WEBVTT 00:00:02.240 --> 00:00:05.679 We are in the midst of a series on family and marriage. 00:00:05.839 --> 00:00:10.160 And so I want to invite you to join me in the book of Malachi this morning. 00:00:10.320 --> 00:00:11.759 I hope you brought your Bibles. 00:00:12.080 --> 00:00:16.160 And we'll begin in Malachi chapter 4 this morning. 00:00:16.239 --> 00:00:18.719 If you'll go ahead and open your Bibles there. 00:00:20.800 --> 00:00:23.519 As we begin, I want to read to you. 00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:33.039 This is from the Volunteer Manual for Peace Corps Volunteers who volunteer in the Amazon jungle. 00:00:33.200 --> 00:00:33.520 Okay? 00:00:33.759 --> 00:00:39.439 Now this is the actual wording from a page on the Peace Corps Manual for those volunteers. 00:00:39.600 --> 00:00:45.039 And it's entitled, What to Do in Case You Are Attacked by an Anaconda Snake. 00:00:46.479 --> 00:00:52.240 Now I want to remind you as I read this that the anaconda snake is the largest snake on earth. 00:00:52.399 --> 00:00:59.600 It'll grow to 35 to 40 feet long, weighing 350 to 400 pounds full grown. 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:00.320 Okay? 00:01:01.439 --> 00:01:03.520 What to do in case you're attacked. 00:01:03.759 --> 00:01:08.480 Number one, if attacked by an anaconda snake, do not run. 00:01:09.359 --> 00:01:12.159 The snake is faster than you are. 00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:21.840 Number two, lie flat on the ground, put your arms tight against your side and legs tight against one another. 00:01:22.319 --> 00:01:25.760 Number three, tuck in your chin. 00:01:26.959 --> 00:01:33.680 Number four, the snake will come and begin to nudge you and to climb over your body. 00:01:35.120 --> 00:01:38.079 Number five, do not panic. 00:01:42.319 --> 00:01:50.159 Number six, after the snake has examined you, it will begin to swallow you from the feet in first. 00:01:52.079 --> 00:01:57.760 Permit the snake to swallow your feet and ankles and do not panic. 00:02:01.359 --> 00:02:06.239 Number seven, the snake will now begin to suck your legs into its body. 00:02:07.280 --> 00:02:12.080 You must lie perfectly still, as this will take a long time. 00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:36.719 Number eight, when the snake has reached your knees, slowly and with as little movement as possible, reach down, take your knife, and very gently slide it into the side of the snake's mouth between the edge of its mouth and your legs, and suddenly rip upwards, severing the snake's head. 00:02:37.840 --> 00:02:41.840 Number nine, be sure and have your knife. 00:02:44.400 --> 00:02:47.360 Number ten, be sure your knife is sharp. 00:02:49.919 --> 00:02:53.520 You know, sometimes we need instructions. 00:02:54.639 --> 00:03:00.319 Sometimes we need more than a sheet of paper full of words and explanations. 00:03:01.520 --> 00:03:11.520 And I have found from personal experience that life is better learned from a real life human being who loves me and who walks next to me. 00:03:13.360 --> 00:03:22.000 Maybe it was the most profound revelation to me in the very first ministry that I began up in the Panhandle. 00:03:22.719 --> 00:03:28.719 It was an older community, it was an older church, and in less than three years I probably did 40 funerals. 00:03:29.280 --> 00:03:40.639 It was one of those small town communities where if somebody's third cousin had ever visited your church on Easter, if they died, they were going to call you to come do the funeral. 00:03:40.879 --> 00:03:41.199 Okay? 00:03:42.240 --> 00:03:44.879 One afternoon I'm in my office, I get a call. 00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:48.319 There was an older woman who had passed away at a nursing home. 00:03:48.639 --> 00:03:59.280 She did not know the Lord, she did not go to church, but somewhere in her past, a family member had come to our church a couple of times, and so I got the nod. 00:04:00.159 --> 00:04:06.479 And so, as was my custom, I asked to meet with her family at the funeral home. 00:04:06.639 --> 00:04:07.759 She had two sisters. 00:04:07.919 --> 00:04:12.240 That was all the remaining family in her that was still alive. 00:04:12.960 --> 00:04:21.360 So I sat down with her sisters, just trying to get a feel for what kind of service they wanted, but more than that, trying to find out a little bit about who this woman was. 00:04:23.920 --> 00:04:38.959 And after 45 minutes, with the two people on earth closest to her, the only thing that I could discern that her life was about was knitting and the Dallas Cowboys. 