Amen. All right. Good to see you all again. Thank you, Pastor Shelley for sending me here
this week. It's good to be here. And today we're in Psalm chapter 127 and the title of
my sermon is Children are a Blessing. Children are a Blessing. We see here in verse number
three, "Lo, children are in heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is his reward."
So the Bible calls children a reward. And I'm preaching this because a few weeks ago my
wife let me know that I'm having my third on the way, and I'm very, very excited for
that. You know, people, I'm sure in the world would think that I'm crazy because I'm 23,
my wife is 20, I have a one-year-old, a seven-month-old, and a third on the way. And you know, if I
wanted to, I could just focus on the negative, and I could just focus on all the challenges
that that's going to bring, having three under three, right? But here's the thing. The Bible
says that it's a blessing. The Bible says that children are a blessing, and I'm very
happy about the fact that I'm having my third on the way. I don't think it's a negative
thing at all. But you know, a lot of times, Christians, just because of fear of finances
or fear of just being super busy, they'll want to not have children. And especially
in tumultuous times, you know, our country may be facing tumultuous times soon with just
how much wickedness is in our country, I wouldn't be surprised. And that could cause people to
be discouraged from having children. But I want us to be encouraged to remember what
the Bible says about having children today and to remember that it actually is a blessing.
So I want to give you a few reasons why having children is a blessing. Number one, go to
Philippians chapter number two, Philippians chapter two. Number one is that having children
teaches us to serve others. That is the first blessing about having children is that having
children teaches you to serve other people. Look at Philippians chapter two, verse number
two, "Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord,
of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory, but in lowliness of mind, let
each esteem other better than themselves." So God wants us to esteem other people better
than ourselves, to lower ourselves, to humble ourselves, and to care about other people.
But the only problem with that is that that does not come natural for us. Us as fallen
men, as sinful men, you know, we're worried of looking out for number one. We're selfish
people by nature, and so God wants us to have this attitude, this lowly and humble mind,
to want to serve others, but it does not come natural. Look at verse number five. "Let this
mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not
robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form
of a servant that was made in the likeness of men." So, you know, Jesus Christ was a
servant and God also wants us to be servants. And so, you know, what God did is he made
it to where we have to take care of a little baby until they get married and you're basically
serving them nonstop. Especially when they're young, kids do not serve you. Let's think
about all the things that parents do to serve their children. They change their diapers.
The mom's just feeding all the time. Just they're like permanently attached, right?
Constantly serving the baby. You know, they can't even walk anywhere by themselves. They
get in and out of the car by mom and dad. In and out of the car seat by mom and dad.
Every scoop of food that goes in their mouth is done by mom and dad. And you know what?
That may seem like a burden, but it's actually a blessing because it forces us to serve others
and it forces us to humble ourselves and to esteem that child better than ourselves and
just to serve that child. And so God has this natural system to where you have no other
option but to serve that child. Otherwise the child will die. So it teaches us to serve
other people. Go to Titus chapter number one, Titus chapter number one, look at verse number
five, "For this cause left I the increase that thou shouldest set in order the things
that are wanting and ordain elders in every city as I had appointed thee. If any be blameless,
the husband of one wife having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly." So this is
the qualifications of a pastor and one of the qualifications of a pastor is the fact
that he has faithful children. Now think about this. Pastor Shelley was preaching about this
I believe last week or the week before, how the pastor is a ruler but the pastor is also
a servant. So if you want to know, "Hey, who's qualified to be a pastor?" We need to know,
can this person be a servant? Can this person serve other people? Well, you can tell by
the way that they rule their house if they have a wife and if they have faithful children,
that shows that that man knows how to serve other people, because obviously he wouldn't,
you know, he wouldn't have kids that are alive if he wasn't serving his kids. But not
only that, it says that he has to have faithful children. And why is that? Look at verse number
seven. So he says he needs to have faithful children for, so because a bishop must be
blameless as the steward of God, not self-willed. You know what having kids teaches you how
to do? To not be self-willed. To not only care about what you want and just always putting
yourself first, but actually to think about other people and to consider other people.
