Forgotten Mission, the Family

And has really been a passion of mine for a number of reasons. But as I do that, I want to share something with you. This is not a passage that I'll be preaching from tonight, but it's a very familiar passage in Matthew twenty eight, beginning there in verse eighteen, actually beginning sixteen. We know this is the Great Commission. I want you to pay attention to some things here before we go to the passage that we're going to be looking at. Now. The eleven Disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them, And when they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doted. Jesus came and said to them, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Now it's interesting teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. There are a couple of things that we forget when we talk about the Great Commission. We usually talk about verse eighteen only and we don't back up to verse sixteen and understand that this was given in the context of revelation and worship. Christ is revealed and then he is worshiped. And the other thing that we don't remember is that Jesus came and said to them, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. That's the beginning of this commission of his. In the midst of this revelation and worship, he declares his authority, and in his authority he gives that commission. Another thing that we remember is on the backside of it. We get to go therefore and make disciples of all nations. And then there's a description of how you do that. How do you make disciples of all nations? First of all, there's an evangelistic work, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And when we baptize people who've come to believe right, so we bring the Gospel to them, we evangelize them. And then there's the last part, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. That's how you make disciples. Teach people the gospel, teach them to believe like Christians and then you teach them to behave like Christians. This is a very important piece. Oh, thank you, thank you. It is a piece, however, that is often forgotten, and it's often forgotten for a number of reasons. There's a couple of reasons that we forget this. Number one because of revivalism. Revivalism. There's a period of revivalism at its height the nineteen forties and nineteen fifties, we're the best known Christians in the world. Were evangelists like Billy Sunday and Billy Graham and others who are doing big crusade events. And revivalism was all about evangelism, and it was all about getting people to make a decision. And in fact, even what we call what we would call the traditional worship service, it's quite ironic that we call it the traditional worship service. But you know, three songs in a special you know, follow about three points in a poem and an altar call that that's revivalism. Actually, it was the Revivalist meetings, the revival camp meetings that created that service, that type of service. It however, had its roots in the second grade Awakening and Charles Finnie and Charles Finny's theology and his practices. As far as evangelists went, the manipulation of men, Charles Finnie did not believe really an original sin. Charles Finny believed that man had the power to choose God, and that what it was, what our responsibility was, was to put him in a position to make that choice, put him in a position to exercise his will and would have turned into his manipulation. And so the altar call actually came to us in this second grade awakening through Charles Finni. And so the whole service was built toward that moment, the altar call. The height of that was in revivalism, and the revivalism everything was built toward the altar call. And as a result of that, we began to see church this way. And if you remember, if you've ever been part of a kind of revivalist church, even when you know there used to be you know, you have somebody come and pray, and the deacons would come and pray, and when they would pray, they would say something like, and you know, Lord, bless this and at the end of this service, when the doors of the church are open, would you please bring all your That was why we were there. We're there for the end of the service. When we had the altar call, that's what it's all about. And discipleship was just it's gone. It's gone. You don't need discipleship. You used to need to give rededication every once in a while. Amen, somebody right? That was it? Right? So you had the altar call and you could come, do you know, to get saved, or you come for your rededication or whatever. But that that was the point of emphasis. Now, so that's one reason that we think about the Greet Commission only in terms of evangelism and not in terms of the discipleship and the teaching them to observe all things. There's a second reason, and that is because of the worldview of secular humanism and the worldview of pluralism, philosophical pluralism or relativism. Relativism argues that all things are relative. There's no such thing as absolute truth, there's no such thing as absolute right, absolute wrong. And because of that, relativism argues that culture is also relative, and so one culture is not superior to another culture. Because