00:04:42.800 --> 00:04:44.720 I gotta tell you, I've never tried knitting. 00:04:44.879 --> 00:04:47.680 I'm sure if I did, I would absolutely love it. 00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:50.800 I'd probably just give myself completely to it. 00:04:50.879 --> 00:04:55.279 It's probably one of those sports that people just love. 00:04:56.399 --> 00:05:08.480 I have been a Dallas Cowboy fan from the time I was a little boy, and I was one of those faithful few, even through the dark years, they fired Tom Landry, I was there every Sunday watching on TV. 00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:12.720 But I gotta tell you, it is an empty life. 00:05:13.439 --> 00:05:25.759 If after 80 some odd years, if all they can say about you is, you love knitting in the Dallas Cowboys, where do people learn real life? 00:05:25.920 --> 00:05:28.879 Where do people learn how to live? 00:05:30.800 --> 00:05:39.439 You know all those begots in the Bible, all those genealogies that when you're reading the Bible through every year, you sort of skim? 00:05:40.399 --> 00:05:42.560 Abraham begot Isaac. 00:05:42.879 --> 00:05:44.959 Isaac begot Jacob and Esau. 00:05:45.040 --> 00:05:47.199 You know what begot really means? 00:05:47.680 --> 00:05:50.000 It means he gave life to. 00:05:52.720 --> 00:05:59.199 But more than just breathing in and out, you and I know where life really comes from, don't we? 00:06:00.720 --> 00:06:09.360 You and I know that if life is just about breathing air, you haven't lived for much. 00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:19.360 And yet there are a lot of people who live in this broken and damaged world, and that's all the life that they really know. 00:06:21.120 --> 00:06:25.680 I want to talk to you a little bit this morning about fathering. 00:06:26.079 --> 00:06:29.040 I want to confess right up front, I'm not an expert father. 00:06:29.120 --> 00:06:33.120 I have three small children, I make lots of mistakes. 00:06:33.360 --> 00:06:36.560 Hopefully, my love for them covers over those. 00:06:37.360 --> 00:06:41.360 But I do want to tell you this morning that there is an expert father. 00:06:42.720 --> 00:06:47.199 And he he longs to father people through you. 00:06:48.639 --> 00:06:55.360 There's a great illustration of why God brings people together in Genesis 38. 00:06:55.439 --> 00:06:56.399 I don't want you to turn there. 00:06:57.120 --> 00:06:58.480 I just want to tell you this story. 00:06:58.560 --> 00:07:03.040 In Genesis 38, there's an account of a woman named Tamar. 00:07:03.600 --> 00:07:05.759 She's married to a man named Ur. 00:07:06.720 --> 00:07:08.079 Ur died. 00:07:09.279 --> 00:07:28.959 In the Old Testament history, there's a thing called a kinsman redeemer, where if a man dies and there's no heir for his estate, his brother can come to his wife and make a son who will be the heir of all of his things. 00:07:29.040 --> 00:07:31.439 And so Ur died without an heir. 00:07:31.680 --> 00:07:35.759 His brother Onan was the kinsman redeemer. 00:07:36.639 --> 00:07:40.079 Onan and Tamar have sexual relations. 00:07:41.439 --> 00:07:49.120 If you remember Genesis 38, when the moment came for the giving of his seed, he spilled his seed on the ground. 00:07:50.399 --> 00:07:52.480 And God killed him for it. 00:07:55.279 --> 00:08:06.240 And the reason is this that anytime God brings people together for relationship, it is never simply for stimulation. 00:08:07.439 --> 00:08:11.439 It is always for the purpose of reproduction. 00:08:14.720 --> 00:08:19.519 You have a godly seed in you. 00:08:21.680 --> 00:08:23.680 Proverbs puts it this way. 00:08:24.160 --> 00:08:30.480 As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. 00:08:33.279 --> 00:08:42.879 You realize that God deposits the greatest levels of his power and his grace where there are godly relationships. 00:08:44.960 --> 00:08:49.120 And godly relationships always involve reproduction. 00:08:49.440 --> 00:08:56.559 God will never, never bring you into the life of another person simply for your pleasure. 00:08:57.919 --> 00:09:00.639 That, by definition, is sin. 00:09:03.360 --> 00:09:09.519 I want to tell you, there's a lot of churches that simply want to gather a crowd to stimulate them. 00:09:10.639 --> 00:09:15.679 But there's nothing of value that is really being reproduced in them. 00:09:18.320 --> 00:09:32.639 And it's not going to be long before somebody wakes up years down the line and they realize, you know, I've been down at that church for years now, raising my hands and dancing in the aisles and worshiping God, but I'm still broke. 