This is a must quality in a pastor, but really this is a quality that God wants all of God's
people to have. All of God's people should be people that are not self-willed and people that
are serving other people. But hey, having children will force you to be that way if you're doing it
right. If you're doing parenting right, you will actually be serving your children. Go to 1 Timothy
chapter 3, back a few pages, 1 Timothy chapter 3, 1 Timothy 3 verse 12, "Let the deacons be the
husband of one wife, ruling their children and their own house as well." So a few weeks ago,
Pastor Shelley was also talking about how, you know, the pastor, he's a servant and a ruler,
and the deacon is just a servant. That is his full-time job. He is a servant. So don't you
think that the deacon should have a faithful house as well? Don't you think that the deacon should
also have served his family and served his wife and served his children if he's going to make his
entire full-time job serving the ministry of the church? It wouldn't make sense if he didn't care
about his children, he didn't care about his wife, that he's going to all of a sudden now
serve other people. The deacon also has to be someone that serves his children, and that's
something that we learn by being parents. Go to Matthew chapter number 20. Matthew chapter number
20. Look at verse number 25. "But Jesus called them unto him and said, "You know that the princes of
the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it
shall not be so among you. But whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister. And
whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant. Even as the Son of Man came not to be
ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many. So even even Jesus Christ,
God in the flesh, he did not come to this earth to just be served, to be ministered unto. He actually
came to serve other people. Even though he was God, he had every right to just take the worship,
take the service, but he humbled himself and served other people. You know, how much more should we
just humble ourselves and serve our children? If God was able to humble himself and serve others
and himself not be served, we should at least be able to serve our children who we just naturally
love anyways. That is something that you're going to learn by being a parent on how to serve others.
Go to Acts chapter number 20. And you know, some people may hear this and think, well, why is that
a blessing? You know, children are a blessing. Why is it a blessing that I get to now just serve
others and that I get to just with every waking second serve my children and every single cry
in the middle of the night? That doesn't sound like a blessing to me. Well, look at Acts chapter
number 20 in verse 35. "I have showed you all things how that so laboring you ought to support
the weak and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus how he said it is more blessed to give
than to receive." And I can't think of anyone more weak than a little baby. And so when you're taking
care of your kids, you are supporting the weak. But notice Jesus said it's more blessed to give
than to receive. And just on a side note, what's interesting about this verse is this saying of the
Lord Jesus Christ is not found anywhere in any of the four gospels. Yet Paul is saying that Jesus
said this. Why is that? I'll read for you John 21.25. The Bible says, "And there are also many
other things which Jesus did, the which if they should be written every one, I suppose that even
the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen." So it's pretty cool to
know that there was a bunch of things that Jesus did and said that we don't even know about.
Obviously, we have the full Word of God. Everything that God wanted us to know is in this King James
Bible. But hey, it's cool to know that up in heaven, Jesus is going to be teaching us some
new things and that we're going to be learning more and more and more from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Because Paul, I mean, maybe Jesus said it straight to Paul because he said, "Hey, remember the Lord
Jesus said this, yet it's nowhere in the Gospels." Hey, that's cool that just think about that, that
the whole world could be filled with books telling what Jesus did. That's pretty amazing. It's pretty
shocking thing to just to think about. But that's just as a side note, but he said it's more blessed
to give than to receive. Why is it more of a blessing to give than to receive? Because just
in our flesh you would think, "Hey, it's better just to get stuff." I mean, kids that are just carnal and
in the flesh, they love Christmas. Not because of the Christmas story most of the time, it's
because they're getting stuff. That's why they love it, right? But Jesus said it's better to give. Why
is that? Go to 2 Corinthians chapter 8. You know, the first reason why I think it's more blessed
to give than to receive is because it shows appreciation for the gospel. You know, John 3
16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believe in Him
should not perish but have everlasting life." You know, when we're giving, it shows appreciation
for the gospel because God gave the most precious gift that ever could be given, His Son, Jesus
Christ. So God gave to us. That's why it's more blessed to give than to receive. Also, giving is
the way to have a selfless heart. Second Corinthians chapter 8 verse 9 says, "For you know the grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through
His poverty might be rich." So Jesus Christ, He sacrificed absolutely everything. He's God,
He came on this earth, clothed Himself with flesh, had no place to lay His head,
you know, was hungered 40 days in the wilderness and 40 nights, fasting, went through all the
temptations, you know, suffered on the cross. He became poor for our sakes. He was giving of Himself,
right? Why is that? Because Jesus was selfless, that's why. And if you're a giving person,
hey, it's more blessed to give than receive because it can make you like Christ in the sense of
it'll make you become a more selfless person. It's also a blessing because God will exalt you,
for it. Go to Matthew chapter 23, Matthew chapter 23, Matthew chapter 23, look at verse number 10.
"Neither be ye called masters, for one is your master, even Christ, but he that is greatest
among you shall be your servant, and whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased, but he that
shall humble himself shall be exalted." So when we just in general are people that are giving people
and people and are people that want to serve others and we just abase ourselves,
God says that he will exalt us. And obviously we need to be like that in every area of life.
