There is no greater responsibility than being a good husband and father. God has entrusted you with your children. When I die I want my kids to say that I taught them to love the Lord. The greatest mission field that you have is in your home...with your children.
Amram and Jochebed were the parents of Moses, Aaron and Miriam. Moses, Aaron and Miriam shaped a nation. Moses was the leader who lead Israelites out of Egypt and slavery. He knew God and spoke to God. He gave the law to the people. Moses was an amazing man, but he also sinned and therefore was not allowed to enter the promise land. Aaron was Moses' older brother and Moses' mouthpiece. He was the first high priest. Aaron also sinned (the golden calf) and did not enter the promise land either. Miriam was the oldest child. She waited by the river when they put Moses in the basket and placed it in the river. She convinced Pharaoh's daughter to allow her mother to be a wet nurse for Moses. Miriam was a prophetess. She was jealous of Moses and was stricken with leprosy and Moses had to pray for her to be healed. She too did not enter the promise land.
Don't raise your children to conform to the world, but to change the world.
Hebrews 11:23-29 (ESV) "By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict. By faith Moses, when he was grown up refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them. By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned."
Exodus 6:20 (ESV) "Amram took as his wife Jochebed his father's sister, and she bore him Aaron and Moses, the years of the life of Amram being 137 years."
1. Have Children! (Get married first)
Genesis 1:28 (ESV) "And God blessed them. And God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'"
Habakkuk 2:14 (ESV) "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea."
God will accomplish this through evangelism, but also through our own children. Holding your own children for the first time changes you. It is a huge blessing. If you want to change the spiritual make up of this country. Christians need to have kids and raise them to know and love God. Atheist and Secularists are self absorbed and do not have many children, but they can come after yours that is their plan.
Psalm 127:3-5 (ESV) "Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate."
The enemy hates babies, God loves them...so have them!
2. Your Child is Special
1 Timothy 5:8 (ESV) "But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."
That child that God has blessed you with is your responsibility. You are that child's hope and future. No one can do what you can do for them. God will judge us for how we parent. Your discipline, your words, your teaching and training are important.
Romans 14:12 (ESV) "So then each of us will give an account of himself to God."
3. Submit to God. Not to Pharaoh.
The general disposition of this country is not to help raise Christian children. We need to make God's word as our standard.
4. Never underestimate the seeds you sow.
Everything we do with our children matters. The time that you have with them in your home is so special. Even the time you have with them once they are grown is special. The seed that you sow in their hearts when they are young is so important. The prayers that you pray for your children are not said in vain. God hears those prayers.
Proverbs 22:6 (ESV) "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it."
Jochebed nursed Moses and raised him until he was 2-5 years old. The lessons taught him early remained with him and shaped his life. He identified with his people and not the Egyptians.
Deuteronomy 6:4-10 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. And when the LORD your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob to give you-with great and to Jacob, to give you-with great and good cities that you did not build."
When should you be teaching your children about God? EVERY DAY....ALL DAY! We should be looking for opportunities" to bring your children along.
Ephesians 5:16 (ESV) "making the best use of the time, because the days are evil."
Model behavior just as much or more than you preach it. Jesus modeled behavior for his disciples.
"Nothing trains and teaches so powerfully as love. Love attracts it does not coerce. If the aim of parents is to teach their children to love God they must show their love for him by loving each other and loving their children." Elizabeth Elliot
Don't quit when your grow up. They still need to have a good relationship with you. Grandparents don't give up on your grandchildren. You can be a huge influence on their lives and teach them to love the Lord.
Deuteronomy 4:9 (ESV) "Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children"
5. Train them to fly
Psalm127:3-5 (ESV) "Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate."
Arrows are meant to leave the quiver. Celebrate when your children fly.
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