Welcome back. Let's continue our thoughts from our previous lesson.
Romans 12:2 "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."
Colossians 2:8 "Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ."
The only way that we can be prepared to deal with false teachings and the influence of the world is by being students (disciples) of God's Word, The Bible. Far to many 'Christians' are ignorant when it comes to God's Word. I am sure you have heard that phrase "ignorance is bliss", but when it comes to ignorance of God's Word, your ignorance can cost you your soul and cause you to face the torments of hell.
As Hosea said:
Hosea 4:6 "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children."
As Jesus said in Jn. 8:32, "...the truth will set you free...", but if we continue to neglect God's Word and The Truth it holds and live in ignorance, we will be destroyed, and we will have no idea when something false is being taught. So, we must never stop teaching the basic principles of God's Word so that the faithful will remain faithful, and so that next generations will be properly trained in the way of God.
We have a great challenge before us, but we must never relent on emphasizing 'The Truth' about God and how we must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. One of the most important places that we must begin in training the next generation of Christians is in the home. Far too many 'Christian' parents have become lazy at the job that God has given them.
Deuteronomy 6:6-9 "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 "You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 "You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 "You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."
Ephesians 6:4 "And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord."
Parents I want you to understand that if you do not get involved with teaching your children about God by your example and through God's Word, then you are going to lose your children to the world. Recent statistics I have come cross says that more than 7 out every 10 children raised up in the church will leave the church by their 2nd year of college.
If a congregation has 30 children in worship on Sunday morning that would be wonderful, but if those numbers hold true, only 9 of that 30 will remain faithful to God. Only 9 will most likely make it to heaven. Those numbers should upset every parent reading this, but I can promise you this, we do not have to let these number remain true. We can defy this trend and take action starting today and make sure that we keep the majority of our children faithful to Lord Jesus Christ!
We can do this by training them at home. We should not expect our children to get all their education about God at church because it is not enough. Your children are being influenced by the world in so many ways. For example, when you send your children to public school, not only do they get taught the fundamentals of education, often they are also taught about evolution, as well as how we should accept everyone no matter what they believe or how they live or their sexual orientation.
The language in the text books is being changed and some text books starting at the youngest grades are teaching how its normal for a child to have two moms or two dads. They are teaching that truth is relative and many other things contrary to God's Word.
The world understands that if they train our children with information like this, that they can change our nation. Adolf Hitler understood this, which is why he said:
"Let me control the textbooks and I will control the state..." Adolf Hitler
During a speech he delivered on November 6, 1939 Hitler said:
"When an opponent declares, 'I will not come over to your side,' I calmly say, 'Your child belongs to us already...What are you? You will pass on. Your descendants, however, now stand in the new camp. In a short time they will know nothing else but this new community,'" unquote.
If we do not combat the worldly views our children are being taught in their textbooks, then we will lose our children without even knowing it.
I heard of a man on the radio from Dallas, Texas who got fired because he had was asking his fellow teacher what she thought about Obama. She complained, and his boss told him did not have freedom of speech at school and he also has been written up earlier for saying 'Merry Christmas' to one of students.
I also read an article about teacher in Florida that might have to go jail for saying prayer before she ate her lunch at school. Stories like these show how things have changed in the school system in last 20-30 years.
Of course, our children are also being influenced by their friends and by what other kids their age are telling them. Many times they will start thinking and behaving like those around them because they don't want to be different or bullied, they want to be popular.
If that doesn't make our jobs hard enough, we have to combat what Hollywood and the internet is teaching our children. If we are going to save our children from all these worldly influences, we must take time out of our busy lives to teach our children about God, and why some things are right and some things are wrong. We need to teach them that God's Word is our only guide, and that there is no reason to doubt God's absolute truth.
Before you can ever begin to train up your child in the admonition of the Lord, you must be committed to serving God. You cannot teach your child with mere words on how they should live their lives and expect them to remain faithful because, they must see you living the life of a Christian. They must see your dedication to God because your example is the greatest influence on your child because if you do not practice what you preach, then your children are not going to listen.
For example, if you tell your children how important it is that they attend all the church services because Christ purchased The Church with His own blood, but they see you only attending when you feel like it, or they see you missing church because you want to watch some game on TV or pursue a hobby, do you really think they are going to consider that attending church is important when you do not do it.
Many other examples could be given, but the simple message is, practice what you preach. You are the first in their lives to set the standard, so don't be surprised when you child follows your example, instead of your empty words.
Once you have made the commitment to serve the Lord and you are being a Christ-like example, then you can be effective at training your child up in the way of the Lord, but you must make time to do this. We don't seem to mind to make the time to get involved in our children's activities such as sports, choir, band, or some hobby, but many times we cannot seem to find the time to have Bible study or to talk about God.
Which is more important? I hope that you agree that God is more important. So, if you examine yourself and you realize that you are neglecting opportunities to train your child in the way of the Lord, I hope you start making time for it and I would suggest that you pray to God for guidance in this area because the fate of our children, and the fate of Christ's Church rests in your hands.
I hope this lesson will open your eyes to how important it is that we train this next generation so they will not compromise God's truth and will in turn teach their children the same message, so that the Lord's Church will remain strong and faithful to The Lord for generations to come.
So, may we never grow weary of doing our part to restore true Christianity by teaching God's Holy Word to future generations and teaching them to live by it so they will not compromise God's Truth or turn to the world.
God bless untill our next time, Mark
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