But you know where it starts for a lot of people is when they have kids. For a lot of people that is
the first time in their life where they're not being selfish. You know you'll notice that sometimes
not all but sometimes people that are single are very selfish and they all you know they're only
worried about carrying the stuff that they need. But when you get you know married and you have kids
it's like okay diapers all right bag all right car seat all right all you know you start to get off
the checklist and you know all the things you need. But I'm just saying that's where it starts for a
lot of people. They learn to be selfless people after they have children and that is a blessing.
That is one of the blessings of having children. Number two go to Proverbs chapter number 20.
The second blessing is that children will help ease your burdens as they get older. See at the
beginning you're serving them 100 percent. They they give absolutely nothing in return but as they
get older hey they should be put to work and they should be actually serving you once they get a
little bit older. You know obviously my kids a one-year-old a seven-month-old and one on the way
is not going to be doing much work around the house. The most that Bethany can do right now is
like throw a little piece of trash away or go grab her shoes or something like that but she's not
doing a lot of work but look what the Bible says Proverbs chapter 20 verse 11 even a child is known
by his doings whether his work be pure and whether it be right. So a child should be known by his
doings whether his work is pure a child should be put to work today and you know a lot of these
communists and a lot of just liberal weirdos in our society think that putting children to work
is child abuse if you have all these child labor laws where it's like you can't have certain jobs
if you're under 18 oh you can only work four hours a day hey you should put your children to work
you want to know why kids grow up to be little antifa weirdos and believing in communism you want
to know why kids grow up to vote for joe biden and people that believe in all these handouts all
this crap that the government does hey it's because they didn't learn to work when they
were a kid it's because their parents didn't actually put them to work and teach them some
character hey you need to put your kids to work you need to make sure they don't grow up just to
be entitled lazy people that have no work ethic and no character and guess what this is a blessing
because this is a blessing for you because you're receiving free labor and it's a blessing for them
because they're receiving character and so guess what it is a blessing to have servants you know
your children as servants that's what they should be they should be servants in the home you know
the bible commands children to obey their parents they're just not there on a free meal ticket to
just sit on their butt and play video games for 12 hours a day as their mom works hard in the house
as their mom makes all the meals and as their dad is out there toiling and making all the money no
you don't get to just sit around and do absolutely nothing with your life i don't care if you're a
boy or a girl you need to be working that's what you need to be doing with your life working even
as a child even before you're married even before you leave the home lamentations 327 says it is good
for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth it is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth
it doesn't say make sure you have all these labor laws and they can't work more than two hours on a
school day oh it says hey put that yoke on that kid put the yoke on that boy and let's go let's
work you know teach them how to turn a screwdriver teach them how to work on cars teach them how to do
lots of different things it's going to benefit them and you ephesians chapter six let's go to
ephesians chapter number six ephesians six look at verse number one children obey your parents
in the lord for this is right honor thy father and thy mother which is the first commandment
with promise that it may be well with thee and thou mayest live long on the earth so again this
is a mutually beneficial commandment right here children obeying their parents hey that's a
blessing to mom and dad when your children obey you right that's a blessing hey it's a blessing
like i said because you're getting free labor around the house which you should be but it's
also a blessing because if children obey their parents and work hard for their parents when they
tell them to you'll live a longer life you'll actually literally live a longer life when you
obey your parents that's what the bible says it's the first commandment with promise when you obey
your mom and dad it says you'll live long on the earth you know i guarantee you people that live
really really long lives that's a that's a big reason for it is obeying their mom and dad so
it's not like it's just parents receiving all this blessing and the child's just suffering no actually
it's a mutually beneficial commandment here god knows what's best for us god's not going to do
anything to hurt us this is what he wants for our life so number two like i said children will help
ease your burdens as you get older number three go to first timothy chapter five first timothy
chapter five first timothy five and let's look at verse number 13 the bible says and with all they
learn to be idle speaking of young widows wandering about from house to house and not only idle but
tatlers also and busybodies speaking things which they ought not so you have a group of ladies here
who are idle they're not working hard in the home they're just wandering about from house to house
no purpose to their life no work that they're getting done and it says what are they doing
well they're busybodies they're getting into other people's business instead of working
being gossips tatlers things like that it says speaking things which they ought not so they're
out running their mouth instead of working what does god say about it verse 14 i will therefore
that the younger women marry bear children guide the house give none occasion to the adversary to
speak reproachfully so number three the third blessing about having children is that it keeps
