Proverbs 22:6 (Parent's High Calling) Ron Owen 7/5/26

VBS Sunday!

Transcript

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Turn in your Bibles this morning to Proverbs chapter 22. Proverbs chapter 22. I'm going to read the scripture from this Bible, and then I'm going to put it, uh, give it, hand it to my wife because the weight of it keeps pushing my podium down. I can't see that far down. So turn, if you would, to Proverbs chapter 22. I told, I told the nursery workers to bring the babies in here. We can handle a little crying, amen. And uh this is our VBS Sunday. It's for kids. And if they want to cry, it's their day to do it. The day I can't overholler a kid is the day I resign. This is a very familiar verse, and a lot of people quote this verse. And uh and it looks like we have a lot of folks out today. It looks like it seems like in its summertime people are running about and all. And uh I uh I I wish everybody in our church were here, especially those that are raising children, to hear this. But but let me tell you who's here this morning. Exactly the people God meant to be here. And so uh he's got this message for us. Um but we this is a verse that we quote, some of us quote, and I'll talk about it in a minute. I need to get into it, but look at it. Proverbs 22 and verse 6. Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. I want to talk to you this morning about parents high calling. This verse is only mentioned by parents, usually is only mentioned by parents whose children are astray in hopes to ease their sorrow and to give them some hope, and that's understandable. I and I but I'm afraid we emphasize the word depart when we should be emphasizing the word train up, but if you are quoting this verse in angst, and you're using that word when your children have departed, training is too late. It's a little too late, isn't it? If you think taking your kids to church is training them up, you are mistaken. It's like I was saying the other day, we're talking about people say, Boy, he just needs to get in church. That's not the answer. He needs Jesus. He's getting saved. What good is church gonna do you if you don't know Jesus? It's really that's not the church is not a fix-all. Church is for saved people. Really, to be honest with you, it's for us to get training and go out and bring them back in. Really, that's what it is. Parents, especially dads, it is your responsibility to make sure your children know Jesus or know how to get to him. You can't force them. I understand that. You can't make them. And a lot of the kids, when they get up and they're adults, and you've done as much as you could, or maybe you did a good job, and they may leave the faith. And you can't, it's not always the parents' fault. I realize that, but a lot of times I think it is. But it is your responsibility to make sure your kids know Jesus, know how to act, know what to do, and what not to do. And that all should be based upon a biblical worldview. I teach my kids this because this is what God said. This is how the Bible seems to be going. We get so angry at kids that act a fool when the parent the persons to blame are the parents. You know it? We get mad at these kids. I tell you, little hellions, I tell you, well, they got that way because their parents let them be that way. Well, our society's just it ain't nothing about the society. This silly uh trying to be nice, this satanic statement that came out of a Hillary Clinton book that said it takes a village, matter of fact, I think that's the name of the book. It takes a village, is a scheme of the devil to make government the ward of your children. It doesn't take a village, it takes a dedicated mama and a dedicated daddy to raise your children. You don't need a village. Matter of fact, sometimes you want to keep them out of the village. Come on, I'm about to preach. Yes, you should have your children in a Bible-believing church, Bible preaching church, but make it your goal in life that when your kids are grown, they thank you for teaching them the word of God. And to do this, you yourself should be a student of this book. You got to know this book. My friend, this church is not gonna answer for your children's spirituality when they get to heaven. We get to heaven. You are mama and daddy. It is your responsibility. I get them, I get them three times a week. We get them three times a week. You have them the rest of the time. I know they got school. But it is your responsibility to teach your kids the scriptures. So therefore, you got to know them yourself. You got to come more than just being a receiver to church and sitting there. I try to get you to take notes. I try and I'll grip at you all the time. You still not doing it. I even give you a page of the bulletin to take notes, and some of you, most of you, don't do it. Why? Because you're just here for a show, some of us. You're not here to study the word, you're not here to receive it and to study it and to get it in your life and to practice it and to have it change your life. You just come to listen to that little fat preacher bounce around and holler and scream. That's not what I'm doing here today. I'm trying to teach you the word of God so that you know what the word of God says about living and acting and doing and not doing. And it's got to be more than just a playtime. We need to get in this book seriously. All right, now that I made everybody mad, let me go on with my introduction. Listen to what Paul said