00:09:32.799 --> 00:09:34.080 My marriage is a wreck. 00:09:34.159 --> 00:09:36.639 I'm still addicted to pornography. 00:09:37.039 --> 00:09:40.000 Something is wrong with this picture. 00:09:42.559 --> 00:09:52.879 And one of the things that really attracts me to Gateway is that Gateway Church is not about gathering people simply. 00:09:54.480 --> 00:09:58.480 Gateway Church is about making disciples. 00:09:59.679 --> 00:10:02.399 You realize it's not that hard to gather lots of people. 00:10:02.720 --> 00:10:03.759 You realize that? 00:10:04.080 --> 00:10:05.600 It's not that hard. 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:11.600 What is the call of God is not just to gather people. 00:10:13.039 --> 00:10:18.960 God calls us to build big people, not just big churches. 00:10:20.480 --> 00:10:22.399 That's the call of Gateway. 00:10:23.360 --> 00:10:28.320 I want to visit with you a little bit this morning about what your place is in that. 00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:31.360 Now you may be wondering why Malachi on fathering? 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:36.000 Malachi chapter 4, verses 5 and 6. 00:10:36.320 --> 00:10:42.639 Now bear in mind, these are the closing verses, the last two verses of all the Old Testament. 00:10:43.519 --> 00:10:45.360 Here's what God says. 00:10:46.159 --> 00:11:04.480 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord, and he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse. 00:11:04.639 --> 00:11:12.399 And upon the closing of those words, heaven was silent for a period of four hundred years. 00:11:13.919 --> 00:11:15.759 Not a peep out of heaven. 00:11:17.759 --> 00:11:26.000 And the very next time that God speaks, it's through the angel Gabriel to Zechariah. 00:11:26.559 --> 00:11:34.720 I want you to make a note of Luke 1, 13 to 17, where where Gabriel comes and he's telling Zechariah, your prayer's been heard. 00:11:35.039 --> 00:11:36.399 You're going to have a son. 00:11:37.519 --> 00:11:39.200 And here's going to be your son. 00:11:39.360 --> 00:11:44.240 And he begins to account, here are the things that your son will be about. 00:11:44.399 --> 00:11:50.799 And one of the things he says is the very same words from Malachi 4.6. 00:11:51.679 --> 00:11:55.919 He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children. 00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:06.720 It was a moment of revelation for me when I realized that there must be something of the priority of heaven. 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:14.960 That in the preparation for the coming of the Lord Jesus, hearts of the fathers return to the children. 00:12:15.279 --> 00:12:17.759 Hearts of the children return to the fathers. 00:12:19.360 --> 00:12:25.519 So as I visit with you this morning about fathering, what I want you to hear is this. 00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:30.720 I'm not talking about fathering from a gender-specific standpoint. 00:12:30.799 --> 00:12:31.120 Okay? 00:12:31.360 --> 00:12:36.320 What I want to visit with you about is something that single moms can do in the lives of their kids. 00:12:36.559 --> 00:12:40.480 Moms and dads together, this is your priority. 00:12:40.960 --> 00:12:47.519 If you're not married, you have no children, I want to tell you, you cannot give away what you've not first received. 00:12:48.000 --> 00:12:50.159 This is your priority as well. 00:12:52.799 --> 00:12:54.720 Malachi chapter 1. 00:12:56.159 --> 00:12:59.360 Six priorities of fathering. 00:12:59.759 --> 00:13:01.600 First priority is this. 00:13:02.000 --> 00:13:05.519 Help them to hear God's voice. 00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:09.840 Look at Malachi 1, beginning in verse 2. 00:13:11.200 --> 00:13:13.759 I have loved you, says the Lord. 00:13:14.799 --> 00:13:19.200 And yet you say, in what way have you loved us? 00:13:20.639 --> 00:13:21.600 Is not Esau? 00:13:21.759 --> 00:13:33.919 Jacob's brother, says the Lord, yet Jacob I have loved, but Esau I've hated, and laid waste his mountains and his heritage for the jackals of the wilderness. 00:13:34.159 --> 00:13:50.080 I want to explain that to you in just a moment, but I want you to understand that the most constant message from heaven, whether it's the sweet voice of God or in a written scripture, is that God loves you. 00:13:51.840 --> 00:13:54.320 And he longs to tell you himself. 