you out of trouble it keeps you out of trouble because having children will keep you very very
busy especially when you have lots of children like the bible commands if you have lots of children
you will be very very busy and then if you're very very busy taking care of the things god wants you
to take care of then you're not going to be idle you're not going to be wandering about from house
to house you're not going to be a busy body you're not going to be speaking things which you ought not
because today you see a lot of women you know who are stay-at-home moms you know for us as
christians our stay-at-home moms are hard working people they're taking their homeschooling the kids
they're cooking all the meals you know there's a lot of stay-at-home moms in the world that just
think it's their free ticket to watch the bachelor all day or you know the biggest loser or dancing
with the stars and just not work at all and just sit on their butts all day hey that is not what
god wants for ladies when you're idle when you're not working at all that's going to lead to an
abundance of sin an abundance of time often leads to an abundance of sin so one of the things that
people often complain about when they're like oh man i don't want any more kids or i don't want any
kids at all because they don't want to lose their me time they don't want to lose their free time
by having more more kids and hey i got news for you if you're parenting right you will lose your
free time you will lose your me time but hey that is a blessing that is what you want because you
don't want to have an abundance of idle time because that's when you become a loud mouth
you know uppity woman gossip on every facebook page on every single post you're the one that's
on there giving your doctrinal two cents because you're sitting at home on facebook all day
scrolling all day instead of working hey it amazes me you know because my wife has young
children it amazes me how i see ladies with young kids who are just posting all the time
just here's my new vlog here's my new facebook post here's my new instagram post and it's like
how in the world are you raising a bunch of little kids because my wife only has two little ones and
she doesn't have time for that how is it that these ladies have all this time it's because
they're idle it's because they're doing their job poorly that's why and look at verse um number
15 this says for some are already turned aside after satan you know the devil wants to destroy
women today and you know what he allures them with he allures them a lot of times with idleness
that's why there's all these tons of daytime shows for the housewife to just get addicted to
you know what you need to put that stuff away if it's something you struggle with you need to get
focused on your children focus on point number one serving other people making that your number one
priority instead of serving yourself instead of just sitting on your butt doing nothing all day
the bible says those women are turned aside after satan go to titus flip over to the right a few
pages titus chapter number two titus chapter number two verse three the aged women likewise
that they be in behavior as becomeeth holiness not false accusers not given to much wine teachers of
good things that they may teach the young women to be ceos oh wait that's not what the bible says
that they may teach the young women to be police officers and in the military and you go girl you
start your own business girl you get away from the home girl no you know what the bible says young to
be discreet or i'm sorry verse four that they may teach the young women to be sober to love their
husbands to love their children to be discreet chased keepers at home good obedient to their own
husbands that the word of god be not blasphemed you know the bible does not say that women should
just be out making a name for themselves starting their own business going to college that is a
bunch of crap that is a bunch of lies that the devil wants you to do so that you can destroy your
life because you know what a woman does when she gets by herself you know what sometimes happens
ladies that are out by themselves uh they could get raped or they just become a total whore go to
go to college and find me the girl that's a virgin down at the university you won't find it
go to the go to the college and find me the girl that doesn't do drugs or try alcohol or has defiled
her life in some way you know because guess what bible already said that those ladies that are not
taking care of the home their husbands and their children are turned aside after satan is what the
bible says and that's what you see in reality a woman that does not get to work in the things that
god has chosen for her she's going to turn her life aside under satan you're not going to be the
exception to the rule don't think as a single young lady that you could go out and just live your own
life away from the authority of dad away from the authority of your husband and that you will turn
out okay you will not turn out okay you will be turned aside after satan is what the bible says
and hey god gave us this really great solution for for ladies that are idle it says love your
husbands love your children and keep the house and guess what if if you are lacking in one of those
areas then you're obviously not doing your job that god has called you to do you know god has
called us men to provide to lead our homes uh uh spiritually financially in every way but ladies he
has called to bear children guide the house take care of their husbands and if you if you are busy
in these things then you'll stay out of trouble and so if you have a lot of children you will stay
out of trouble and i've been harping on the ladies but it's the same thing with men you know i'm 23
years old and i'm having my third on the way do you think that my life might look a little different
than a 23 year old who has no wife and no children and no responsibilities you know we may just have
a little bit different lifestyles i'm guessing because you know i have four or five mouths to
take care of and the 23 year old down at the university that's just smoking weed doing whatever
he wants he doesn't okay so having lots of kids is also going to keep me out of trouble too
because i have the same flesh as all those guys do too so i have to make sure that i stay out of