of relativism, and all of us in this room have been educated in the Scho school system, that was rife with relativism. All of us, okay, all the generations represented in this room have been educated in that system. And there may be a couple who know something of an educational system a little bit before that that that didn't believe in culture relativism. And so you know, words like heathen and pagan, we don't use those words anymore, right, what was heathen in pagan? Heathen in Pagan? Those were cultures that did not know Christ, and they did not live like people who knew Christ. So the heathen didn't just need to be baptized, He also needed to be culturized. He needed to be taught how to live in a culture that was Christian. Well, now we find that offensive. Now we find that offensive. So because of that, you put those two things together, you have a bunch of people who have been educated within a worldview that says, you know, culture is relative. There's no such thing as something that's right culturally or wrong culturally. Culture just sort of is what it is, so you don't want to go changing people's cultures or judging people's cultures. Couple that off with us being a product of revivalism, and you have a Christian culture where the latter part of the Great Commission is viewed as null and void, null and void, and that becomes hugely problematic. But there's another issue, and that's the issue that we've come to address this evening, and that's the issue of making the family an obstacle to this. In order to make this point, let me tell you a story story. You know, you've probably seen the movie End of the Spear, right, and you know the story of jam Eliot and Nate Saint and these these these missionaries, these hardcore Indiana Jones in the midst of the jungle missionaries right there in South America. They reaching the people group that's violent, some of them even cannibalistic, and they're going to take the gospel. They have to be sort of brought in by playing because there's no other way to get these people groups. And they're killed, they're slaughtered by the people that they came to evangelize, and their wives are seen as Christian heroes or Christian heroines. Why because for the sake of the Gospel, they went back to the same people group that had murdered their husbands, put their lives on the line in order to take the gospel to those people. Christians hear that story, and unanimously their thought is those women are heroes. But if I tell you a story of a woman who's a dear friend of ours, they were part of our church. God's now called them away. They're living and serving him in the Middle East. And this woman will call her Jane. Jane has had six v backs. What's a v back, vaginal birth after cesarean. She's had six vaginal births since her cesarean. They have eight kids, and every time she gets pregnant to huge risk. And Jane will tell you that Christian women almost unanimously thinks she's irresponsible for taking the risk of getting pregnant and having another baby. After all, look at how many got go to a murderous tribe that killed your husband and might kill you. You're a heroine. Trust God to send another, their human being into your home that you can train and raise and evangelize and disciple at the risk of your life. And you're irresponsible. Why the double standard? It's simple. We don't see having and raising children as part of the Great Commission. And we're wrong. We've been lied to, we've been duped. We are wrong. There are women whom God has sent children who are living under the weight of that burden on a daily basis, pouring their life into these children, pouring their life into the next generation, and they feel they are made to feel inferior. But if these same women were off somewhere, working somewhere else with children, their work would be seen as heroic. But because they do it in their own home and with their own children, we see their lives as wasted. It's wrong, We're wrong. It's a lie that we've come to believe. Hear me today. If you're a woman who's pouring your life into children and you're believing that you're inferior because you're pouring your life into children, stop believing that lie and repent for believing that lie. Repent because you're believing somebody other than God. Repent if you're a person who makes women who give like that and who sacrifice it like that feel inferior, Repent because you too are believing a lie. And the reason that you're believing that lie is because you have divorced this idea from the Great Commission. How do you connect to how do you say that these are connected to the Great Commission? What is our responsibility our responsibility among people who there's people who don't know Christ. Right, there's Matthew twenty eight. There's people who don't know Christ. What do you do? You take the gospel to them so that they will believe right like Christians. And then after that you teach them to observe all that the Lord has commanded us, so that they will then behave like Christians. Right, that's our goal, that's Matthew twenty eight. Can we can you give me this right here? Can you give me that right there? Okay? Great? Now turn to Ephesius chapter six, turn Ephesians chapter