Address—Bernie Roossinck
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Well, there's uh.
Still a few people coming in here. Hi, Jonathan.
Sarah OK, so, uh.
Welcome back to the family camp and uh.
It's really, really good to be back again with everybody. And I know a lot of you, but some of you I don't. So I would just say a very, very sincere welcome and that we're very pleased that you're here. And, uh, I hope that, uh, this week will be a week of real encouragement and help for you, each one of us spiritually so.
Let's, uh, begin with singing, uh, hymn #296.
The SIM was sung at uh Becky and I's wedding and it's a a really enjoy this hymn. So 296.
Love thee.
Nsnoise.
OK, this will seem like an odd request, but now I would like for us to sing out of memory. Hopefully there once was a wild little donkey.
Hopefully you'll see how these things line up later. So hopefully we know that selling together.
You didn't have 1/15 dot com and then it's got all that right and it's never been anything.
Wednesday, Thousand 532,000.
12134.
***.
And it is something like Friday, not 5:00 PM. It is like some stuff or like if I am conditions, please come in so I love the light so I can come back on.
00:05:10
Nsnoise.
OK, before I share what's on my heart, let's speak to the Lord in prayer.
Our gracious Heavenly Father, how thankful we are to be here this evening.
And what a joy it is, Father, to be here with so many dear ones that we love and value.
Father, we think of the many, many stations of life that are represented here in this room from the youngest, the young people.
The parents, the moms, the dads, grandpas, grandmas, those that are older. Lord, we just pray that the word of God would encourage our hearts in these last days and that that was give us instruction.
And guidance from thy word that would be suited to the needs. Lord, it's with a great deal of dependence we ask this in Jesus name, Amen.
OK.
So it's good to be with you again.
And I've spoken from this place to you young people, uh, quite a few times and, uh.
Tonight, I'm gonna speak to your parents.
But you're allowed to listen in, because what I have on my heart is happy Christian homes, and I hope that you are part of one of those homes.
And, uh, you may not be mom and Dad yet, but if the Lord carries you may be, and this subject is very wide. There's no way that, uh, I could possibly cover all of it. So I'm gonna just share with you some things that I've been thinking about and enjoying.
And, uh, if I don't mention something that's on your heart, uh.
I would like to talk to you about that, but I know that I won't be able to get to every aspect of happy Christian homes.
But we're going to give it a try and, and I hope that, uh, we can find encouragement together and, uh, that we can.
Share different things. You know, I uh, I am hesitant to take this up because, uh, those of you that know me well know that I have blown it.
More than a couple of times.
Umm, but through the Lord's mercies, we have the right instruction. I'm sure we all know this book, Simon. What book is this? The Bible, God's precious word. And that's what we're going to turn to.
So I would like first to start with the biblical basis for the family.
So let's turn back to the seed plot of the Bible.
That's Genesis Chip, and let's go to Chapter 2.
Just going to read a little bit here just to establish what God's thoughts are about the family.
Genesis 2 verse seven And the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.
Man became a living soul.
And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had sworn.
Now let's drop down to UH-15. The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
So let's read verse 18. The Lord God said, notice who this is, who it is that saying this. The Lord God said it is not good that the man should be alone.
I will make and help meet for him.
00:10:03
And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air brought them unto Adam, to see what He would call them. And whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.
Adam gave names to all the cattle, to the fowl of the air, and to the beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found on help meet for him.
And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept, took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh, the rub instead the rug.
And the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
Adam said, This is now bone of my bones and flush of my flesh. She shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man. Therefore so a man leave his father and his mother so cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh.
OK.
The family is a creation institution. God set up the family.
And he set it up with Adam as the head.
And, uh, in the course of things, there was no help found for Adam. Uh, I used to read it as a helpmeet, but I think it really means a help that is suited, a help that is meat for Adam, a person that was suited for Adam's, uh, company and needs.