trouble and i want to read for you uh this man now where did it go go to it's in first timothy five
first timothy five i lost in my notes here first timothy five look at verse number eight but if
any provide not for his own and especially for those of his own house he hath denied the faith
and is worse than an infidel so don't you think that the that the man who has a lot of children
is going to take things like his job more seriously when the bible says that he's commanded to take
care of his family to support his family when all of a sudden you have a lot of kids you're like wow
i need to take my career seriously because i have to feed all these kids i need to take my life
seriously you know what people probably think i'm crazy for being 23 and having my third on the way
but you know what i'd rather have three precious beautiful blessings from god with my wife
in god's will than out what most guys are doing right now which is committing fornication and
having a bunch of bastard children out of wedlock and you think they're gonna grow up and care for
those kids you think they're gonna grow up in love for those kids hey they're doing the same thing
it's just outside of marriage and they're having a bunch of bastard children you think that i would
trade my position for them never i would never want to trade my position for them because you
know what most 20 men in their 20s are doing they're out doing a bunch of drugs they're out wasting
their lives they're not investing in the next generation they're not investing in their children
people that they can love and that could take care of them in their old age all they care about is
just going and sowing your wild oats i wouldn't trade my life for one second for theirs but yet
people will think we're crazy for having a lot of kids you know what they're crazy they're the one
that has to pay the punishment for their sins in the long run and sometimes maybe we can get envious
at the wicked you know seeing the world quote unquote having fun but it's really not fun what's
fun is having a bunch of children that grow up to be godly what's fun is staying married to one
woman what's fun is is following god's commandments because that's actually what's best for you
and that's actually what's not going to bring you a bunch of pain and misery like the 23 year old
idiot that has a bunch of stds and a bunch of bastard children because he didn't listen to
the bible or or the the woman who wastes her life watching soap operas watch you know playing on
facebook instead of actually taking care of her husband and actually taking care of her children
i wouldn't trade god's system for anything let's go to let's go to uh malachite chapter number two
last chapter in the old testament but before we get there i'll read for you psalms 197 the bible
says it is good for me that i have been afflicted that i might learn thy statutes because people
will say man having a lot of kids that sounds like a lot of hard work and it is a lot of hard work
but here's the thing the bible says it's good that i've been afflicted that i might learn nice
statutes i guarantee you that it's better for the woman who has no spare time all she has time for
is to invest everything into the lord and into her children and into her husband you know she's
going to be learning the statutes of god and she's going to actually it's actually going to be good
for her but maybe the woman who has no affliction who's just out doing her own thing yeah see where
her life leads her it's going to lead her to destruction proverbs 3 5 i'll read for you says
trust in the lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding in all thy ways
acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths be not wise in thine own eyes fear the lord and
depart from evil it shall be health to thy navel and morrow to thy bones so even if the world is
just telling us something opposite of what the bible is telling us that's when we need to trust
in the lord with all our hearts and not lean unto our own understanding you know the bible says
following his commandments is going to bring health to us it's going to bring morrow to our bones
god knows what is best for us and for ladies the best thing for you is to get married to bear
children and guide the house that's what the bible says so number four i had you turn to malachi the
fourth blessing and i think this is the greatest blessing about having children malachi chapter
number two is that how having children gives us the opportunity to raise a godly heritage
to raise a godly generation malachi 2 14 the bible says yet you say wherefore
because the lord hath been witnessed between thee and the wife of thy youth against whom now has
dealt treacherously yet is she thy companion and the wife of thy covenant and did he not make one
yet had he the residue of the spirit and wherefore one that he might seek a godly seed therefore take
he to your spirit and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth one of the reasons
why man and wife is one flesh is because he seeks a godly seed god seeks us to reproduce after our
own kind as christians right because here's the thing hey the world can go reproduce physically
they can go have children and even false prophets can reproduce physically and have children but it's
funny you know what only two christians can produce a godly seed only christian families can raise
godly children it is not possible for mormons to raise godly children it is not possible for you
know pentacostal benny hens to raise godly it is not possible for jehovah's witnesses it's not
possible for the unsaved you know what we need a godly seed just like it's not possible for an
unsaved person to get another person saved right a false prophet is only going to make twofold more
the child of hell if a false prophet raises a child it's not going to grow up and be a godly seed
most likely okay but for us the reason why god wants us to to be yoked equally with another
believer is because he wants us to raise godly seed a godly heritage that way we're raising the
next generation of christians let's go back to our text in psalms 127 and this is why you know i'm
happy to have more kids because i want more godly christians in this world i want more soul winners
