Shall a land be born in one day? The world puts suggestions in our minds that are false, and we are bombarded with those false ideas all the time. your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed What happened? The Bible says in Jude 3 that the biblical faith was once for all delivered to the saints. The gospel is there, and we dont change it. With arms outstretched and nail-pierced hands, Jesus says that the cross is how much he and his Father love us. teach your kids there is no God! Despite the fact America has many megachurches and more Christian resources the ranks of the unaffiliated are growing even faster among younger Americans. And so you have to question what you think. The two greatest things that have hurt parents are "time'' and "example." And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! Ask God to search and test your thoughts. Its not enough just not to believe everything we think. Paul talks about this in Romans 7, and he says, I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. I'll tell you an encouraging secret from the minor workings of college life. E Ive read through John Wesley and through several other leaders. He said, Education is a weapon, the effect humanism. Is the blame for this to be placed on the children? This is the great and first commandment. The Bible says God expects not only faithfulness but also fruitfulness. Read only 25 percent from contemporary authors of the last ten years. Many fathers today are not carrying Atheists dont want Christians teaching kids about Godthey want to God has designed They saw the water at Marah. It teaches them that Jesus does not matter much, that Mom and Dad don't consider him nearly as important or exciting as new furniture, or weekends at the lake, or Dad's job, or all the other things that fill their conversation. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. I dont want it. The god of this world may shift his seductions slightly But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. The community? Their salvation may hang in the balance, but so does your joy. The third thing we need is conviction. You do it all the time. It is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). Plan it in your life. when whoever said there are only two categories or only three categories? Answer The Bible uses the term generation in some different ways. We pursue knowledge of the Word, then perspective on why God does what he does, and, in doing so, we start to develop convictions. . Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. And there is this great conviction: Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him (Job 13:15 KJV). that churches and Christian homes are failing to reach kids, God has given us First, some might say that parents have no right to prejudice a child regarding what he will accept as true. If you are secure enough in God to show your ignorance rather than bluff and be a hypocrite, your child learns the beauty of humility. Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons. Truth is never invented; it is only discovered. The Bible calls this perspective wisdom. Wisdom is found in seeing life from Gods viewpoint. To be saved and They think they can allow anything into their mind, and they will be just fine. You may not really like people, but you love the world of thoughts and ideas. . We need the Maxwells in physics and the Keplers and the Calvins. Thats the oldest lie in the book, that we will be like God (Genesis 3:5). By the way, some people say, God hasnt called me to be successful. It is better to leave all religious options open, and then when he chooses one, it will be owing to authentic commitment, not to parental authority. Verse 34. It is intense. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. Everything that happens in life begins with a dream. young adults (one in three). Just before the poll was released, Bill Nye the Science Guy (from a popular One of the ways you can store up knowledge is to start a family library a godly family library and leave it as a legacy to the next generation. to be missionaries in the system) have by and large become churches of secular Let me ask you quite frankly: Whats your dream for your next ten years? A wide gap exists between knowing and doing in American Christianity and perhaps its cause is too much teaching. Sadly, this same situation already has occurred or is happening now in Western You dont judge the health of an army by how many soldiers sit in the mess hall and eat every week and listen to your Bible study. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. It is often very rebellious. When I was a little kid, and I knew my mother had baked cookies, I would go up to the edge of the kitchen counter, and she would say, Now, Ricky, dont eat those cookies. I would say, Im not, Mom. For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Peter teaches that we must follow the Savior's example in enduring trials and persecution. We cannot say we have the character of kindness unless we are habitually kind. 2) It is impossible not to teach children about God, because not to teach them is to teach them plenty. Weve got For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. is so prevalent in the media, museums, and collegesand even among friends, You're your own woman. Be that where you are. So let me try to answer three objections which may come to your mind. (By the way, we need great Christian intellectuals today more than ever before people a lot brighter than I! And so we come to the last level of learning: skill. You're your own man. I am no expert in child psychology. But skill will bring success. Because we must outthink and out-dream and outsmart the world for the glory of God not for our private good but for the glory of God and the good of others. after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel. I know that some of you don't have children and never will. Unfortunately, these parents are in the minority. With evolution I grew up in the Southern Baptist Church. But then we need to add to the convictions that come out of knowing the mind of God. "So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers.". Do not take us across the Jordan. Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk. And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. Parents cannot drop their children off for church and run off to do the things of the world and expect them to become Christians. And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work which the Lord had done for Israel. Oftentimes, parents who have lost their children to the world failed to see the error of their own ways as their children were growing. I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them, says the Lord your God. defend the idea of evolution and history over millions of years, thus causing a culture where most people once went to church.2. So dont merely resist it. Once we begin to develop convictions, we start developing habits and the sum total of our habits is what we can call character. We cannot say that we have the character of honesty unless we are habitually honest. In my family, four generations back gave their library to three generations back, who gave it to two generations back my dad who gave it to me. It means a kind of revelation, a vision from God. Maybe there would be a Thursday morning study at which Id get another application. Gods people need to wake up and understand Second, Paul says that we should fix our thoughts. We need these in science. Therefore: Parents, make Jesus known to your children through his Word. I believe in having family devotions. Do you do it? and agriculture, we cant afford to keep it bottled up or to kick the can.7. As more of the voters are unaffiliated and identifying as atheist and agnostics, Privacy Policy and And where theres not this vision, this God-directed dreaming, the people cast off restraint literally, they get out of control. When we do not have an overarching vision or dream or goal for our lives, our lives are out of control. Proverbs 19:18a: "Discipline your son while there is hope; do not set your heart on his destruction." Daniel 4:3 Verse Concepts "How great are His signs And how mighty are His wonders! Which means your brain is telling you what you see. Silence about Christ is dogma. We need to learn character. If you put bad data into a computer, you will get bad results out. claims no affiliation with religion, and this category is even higher among And I will make boys their princes, and infants shall rule over them. We all have more background biases than we realize. Psalm 119:15 says, I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. Mediate and fix. Then and only then will they be faithful. Keep your mind fixed on the Word of God, the mind of God, the convictions of God, the character of God, and the skills of God. You may be a better teacher than a veteran because you are learning it fresh yourself. So, if the children don't do what you say, you try to humor them or bribe them or pen them up. Within the Christian community the main link between what this generation knows and what the next generation will know is the link between parent and child. Perhaps the biggest limitation on your growth and your ministry to others is your imagination. In view of such relentless indoctrination that bombards our young people every (3) What are the convictions I want to get across? I learn from guys older than me and from guys younger. His words reflect He has two advantages: he knows what's coming and can plan a day ahead, and he has a little more experience in how to solve problems. the soul-saving gospel itself, which is grounded on the Bibles historical claims, Every building we see was first imagined by an architect before it was built. We need to learn knowledge. We are not God. Guard your mind from garbage is the second key. Im constantly reading. First thing Sunday morning I would go to Sunday school, and there I was supposed to get an application that changed my life. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Jesse Galef, communications director for the Secular Student Alliance, And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. We tell ourselves that things are better than they really are. Make sure that you are growing and developing. Psalm 101:3 says, I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I know you would never invite a couple to come over to your house and ask them, Why dont you commit an act of adultery right here in front of us? But you do it every time you watch a TV program that has adultery in it. There are at least one hundred principles in Gods Word that have to do with what we are to do with our minds. For as soon as Zion was in labor she brought forth her children. And then I would grab it and eat it. to understand why we know the Bible is true: the authority of the One who Youre figuring out how to do it winning people to Christ, baptizing them in large numbers, planting churches, equipping servant leaders, assisting the poor, caring for the sick, educating the next generation, going out into the hurts and highways and byways of life and taking up the cross where people least expect it. First John 1:8 says, If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. We deceive ourselves all the time. It is a mental block. Most Christians realize they need to proclaim the gospel if they want to Who has seen such things? Logic will get you from A to B, but imagination will take you everywhere. reported, The fastest growing religious group in America is made up of people No? Christian Standard Bible That whole generation was also gathered to their ancestors. The fact is, the reason we have so many ineffective Christians today is that they do not know how to fight the battle of the mind. (2) What is the perspective Im teaching them in this sermon? Many Christian leaders, though, claim there are gaps in the Genesis genealogies. If you havent written it down, you havent really thought about it. Study and reflect. I have noticed that my mind doesnt always mind. In Scripture, knowledge is the only thing we are supposed to store up. America has long resisted the trend among Western nations to slide into secularism Nevertheless, I speak to you all because it is crucial that what God has to say about children be part of our shared Christian view of life. Instead, he received them and blessed them, and in doing so, commended the parents for their concern. And Napoleon said that imagination rules the world. rash, deluded (Leviticus 5:4; Isaiah 32:4 NIV). Einstein also said that imagination, not knowledge, is the evidence of intelligence. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction. A 2012 survey found that the fastest-growing Bless their families. A young persons salvation is ultimately a work of Gods grace. If you want to be healthy and successful in the Christian life and in ministering to others, successful in your ministry, fix your mind on the right things. told about their crucial role but they shirked it (see Psalm 78). If we are going to learn, and teach others, how to fight the battle for the mind, we must learn how to let God stretch our imaginations. I said to him, Sir, you know. And he said to me, These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. It is prideful to think that leaders from the past dont have anything to teach us. Answers in Genesis is an apologetics ministry, dedicated to helping Christians defend their faith and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. of creationism and now headed by ardent atheist Eugenie Scott6), it is very clear It is also easier! In the words of Thomas Chalmers, it is the expulsive power of a new affection that turns your mind away from the things that the Devil wants you to focus on to the things that God wants you to focus on. I may be wrong, but my pastoral judgment is that among Christian parents in their 20s and 30s the tendency is to have expectations of obedience that are too low and too late, and discipline that lacks firmness and rigor and consistency. What we need today are people creating new innovations in a new society to reach new generations. We must remind ourselves, and teach others, not to believe everything we think! . of the gospel! We must pray continually for wisdom to make wise decisions regarding our children and the strength to be good examples for them. He teaches that the Saints are a chosen generation, called to show forth the praises of the Savior. As a teenager I heard, The impact on your life will be largely from the people you meet and the books you read. So I decided to get very intentional about both of those whom I would meet and what I would read. For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption. Thats our job . As mothers and fathers, we must first save ourselves from this perverse generation (Acts 2:38-40) and then teach our children how to be saved from it We must meditate on God's word day and night to learn how to be godly and how to bring up godly children. Second, you can teach your child to take some initiative of his own in solving problems. Jesus said that was the first and great commandment. This is a gift that God gave to us: the ability to dream and envision and imagine something before it comes into reality. First, I want to give some more biblical evidence for this admonition to parents, and then try to answer some common objections. You share a burden with another animal. But if you have a sharp ax, it doesnt take as much energy. We do not know the day or the hour, but we do know that the world has to end at an unknown date befor. You dont really know something until you apply it. Paul is talking about pretentions, arguments set up against the knowledge of God. Contact me: openbibleinfo (at) gmail.com. interview with H. G. Wells, Marxism Versus Liberalism, July 23, 1934, Dan Merica, Survey: One in Five Americans Has No Religion,. I did my first study on the mind in 1977, working through all the books of the Bible. How do I make my mind mind? . Then the Lord said to him, Not so! I love you so much that every drop of blood falling to the ground says, I love you. Thats conviction. Isaiah 26:3 says, You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Your mental state depends on what you think about. We are taking notes and filling notebooks and thinking that because we are writing things down, we are really getting it. The second thing we need is perspective. I preach on creeds with frequency. vast majority of these students were not taught apologetics (how to give a reasoned in that group identifying as either atheist or agnostic, according to the new As I said above, I have seen the face of mental illness. God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Generations come and generations go, but the world stays just the same. And, of course, Satan makes suggestions all the time. 1. Take a moment now and read Psalm 78:1-8. gave it to us (Hebrews 4:12). I began collecting books when I was sixteen years old. We naturally feel that if we think something, it must be true because it comes from within us. ( Exodus 20:5; cf. Everybody has a mental illness. ignored anymore.. Jesus rebuked his disciples in Matthew 19:14 when they tried to send the children away. Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. Hugging and kissing, and tumbling, loving, forgiving, and spending time with your children are all just as important as spanking. It will make you smarter, more godly, and more mature emotionally. After many days you will be mustered. Once we start getting perspective, we begin developing convictions. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA, and the Google From this passage, it is clearly evident that a lack of Bible teaching in the home has lost generations of God's people today. So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them; and sold them into the power of their enemies round about, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. In just one Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly. Jesus says we are not to store up money. Have you even written it down? You can also sign up for our free print newsletter (US only). Every thought obedient to Christ. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Then you dont really believe in it. Some people are so open-minded that their brains fall out. But Einstein said that imagination is more important than knowledge. It is the battle for your mind, and that battle is vicious. It saves a lot of time and saves us from making the mistakes of others. They could If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. upon which it stands. Joshua explained, When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, God cannot bless your vision if you dont have his vision for your life. If its held forth as new, then its not true, because truth is eternal.
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