So the word say here, he says, it's not good that the man should be alone. I will make a help suited for him. And so the Lord takes the rib out of Adam's side, and he forms Eve.
And, uh, we won't spend a lot of time on this, but it's instructive to notice that, uh, he didn't take Shawn Eve out of his foot, did he?
OK, when you have a wife, you're not to be stomping on your wife. If you have any sense, it's not the way God ordained it to be, right?
You didn't take Eve out of the head either.
He took her out of his side.
And Adam says this is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. She should be called woman because she was taken out of the man. In the Hebrew the word for man is ish. And Adam says she will be called umm.
Ishish, which is the same word in the feminine form. So here is Adam and Eve together, formed by God, perfectly suited 1 to another, and God brought them together. And this is the basis for the biblical family, OK?
Umm.
Let's turn over to Matthew 19 for something that the word Jesus said when he was here. And this is repeated a number of times in Scripture. And when the Lord repeats things in Scripture, it's because it's important.
Uh, Matthew 19 verse 4.
Part way down. If you're not, read that he which made them at the beginning, made them male and female.
And he said, for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother shall cleave to his wife, and they too, Dwayne, shall be one flesh. Therefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. OK.
In a happy Christian home.
When you get married, especially you young men, there is to be a leaving.
Leaving of your mom and dad.
There is a change. It's as if God would say to you on that day when you're married, OK, I now see you as though as one new entity of society, if you will. You're no longer this, uh, uh, the son of your mom and dad. I see you now as Mr. and Mrs. Rusyn or Mr. and Mrs. Roach. And it's one flush one.
Right. And uh, I would. I just wanna be practical about some of this stuff.
00:15:03
Umm, it troubles me a little bit, uh, when I hear couples say, well, you know, we have his money and we have my money and I pay for the car and he pays for the groceries. And that's not the way scriptures has it. Now I get that there are circumstances where, uh, in mixed homes and in, uh, stepdad stepmom situations, it can't always be that way, but the core thinking is.
The Lord says I view you as one.
You're not two, you're one, and there's to be a leaving.
And so when Tim and Joy gave their daughter to Howard recently, uh, she became part of Howard's family and she's, she's still their daughter, right? But there's a change of role. There's a, there's a switch here and it's important. Think about, uh, the life of Jacob and all of the troubles he had in his family, right? You know, one of the only.
Positive family events that I can think of in his life. There were some, probably the first one was when he left his in laws.
Think about that.
OK. And the complexity of having two wives and then other wives that were slave people to his first wives.
Mess, right? I wonder Jacob had trouble. It's not God's way, so there's to be a leaving of your father and mother in cleaving so.
The Lord could look at Adam and Eve and say it's now Mr. and Mrs. Adam, and they're a new unit in my site, and that's important. OK, let's go to Ephesians.
Chapter 4 We could spend, uh, the entire camp in this chapter, but we're not gonna because I would get uh.
Thrown out the window. Probably because I have failed in a lot of this stuff. Umm, Ephesians four or five. I'm sorry.
Here are some rules that are according to the scriptures.
Verse 22 Why submit yourselves and your own husbands, is unto the Lord.
The husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, and he is the Savior of the body.
Therefore, as the search is subject unto Christ, so at the wives be to their own husbands, and everything husbands love your wives, even as Christ loved the Church and gave himself for it.
Then that's a mighty high calling.
Are we doing that where there was?
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the Church and gave himself for it.
Let's go down to, uh, verse 28. So I meant to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it.
Even as the Lord, the Church.
And we see in verse 31 again, there's that same verse in Genesis for the third time for this cause. So a man leave his father and mother.
Umm, OK.
Kim, if you and I are out working in our gardens and you get a big blister on your hand, what do you do with that?
Rub salt on it.
You know, poke it with a sharp stick.
No, not if you have any sense, you don't, right?
But man, look at what it says here.
Uh, no man ever yet hated his own flesh.
Zach Right? Would you stick your hand in a knee grinder? No. Why not?