in this world more people that believe the bible and i think it's a great honor and privilege that
god gives us to allow us to raise up the next generation of christians psalm 127 verse 3 low
children are an heritage of the lord and the fruit of the womb is his reward as arrows are
in the hand of a mighty man so our children of the youth happy is the man that hath his quiver full
of them they shall not be ashamed but they shall speak with the enemies in the game so the bible
says that you know our children is the is god's heritage it's the next generation it's bringing
up god's heritage and he says that they're like arrows you know whenever i see a mom out soul
winning that has just a bunch of little kids i'm like dang she's got a lot of arrows because those
kids hey if they grow up and learn how to be soul winners it's just like arrow to that door arrow to
that door arrow to that door and then you're just wiping out neighborhoods super fast because you
have all your arrows right hey that's a great blessing that's what god wants for us god doesn't
want us to be selfish and just live our our entire lives for ourselves and oh you know i'll have more
money if i don't have kids i'll have more time if i don't have kids and i'll be able to go on more
vacations if i don't have kids yeah but you know what you can't do if you don't have kids
have a bunch of arrows and raise up a godly heritage that's something you can't do which
one would you rather do wouldn't i mean eternity is a long time right wouldn't you rather have a
godly seed with you in heaven a bunch of of christians that hopefully you got saved and
taught how to be soul winners and then they could have a bunch of rewards in heaven wouldn't you
rather have the eternal rewards of raising up the next generation of christians than just going on
a couple more vacations and just having a little more money in the bank it sounds pretty selfish
it sounds like a pretty easy decision but today christians they don't want to trust the lord they
just want to worry about money and just all this garbage let's go to deuteronomy chapter six
deuteronomy chapter six how are we going to raise the next generation correctly because you know we
see the baby boomers they failed they've dropped the ball they're super liberal they don't preach
what the bible says anymore they've given up on soul winning many of them so how are we going to
make sure that we're actually different that we actually raise our children to be a godly heritage
this is important deuteronomy chapter six verse five and thou shalt love the lord thy god with all
thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might in these words which i command thee this day
shall be in thine heart and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children and shall talk of them
when i sit when thou sittest in thine house and when thou walkest by the way and when thou liest
down and when thou risest up and thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand and they shall be
as frontlets between thine eyes and thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house and on
thy gates so the bible says that if we're going to raise up godly kids we have to diligently teach
them god's commandments diligently and so that's not just coming to church a couple times a week
and letting the preacher just tell them a little quick sermon diligently teaching your children
the bible says is when you're walking when you're sitting down when you're rising up when you're
laying down teaching them the bible at all times any opportunity you have to teach your children
the bible that is an opportunity that should be taken because church is not enough church is not
even enough for us adults to learn the bible you know we have to be reading the bible ourselves
you know line upon line here a little there a little church is not enough to learn the bible
and to learn how to be a godly christian you as parents have to take and we as parents have to
take the initiative upon ourselves to diligently teach our children to actually sit down and teach
them the precepts and commandments of the lord not just think well they go to church they should be
fine oh you know you know i'm watching a sermon today on youtube and they're sitting with me you
know i'm sure they'll be fine no it's our job to sit down and explain to them the bible and i think
that moms who who homeschool their children you know this should be the most important part of
your curriculum you know obviously i believe that as christians we should be intelligent and i
believe we should learn the history and the science and the math and all of it we should make sure
that that is taught very seriously but the most important thing the most important thing you could
do mom is teach your children the word of god the most important thing dad you can do is teach your
children the word of god diligently that's how we're going to raise the next generation go to
luke chapter number 10 i'll read for you proverbs 22 6 the bible says train up a child in the way
he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it hey so that's a great promise that if we
train up our children the right way they won't depart from it but training implies a lot of work
you can't just like train a dog in one day and children are a lot more complex and take a lot
more work than just training an animal these are human beings these are real people and to train
them to be godly christians has to be a lifelong endeavor that never ends always be working on them
luke chapter number 10 i'm sorry we're gonna go ahead and skip that for sake of time let's go to
proverbs chapter 22 so we said the first thing we need to do is teach them the second thing we
need to do is we must discipline them proverbs 22 verse 15 the bible says foolishness is bound
in the heart of a child but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him so the bible says that
children their their heart is just bound with foolishness and sometimes i joke obviously my
daughter's one years old so i'm just 100 joking when i say this but i'm like bethany stop doing
dumb things obviously she's not going to you know but i'm just like you just have so much foolishness
in your heart you know even at that young age of one it's like why are you jumping on top of that