six. Ephesians chapter five, and verse twenty two through six' nine gives us household. Codes we see the household codes, also for, example In titus. Two we see, it In colossians, three we see it in One peter two into. Three the household colds are are the same in all of these different, places but they're more extensive here In ephesians five twenty two through sixty. Nine but look at six one through. Four children will be your parents in The, lord for this is. Right honor your father and your. Mother this is the first, commandment with a promise that it may go well with, you and that you may live long in the. Land, fathers do not provoke your children to, anger but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of The. Lord those two words that he uses there bring them up in a discipline and instruction of The. Lord two different, ideas one to teach them to bl leave Like, christians the other to teach them to behave Like, christians which is exactly the same as The Great, commission exactly the. Same they are people who do not Know. Christ what do you do with people who do not Know? Christ you bring The gospel to people who do not Know, christ so that they might believe and be. Saved and then you teach those people who do not Know christ to observe all That christ has taught you to, observe so that they might obey The christ and whom they have come to. Believe this is The Great, commission and this is what happens in our home with our. Children how significant is? This tell you how significant it. Is turn with, me for, example to the right and look at First. Timothy First, timothy chapter. Three i'll show you the great. Irony because the great irony is because we don't value family as ministry and because we don't value children as. Mission we actually believe that they are an obstacle to. Ministry so there are many people out there who actually believe that if you really want to do, ministry you need to either not have kids or really limit your kids so that you can really be involved in ministry as though your children are not. Ministry but look In First timothy chapter. Three it will help IF i get to the right. Book i'm In First. Dessalonians it's, like what that's not? Right the saying is. Trustworthy if anyone aspire to the office of, overseer he desires a noble. Task, therefore an overseer must be above. Reproach the husband of one, wife there's his, marriage sober, minded self, control, respectable, hospitable able to, teach not a, drunkard not, violent but, gentle not, quarrelsome not a lover of. Money he must manage his own household well with all, dignity keeping his children. Submissive for if someone does not know how to manage his own, household how will he care For god's. Church he must not be a recent, convert or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the damnation of the. Devil, moreover he must be well thought of by, outsiders so that he may not fall into, disgrace into a snare of the. Devil. Hmm interesting turn over to the. Right turn To Titus titus chapter, one beginning of verse, five so as you turned. THERE i had an. ENCOUNTER i wrote about this in one of my. BOOKS i don't remember which, one BUT i had an. ENCOUNTER i was preaching at a church in The houston area and they were between pastors at the, time and SO i preached from them a couple of, times and a member of the, pulpit the pastor of search, committee came up to me AFTER i was, preaching and this lady came after AND i already rehearsed WHAT i would say if they talked to me about the, position BECAUSE i did not want the position at that, church and they did not want me in that position at that, church they really. Didn't AND i had already rehearsed HOW i would help them understand how desperately they did not want me to be the pastor of that church like ever at. All and so she came up to, me AND i just hursing my speech in my, head and she, said, well you, know we're looking for a pastor and you, know and she, goes so if, you if you, sture, ever you, know come across anybody that you think that we, should you, know, consider we just want you. To and all of a SUDDEN i went From, LORD i really don't want this position to really really IF i come across, somebody what AM i chop? Liver what do you funny how pride? Works? HUH i didn't want, it BUT i at least want to be able to say, no you. Know AND i, said, well you, know what are you guys looking, for aside from you, know those requirements outlined in the pastoral. Epistles and she looked at me like a calve staring at a new. Gate she, said passages in the. PASTOR i, said, yeah those ones that lay out the requirements for for, pastors for, elders and she, said can you write those down for? ME i wanted to, say there's a guy who lives on the inside of. Me his name is Bad. VOTE i let him out once in a, while late at, night take him to the gun range, regularly so, he you, know stays under. Control but at that, moment what he wanted to say, was how'd you get on a pastoral search committee if you don't know where those things? Are and what are y'all looking? For if you're not looking for those? Things but he. DIDN'T i kept him in, check AND i just smiled and, nodded AND i told her where these passages. Were look At titus