00:13:56.000 --> 00:14:02.720 This verse, Psalm 143.8, is the is the cry of my heart every morning when my eyes open. 00:14:03.840 --> 00:14:07.519 Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love. 00:14:08.720 --> 00:14:11.919 For I have put my trust in you. 00:14:13.279 --> 00:14:22.559 And the most spiritually healthy people that I know are people who make a priority out of every day hearing that God loves them. 00:14:22.639 --> 00:14:24.559 And he'll tell you himself. 00:14:25.360 --> 00:14:29.039 And what I'm talking about is this theologically, you know that it's true. 00:14:29.120 --> 00:14:32.000 It has to be, because God's word says it. 00:14:32.480 --> 00:14:38.559 But I want to tell you this morning, God is not just theologically obligated to love you. 00:14:39.919 --> 00:14:41.440 He really does. 00:14:42.480 --> 00:14:43.360 He really does. 00:14:43.519 --> 00:14:45.039 And here's why. 00:14:45.919 --> 00:14:47.679 Because he chose to. 00:14:50.240 --> 00:14:56.799 It is not based on anything you have done or not done. 00:14:57.039 --> 00:14:58.639 Isn't that good news? 00:14:58.960 --> 00:15:07.519 In fact, Romans 8 says, nothing in all of creation, nothing that's ever been created can separate you from the love of God. 00:15:07.679 --> 00:15:15.600 Now, most people who feel distance from God believe that because of some sin in their past, they're penalized. 00:15:17.120 --> 00:15:19.039 I want to tell you something. 00:15:19.519 --> 00:15:25.679 Not even sin can separate you from God's love for you. 00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:30.000 Friends, that is good news. 00:15:30.720 --> 00:15:37.120 Rather than hate, when you hear, when you hear Malachi talk about love and hate, these are covenant words. 00:15:37.679 --> 00:15:41.519 It wasn't that God was filled with a feeling of hate toward Esau. 00:15:41.679 --> 00:15:43.919 These are covenant words, and here's what it means. 00:15:44.240 --> 00:15:44.960 God chose. 00:15:47.279 --> 00:15:47.600 Okay? 00:15:48.240 --> 00:15:50.799 Not his twin brother Esau. 00:15:51.039 --> 00:15:57.360 God chose that he would bless the entire world through Jacob and not through Esau. 00:15:57.759 --> 00:16:02.799 It was simply because of God's choosing and no other reason. 00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:10.960 Eleven years ago, I spent the summer in Africa, five weeks of which was spent in the bush in Botswana. 00:16:12.159 --> 00:16:20.240 One afternoon I was with a missionary, and we were walking around from village to village, and we met a blind witch doctor. 00:16:21.840 --> 00:16:34.639 The most peculiar thing about this man, he looked right at you with his eyelids open and his eyeballs were milky white. 00:16:36.320 --> 00:16:40.480 And even though you weren't speaking, everywhere you went, his eyes would just follow you. 00:16:41.519 --> 00:16:42.960 Nobody ever led him around. 00:16:43.039 --> 00:16:45.519 He never bumped in anything or tripped. 00:16:46.000 --> 00:16:47.840 Peculiar thing, wouldn't you say? 00:16:50.000 --> 00:17:01.919 That night I was laying in my hut and I was just thinking about, God, why is it that this man is in Africa, a blind witch doctor? 00:17:03.120 --> 00:17:06.000 Me, I was born and raised in West Texas. 00:17:06.720 --> 00:17:11.440 Raised by two godly people who love the Lord with all their heart. 00:17:12.480 --> 00:17:16.319 I was taken to church, I was taught to pray. 00:17:17.279 --> 00:17:17.680 Why? 00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:18.640 Why me? 00:17:19.039 --> 00:17:19.599 Why? 00:17:21.440 --> 00:17:23.440 Why are you here this morning? 00:17:24.799 --> 00:17:26.240 Why are we here? 00:17:27.039 --> 00:17:28.000 Wealthy. 00:17:29.200 --> 00:17:35.680 And make no mistake, the poorest one among us in terms of the world's economy is wealthy. 00:17:36.960 --> 00:17:37.839 Why us? 00:17:39.599 --> 00:17:44.640 It is not because you and I are greater trophies than anyone else. 00:17:45.039 --> 00:17:47.680 I'm not more intelligent than the blind witch doctor. 00:17:47.759 --> 00:17:50.480 I'm not morally superior to him in any way. 00:17:51.839 --> 00:18:05.759 And yet God chose by a sovereign act of divine will, he chose that I would be shown mercy to be raised here. 00:18:05.839 --> 00:18:07.440 It says nothing about him. 00:18:08.400 --> 00:18:12.640 But when God blesses and gives wealth, here's what he says. 00:18:14.160 --> 00:18:22.799 My heart goes out also to the blind witch doctor, Marcus, and I want you to take your wealth and I want you to tell them about Jesus. 00:18:24.799 --> 00:18:26.079 That's why. 00:18:27.440 --> 00:18:31.920 You and I are not greater trophies than anybody else on earth. 