OceanSide church of Christ
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HOW WILL OUR CHILDREN LEARN THE TRUTH
Wayne
Rodgers
TEXT: “Hear this, yea old men, and give ear,
all ye inhabitants of the land.
Hath this been your days, or even in the days of your fathers? Tell ye your children of it, and let
your children tell their children, and their children another generation.” (Joel 1:2-3)
THESIS:
To learn principles of
child-rearing and evangelism.
INTRODUCTION:
1.
Little
is known of the family line of Joel, except that his father is
mentioned.
2.
He
even leaves out of the writing the time in which he wrote.
3.
He
would be known only, as the instrument of God
4.
From
even the introductory statements of Joel, we find a principle that we should
learn and apply today, concerning the rearing up of
children.
A.
Joel,
whose name means “Jehovah is LORD.”
B.
His
father, Pethuel whose name means “sincerity of Jehovah.”
5.
The
older men of the children of Israel were given instruction as to help rear the
children of Israel.
6.
Notice,
God tells them to Hear it, Tell it, and Repeat it.
A.
These
principles can be used in rearing children.
B.
As
a side note: these principles can also been seen in
evangelism.
DISCUSSION:
I.
WE
HEAR IT.
A.
Hear it and give ear (v.
2).
1.
What
were they hearing?
2.
The
Word of the Lord (v. 1) that came to Joel, the son of
Pethuel.
3.
Literally
this meant to give their earnest attention to the things
spoken.
B.
The
word of God is that which has the power to save, to preserve, to heal, to help,
to guide, etc., and yet…
C.
So
many parents today in the church are well versed in the scriptures, well-know
the plan of salvation, and how to be well-pleasing to God; yet, their children
know very little of the Gospel, nor why we worship the way we do, and nor how to
live the life of a Christian.
1.
It
is sad to see children who are eager to learn be
neglected.
2.
This
is as worse as any neglect that we hear about in real
life.
a.
Child
neglect is defined as a type of maltreatment related to the failure to provide
needed, age-appropriate care. Unlike physical and sexual abuse, neglect is
usually typified by an ongoing pattern of inadequate care and is readily
observed by individuals in close contact with the child. Once children are in
school, personnel often notice indicators of child neglect such as poor hygiene,
poor weight gain, inadequate medical care, or frequent absences from school.
Professionals have defined four types of neglect: physical, emotional,
educational, and medical.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/conditions/childneglect.html
b.
Didn’t
they leave out one of the most important—Spiritual
Neglect!
3.
Here
is little Johnny whose parents have yet to teach him about God, not knowing the
way of salvation, nor why his friends have chosen to be in denominations and why
worship and Christian living is so important.
4.
Where
will “little Jimmy” be in just a few years?
5.
Most
of the time when we hear of “little Jimmy,” we think of an upcoming joke, but
this is no joke.
6.
It
is sad, because they have been neglected as children of Christian
parents.
7.
That’s
right, this is happening in the church brethren!
D.
When
we hear the word of God, we have a responsibility to it – heed it and warn
others.
E.
So,
we must hear the word of God ourselves and then…
II.
WE
TELL IT.
A.
Tell
ye your children of it (v. 3a).
1.
No
more will these children of the Israelites be neglected.
2.
They
had been commanded to teach their children.
3.
The
Law of Moses had said, “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be
in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and
shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by
the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon
thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts
of thy house, and on thy gates (Deut. 6:6-9).
B.
No
more shall our children be neglected, but rather they will begin to understand
now why mommy and daddy are members of the church of Christ, why they worship
this way, etc.
1.
In
our daily activities, we will take opportunity to show Christ living in us, we
will teach them about God, we will teach them about the Lord’s church, and we
will take opportunity show them how a true child of God will act in this
world.
2.
Is
it possible that when we see members of the church today act in such a worldly
manner that they learned it on their own, or maybe they saw it in their homes
while growing up.
C.
The
modernist will scoff and say, “let your children experiment to learn,” but they
fail to look at the end result of such liberal parenting: rebellious, laziness,
rudeness, etc.
1.
We
must teach them, train them, tell them of the Gospel of Christ, teach them right
principles, warn, plead, and show them in love the way to
go.
2.
We
as parents are responsible for teaching our children (Prov. 22:6; Eph.
6:1-4).
D.
Planned
Bible study times for the family are a must if our children are to see just how
important the word of God truly is.
1.
While
teaching those great Old Testament stories of Noah or Abraham, show how they can
be applied to the “one church” or the “seed-line promise of the
Christ.”
2.
Our
children must be taught the things that are truly profitable to them and the
whole counsel of God as well (Acts 20:20, 27).
3.
Our
children will know more than like one little boy named Johnny who stood up in
class to answer the teacher’s question: “Why Joseph and Mary took Jesus with
them to Jerusalem?” Little Johnny
said, “They couldn’t get a baby sitter.”
E.
So,
we tell it and then…
III.
THEY
REPEAT IT.
A.
Let
your children tell their children, and their children another generation (v.
3b).
B.
A
generation gap in the teaching of one’s family would be awful
neglect.
C.
Continued
teaching is a must.
1.
If
our children are taught properly the importance and authority of the Scriptures,
then they too will teach it to their children.
2.
Joel
understood the importance and need for the Israelites to teach their children
for generations to come, so that they would remain faithful and pleasing unto
Jehovah.
D.
Think
of the generation of Eunice, Lois, and Timothy (2 Tim.
1:5).
CONCLUSION:
1.
The
faith of the parents should be seen in their children.
a.
In
fact, it will be seen…possibly more evident that the parent may want it to be
seen.
b.
Great
principles can be seen even in the introductory words of the prophet Joel’s
inspired work on how to rear our children.
2.
In
much the same way, evangelism can be productive when these principles are
applied:
a.
We
must Hear the Word ourselves.
b.
We
must Tell it to others.
c.
They
must tell it again.
3. Salvation has been brought down…Go and Shout and tell it the world around.