chapter, one beginning of verse. Five this is WHY i left you in, crete so that you might put what remained into order and appoint elders in every town AS i directed. You if anyone is above, repros there's that. Again the husband and one, wife there's that. Again there's his, marriage and his children are, believers not open to the charge of debauchery or. Insubordination it's not the greatest. Translation shouldn't be children are, believers should be faithful children the word for faith and, believe same in The. Greek but children are faithful because if it literally meant that they had to be, believers every time a new child came into a pastor's, house he'd be. Disqualified so what does this have to do with what we're. Saying here's the. Irony we've got a generation of people, saying if you really want to serve The, lord what you need to do is not be encumbered with. Children and The bible is, saying if you really want to serve The, lord what you need to do is first prove yourself by raising. Children how ironic is? That how absolutely ironic is. That, now this doesn't mean that everybody who serves as a pastor or preachers or anything has to have. Children text doesn't say, that, okay text doesn't say That paul wasn't. MARRIED i, mean he's an, apostle so it's. Unusual but it's possible for a person to be in this situation where they are not married and don't have. Children but, overwhelmingly the norm is that people, marry and the norm is that married people have. Children it's becoming less and less. Normal but that's the. Norm what is this text teaching? Us remember my? Argument my argument is that what we're doing in the home is really a microcosm of The Great. Commission what these texts say, is if you want to know whether or not someone is qualified to lead in the, church examine what they're doing in the. Home Why because it's a microcosm of what we're supposed to be doing in the. Church so there is a link and an extra link between our, ministry our, mission and our. Family our family is our first, Mission it is our first. MINISTRY a man who neglects that primary ministry of his home and his family is not qualified to lead the. Church does this mean a pastor has to have a perfect? Family absolutely. Not Why two. Reasons, one there's no such, thing and two if he, did he couldn't be an example to the. Flock. Huh our families are not. Perfect what good is an example whose family is perfect for people whose families are not? Perfect you, SEE i need an example who is going to show me how to discipline children when they. Misbehave if their children don't, misbehave they can't be an example to me of how to discipline misbehaving. CHILDREN i need someone who's going to be an example to me of how to fight for unity with their spouse in the midst of difficulty in. Strife how are they going to be an example to me of that if they've never experienced difficulty in. Strife, amen there's a difference between being perfect and being, Exemplary but that's beside the. Point what's the? Point the point here is that we see our marriage as, ministry and we see our children as ministry and what we do with our children as, ministry and it mirrors that picture of The Great. Commission, well what's the main argument against this and why is it that people are believing that children are? Problem go back with me The First, corinthians chapter, seven and look at verse, beginning verse thirty. TWO i want you to be free from. Anxieties the unmarried man is anxious about the things of The, lord how to please The. Lord but the married man is anxious about worldly, things how to please his, wife and his interests are. Divided and the unmarried of betrothed woman is anxious about the things of The, lord how to be holy in body and, Spirit but the married woman is anxious about worldly things how to please her. Husband say this for your own, benefit not delay any restraint upon, you but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to The. Lord so it would appear That paul is sam we should all just like be single and not even, marry and that it's wrong we're married because, wow worldly. Things that's, bad, right being concerned about worldly. Things, actually, no that's not the way he's using the. Term if you want to, understand look at the next, paragraph if anyone thinks he is not behaving properly toward his, betrothed if his passions are strong and it has to, be let him do as he, wishes let them. Marry it is no. Sin if he meant worldly things the way we normally think of worldly things as, sinful then he wouldn't have said in the next, phrase go ahead and get married if your passions lead you in that, direct and it's no. Sin so his point here is not that marriage is a bad thing or a. Hindrance here's the point that he. Makes when we get, married our priorities, change and our priorities change toward our. Families but why would our priorities change toward our. Families remember this is the same guy who Wrote aphesi in Six so what does your priority? Become your priority then becomes, raising, training, evangelizing and discipling the children in your. Home that's not a sinful. Thing but what it does is it puts you in a position where you don't have the same availability