Because you like your hand, right? OK, that's the way God calls you to treat your wife. Does that make sense?
You know, it says in the first Peter, uh, it talks about the dwelling with our wives according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife as unto the weaker vessel. A notice meant it does not say weak says weaker. That means we also are weak giving honor unto the wife. That's what we're called to do, man. Now there is an order in God's word. Uh, let's go to 1St Corinthians.
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11.
Umm, verse 3. But I would have you know at the head of every man is Christ, the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God. God has created an order and in our culture today, we are told to fight against this, aren't we Shannon? OK, we've had some.
Discussions in our home about uh headship and in.
Yes, yeah, we're being told God's order in the home is repressive and wrong against women and.
But I want to say with all the sincerity that I can, that there is no dishonor in God's order. OK, Christ is the head.
And, uh, the Lord created Adam and he put him in charge of the garden, and then he created Eve. And we have in Ephesians and here again in Corinthians, uh, that the man is the head of the home. Now, I want you to think of this in terms of military rank. OK, So where's the dad? You were in the army. Is there any dishonor in being a major?
No.
Who's higher in rank, the general or the major?
The general is, but there's no dishonor in being, uh, a captain or a corporal under the general. This is God's order. And, uh, I, I really want you, especially you young people to realize there is not, uh, dishonor and, uh, putting down a value of women in the Scripture. It's not the way it's supposed to be.
Umm, in fact, it says.
Can't turn this exactly right now, but umm, it says that the, the women have personal authority in the home, uh, to rule the house. That means, uh, Mr. Bremen, that your wife says I want yellow curtains and you hate yellow curtains.
What are you going to do? You're going to let her have them? Do you have any sense? You are right.
It says the the man is to preside over his household, but the wife has, umm, the, the Greek word is despot. She has personal authority as her, uh, place of authority. So, I mean, your mom says you take your shoes off at the door. It's yes, ma'am, right? That's right. It's the way it should be.
So anyway, that is the biblical basis for family that God had ordained it. It's one man and one woman, which is under tremendous attack in our culture today. Probably you, you Canadians are a little further down this track than we are here in the US, but uh, the state of Michigan honors same sex marriage now. And uh, that's not what the Scripture teaches as the basis for families.
Now I have to take a rabbit trail because there are a lot of people in this room that I value dearly and love dearly that are single.
And I do not want you to feel like you're being left out of something proper and right by not being married.
1St Corinthians 7 The apostle Paul is writing to the Corinthians about some problems that were going on in Corinth. OK, Corinth was a port city. It was an extremely, uh, loose city. There was all kinds of, uh, immorality and debauchery of every kind going on in that city. And I gather that they had written to Paul because he says now concerning the things that you wrote to me.
And then he begins to explain, and one of the things he says in there is that singleness is an honorable option for the Christian. And in that day in Corinth, if you were a single 20 something year old person, you would be looked at as there's something wrong with that person.
In fact, the word Corinthianized is still used in English today.
Look it up after meeting, you'll find that it means given over to total debauchery. That's what Corinthianized means. So the Apostle Paul was saying to them, you know I would, that you could, you were as I am. He's saying it's good, it's OK, it's honorable to be single.
00:25:16
Umm, back to Matthew 19.
This again is the Lord Jesus speaking here, uh, and verse 12.
Verses 11 He said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save to them to whom it is given. For there are some eunuchs which are born, so born from their mother's womb. There are some eunuchs which are made eunuchs of men. And there be some Unix which have made themselves Unix for the kingdom's sake. Either that is able to receive it, let him receive it.
And I want to apply that word unit to a single person tonight. Now turning to Isaiah 56.
Listen to what the Lord says here in verse 3.
Neither let the son of the stranger that have joined himself to the Lord speak, saying, The Lord hath utterly separated me from his people. Neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. Lord says, don't say that.
For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my Sabbaths, and choose the things that please me.
And take hold of my covenant, even unto them will I give in my house and within my walls a place.