about his protege, Timothy. I love this. And we're gonna read a later verse, then we're gonna go back. Y'all know what I always say about context. Context is king when you're studying the word of God. Now, listen to what he says in 2 Timothy 3 14. But you must continue in the things, Timothy, young preacher, which you have learned and been assured of. Now listen, knowing from whom you have learned them. Now, right there, you assume probably he's talking about himself. That Paul is talking about himself. You learn what you've learned from me, young man, you put it into practice. But listen to verse 15. And that from childhood you have known the holy scriptures, which are able to make you wise of salvation through faith which is in Jesus Christ. He wasn't talking about then, he was talking about the past. And we see this in context when you back up and look at 2 Timothy 1 and verse 5. When I call to remembrance, Paul said, the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lewis and your mother Eunice. Paul wasn't told about himself. He said, Timothy, you're a godly man because you had godly influences who raised you up in the word and taught you the word. And by the time I got a hold of you, I didn't have to teach you the word, just how to minister. Your mama had already taught you and your grandma. Now it's a sad thing they didn't say you had papa and your grandpapa. We don't know about that. Some believe that his dad was a Greek uh unbeliever. We don't know. But thank God for God of the moment. I want to tell you something. It was my mother that did any of the training that I had, uh uh, but uh, but mainly it was the church, to be honest. There's always exceptions to these rules. I was thinking about this the other day. There's some people that don't have good parents. Some of you didn't have good parents, and you don't have good parents, but you're making it. You're doing good, uh, and you've accepted Christ. God in his grace took you out of that. That's an exception. You better get on your face and thank God. Christian and I both are products of godly churches that taught us and brought us to Jesus, not our parents. Now, her dad was a great man and all, but during her childhood, he her and her mother were out of the will of God and not saved, maybe even. And uh her her dad didn't get right with God until we got married. The day after we got married, the June the 20th, we got married in 2000, excuse me, 1998. The next Sunday he went to church. He had not been going to church. Every once in a while he'd come if I was preaching, he'd hear me preach. Or if Christy was doing something. That Sunday after we got married, he went to church and never missed church again Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, unless he was sick or had to work. One of the most godly men. He became one of the most godly men, one of the greatest men I ever knew in my life. But one thing he fell out, and that was training his daughter in the things of God. Now he trained her, he was a great man to teach her a lot of things, and even some good things, and even some godly things. He was a great father, but he could have been taking her to church. My parents could have been taking me to church. They got backslid about two years after we all got saved and kind of got out of church, and it was a church that came after me, and so I had to go to church on my own for many years before my mom and dad got right with God. There are exceptions, but I want to tell you something. You get a leg up if you got a mom and dad that know Jesus. Do y'all have moms and daddies that know Jesus? That's rhetorical. You don't have to shake no or yes, but I most of you do. Jenny, I want to tell you something. You got a mama and a daddy love Jesus. And you ought to get on your face every day and thank God for that. I believe you know Jesus, right? I baptized you, didn't I? If you're truly saved, it's because you have a mom and daddy that led you to him. You too. You too. And I don't know. You. You. Thank God. For godly parents that teach you the ways of God and the ways of Christ, and read to you the Bible, and make you pray, and make you read your Bible, make you study your Sunday school lesson, and make you go to church Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night, and emphasize the fact that life is short, and then you face God. Be prepared. Before Paul got a hold of him, he was already a lover and a scholar of the word. I got two points, and I gotta go. Number one, train your children to perceive the word. Teach your kids how to study the word of God. How do you do that? You study the word of God with them. You read it with them. You you teach them, you hear Brother Ron give you lessons on how to study your Bible, and you take that to them. How to read in context, how to look for repeated words, how to outline a passage, how to just dig and define words and get you a good Bible lab. And this day, anybody that has no Bible knowledge, it's because you're stinking lazy. Forgive me for being so mean, but it just makes me mad. You got apps for free that you can download to help you study the word of God that will give you definitions. And I hear this more often than I have ever before. I just can't learn the word of God. I just can't understand it. I think a lot of that's just laziness. You got to take time. You got to put your phone, you got to turn off Instagram and Facebook and the games and whatever, and open your Bibles and their Bible