you'll break your leg which she's done already once okay i'm like don't do that again foolishness is
bound in your heart right but hey the bible says we have to give them the rod the rod drives the
foolishness out and moreover a more important verse look at proverbs 13 24 he that sparreth his rod
hateth his son but he that loveth him chasteneth him but times so it's not a loving thing to just
let your children be little monsters to let johnny just destroy the grocery store every time you go
it's not a loving thing the bible actually says if you withhold your rod of correction from your
child that you actually hate your child it's not my opinion that's what god said and that's a
that's a terrifying thought i couldn't imagine it being said of me oh yeah dylan hates his kids
could you imagine that's a horrible thing but you know what people that don't spank their children
at the end of the day what they're doing to their children is extremely hateful by not spanking them
it's extremely hateful to to have these kids grow up with the idea that there's no consequences for
their actions that they never need to be held to any accountability and then it's funny how we knock
on their door and try to bring them the gospel and they're like oh i don't believe in hell i don't
believe in a god that would punish anyone and it's like yeah maybe because your parents didn't spank
you maybe that's why you don't believe in any any type of punishment maybe that's why you don't
believe in hell and maybe now that's why you're going to go to hell because your parents didn't
spank you in fact there's another verse i don't have in my note but it says hey when you spank
your child you will deliver his soul from hell i wonder why it seems like these things are
connected here no it's a loving thing to do to spank your children and i don't care what the
liberals say i don't care if the sblc wants to say you know we're a hate group because we spank
our kids no we're a love group because we want to spank our kids you're the hateful one if you don't
want to spank your kids that's what the bible says let's go to ephesians chapter six the last thing
and obviously this is just very boiled down we could spend a lot of time on how to raise godly
children and and that wouldn't be a sermon for me to preach to be honest but just the basics of
this concept ephesians chapter six verse number four the last thing is that we have to do is we
must love them ephesians six four the bible says in you fathers provoke not your children to wrath
but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the lord it's not enough it's not enough just
to correct them it's not enough just to give them the rod you also have to raise them up in nurture
and children have to know that their father actually loves them and that dad's not just a
drill sergeant that's going to come home scream at the kids spank them and then go hide in his room
right that's not a loving father and unfortunately that's that's what a lot of kids are growing up
with today even worse a lot of kids are growing up with no father at all and that's that's a
horrible thing but us as christians we need to make sure as fathers that we're not provoking our kids
to wrath but we're actually raising them in the nurture and admonition of the lord and i'll read
for you titus 2 4 again that they may teach the young women to be sober to love their husbands
to love their children mom need to actually love their children today and not just be so absorbed
in themselves and their own life but sacrificing everything in their life for their children
that's what a good mother does hey when i grew up that's what my mom did for me i didn't even
grow up in a christian home but my mom sacrificed every single moment every single dollar that she
could for me and what she thought was best for me i mean she drove me to the baseball practices
every day i had the spring baseball team and the summer team and the fall ball and the winter
baseball and like that was my thing growing up and hey my mom sacrificed everything to allow me to do
that and i have a lot of love and respect for even though i didn't grow up going to church my mom did
love me and i know that about her and i'll always love her for that and so we want to make sure that
when we're raising our kids that we're actually loving our children that we actually give them
our heart and lastly number five the last blessing about having children is that raising godly
children will bring you joy raising godly children will actually bring real joy and real fulfillment
to your life third john chapter one third john chapter number one third john chapter one verse
one the bible says the elder unto the well-beloved guayas whom i love in the truth beloved i wish
above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health even as thy soul prospereth for i
rejoiced greatly when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee even as
thou walkest in the truth i have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth so i'm
taking this this a little out of context because he's actually speaking to his spiritual child to
someone that he begat in the faith you know one someone that he won out to lord soul winning
but this principle absolutely applies you know i would have no greater joy in my life than for
my children to grow up and walk in truth i would have no greater joy in my life for my daughters
and i don't know if the next one's a boy or a girl but all my daughters and sons and whatever
god gives me to grow up and love the lord i would trade anything for that that is what i want for
my kids that is what i want for my life is just for my kids to love god for my kids to grow up
and be in a good church for my kids to grow up and read the bible to care about the bible to care
about the words of god and to care about the lost souls of this world and to go out and preach them
the gospel that is what i want with my life is raising up that generation and hey that is
going to give me no greater joy if i can accomplish that one thing in my life that will give me no
greater joy i'll read for you proverbs 10 1 the bible says the proverbs of solomon a wise son
make it a glad father but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother the bible says if we have