And a name better than of sons and daughters. And I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.
OK. I just want to encourage you that are single.
It's OK, it's honorable. The Lord may provide you a spouse in time, but while you're in this state?
Seek to please the Lord, keep His word, and He will honor you in that.
OK.
Now we're gonna speak to parents for the rest of the time.
Turn to Genesis 18.
This is kind of the Christian foundation for raising children.
Umm, for 17, the Lord said. So I hide from Abraham the thing which I do.
Seeing that Abraham, surely.
Umm, seeing that Abraham so surely become a great mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him. For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which hath spoken of him.
OK.
Here the Lord says to Abraham or about Abraham, I know him, that he is going to raise his family and command his household and bring up his children to love me. And moms and dads, that is our core purpose as parents is to bring our children into a saving knowledge and a fruitful, useful relationship with the Lord Jesus.
And it's a beautiful thing that the Lord could say about Abraham.
You know, here the Lord was coming down and he was about to execute judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah, and he says, so I hide from him what I'm about to do.
What's the answer? No, I don't think I will. I, I know him that he will raise his family for me. And he goes and they have the sweet communion together and that's a beautiful foundation for the family.
OK, so I'm, we're just going to skip through some of these. There's no order to this. I, uh, and it's by no means a full with some 127.
So I will speak to you young people just for a moment here. So I'm 127 one except the Lord build the house.
They labor in vain that build it. OK, if you're thinking about dating an unsaved person tonight, don't do it.
Uh, it's gonna be as blunt as I can. The best way not to marry an unbeliever is not to date one. Don't do it. Except the Lord build the house. They labor in vain that build it. OK, that was a on the side, but a very important one. OK, verse 3 Low children are a heritage of the Lord.
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And the fruit of the womb is his reward, as arrows are in the hand of a mighty man.
So our children.
So our children of the youth, happy is the man that have his quiver full of them. Now, it's not my purpose to stand here and tell you that you should have 49 children.
OK, don't misread what I'm saying to you, but the scripture says children.
Are inherited of the Lord.
And it is a, it's a marvelous thing. You know, I very, very recently, it seems like I stood in a hospital room and I watched.
My oldest daughter be born.
Tomorrow should be 19.
And I tell you, brethren, I think that's one of the greatest things I've ever done in my life, other than being saved, of course, but in our family to stand there and to.
Hang on to that little person.
And what a joy that was. What a joy.
You know, uh, here it says these children are arrows in the hand of a mighty man. OK, who can I pick on now?
We're gonna call on Mark because I know that you like archery. Mark, when you shoot an arrow, does it just randomly for no reason or what do you or is there a target?
There's a target, right? So.
Umm, maybe later in the week you'll be out there at the archery range. You put that arrow in like this and you're aiming at something and you let that arrow go, and the goal is for that arrow to go out there and hit the target. And moms and dads, our job, our joy really is to prepare our children to send them out into the service.
Of the Lord, to know and love the Lord and to go out into whatever calling the Lord has for them as prepared, as balanced, as mature. You know, I, uh, I, I'm afraid in our society today that we're releasing a flock of psychopaths on the world.
And, and it's true, man, you just watched the news some some night and see what kind of ridiculous behaviors. So I'll just give you a couple of one example that happened in Newaygo County two weeks ago. Two guys got in a fight.
They both pulled guns out, fighting over some meaningless thing. The one guy grabs the other guy, shoots him with his own gun, grabs a chainsaw, saw his head off and his arms and legs. Really.
Where did they learn this stuff? They learned it at home.
That's where they learned it.
The Word of God says not. So you send out those children as a hunter or a mighty man in battle sends out an arrow to do his purpose. OK, we gotta keep moving. Uh, just gotta mention quiver full doesn't mean you have to crank out fifty kids, right? The Lord gives you peace with one or two kids. That's fine. It gives you peace with 16 of them. Do that.
The Lord will bless you as you seek to honor Him and obey His direction.