apps and take time with God. That's the thing. You got to take time with God. But you teach your kids, you train your children to perceive the word of God. First of all, I want you to look how Paul expressed this. Paul expressed this in Ephesians 6, 4. And you fathers. Yeah, daddies. You fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training, the nurture is the King James word. I like that. But it means training and admonition of the Lord. Daddies, it is your responsibility. Now thank God that women do better jobs at the it's just in them. It's just that my wife had better influence on my children with the things of God. She just was with them most of the time. But I want to tell you something. My kids know daddy read the word of God to them and prayed with them and trained them and taught them. It is a father's responsibility to train up his family and even his wife. Paul expressed it. But then God through Moses taught us how to train your children in the scriptures. Look at Deuteronomy 6.6 and just look up at the board here. Don't take time because we got to go. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. That's the word of God. The law. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk to them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up, 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. In other words, learn the word of God. Fill your life with it. You say, Brother Ron, you know, I'd I'd like to teach them, but I think we ought to take our kids fishing. Well, while you go fishing, talk about God. Some of you are gonna have your kids in sports. You need to, uh that's fine as long as when you go to the bowl, ball game, uh, teach them about Jesus on the way there, on the way back, and during the game, when they act, when they get to acting like not acting like a Christian, or maybe you are the one in the stands that need to learn to act like a girl. Show them what a Christian's supposed to act like at a ball game. Too many Christian parents act like heathens and lose all sense of godliness, goodness, mercy, and blessing and forgiveness at a stinking ballgame. Teach your kids about God during all of it. God should be the umbrella that covers everything in your life. He's the God of you at church, of course, but he's the God of you at work, he's your God at the school, he's your God in the business. Where was I? Verse 20. When your son asked you in time to come, saying, What is the meaning of this testimonies and the statutes and the judgments? Talking about the word of God, which the Lord our God has commanded you, then you shall say to your son, We were slaves in Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and the Lord showed signs and wonders before our eyes, great and severe against Egypt, Joe uh uh Egypt, Pharaoh and all his household. Then he brought us up out of uh out from there that he might bring us in to give us a land of which he swore to our fathers, and the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God for our good always, that he might preserve us alive as it is to this day, then it will be righteous for us if we are careful to observe all these commandments before the Lord our God as he had commanded us. I just couldn't find a place to stop there. And what he said is, you tell your kids your testimony. Tell your kids what God has done, tell your kids the gospel message, tell your kids the stories of the Bible, share with them when they ask you, because they're gonna ask you if you'll get them in church, you'll get them in Sunday school, if you will get them uh in Bible studies and stuff. There are naturally, as kids before they get too old to be knotheads, they're gonna say, What does that mean? Are you gonna be ready to answer? And you tell them and you teach them and you show them with heart. Solomon instructed his son. Did you know that? Everybody turn to Proverbs chapter one. Proverbs chapter one, verse one. I'm going ahead and read, catch up with me. This is Solomon. Proverbs one, one through nine. Proverbs one through nine, chapters one through nine, is written to Rehoboam. Is it Rehboam or Jeroboam? It's Rehoboam, wasn't it? Rehoboam, his son, all nine chapters. He wrote to instruct his son on how to be a man, how to be godly, how to do right, so that he could take over for him when he died and when he took over the country. Wonderful wisdom he gave him. Verse 1, the Proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel, to know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding, to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment, and equity, to give prudence to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel, to understand a proverb and an enigma, a puzzle, the words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. And he goes on from there, and and every chapter he says, My son, my son, my son, my son, my son. Now you should have your children memorize these verses I just read to you and others in Proverbs. And you ought to study the book of Proverbs, chapters one through nine, with your children. It is Solomon's instruction to young people. But here is the problem. I'm fixing it's fixing rubber's fixing to meet the road. I gotta go. Here's the problem. Solomon told him what to do, but did not show him how to do it. He didn't do it himself. He said, This is what you ought to do. And then Solomon went a whoring. Solomon gave himself to wine, women, and wild living and wealth. He gave himself to all of them. He