00:18:33.680 --> 00:18:35.200 God, how have you loved us? 00:18:35.359 --> 00:18:40.880 I chose you when there were a few other billion people that I could have chosen to bless. 00:18:42.960 --> 00:18:44.960 We need to help them hear God's voice. 00:18:45.119 --> 00:18:49.440 Secondly, we need to show them how to honor God. 00:18:50.640 --> 00:18:53.119 Go to Malachi 1, verse 6. 00:18:53.359 --> 00:18:56.640 A son honors his father, and a servant his master. 00:18:57.119 --> 00:19:00.400 If then I am the father, where is my honor? 00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:09.440 And if I am a master, where is my reverence, says the Lord of hosts, to you priests who despise my name? 00:19:09.680 --> 00:19:14.799 A little bit later, Malachi will explain exactly how they're dishonoring God. 00:19:14.960 --> 00:19:20.319 They offer God barn and stole and strick animals rather than their best. 00:19:21.519 --> 00:19:23.759 They were just, they didn't stop coming to church. 00:19:23.920 --> 00:19:26.640 They just were just going through the motions. 00:19:28.160 --> 00:19:33.519 And in verse 8, God says, you try that on your governor, see if it works. 00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:38.480 Can you imagine being called to a meeting with George Bush in the Oval Office? 00:19:39.039 --> 00:19:40.400 Dozing off. 00:19:42.319 --> 00:19:47.440 Can you imagine your boss calling you in, wants to visit with you about your job performance? 00:19:47.920 --> 00:19:52.559 You sort of just stare out the window and wonder, what am I going to do when I get out of here? 00:19:55.119 --> 00:19:57.519 He says, try that on your governor and see. 00:19:57.839 --> 00:19:59.599 See how that flies. 00:20:00.799 --> 00:20:04.480 You see, we we bring our kids to church. 00:20:05.759 --> 00:20:13.680 But there is a line somewhere between coming and honoring. 00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:21.839 Revelation 3, 15 and 16 says, I know your works, but you're neither cold nor hot. 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:24.160 I could wish you were cold or hot. 00:20:24.880 --> 00:20:31.519 So then, because you're lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth. 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:33.599 You realize this is profound. 00:20:33.839 --> 00:20:36.559 God would rather you be cold than lukewarm. 00:20:36.640 --> 00:20:43.440 I can't tell you how many people in eight years of ministry have said, well, you know, I know I'm not the best Christian. 00:20:43.920 --> 00:20:46.720 But hey, at least I'm there on Sunday. 00:20:47.599 --> 00:20:49.440 You know what God says to that? 00:20:50.319 --> 00:20:51.839 Don't bother. 00:20:52.880 --> 00:20:56.960 I'd rather you be cold than lukewarm. 00:20:57.759 --> 00:20:59.359 And here's why. 00:21:00.079 --> 00:21:02.960 Because cold says there is no God. 00:21:03.119 --> 00:21:04.960 I reject that totally. 00:21:06.240 --> 00:21:09.599 Lukewarm says, yeah, I know there's a God. 00:21:10.319 --> 00:21:13.119 He's just not great enough for me to worship. 00:21:16.640 --> 00:21:29.599 I think one of the reasons that God was so upset that people were bringing blind and crippled and lame animals to offer him was because eventually the worshiper becomes spiritually blind and lame. 00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:31.279 Crippled. 00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:35.839 God says, you can't handle what's coming in that condition. 00:21:39.920 --> 00:21:43.200 We've got to help people learn how to honor the Lord. 00:21:43.279 --> 00:21:48.160 And third, we need to teach them how to reconcile broken relationships. 00:21:48.400 --> 00:21:55.119 If you read through Malachi 2, we're not going to take the time to read through this morning, but make a note of this. 00:21:55.279 --> 00:21:59.119 There are three levels of broken relationships in Malachi 2. 00:21:59.279 --> 00:21:59.759 Verse 2. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:02.880 He says, you've broken covenant with each other. 00:22:03.759 --> 00:22:07.759 In verse 13, he says, you've broken covenant with me. 00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:14.559 And in verses 14 to 16, he says, you've broken covenant in your marriages. 00:22:16.880 --> 00:22:23.680 I want to tell you, friends, I believe, do you know what hinders the coming of God's kingdom in your life? 00:22:23.920 --> 00:22:25.119 I believe the most. 00:22:25.839 --> 00:22:26.720 It's not demons. 00:22:26.880 --> 00:22:30.880 Demons do not have the power to stop the coming of God's kingdom. 