All right.
Uh.
I just mentioned holding on to my newborn children and I tell you friends, that was a beautiful thing. I wept like a child.
But you know what? You know how long it took me to realize that? This little cuddly bundle of joy.
Was a little thinner.
OK Danny, how much time have you invested in teaching your kids to be bad? Not much right? No, we find in job Chapter 11 it says vain man would be wise though man be born as a wild *** is cold.
That's the nature we have born in sin.
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Shape and iniquity, right Romans 5 says by one man sin entered into the world, death by sin so death passed upon all men through all his sins and as parents to have a happy Christian home, it's important for us to recognize very early.
To understand the nature, it's a little Sinner that needs to come to know the Lord Jesus, a Savior, and to have their sins washed away and to yield their life to obey God. We're going to get to obedience here in a minute. So important. If you can't say yes to God or yes to mom and dad, you won't be saying yes to God either.
Think about that, you know.
Uh, sometimes as a dad I say something and I'm going to count the three now about 19 times later.
Stupid, right?
And it's frustrating. Anyway, we'll get to that in a minute, but.
If our kids won't obey at home, they're not going to obey God either. The Lord says do this. I don't think so. I don't want to do that anyway.
First Samuel, Chapter One.
This is a core, absolutely necessary thing. This has to do with Samuel and his mother. You probably know what I'm going to read.
For Samuel 127, Hannah says. For this child, I prayed.
And the Lord hath given me my petition, which I asked of him. Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he liveth, he shall be lent to the Lord.
OK moms and dads, we need to be on our knees before the Lord Independence.
There's no amount of reading of self help books or.
You know, umm, try this, try that, get on your knees, open the word of God as Hannah said for this child. I prayed and I remember many a time seeing my parents pray for us.
I, uh, I hope this is OK, Doug and Sue, but I'll mention this that they pray for their family, every single person by name, every day.
So valuable.
Shouldn't be a surprise mom and dad, for your kids to find you on your knees. If it is, we have problems.
For this child I prayed OK.
Umm, let's turn to Proverbs 29.
And verse 18 it says where there is no vision that people fail.
According that exactly right.
Proverbs 29.
Verse 18 Where there is no vision, the people perish.
They either keep it the law, happy as he well, especially to you dads.
It's our responsibility to provide leadership in the home.
And guidance.
And if we cannot have consistency and a vision where there are kids, no, this is what our home is based on. This is what we value, this is what we expect. This is what we do. This is what we allow. If there's no vision, it's confusion.
I find that in my own work too. You know, it's amazing to me how, uh, we can make a decision about changing a piece of equipment or whatever and suddenly everybody in the shop knows that why we did it. Like, oh man, they're about to close the place.
The opposite is true. Making all these conclusions, why did they conclude that because there's no vision, nobody is out there saying, OK guys, this is what we're doing.
This is how what we value, This is why we're doing it. And so especially to you dads, it's not us to provide spiritual leadership in their homes. It's important.
00:40:13
OK Deuteronomy chapter 6.
Yeah, I apologize, brethren, for skipping around so much, but we could spend a long, long time on these topics. Deuteronomy 6.
Uh, verse 4.
Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is 1 Lord.
By the way, young people, that is one of the verses that the Jewish people stumble on because they don't believe in the Trinity.
But if you study this word, 1 Lord, they find out it's plural, and that's a beautiful thing. But that's an aside anyway. Verse 5 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine hearts, and with all thy soul, with all thy might. And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart. Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children. So talk of them when thou citizen thine house.
When thou walkest by the way.
When they'll wire us down, when they'll rises up, and thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand. This will be as frontlets between thine eyes. I shall write them upon thee post of my house, and on thy gates.
OK, I read that just to say this.
Happy Christian homes need to be characterized by constant spiritual training.
Constant spiritual training, you know, and, and it doesn't have to be elaborate, you know, we're not sitting in some. How many of you have read the Laura Ingalls Wilder books? Uh, a farmer boy.