and the same opportunity as others for certain kinds of. Ministry it just makes your ministry focus, different not necessarily. Inferior the whole point Of First, Corinthians chapter seven is use what you. Got If god has given you, singleness use it to the glory Of. God if he's given it to you as a gift where you can remain single, permanently use it to the glory Of, god Like paul. Did if he hasn't given it to you as a, gift you don't have that supernatural gift of, singleness and you have a passionate desire for a. Spouse, lord have. Mercy get married right. Now get. Married get. Married. Okay if you know you don't have this, gift that's what you. Do you get. MARRIED i Met Bridget january twenty, first nineteen eighty, nine and we got Married june, thirtieth nineteen eighty, nine because you, know we were both in college and we had to wait for summer. Break that's why it took so, long you. Know AND i remember it was my sophomore year in, college AND i REMEMBER i remember people just getting all, upset all hot and. Bothered christian, people only Non christians appreciated what we were. Doing Non christians thought it made. Sense they were, like, yo you, okay, yeah that's. COOL i see. That you guys say that You're christians gonna live like we. Live that would make. SENSE i wouldn't do, it But i'm not A, christian but it makes sense for you to do. It, christians on the other, hand they were up in. Arms they were, like you gonna, What we're gonna get, married but you you'd over in second hesitation just says thou shalt not marry till after, college, Right and it Was. CHRISTIAN i, mean they were, like on, us just on. Us what are y'all? Doing what do you? Do you just, wait wait until you. Graduate like, DUDE i got two more years for. Graduation there's a couple of problems with. That Number. ONE i don't want to communicate to my future wife that my education is more important than she. Is that crossed a bunch of. Eyes ar, said here's number. Two the wisest man in The, bible the strongest man in The, bible and the most godly man in The bible all fell the sexual. TEMPTATION i am not wiser Than, Solomon i'm not stronger Than. Samson i'm not more godly Than. David i'm getting married two. Years thou shalt not tempt The lord Thy. God that's what he's talking. About. Here if you don't have that supernatural gift of being, single Then god's going to bring. It And god brings you in contact with someone with whom you desire to. Marry what do you do you, marry you have not. Sinned in, fact you did the right thing so that you don't. Sin but what that does is that changes your. Circumstances there are just certain things that a single person could do that people who are married can't. Do by the, way there's certain things that people who are married can do that people who are singing can't. Do just a different. Position but we embrace what it is that The lord sends, us and we minister wherever he has. Us this is the, picture and this is what we often mix. Up and because we're mixed, up we actually do believe that the ministry of marriage and family is inferior to other ministries when the fact of the matter is there found it's foundational to other. Ministries what Does paul call the church In Firsse timothy the household Of? God how do we refer to one another in the church as brother and? Sister how does he relate our relationship To? God god is our? Father we receive the adoption as. Sons we are the bride Of. Christ these terms mean nothing apart from our understanding of The christian. Family The christian family is. Foundational it's. Foundational it's not a hindrance to. Ministry it's not a hindrance to our. Mission it's actually foundational to our. Mission by the, way when we teach people to observe all that The lord has commanded, us what are the most central things that are going to be? Taught how to function as a, husband a, father a, mother a, wife a, son a, daughter a, brother a, sister because those are the common human relationships that people have and deal with in their everyday. Life how to function as an employee and an employer or servant, master which is why every time the household codes are mentioned in all of those. Areas also the slave master relationship is mentioned in every one of those, areas because this is where everybody lives their. LIFE i, mean, ultimately we do all people everywhere. Want when you boil life down to its basics and its bare, minimums ultimately people just want food and water and. Shelter they want freedom and liberty to be able to enjoy this creation That god has. Made they want to be able to take care of their. Family it doesn't matter what language people. Speak this is what everybody wants because this is the Way god made. Us and if this is the Way god made, us and it's the most common thing to man to enter into marriage, relationships to produce children from the marriage, relationship and then they try to figure out how to raise your, kids how to feed, them how to clothe, them how to house, them how to prepare them to go into the world and equip them to go into the next generation and have their own families and their own. CHILDREN i, mean this is the most basic stuff in the. World no matter where you, go people will