00:22:31.279 --> 00:22:36.240 They have the power to hinder, they have the power to harass and deceive. 00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:45.039 I believe what primarily hinders the coming of God's kingdom in the lives of his people is broken relationships. 00:22:46.640 --> 00:22:55.920 And our lives often are strewn with broken relationships, and we're sort of like, well, I can just avoid them, never see them again, and I really don't have to worry about it. 00:22:58.000 --> 00:23:04.559 Romans 12, 18 says, if it's possible, as much as it depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 00:23:04.640 --> 00:23:06.799 And I think what Paul was saying there is this. 00:23:07.119 --> 00:23:14.880 I realize that there's going to be some people with whom try as you will, you can't make things right because of them. 00:23:16.880 --> 00:23:32.640 But I want you to bear in mind more than that the words of Jesus in Matthew 5, 23 and 24, he says, Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go your way. 00:23:33.519 --> 00:23:38.799 First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 00:23:38.960 --> 00:23:40.720 Here's what Jesus is saying. 00:23:40.960 --> 00:23:48.880 Friends, do not assume that you are right with God if you are not right with your brother. 00:23:51.359 --> 00:23:53.279 Those are strong words. 00:23:54.400 --> 00:23:58.319 And the purpose is down in verse 15, Malachi 2.15. 00:23:58.640 --> 00:24:01.680 Because God seeks godly offspring. 00:24:01.839 --> 00:24:05.359 We need to teach our kids how to say, you know what, I'm sorry. 00:24:06.160 --> 00:24:07.759 That was my fault. 00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:11.920 And maybe a lot of us don't know how to do that yet. 00:24:12.240 --> 00:24:15.599 That's a godly thing to be able to confess, you know what? 00:24:16.000 --> 00:24:18.240 That was my fault, and I'm sorry. 00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:37.920 One of the reasons that Adam and Eve were such a target of Satan was not primarily just for Adam and Eve, but I believe Satan, in his crafty shrewdness, realized if I can get Adam and Eve to break covenant with God, I believe I can get Cain to kill Abel. 00:24:43.039 --> 00:24:49.279 We need to be teaching our children how to reconcile relationships. 00:24:50.720 --> 00:24:55.920 Number four, we need to testify to them of God's goodness. 00:24:57.440 --> 00:24:58.799 Look at 217. 00:24:58.880 --> 00:25:02.960 There's two ways that people doubt the goodness of God. 00:25:03.680 --> 00:25:07.039 You've wearied the Lord with your words, verse 17 says. 00:25:18.960 --> 00:25:23.039 Or, where is the God of justice? 00:25:23.279 --> 00:25:25.680 This is the way it plays out most often. 00:25:28.240 --> 00:25:38.720 People will say, if God is all-loving and all-powerful, then what is your explanation for all the evil in the world? 00:25:40.480 --> 00:25:50.480 Since there is all this evil in the world, then either God is not all-loving or he's just not strong enough to stop it. 00:25:56.640 --> 00:26:00.400 It's a view of God that is primarily hard. 00:26:00.559 --> 00:26:01.839 He's a hard God. 00:26:02.720 --> 00:26:05.599 And I believe most Christians feel the same way. 00:26:06.079 --> 00:26:09.440 Matthew 25, he tells a parable about a guy. 00:26:09.680 --> 00:26:13.200 God, the master entrusted one of his talents to. 00:26:13.839 --> 00:26:15.200 And he didn't do anything with it. 00:26:15.279 --> 00:26:16.160 He buried it in the ground. 00:26:16.240 --> 00:26:17.839 And when the master came back, he said, Why? 00:26:17.920 --> 00:26:20.400 And he said, Because I knew you were a hard man. 00:26:21.359 --> 00:26:22.000 You know what? 00:26:22.079 --> 00:26:26.799 There's people in the church who really see God as a hard God. 00:26:27.279 --> 00:26:29.119 He's the all-seeing eye. 00:26:29.440 --> 00:26:34.960 He knows everything we've ever done, and he's really, frankly, quite ticked about it. 00:26:35.920 --> 00:26:41.920 And he just, he's a he's a he's a big, powerful God who sort of has an edge. 00:26:42.880 --> 00:26:46.319 And he just sort of stays mad most of the time. 00:26:47.759 --> 00:26:55.599 Listen, Psalm 139, 17 and 18 says, How precious also are your thoughts to me. 00:26:55.839 --> 00:26:58.079 This is what Brady was saying earlier. 00:26:58.400 --> 00:27:00.640 Oh God, how great is the sum of them. 00:27:00.880 --> 00:27:05.440 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand. 00:27:05.759 --> 00:27:11.279 Listen, friends, God thinks about you a lot and his thoughts toward you. 00:27:11.759 --> 00:27:13.200 They're precious. 