When they head to you on Sunday, right, they had to sit on a hard bench and memorize the catechism all day. Remember that That allowed to swing your feet, that allowed to smile. Anyway, that's not the way it should be in our families. This should be a constant thing. I remember having this marvelous times on family trips, playing Bible games. You know, like I read some thinking of a man whose name.
J And you'd have to try to stump the other person by asking them these hard questions about it.
It's, uh, this is part of this, constantly bringing the Scripture and the Lord into things, singing together as families. Umm.
Beautiful times. I think we sang ourselves horse as kids many times. You know, it talks about, uh, having these things on the doorpost of your house. You know, I, I picture a person coming to your home and they get there and they get to the door and the first thing they see is these door posts and there is.
This.
Honoring of the Lord and of his ways and of his claims. First thing they see when they walk into their, you know, it's nice to have text on the wall because we have text on our wall versus on the wall. It's a beautiful thing. We don't have anything at our door post, but I think just spiritually speaking, if I can apply it this way, the first thing that somebody should see when they come into our homes is these people love the Lord.
And that is ingrained in our children.
How about the gates? OK, when you're leaving, out the door. Bye, everybody. I'll come again soon. And out the door. Out through the gate. The last thing you see. There it is again. These people honor and love the Lord, right? Should be all the time. When you're in, when you're out, when you're in the house, in the car.
That's the point I'm making. OK now.
This spiritual teaching, we're not talking about going to, uh, the Golden Corral once a week.
Most of you that are from Michigan, the Golden Corral is a place where somebody like Kyle can go and really pig out, eat a lot.
One time we were there and we were just uh, man, you guys try this that and actually, you know, I feel terrible.
At a huge buffet, right? But anyway, it's not the way it is in spiritual things in the home. Turn to Isaiah 28.
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Verse 10.
And I and I would like to encourage, especially those of you that are young in the faith, they're just starting your homes. Maybe. I hope this will be an encouragement for you. Don't have to be, you know, a doctor of divinity when you're 16, but cultivate a love for the Word of God in the home. Listen to what verse 10 says, for a precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line.
Line upon line.
Hear a little and there a little.
Small bites, but constant bites. You know, it's a sad thing if the only spiritual time we have is when we're sitting around the separate table and Oh yeah, we should hand in the calendar first, kids. And you rhyme it up and there's two minutes spent spiritually speaking, and then, uh, alright, we gotta get going, Let's roll. You gotta get your homework done. Clean the ***. It's not the way it should be. It should be here a little.
They're a little lying upon line, precept upon precept, constantly. Small bites all the time.
And it's a sad thing is if our kids view our, uh, efforts to bring the Lord into the home as a, as a disruption, as a, oh, what's, what's, well, there's somebody coming over or what are you? We haven't had the Bible on the table in three weeks. That's a sad thing. Should be a constant practice. So love for the love, a love for the Lord and his word and then bringing that into our homes.
OK.
Talk about boundaries.
Psalm 16.
Verse six says the lines are falling onto me in pleasant places.
Yeah, I have a goodly heritage. These lines that the psalmist is speaking about. If, if, if you will, this is the boundaries. These are the places that we set up in our homes. This is what's acceptable and this is what isn't. And so when our children challenge us on something to say, yes, that is good and right and acceptable or no, that's outside these.
And, you know, seeking to please the Lord and walk in his ways, Those lines are in pleasant places. Now, I I will readily admit to you that there were some lines that we had when we were kids that I didn't agree with.
But I honored them for the most part. I ashamed to say that I didn't a few times. And now that I look back, I am very thankful that my parents had boundaries for us in our in our lives and in our family. Things that we would do and would not do as a family based on convictions that this is right there, this is not right.
Umm, Proverbs 6. I could sing this to you, but I'm not going to because we're running out of time.
Ask me later and I will Proverbs 622 Says, My son, keep thy father's commandments, and forsake not the law of thy mother. When thou goest, it shall lead thee.