use different language to communicate, it they'll have different norms in order to govern. It but this is what every man is. Doing so if we're going to go into the world and preach the, gospel if we're going to go into the world and evangelize panta ta every people, group then ultimately teaching them how to observe all that The lord has taught us is going to comprise mostly and mainly teaching them how to function in those roles that dominate everyone's everyday. Life, husband, father, mother, wife, son, daughter, brother, sister and then we turn around and say having a family is a hindrance to. That lord help you. Today do you see how utterly ridiculous it is when you see it in its. Context, finally perhaps the most devastating reality that this has created is the idea of people who believe that their families are a, hindrance and believe it to such a degree that they invest their lives in evangelizing and discipling other people's kids to the neglect of their. Own it, Happens it. Happens you, Know brian was talking about my coming, here and we've been talking about this for a long, time about my coming, here and it was a difficult. Thing and a lot of people think it's a difficult thing because of you, know, oh you, know high and mighty. Vote but it's really a matter of simple. MATHEMATICS i turned down about seventy seventy five percent of the INVITATIONS i. Get why BECAUSE i travel about six days a. MONTH i office at my. Home why Because god has called me to be husband To brigitte and father To, Jasmine Tray, Elijah, Asher, Judah, micah Sofya amos And simeon and whomever Else he sends and IF i don't do, that you shouldn't listen to ANYTHING i say WHEN i come. Here and what that also means is sometimes when you ask me to do, Things i'm going to say, no because you are not and you must not ever be my first. Ministry DO i always get that? Right? No, NO i. Don't it's a process of constant learning and. Adjusting yet the principle, remains and it remains the same for every last one of. Us we talked earlier about the fact that there are some of you here who perhaps are pouring your life into your, children and you're giving in to this idea of thinking that somehow that makes you. Inferior or others who look at women who are pouring their lives into children and have fallen into the trap of thinking that that makes them. Inferior there's another consequence of this kind of attitude toward ministry and. Mission there are some of you who are running yourself, ragged and you sinned against your family for the sake of the, church and you need to. Repent there's some of, you quite, frankly who do too. Much you need to. Repent you need to repent to, go you need to repent to your. Family, well what do you mean you said on yesterday there's so much that needs to be. Done, yes there. Is there's so much that needs to be, done and we need to pray that The lord of the harvest will send forth. Laborers, however he has given, you if you have, children he has given you a field in which to. Labor it is your primary field of, labor and all other labor takes place only when that labor is well in. Hand he is the last THING i want to leave you. With, oftentimes you, know when you share these things and people will, think, well you're trying to challenge people in leadership or this or that and the. Other this is not about being a challenge to people in. Leadership this is about being a challenge to the. Church several years. Back you, know when you do our tenant ministry and this is this is WHAT i do for a. LIVING i want my traveling and my. Preaching this is WHAT i do for a. LIVING i. DON'T i don't get a salary from from my church since we planted the church eight years. Ago one of the most difficult things when you plant a church is trying to pay the salary of a. Minister you, know and so we we didn't none of none of us who led the church when we planted it took a. Salary AND i still this is WHAT i do for a living to this, day so THAT i can so THAT i can serve my church long time ago working at. It tinerant. Ministry you go through phases in That tinerant. Ministry you, know when you're traveling and preaching and doing. Things the first phase is the you know yes before you enter the phone. Phase, okay anybody who calls you to do, anything it's, Yes i'll, Yeah i'll, Come i'll do. It, No, no you're not choosing. YOU i Mean i've done something just, awful just. Awful you, Know i've preached to some. PLACES i JUST i felt so cheap and dirty, afterwards you, know just. Awful and you go through that phase in the beginning where you know the phone rings yes because you know you gotta eat. Right and then you eventually have to come to another, phase and that's the phase where you learn how to say. No and that's the hardest. Phase it really is difficult because it's ministry, right and The lord is blessing, right and the phone is ringing, right and there's all these people who want me to come and do this and that and the. Other i'm going and. Preaching AND i remember a godly older brother fifteen years or so, ago maybe more fifteen twenty years, ago he said something to. Me Because i'm talking about how BUSY i was and all these things that were going on and preaching here and, there and