What is God Saying to the Church Today?
ONE GOD, ONE LORD, ONE SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST
TEACH YOUR CHILDREN, PART 5: Teach Your Children to Reason According to the Word
Hello Brothers and Sisters in Christ, God bless you as we study His word together.
God desires godly seed. In Part 1 of this message, I shared with you that in order for you to produce godly seed, training must first begin in you, the parent. In Part 2 I shared with you that the first practical step in the training process is to build a family altar. In Part 3 the second practical step in training your children was to impart to them all you know. In Part 4 I shared with you the third practical step in training your children up to be godly seed, pleasing God and living fulfilling lives, is to teach them the fear of God. Today in Part 5 of this series, the fourth practical step in training up godly seed is to teach them to reason according to the word of God.
Foolishness [is] bound in the heart of a child; [but] the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. –Proverbs 22:15
The rod was used to guide the sheep. It could be used to break up the tangle of bushes by the shepherd so that the sheep will follow behind with a clear path and not be hurt. If necessary, the crook of the rod was used around the stubborn sheep’s neck to pull it gently to the master.
David said in Psalm 23, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Boundaries bring comfort. It makes it clear what we can and cannot do and what we should expect. When our children know what to expect it’s easier for them to determine whether or not they deserve consequences for not staying within the set boundaries.
Children do not come automatically with the ability to reason. This is something that must be taught. If they are not being deliberately taught to reason, they are being taught by the people and circumstances around them, to think like those people think. Too many of our men think that women should look and act like the people on TV such as BET, or that it’s okay for men to be “players”, it’s ok to smoke marijuana and consume large amounts of alcohol, or to have sex with whomever you want to as long as that person is “fine.” Or to drive fancy cars you cannot afford to drive or wear clothes others think look “good” to wear. Now our children are being taught in school that it’s okay for a man to sleep with a man and a woman to sleep with a woman, and that’s it’s okay to sleep with both men and women. All these are lies and totally contrary to God’s word. If you do not teach your child to reason, they will be taught by their peers, and you could imagine what that means since their peers are just as foolish as they are. I am ashamed of BET and the negative role model they are showing our children. All African Americans do not live like trash or thugs, yet our impressionable children are getting the idea that this is so.
Rafael Green in a message in November 97 here in Hampton Roads said that we live in a generation that has become bastardized- illegal intimacies such as adultery, homosexuality, sex before marriage, abortions, etc. has done much to influence our children in a negative way.
They grow up in homes where there are various men, not their father, coming in and out, mingling their spirits with the kids’ spirits, bringing confusion and division. And fathers who have abandoned them to do the same to someone else.
It’s time for the church to arise and go back to their first love, back to the one who shed His blood for them, who paid the price for her ransom from Satan with His life. We, the church are the bride, covenanted to a Groom who will soon appear for a bride who has not been sleeping around while He was away preparing a home for her.
To go back to our First Love, we must teach our children His ways, to reason according to His truths. Just because the world accepts it, just because the teacher says it, just because a president think it’s okay to lie and commit adultery, or another that homosexuality is legal, does not make it right.
Each one of us, including our children, will have to stand before God and give an account for our lives. Some say He’s not coming. Well, the clock is winding down. The longer He delays, the sooner His coming is. And, we may go to meet Him in death before He comes and will have to stand before Him and give an account for our lives and how we trained the precious children He rewarded us with (Psalm 127:3).
Our children need the whole armor of God to withstand the fiery darts the devil is throwing at them. Never before in any generation has the young people had so much evil thrown at them. Each generation had their own evil to deal with, but this generation has it all. Our kids need God’s wisdom to overcome. We must teach them His wisdom which only comes from His word.
The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of knowledge: [but] fools despise wisdom and instruction. –Proverbs 1:7
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. –Hosea 4:6
Wisdom does not come apart from God’s Word.
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. –Joshua 1:8
Notice this verse talks about good success. Many are successful in the sense that they have lots of money and things but this is not success when they have to worry about their money or they are unprepared for heaven.
It’s up to you to teach your children to reason.
Let’s use some examples.
Your child comes home with a note from the teacher that indicates they have been acting up in class. The child tells you, “The teacher hates me. She is always picking on me.” What do you do? Do you become angry with the teacher and take up arms against her? Do you begin to rant and rave about the teacher being incompetent, and that you will go up there and give her a piece of your mind?
To behave this way, you are teaching your child to cling to foolishness and that it is ok to manipulate situations. Some of you feel so guilty that you are gone so much, that you are not giving the kids what you think they should have, that you overcompensate by giving in to their whining.
Remember foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child. At the 6th to 8th grades this foolishness is more obvious.
What should you do? Do not respond until you have thought the situation out. Learn to listen carefully and to be honest. Many times the parent makes things worse because to admit that their child was wrong is, to them, a reflection of their parenting skills. Loose the pride.
Ask the child to “set” the situation up for you so you can “see” it as if you were there. Never let them think that they can get away with a lame excuse or an untruth. Learn to ask leading questions. Where were you when the incident happened? What did the teacher expect you to do at that time? What did you say? It is not surprising to hear them report, “I wasn’t talking and she put me out. All I said was that I was tired.” Right there you can hear them admit that they did talk. What they said is irrelevant. If they were not supposed to talk and they said Hallelujah, they are wrong.
Teach them to abstain from all appearances of evil
Abstain from all appearance of evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:22
At the middle school age they are drawn as magnets to the kids who do wrong, unless they are taught to reason. So, if one of those students get in trouble they may get in trouble too, because of association.
Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak [this] to your shame. –1 Corinthians 15:33-34
Don’t be fooled by what they say. I see Christian kids when they enter the school building without their parents, change from Dr. Jeckel to Mr. Hyde. How can you prevent this? Become violent in your spiritual warfare. Not physically or verbally or emotionally violent, but violent enough to get up and spend time with the Holy Ghost so that you and Him become the best friends, so that He becomes the Hound of Heaven for you, sniffing out wrong and telling it to you before it happens. Before that bad note comes home He’ll tell you to expect it. I’ve seen this with my single parent friend, Sister Darlene MCgee who God would tell secret things to so that she could protect her children. He’ll tell you get up and go down to the school without the child knowing. Strong word of caution, be sure to check out with the school the appropriate times to show up, and be sure to act civilized when you get there. Keep your business in the home. In other words, be careful how you react when you observe something you are displeased with, because you are a witness for Christ, a living epistle read of all men. Do not go down to that school raising Cain, cursing, hollering, threatening, etc., showing that you are a child of the devil and not of God. You only reinforce your children’s foolishness. A foolish child not trained to kick out the foolishness becomes a very foolish adult. Get some healing.
What do you think you are teaching your kids when you lie for them or you fuss and make a big scene towards the people in authority when the child knows he is wrong? Do you think they’ll love you more or something? No. They’ll learn to disrespect and mistrust you and your God when you are not able to discern their untruths.
But you know your kid. Or at least you should. If the teacher tells you that the child is sassing them or talking too much or not following directions, more than likely the child is already demonstrating this at home. If not, check yourself to see if maybe they are picking up rebellion from you at that particular season, rebellion you are not aware of because it has become second nature.
Now, if your child is right, let them know that you are behind them a 100%. Go to bat for them. But if they are wrong let them know you are behind God’s way 100%, even if it means supporting the teacher.
And what’s this about your child not liking a teacher so the child cannot do well? Do you always like your boss or your co-workers? This is a perfect opportunity to teach them the reality of real life, and to pull out the Biblical examples to teach them. David was pursued by King Saul who insisted on killing him for no good reason. Finally, David had the opportunity to kill Saul, twice, but he refused. I love his reason for refusing
And it came to pass afterward, that David's heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul's skirt. And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD'S anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he [is] the anointed of the LORD. So David stayed his servants with these words, –1 Samuel 24:3-5 (bold mine)
Would to God that we as Christians would understand the full implications of this statement. We cannot lift our hands up against the Lord’s anointed and get away with it. Listen carefully, the position of “king” was God’s doing. Think of it as a box. Though the box was filled with an evil king the box was still God’s. Don’t ever think that He will let the evil get away with it for long. To think so is to not know His word, so study it. Or to not believe it, so pray He will help you take His word at face value. This is especially true today for the way our country is treating its presidents. It was clear when President Obama was elected that our country had taken a drastic turn toward rebellion as we saw the media hot shots and so many in leadership positions in congress and even, very sadly, in the church, speak evil and very disrespectfully about President Obama. Today it is at a worse height as President Trump is berated and belittled by the media, Hollywood and those who we have elected who we expect to know better in congress, as they refuse to attend his inauguration. Am I saying that God expects us to agree with an evil leader, NO! Absolutely NOT! But He expects us to show respect and act with dignity toward those in the “box” of leadership He has ordained. Peaceful and passionate protest is good and healthy. Disrespect and slander and evil talk is unacceptable.
Romans 13 said all authority was ordained of God. So the “box” of Pastor, president, police, teacher, etc., were ordained by Him, as is the “box” of parent. If the people filling those boxes are evil, God will deal with them swiftly. Your child must not lift up his hand against the teacher. He must be taught to come to you and talk it out, and then you, the adult, go to the teacher first, then the principal if that does not work. The bible does not say to go to the principal first, but to the offender first and if they do not listen then to the ones in authority. Matthew 18:15-17
If we are to rear godly kids we’ve got to do it God’s way. You cannot improve on God’s way. It’s no sense trying. The psychiatrists tried to. The rate of suicide is high among psychiatrists. Why? Because they allow themselves to walk into deep waters telling people it’s ok to be homosexuals, it’s ok to hate, it’s ok to sleep with who you want to express yourself, it’s ok to hate your parent, it’s wrong to beat your kids, it’s wrong to tell people that what they did was bad or to shout at your children. All these are totally unscriptural and anyone embracing these untruths are slowly dying and don’t know it.
You cannot improve on God’s ways. You must teach your children to reason according to His ways. David said,
Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed [thereto] according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. –Psalms 119:9-11
You cannot teach your children to reason apart from God’s word. It’s His word that sets us free. It’s His word that will cause them to withstand the devastating effects of peer pressure. It’s His word that will cause them to bypass drugs and fornication. It’s His word that will cause them to have good success.
Teach them to reason according to His word. David also said, order my steps in your word (Psalm 119:133) and make me to go your path (Psalm 119:35).
Do you want to rear godly kids that turn out to be godly, productive citizens who rise up and call you blessed (Proverbs 31:28?
Do it God’s way.
So the fourth practical step in rearing godly seed is to teach them to reason according to God’s word.
You can find more information about this subject in my book, Women Called to Arms! If this 5 part series on training your children has been a blessing to you, or if we can pray for you, let us know.
Until next time this is J.A. Thomas from Voice to the Believer Ministries encouraging you to take God at His word.