When thou sleepest that shall keep thee. And when thou awake us, that shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a lamp, and the law is light, and they're reproof. Some instruction are the ways of life. Those boundaries are important. OK, we need to keep moving. Let's talk about Wet Smith. How many of you have ever stuck your hand in Wet Smith?
All right, so I meant what happens to the handprint?
Stays there forever, right?
OK, Ephesians 6 verse four says Fathers, provoke not your children to anger.
Bring them up, and then there's certain admonition of the Lord.
You know.
I think that I very little realized this, and I wish I would have realized it much earlier in my parenthood days, how I was putting marks in Wet Smith that hardened, and that's the way it is.
Some of those marks were good and some of them were not good.
But think about it, I remember once we went to my grandpa grandma recent house and I was probably 11 or 12 and they had a four Wheeler. Never ridden a four Wheeler before but man I wanted to.
00:50:08
And Grandpa said you can ride the four Wheeler.
I got on it, drove through the mud, which apparently was against the rules, but I didn't know that, and then I hit a tree.
And I felt really bad about it and I went to my grandpa and I showed him exactly what happened and I apologized to him asking for forgive me. He said just go park it in the barn. But a week later he came to me and he grabbed me by the ear and he marched me outside said I am disappointed in the way you lied to me. And man, I, I was shocked.
And that mark went in Smith.
And it hurt.
And we make mistakes like that as parents sometimes. Now there are other things Marks made. And Smith in a youthful heart, they're very good. You know, Danny, I was thinking about the time that you and I went and had a prayer meeting out at Black Beach someplace. Do you remember that? I never forgot that. I can still feel the closeness.
To the Lord that we felt that night.
And that's a Mark Nathan Smith.
So I we're running out of time here, Deb's, especially mom's. Don't provoke your children anger when you discipline and punish your children if the only thing you achieve is to make them mad, we're not doing something right. You know this. So discipline has its root, the word disciple, which means the Comer along besides somebody to put your arms around them, to guide them, to teach them.
Uh, and now don't get me wrong, there's a very definite teaching of punishment also in the scripture, but discipline sometimes we think.
You're going to get disciplined and it need not be the wooden spoon every time. Sometimes it's the arm around the shoulder and shine.
We need to talk about this and to reach the heart and it may come to the point where my dad had a wooden or a wooden leather strap and he was cutting into these long pieces and regenerate. Hey dad, what are you doing? He's you're about to find out.
So we got punishment, but there were many, many, many other times when we got discipleship too, and that's part of the discipline. So I just want to encourage us to think about it that way.
Umm, we just talked about nurture and admonition, and I'm sorry to go so quickly here because we're we're just can't possibly cover this. So some 23 verse two, he leadeth me. Besides, still waters, green pastures. That is the normal.
Uh, environment of contentment that the shepherd would bring the sheep into, and that's the culture that we should have in our homes.
Still waters, green pastures.
OK, admonition, let's talk about the rod.
Proverbs, 1324.
Now I just want to say something before I get into this. I am in no way in favor of parents beating their children.
And abusing them, that's a terrible shame. But I am a believer in using the rod, and this is the place in our culture we're in serious jeopardy, brethren.
In fact in Canada I don't I think it's not even permitted to spank your children. But you know, a small swat on the bottom of a one year old gets way more done than beating an 18 year old with an inch of his life.
It's too late, OK.
I just want to say again, I do not advocate parents beating their children.
But I do think that punishment appropriately, is right and good. Umm, Proverbs 1324 Either Spare at the rod, hated the sun. Think about that, parents. You want your kids to go wild all over the place?
Don't discipline them. That's what you'll get.
Proverbs, 2314.
Thou shalt beat him with the rod and deliver his soul from hell. Think about that.
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Again, and that's how I I am not advocating, you know, wailing on your kid in an abusive way, but to save your kid from hell though, given boundaries, give him disciplinary punishment. Umm.