a wise son that's going to bring gladness to us as parents right specifically talking about a
father but obviously both you know as a mother or father if you raise children that grow up to be
wise people that will make you happy but if you raise a fool that's going to bring heaviness
that's going to bring grief hey if my if my kids grow up and join antifa i'm going to be really
you know grieved i'm going to be really heavy if my kids are that stupid that they want to just go
be communist or something like that i want my kids to love the lord that's what i want for my
children proverbs 23 verse 24 the father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice and he that
begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him thy father and thy mother shall be glad and she that
bear thee shall rejoice so you know this blessing is that think about children there's a lot of joy
that children can give you you know when they're babies just their laugh brings you joy just playing
with them brings you joy just all the funny and silly things that kids do brings you joy but that
only lasts for so long that only lasts for so long hey everyone has that type of joy when they
have kids but you know what when when they get older when it's all said and done not everybody
has joy some people have heaviness some people have sorrow you know how you're going to be that
glad father that glad mother is that when you actually raise a wise child when it's all said and done
and hey they're passing them off to be married and they love god they're staying in church they're
reading the bible that's when you actually know that you have that you can have real joy and
fulfillment and hey if you skip out on having kids you're going to miss that great blessing
of having joy and real fulfillment of seeing your children grow up and love god you know people who
grow who live their whole lives without children it's sad the ending of their life is sad they
don't really have anyone around them and they just die alone it's like why would why would you want
your life to be that way but you know you reap what you sow you live a whole life that is just
dedicated to yourself and all of your selfish needs and all you just want all the money and
vacation and all that stuff you don't invest anything into other people don't be surprised if
you literally die alone but that's not what i want i want to have joy of my kids and i want my kids
to grow up and serve the lord and to love me as well but obviously i you know if i could only pick
one i'd rather them just love the lord that would give me joy ecclesiastes seven verse eight
ecclesiastes seven verse eight we're almost done tonight ecclesiastes seven verse eight the bible
says better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof and the patient in spirit is
better than the proud in spirit you know when your baby's born hey everyone's happy but better is the
end of the thing better is the end when your kids actually grow up and love god that's a great
blessing right there and raising children is very hard i haven't done it much i just have little
babies you know but i'm i've seen other people's lives and i could tell that it's hard it is a
sacrifice but here's one thing i know that is a sacrifice that is worth doing that is a sacrifice
that is worth putting in time and love and care and discipline and diligently teaching your
children the bible that's something that's worth doing because it's going to actually make a
difference in the kingdom of god and it's going to give you long-lasting joy and fulfillment in
your life so lastly we'll just make some application you know to these truths hey if you can have
children have as many as god can give you you know god said be fruitful and multiply that's
a commandment of god and if you're married you know have as many children as god will give you
and even just because we're living in possibly to multiple times in the future that doesn't change
god's commandment god has promised to take care of us financially i know that's one thing that people
often worry about you know god is going to honor you when you honor his commandments and if you
you know multiply and have lots of kids he's going to bless you for that and you're going
to get all of these blessings that we've been talking talking about tonight look at uh lastly
here you know obviously not everybody in here is has the ability to have children just because a
lot of people aren't married or maybe your past childbearing age and for them i would just say
focus on your your kids that are grown if you have kids that are grown focus on your grandchildren
you know timothy paul's talking to timothy and he talks about the great faith that his mother
lois and his grandmother unis had you know you can be a great influence as a grandparent as well
and if you don't have any of those things you can still have spiritual children you can still go out
and preach the gospel and beget people in the faith and you can still multiply that way and
that's something we all should be doing anyways but at the end of the day you know having children is
a blessing whether it's physical or spiritual no matter what way you slice it i don't care how you
know many kids you have how close together and how stressful it is at the end of the day it is a
blessing it is something that i would not want to trade for anything and lastly you know if you do
have children steward them well appreciate them realize that they are a gift from god that god
gave you that gift for what purpose to raise a godly seed and so we need to take our job jobs as
parents very seriously and not drop the ball and make sure that we are raising that next generation
of christians and just realize that hey children are a blessing let's have a word of prayer lord
thank you so much for this day and i thank you for my next child that's on the way i pray that
you'd bless that child and i pray for all of my children all the the children in church lord that
they would just grow up and serve you above all else it doesn't matter you know what they choose
for their careers or it doesn't even matter as much who they marry although those are important
things lord what matters most is that they would just get saved and serve you and i pray that that
would be done in this church. In Jesus name we pray, amen.