00:27:14.720 --> 00:27:22.720 And I think we need to be people who raise our kids to understand that God is not primarily a hard, mean God. 00:27:24.160 --> 00:27:28.000 God is primarily a very kind and loving God. 00:27:29.359 --> 00:27:36.960 And I personally, I don't want my kids getting the view of God that I got from church growing up. 00:27:38.799 --> 00:27:46.559 I can remember, I can remember a season in my life when I really thought, one sin and I'm out. 00:27:46.880 --> 00:27:48.720 Confess and I'm back in. 00:27:49.119 --> 00:27:50.720 One sin and I'm back out. 00:27:50.880 --> 00:27:52.319 Confess and I'm back in. 00:27:52.480 --> 00:27:55.279 And it was back and forth and back and forth. 00:27:55.359 --> 00:27:58.240 And I want to tell you, it drove me nuts. 00:27:58.640 --> 00:28:01.759 I finally said, I'm not living that way. 00:28:01.920 --> 00:28:08.880 If that's God, then I'm just going to enjoy what I've got and I'll suffer through the rest of it when I'm dead. 00:28:09.200 --> 00:28:12.400 But I am not living that misery here. 00:28:14.079 --> 00:28:19.039 And finally somebody shared with me, you got the wrong view of God. 00:28:23.359 --> 00:28:29.839 Number five, let's prove to them the fullness of generosity. 00:28:30.799 --> 00:28:32.640 The fullness of generosity. 00:28:32.880 --> 00:28:34.960 Malachi 3, verse 8. 00:28:35.680 --> 00:28:40.480 When a man robbed God, yet you've robbed me. 00:28:41.359 --> 00:28:44.079 But you say, in what way have we robbed you? 00:28:44.880 --> 00:28:47.440 In tithes and offerings. 00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:53.279 You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed me, even this whole nation. 00:28:53.599 --> 00:29:01.200 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and try me now in this, says the Lord of hosts. 00:29:01.519 --> 00:29:10.640 If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such a blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. 00:29:10.880 --> 00:29:17.839 I want to tell you, one of the reasons that people don't tithe is because they can't afford it. 00:29:19.759 --> 00:29:22.880 If I've heard it once, I've heard it a thousand times. 00:29:23.759 --> 00:29:31.599 And the rationale is, deep down, now they've never said this, but deep down it's this I'm trying to make myself wealthy. 00:29:33.839 --> 00:29:39.599 Proverbs 10.22 says, the blessing of the Lord makes one rich. 00:29:39.839 --> 00:29:42.000 And here's the good part. 00:29:42.559 --> 00:29:44.640 He adds no trouble to it. 00:29:46.160 --> 00:29:49.920 There are a lot of people wealthy and miserable. 00:29:51.920 --> 00:29:56.640 The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and he adds no trouble to it. 00:29:57.359 --> 00:30:01.039 This is one of the most giving churches that I've ever known of. 00:30:01.920 --> 00:30:05.839 And I want to just, while we're here, let me just say this. 00:30:07.200 --> 00:30:12.079 People don't learn how to handle money by osmosis. 00:30:14.880 --> 00:30:22.960 There are a zillion credit card companies out there trying to teach your kids how to handle money. 00:30:24.880 --> 00:30:36.640 And there are loads of people out there who walk into their first job with a mountain of debt that it takes them 10, 15, 20 years to plow their way out of. 00:30:39.279 --> 00:30:47.119 And it'd be a lot easier if we began to teach them from the beginning, here's sound financial management. 00:30:47.279 --> 00:30:54.720 It starts with the first check you write to God as a thanksgiving offering. 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:56.960 But let me remind you of this. 00:30:57.119 --> 00:31:02.559 This is something that, quite frankly, Lexa and I have struggled with from the beginning of our marriage. 00:31:03.119 --> 00:31:09.680 That our tithe check, if it's the first check we write, becomes just another bill. 00:31:10.640 --> 00:31:17.279 We pay the tithe, we pay the mortgage, we pay the insurance, we pay the utilities, yada, yada, yada, yada, yada. 00:31:18.160 --> 00:31:20.960 The Bible calls your money a seed. 00:31:23.279 --> 00:31:27.680 When you plant a seed, water that seed. 00:31:29.599 --> 00:31:37.279 Friends, when you when you when you write a check to the church, God sees it as a seed. 00:31:39.039 --> 00:31:43.680 And I want to encourage you to teach your kids to pray. 00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:46.559 Let their prayers follow their money. 00:31:47.519 --> 00:31:50.160 Because your prayers water your seed. 00:31:51.680 --> 00:31:52.880 Pray for Robert. 