Proverbs, 2915.
The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child blessed to himself bringeth his mother to shame.
OK, now we're just going to talk about Joseph's knees. We're out of time, so I'm just going to tell you about it. Genesis 50 talks about his grandchildren were brought up on Joseph's knees.
So where do you grandparents?
You know your kids come to you. Umm, my kids do this and they come to me. Hey dad, tell us about when you were a kid.
A fun thing to do. We used to love to hear when my dad and mom were kids.
You know, I can picture those little kids back there in Egypt saying, hey, Grandpa Joseph, tell us about the time when you were thrown into the dungeon. He goes, oh, kids, that's a long story, but I'll tell it to you because I want you to know of the goodness of God. And you picture those children brought up on Joseph's knees, that beautiful. I love thinking about that. So let's do that with our kids, too.
All right, Proverbs 2228 says remove not the ancient landmarks.
Which thy father has set.
OK.
There are things set in families, traditions that are good and valuable and important. You know, I think of the times that we went to conferences. My dad used to take this big old gospel bus and we would drive through the marathons and pick up all the young people and then we would drive to Ottawa or Montreal conference. Those are some of the best times, man.
Let's not remove those ancient landmarks.
They're important. And then I would also say this to you, brethren, and I asked myself, am I setting landmarks in my own family's pathway that they can go? You remember when Dad used to do this or that?
Rachel, you remember when we used to play bulldog, right? And mousetrap and all that stuff? Good times, man.
And you bring the Lord into stuff. So let's not remove the ancient landmarks. Last thing in my heart, we are out of time just about. Let's teach our kids to be serving hearted.
So important I long for my daughters to be servant hearted and you think about the Lord in the upper room. So why is the eve of his betrayal and an argument breaks out? Well, I'm going to be greater than you are. No, you're not either right. The last thing the Lord needed to hear was that you know what he said? He said fellas.
If I can say that reverently, I am among you as one that serve.
What an example.
I am among you, a sea of service.
So let's set that, you know, children's hearts be serving hearted. You know, I really appreciate when I see some of you young people that are reaching out and helping with some kids or, you know, doing things that are serving hearted and there's no worry in vacuuming the floor or mopping up somebody spilled spaghetti sauce or whatever. But God values it.
So anyway.
I was going to mention a couple things and then we're out of time, but I'll just mention it briefly. Think about moms and dads, Eli's sons.
They were doing wrong.
Eli permitted them to carry on.
God challenged him on it. We're out of time, so I can't read it. It was a loss. It was a terrible thing.
Let's not be overly permissive, OK? Think about Absalom. Where did Absalom learn that? If you want something, you take it? Where do you think he learned that? He saw it from his father.
Think about that times, yes?
Our kids are gonna do what they see a lot more than what they hear.
OK, last thing, uh, Jacob and Esau, this has to do with favoritism. That's good.
In a happy Christian home, we ought not to have favorites. Yeah, I can picture Isaac Sangisa. Hey, go tell your mother. I want that Denison that I like Rebecca saying to Jay, you go tell your father he knows where the kitchen is. That's not good.
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And so just a warning there for that. So anyway, we're out of time. I apologize for ending on a negative note, but happy Christian homes so valuable and rather than there is just vastly more than we just talked about in this topic. So let's.
Close your eyes and thank the Lord.
Your gracious heavenly Father.
We thank thee for thy love for us. We thank thee for so many families here.
Where does we look across all these spaces, how we enjoy and thrill to think about the value and the potential and the worth in Thy service, Our Father, we pray, Lord, that Thou hast bless us indeed and enlarge our coasts. Help us, Lord, give us grace, we need it.
Give us dependence, Lord, we need you.
We pray for each one here, the moms, the dads, the kids, the young people, the grandpas and grandmas. Oh Father, we just cry out today for help and blessing, and we do this with thankful hearts for all thy love for us. The name of the Lord Jesus, Amen.