always served the local church as. Well no d d talk about my. Schedule and he just said this to. Me he, said you know, what, brother here's what you need to. Know if you don't protect your, family the church won't protect your, family all. Right he, said there are people who will call you and if you got twenty five days of your month already, booked they'll take the other five if you'll give it to them because they don't care about your. Family but when your family's, destroyed they won't be there for. You and it was, sobering and that dear brother helped me learn how to say. NO i want to say this the pastors of this church and the pastors of other churches who are, here you've got to learn how to say. No AND i want you all to hear me tell them that you've got to learn how to say. No here's, why because when people have, needs all they think about is their, needs and they will not learn to think about you and your family unless you teach them, to and they'll take everything that you. Give and the next thing you, know your marriage is in crisis because you have sacrificed your marriage on the altar of the. Church don't do. It learn to say, no number one for the sake of your family and number two for the sake of your. People you, know one of the greatest things that we as pastors can teach the men of our church is how to say no when they want something from us and we, say you know, what, Brother i'm, sorry but there's a family commitment that won't allow me to do. That because there's men in the church who will take a cue from. Us and if we don't know how to say, no they won't know how to say, no and their families will end up being destroyed because they don't how to say. No so that's Why i'm saying to the pastors in the. Room here's What i'm saying to everybody else in the. Room don't be those. People don't be those people who will watch those who serve you run. Themselves ragged have to, death and then take just a little bit more such a blessing to hear that you sent your pastor on that marriage, cruise the one where we met such an incredible. Blessing be that. Church be that. Church be that. Church be that. Church don't be the church where young ministers with young wives and young children feel like they're going to get fired if they're not. Overextended better for them to feel like they're going to be chastised if they're not taking adequate time away from their. Family then to feel like they're going to be chastised if you don't see them every time you think you ought. To Why because their first and primary ministry is the ministry of their homes above, all that's the first in primary. Ministry that's the place where they model for. Us that's the place where they're examined by. Us and if it's going to be, that they have to believe, it and you have to believe, it and then we've all got to live. It not talking about laziness by no means am by talking about. Laziness you know What i'm talking. About you know it because you experience it in your own. Home you know it because there is that common, refrain that common refrain of you just never, Hear we just don't see you While i'm out trying to provide all of this for. You, really it's interesting because all of this is not really what we. Want what we really want is all of. You and if we have to do with a little less of this in order to do with a little more of, you we'll make that. Trade don't start screaming and. Shouting. Amen but you have heard and had that conversation we all. Have what is it. About it's about this. Truth it's about this, reality the reality that we have a primary, ministry the reality that our children are with us for a limited period of. Time the reality is that that period of time is faster than you. Think and the reality is that we've got a lot more to teach them and to pour into them then that time. Allows that's the, reality and it presses in on us because we know that, reality and we know that's our. Responsibility and when it presses in on, us we want to fight for, it and then we feel guilty for fighting for, it but we have to fight for it because it is the most pressing reality of our. Lives we know this. Instinctively i'm just telling you biblically and theologically why you feel that. Way, again there's a fine line between that and idolizing our family and divorcing ourselves from the church and not giving of ourselves to The lord's. Work that's why last night's message into nice message have to go. Together, Amen, well how do you know you'll spend the rest of your life trying to figure that. Out there's no formula for. This if you don't have a, formula what do you? Have you have biblical, priorities and here's what you. Do these are the non. Negotiables whatever ELSE i, DO i have to do it to the degree that my commitment to these non negotiables non negotiables allow me to do. It and that's not a one time, conversation that's not a one time. Decision that's something you revisit again and again and, again because at one phase of your life it will look like. This another phase of your life it'll look like. That it, changes it, changes and then here's a beautiful thing that. Happens we commit ourselves to this, ministry and we pour ourselves into our, families and then all of