00:31:53.039 --> 00:31:54.000 Pray for the elders. 00:31:54.160 --> 00:31:55.119 Pray for the staff. 00:31:55.279 --> 00:31:56.319 Pray for the church. 00:31:56.480 --> 00:31:58.640 Pray for what God's doing here. 00:32:00.160 --> 00:32:03.680 Let your prayers water your seed. 00:32:04.799 --> 00:32:10.480 And number six, display to them the joy of serving God. 00:32:11.039 --> 00:32:15.599 Look down at Malachi 3, beginning in verse 13. 00:32:16.319 --> 00:32:19.759 Your words have been harsh against me, says the Lord. 00:32:20.079 --> 00:32:24.000 And yet you say, What have we spoken against you? 00:32:24.799 --> 00:32:28.160 You have said, it is useless to serve God. 00:32:28.319 --> 00:32:35.440 What prophet is it that we have kept his ordinance and that we have walked as mourners before the Lord of hosts? 00:32:36.079 --> 00:32:55.119 Let me tell you, we we may not be so much saying it's useless to serve the Lord, but I want to tell you, I'll never forget, I was 14 years old, I was at my best friend's house, standing on his front porch, his father had a friend over, and these were the words of his father, a longtime Christian. 00:32:55.359 --> 00:32:56.880 These were his words. 00:32:58.079 --> 00:33:04.640 You know, even if in the end Christianity turns out not to be true, it was still the best way to live. 00:33:04.880 --> 00:33:06.559 Ever heard anybody say that? 00:33:07.440 --> 00:33:09.200 Let me tell you something. 00:33:09.680 --> 00:33:13.519 That is not biblical faith. 00:33:16.960 --> 00:33:19.039 In fact, it goes against Scripture. 00:33:19.200 --> 00:33:23.920 Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15, 14, if it's not true, our faith is empty. 00:33:24.079 --> 00:33:28.319 We are liars and above all people on earth to be pitied. 00:33:30.319 --> 00:33:31.200 You know what it is? 00:33:31.359 --> 00:33:32.559 You know when somebody says that? 00:33:32.720 --> 00:33:34.079 You know what that is? 00:33:35.119 --> 00:33:38.799 They've bought themselves a fire insurance policy. 00:33:39.920 --> 00:33:43.119 Because what they're saying is, I'm looking out for number one. 00:33:43.279 --> 00:33:46.400 This was the best way to live, even if it's not true. 00:33:47.119 --> 00:33:50.240 But above all else, I'm looking out for me. 00:33:51.839 --> 00:33:57.359 And you will never walk into the joy of serving God with that kind of a mentality. 00:33:57.519 --> 00:34:02.720 I want to tell you, the greatest life to be found anywhere is in walking with God. 00:34:02.799 --> 00:34:05.119 And I learned that from my father. 00:34:06.000 --> 00:34:18.639 I will never forget watching my father sweat, helping other people, watching his hands wrinkle in the water of service, washing feet. 00:34:21.760 --> 00:34:24.480 Some of my earliest memories of my father. 00:34:33.199 --> 00:34:38.159 Got thirsty, woke up in the middle of the night, and I'm walking into the kitchen for a drink of water. 00:34:46.639 --> 00:34:50.639 My father is on his face before the Lord. 00:34:57.440 --> 00:35:07.039 And that's when this little boy realized if the man I most love on this earth thinks God is that great. 00:35:08.559 --> 00:35:10.320 Maybe I ought to give my life to him. 00:35:21.119 --> 00:35:23.119 It's a joyful thing. 00:35:25.599 --> 00:35:27.280 I want you to stand up. 00:35:28.000 --> 00:35:31.360 We're going to worship the Lord for a moment. 00:35:33.360 --> 00:35:42.960 I want to tell you that Ecclesiastes 3.11 says that God has set eternity in the hearts of men. 00:35:45.360 --> 00:35:47.280 Here's what that means. 00:35:48.239 --> 00:35:58.239 That all of us have a desire for something of our own seed to live out past what we can see with our eyes. 00:35:58.960 --> 00:36:02.400 You realize every one of us saw this century begin. 00:36:03.599 --> 00:36:08.960 But if the Lord tarries, not a single one of us in this room will see this century end. 00:36:11.440 --> 00:36:15.280 But God has set eternity in your heart. 00:36:19.920 --> 00:36:24.960 How are you going to leave a seed that will bless generations to come? 00:36:28.960 --> 00:36:30.639 Lord, we thank you. 00:36:32.559 --> 00:36:35.199 We thank you for this day. 00:36:35.280 --> 00:36:42.159 But Lord, more than that, we ask that you will help us to see ourselves not just at our place in history. 00:36:44.079 --> 00:36:47.920 But Lord, that you have called each one of us to a place in the kingdom. 00:36:48.800 --> 00:36:51.039 A kingdom that will know no end. 00:36:53.760 --> 00:36:55.679 Lord, what is our place in that? 00:36:58.000 --> 00:37:01.760 We ask for clear revelation of the heart.