The Stuff That Counts Series

THE STUFF THAT COUNTS

I Corinthians 3.12-13

S: Mother’s Day

C: Parents and Children

Th: Choose the Fire

Pr: D0 THE STUFF THAT COUNTS.

?: What is this stuff?

KW: Treasures

TS: We will find in our study of Scripture two treasures that are worth doing.

Type: Propositional

The ____ treasure is…

I. HONOR OUR PARENTS

II. TRAIN OUR CHILDREN

Version: ESV

RMBC 11 May 08 AM

OUR TEXT:

Since after Resurrection Sunday, our theme for our messages has been “Choose the Fire.”

But one has to admit, that “Choose the Fire” and Mother’s Day do not exactly seem like congruous themes.

After all, did Mom ever want you to choose the fire?

No way.

Instead, we were told, “Don’t play with matches.”

“Don’t get too close to the fire!”

“That’s hot, you’ll get burned.”

And if we were good and smart boys and girls, we listened to what our mom said, and we stayed away.

We did not choose the fire.

Interestingly, though…

1. There is a fire that is worth “choosing.” (I Corinthians 3:12-13).

Note how Paul describes it in I Corinthians 3…

Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw – each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.

There is going to come a time for all of us as believers in the Lord Jesus when all that we have done on this earth is going to be tested.

It is going to be tested by fire.

Now the bad news about this testing is that some of what we have done on this earth is not going to be worth very much.

It is going to be like wood, hay and straw.

It is going to go up in flames.

But here is the good news.

Some of the things that we do are going to be valuable.

The fire is going to show their genuine worth.

When the fire comes, it is going to prove that we have done stuff that counts.

It is going to come up as gold, silver and precious stones.

So, ultimately, this is a fire we want to choose, because it tells the truth.

Now, we all want to…

2. D0 THE STUFF THAT COUNTS.

But what is that stuff?

Well, today, because it is Mother’s Day, we are going to ask that question in the context of the family.

The family is a very important building block for society.

The family is so important that the church is often described as one.

So in the church, we certainly want to encourage strong families, and encourage each person to do the stuff that counts to make their family strong.

For when that happens, it also, in turn, makes the church family strong.

It has been said that each family is like its own sovereign government.

God has designed the family to function in such a way that it is self-contained and self-sufficient.

Each home has its own executive officers, its own legislators, its own Supreme Court and police force.

And sometimes when small children are around, the family even has its own CIA.

They find out stuff that we would rather they not know.

Anyway…

3. We will find in our study of Scripture two treasures that are worth doing.

One treasure is for us as children.

One treasure if for us as parents.

CHALLENGE:

I. The first treasure is HONOR OUR PARENTS (Exodus 20.12).

One of the Ten Commandments – number five says…

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

The word honor, literally means “heavy.”

When you honor someone, you consider them important.

We value them highly.

We care for them and show deep respect for them.

It means they have clout.

They are significant.

They matter.

They are not to be taken lightly or ignored.

They deserve dignity and respect.

So, when we are young…

4. In the home, we obey our parents.

In fact, in Ephesians, it is a direct command for children to obey their parents.

So, if you are living with your parents, you live under the rules of the house.

When you are very young, it is obedience that is enforced.

But as you grow older, into your teenage years, and even your college years (that may sound strange because you are adults in the world), obedience is an important part of the relationship.

Obedience is doing the stuff that counts.

Obedience is gold, silver and precious stones.

ILL Parenting (H)

Two children were heard discussing their parents.

The first said, "I’m really worried. Dad slaves away at his job so that I have everything I need, so I’ll be able to go to college some day. Mom works hard washing and ironing, cleaning up after me, taking care of me when I am sick, driving me everywhere I want to go. They spend every day of their lives working for me. But I’m worried."