was a very smart, smart guy. I don't know. I think God should have said he was the smartest guy in the world, not the wisest. Because wisdom is taking knowledge and using it in the correct way. But God had a purpose for Solomon. But one thing he did not do, he did not show his son how to perform the acts he told him to do. And I want to tell you, parents, listen to me. Do as I say, not as I do, is the first line of a play called parental failure. That was a better quote than that. Thank you, Brother Fred. I got Fred, he knows. Do as I say, not as I do, is just the first line of a bad book called Parental Failure. They will not overcome what you do. You say, Brother Own, we all are sinners. I've done things. Listen, I'm a failure. My daughter will tell you I I failed every once in a while as a parent, and I did my best. We are falling, but I want to tell you, I had no problem going to my kids and saying, Look, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have hollered at you like that. I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't have, you know, and uh, and uh you know, you you gotta deal with it. But but I'm talking about instruct them to do things, and then you go and do the you're a hypocrite and Of your children. And you expect them to do what you say, not what you do. It's not, it doesn't work. Therefore, my second point and last point is this train your children to practice the word. Are y'all with me? I know I'm going over it. I'm going to go over a little bit, but that's okay. This is good stuff. You need it. Train your children to practice the word. Number one, you can safeguard your kids from sin. The Bible tells you how to do it. Psalm 119, 9, which is, by the way, the longest chapter in the Bible. It's one you ought to try your best to memorize with your kids. You say, I don't know if we would ever do that. Try. You're never going to do it until you try. Amen. There's only one way to eat an elephant, one bite at a time, right? There's key verses in Psalm 119 you need to learn. Here's one of them, 9. Verse 9. How can a young man cleanse his way? Y'all listen to me, kids? I mean, if your parents didn't do it, I'm going to tell you, some of you are asking, how can I overcome my sin? How can I do it? Here it is. How can a young man cleanse his way? And a woman, by the way, by taking heed according to your word. Read and know this Bible and do it. With my whole heart I have sought you. Oh, let me not wander from your commandments. I tell you, that's a second thing. It's not my notes, but I'm going to give it something. You need to fall in love with Jesus. You need to fall in love with you, kids. You want to learn about your heroes. You want to know about who I don't know who heroes are anymore. I'm out of touch of an old man. You know, and that's not that I'm out of touch, it's that I don't give a rip no more. You know, and you'll get the same way. Who cares? Uh Michael Jordan never paid one of my bills, so why should I have a poster on my wall? Amen. But you have your heroes, and that's fine. It's wonderful. I did too. Everybody's got them. You know, we got our posters up and things like that, and we listen to their music or whatever. Listen. And you spend time, you read biographies of some of these people. I tell you what y'all do. Read biographies of Jesus. Read the gospels. Get to know Christ. Listen to Paul when he talks about that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, the fellowship of his suffering, and even be made confirmable unto his death. Know Jesus. Love Jesus. Okay, here we go. Where was I? And then verse 11 Your word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against thee. The word of God is the main way God speaks to you. A lot of people, I hear people all the time, well, God told me. Really? Well, no, not in an audible voice. Yeah, that might have been onions. Be careful about that. And especially when if it doesn't match up with this book, God did not tell you that. It was a demon or yourself. Show them the commands of God. Number two, safeguard your kids from the Ten Commandments. They need to understand the Ten Commandments are still true today. All ten of them, and I don't have time to go through them. You know them, we've done them many times here. But then I want to tell you something you ought to go over with your kids because it's kind of the Ten Commandments of the New Testament. There's more than ten of them, but it is Jesus giving us the ways to live, and that's the Beatitudes. You need to teach your kids how to live the Beatitudes. Let me read these for you real quick. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And I want to tell you, kids nowadays need to learn this. You know what we have turned our kids into? Princes and princesses. And they think that we owe them everything. We give them everything where they're taxi drivers. We say that all the time. I'm just a kid's taxi driver. We need to learn to say no every once in a while. No, not every once in a while, a lot. We need to let kids know. Listen, my kids did not complete my family. My family was complete the day she said I do. They're an added, they're a welcome member to my family. And they need to learn some of the to be poor in spirit. Y'all need to be humble. Kids, you need to learn to be humble. Number one, let us start by understanding you're a sinner separated from God. And if you called on his name, he died for your sins to get you back in fellowship with him. And you ought to be broken over that. And you ought to be poor in spirit. I don't have time to go there. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. That's probably over their sin. Blessed are the meek to be meek. Not smart alex, not a smart mouth, not a wise guy. Be meek and mild. Be kind to other people. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are those that are merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are those who are pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be clothed the sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. You need to teach your kids the beatitudes and study with them what those things mean. Teach them the character of God, and I'm gonna go quickly. You need to teach them what righteousness is, holiness, graciousness, mercy, love. And here's the big one. Here's the big one. I emphasize this. You've heard it before, you've heard me preach much. Are you awake? You listening? I want y'all to hear this. Service. Teach your kids to serve other people. Teach your kids it's not about them. The world does not revolve around them. And that they ought to be servants to others. Teach your kids how to serve others is teaching them to be like Jesus. Teach your kids how to talk to adults. I gotta go on. If I'd walked up, if a preacher walked up to me and stuck his hand out to me and spoke to me and and uh I would didn't speak back, I want to tell you something. I wouldn't be able to sit down for a week. You weren't gonna know how you were gonna know how to be respectful and honoring of adults and how to speak to them. You've got to train your kid. They don't know how they don't actually know how to do it. How to speak and be respectful to others and especially adults. Respect and honor. Teach them true gratitude that the giver should be more precious to them than the gift. The giver should be more precious than the gift. Teach them how to witness, how to share the gospel, how to read their Bible, and how to pray. Now here's my conclusion. Let me conclude quickly. Train your children. Training your children is not taking them to church, then taking them home, sticking a phone in their hand and letting them live in their bedrooms. Training isn't always getting onto them either. I know some parents say, listen, I'm gonna tell you something that offends me very greatly. I'm all about training, all about getting on to them for this and not doing right and not being able to talk to adults, and all, you know, I'm all but I want to tell you something I cannot stand, so please don't do it. I hate it when parents get onto their kids in front of me. I I don't like that. I I when I say not just getting on to them, I don't mind correction and all, but but but calling them names, doubting them, or when you say, hey, that's a good kid right there, and you say, Oh, preacher, you don't live with him. I don't like that. And I want to tell you something, your kids may not show it, but uh, you know what you're doing? You're doing what God said, fathers don't do. Don't provoke your children to wrath. Let me tell you something. We're wicked, we're wild, and we are rebellious against our God, even as Christians, and we never do seem to please him like we should. But God still never calls us stupid, dumb, or idiot. He just says, I love you, I'm gonna save you, I'm coming for you, I'm gonna be faithful to you. Get on to them, instruct them. Don't ever call your kids names, don't scream at your kids. Unless you're playing some screaming game. It's not getting on to them, it is instructing them with the word. How much time have you spent teaching your kids the things of God compared to sports, education, vacation, vocation, and leisure? Let's graph it out. No, let's not. We'd all be embarrassed, wouldn't we? Letting your children free range on their electronics, especially in the areas of social media and internet access is a sure way to create a monster. And it's a new thing, and I need to do more preaching on it. I uh let me tell you, a young man, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, does not need to have free access to the filth of the internet. Because I don't care how good they are, all of them have passions that they have to fight, and you're not helping them by giving them an iPhone, iPad without some kind of help. The algorithms of the world are not going to send your children Bible studies and scripture verses. How can you teach your sweeties? And I mean that. They're all sweeties. Your sweeties. How can we teach our beloved children how to live? Psalm 119, 104. Through your precepts I get understanding. Therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Here's the light they need. I'm wrapping up. When you train your children like this, you can most likely depend on the second phrase of our text, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Psalm 37, 30 the mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, and his tongue talks of justice. The law of his God is in his heart. Now listen, none of his steps shall slide. You want them to have firm footing. You train them in this book and teach them about this God and get passionate and get emotional about a Jesus who came to earth who was God, but let them treat him like he was a slave, and he was the king, and he was treated like a peasant, and he let them beat him, and he let him let them kill him. Why? For you. But he rose again and he's coming to get those who love him, and love is appearing.