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?"
Listen to me, God has a specific purpose for each one of you, children and adults alike. No one was placed in this earth with no assignment. Jesus knew that He had a purpose in life.
B. By The Time You Are Twelve You Should Be Giving Much Thought To What God Wants You To Do.
Listen to me: He is not calling any of you to be race car drivers.
He is not calling any of you young ladies to be fashion models.
He is not calling you to be Hollywood stars. Let the liberals fill all of these positions.
He is not calling you guys to be “Mr. Universe.”
Nor the girls to be “Miss America.”
Keep yourself clean, obedient, listening, and God will give you your purpose in life. You are to be about the Father’s business.
Each of you should plan to prepare yourself for some type of ministry. If God doesn’t call you into a full time ministry position – you will at least be able to work and be of great help to the leaders of the church.
Each of you should have at least one year of Bible College – I would prefer two years. If you are going into a full time ministry then acquire you complete preparation from Bible College.
C. Settle The Purpose In Life Issue Of Marrying The Right Person.
Hey, you probably haven’t met him or her yet. Not many people marry their childhood sweetheart.
You leave this matter of marrying the right person up to God. He can bring that person to you. If you go looking for him/her you will marry the first one you come to. If you go looking for one you will you’re your find on appearance. You can tell by looking at the husbands tonight that the women did not marry their husband because of his good looks. (I’m just kidding – don’t get upset with me. I was just having fun.) God already has that person picked out for you. He is preparing him/her for you. If you don’t stay out of it, you will mess it up.
He does not need your help in preparing them for you. You would say, “Lord, shave a little off here and change a little there.” God knows who you need. Hey, you will find them in the right time. God will allow your paths to cross.
IV. JESUS HAD SETTLED THE AUTHORITY ISSUE BY THE TIME HE WAS TWELVE Vs 51
(Luke 2:51) "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."
A. “He Was Subject Unto Them...” The Carpenter’s Son. This depicts family authority.
When Jesus emerged from obscurity He had put in thirty years of preparation for just three years of ministry. He was subject to His parents during that thirty years. He knew the discipline of His home. He laboured as a carpenter in Nazareth. He kept Himself under the authority of His parents until He was thirty years old.
B. Everyone Is Under The Authority Of Someone.
The whole problem in America today is that people will not submit to authority. “You are not going to tell me what to do.” “I don’t have to do what you say.”
Listen to me, kids and parents, “If an adult speaks, then you as a child should listen, and yield authority.” I’m not talking about out somewhere on the play ground and an adult comes up to your child and attempts to lure them off somewhere. First of all, they shouldn’t be there by themselves.
Everybody has somebody in charge of their life.
C. The Authority Of The Policeman.
D. The Authority Of The Employer. When I finished high school I moved to Tulsa and went to work in a paint manufacturing plant. I thought my boss was the king. I respected him. I did my best to do exactly as he said. I wanted to be a good employee. I later learned that my boss had a way of demanding respect of all of the employees. About once a month he would pick some guy that had messed up a little and publicly make a big issue of it and fire him. Everyone saw it. Everyone respected him and knew that he was the boss. What he said went. You were ready to go to work at 8:00 or you were late and docked for it. I learned authority.
Teach your child to be on time. Tell them that dinner will be ready at 6:00. Don’t call them to dinner. At 6:00 meet at the table and if they are there take their plate off the table. Tomorrow night – “Guess what?” they will be at the table at 6:00. Most parents make it too easy for the child to disobey.
You children here tonight, learn the authority issue. You will always be under the authority of someone.
I have heard this said, “Some day I will be out on my own and no one will tell me what to do.” Get real! Are you ever in for a surprise. That is like the lad who couldn’t stand his father’s rules so to get away from the strictness of dad left home and joined the Marines.
This church believes in and respects Pastoral Authority. I don’t have to go through the deacons every morning when I come to the office, or when I go home. They don’t keep a magnifying glass on me or what I do; however, if I get up here and begin to teach false doctrine and teach heresy, these men would come to me and say, “Listen, Pastor, you are teaching the wrong thing, and you must either straighten up and do right or get out.” That would be right. If they didn’t, God would.
Authority. You will always be under someone’s authority.
V. THE SUM TOTAL OF ALL FOUR ISSUES Vs 52
(Luke 2:52) "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man."
A. Wisdom. That’s intellect.
B. Stature. Physical. Athletic.
Professional athletes are a disgrace to sports.
C. Spiritual Development. “favour with God.”
Not age, but walking with God.
D. Social Development. “favour with man.”
If those of you listening to me will take heed, you can become the young person God wants you to be.
INVITATION