a sudden we look up one day and they have families of their. Own and oftentimes when people get to this, place they either twiddle or thumbs and start asking what DO i do? Now or they buy the ultimate lie and they, say now it gets to be all about. Me we just Gon we're gonna get TO rv and you won't see us no. More you know what The bible says about people who reach that phase in. Life older men teach the younger. Men older women teach the younger. Women by the, way when it comes to the older women teach the younger, women it's very clear what's outlined. There older men teach the younger. Men that's also very clearly. OUTLINED i believe it's that passage that we looked at In titus one five through nine about elders who are an example for the older men and to the older. Men so those are the things that older men are teaching younger, men those quality of an. Elder what are the older women teaching younger women to love their husbands and, children to be, sensible pure workers at, home to be submissive to their own husbands so that the word Of god may not be. Blasphemed isn't it interesting That titus to ministry centers around what happens in the. Home it's. Amazing it's Amazing god to send you, children raise, them train, them disciple, them and then launch them so that they can go do the. Same and then turn around and find some young family who can benefit from your. Knowledge and give yourself. Away don't run away in your old, age give yourself a way because you have a unique opportunity and more time on your hands than you ever. Have you ought to be the backbone of hands on workers in the. Church well we didn't do it. Right. Great sometimes the greatest lesson an older person can teach a younger person, Is, okay you see that nub right. There let me tell you HOW i got that because right, now see how you're holding that, saw and is the reason that they call me Lefty BECAUSE i was holding us all just like you holding us all right there one, time and this is what happened right. Here sometimes that's the greatest lesson you can. Learn. Amen and sometimes a father who has become a, grandfather who has come to know The lord who didn't understand this and didn't do it, Right sometimes the greatest lesson he can teach a young man is through tear stained eyes to look at him in the face and, say, son don't do WHAT i. Did i'd give anything to be back where you are right, now and to have another opportunity to be a husband to my wife and a father to my, children because now mine are gone and we've got virtually no relationship BECAUSE i didn't pour in AND i didn't, invest and ALL i gave him was stuff and not. Me and young, Man i'm watching you do the same, thing And i'm begging you not to do. It, see you don't have to do everything right in order to be an older man who teaches a younger, man or an older woman who teaches a younger. Woman sometimes it's in those hard lessons that we learn by doing things the wrong way that we were able to teach the most powerful. Lessons in, short the ministry that we have in our homes is not alien or foreign to The Great. Commission it's a microcosm of The Great. Commission it's not inferior to The Great. Commission it's part of The Great. Commission god sends people into our home who don't Know. Christ it's. Amazing you don't have to go anywhere in order to find, them they come through the birth. Canal, LORD i need some lost people to witness. Too there you go right, there, okay and you witness to, them and you train, them and you disciple, them and you pour your life into, them and then you teach them how to do the, same and then you ministry together it. Officially they go go off and start family and they do the same thing that you. Did and then you look around and you find another young family who is where you, were and you go with all of the lessons that you've learned and all the experience that you, have and you grabbed him by the hand and you walk with him as you do the same. Thing, why here's. Why because our marriages are a, living breathing picture of the relationship Between christ and his bride for whom he laid down his life and. Died the. Church it is a picture of what The cross has. Created it is a beautiful and glorious, thing and we have to fight for it and commit ourselves to. It why because this relationship produces. Offspring just like a healthy church, multiplies a healthy marriage. Multiplies and when the healthy marriage, multiplies it has a picture of this relationship that The cross has created and it has The, gospel and it has all the things that The lord has, commanded and it has all this instruction being built in to the life of the next generation so that they can build it into the life of the next. Generation so that they can build it into the life of the next. Generation this is the same thing that we talked about With paul and With. Timothy it's the same picture because it. Matters This it also matters because when we talk about individuals who will serve The lord and ministry and leadership in the local, church where do we look to see if they're. Qualified we look and see if they're carrying out this picture in the. Home it also matters because when we take The gospel to the rest of the world and we're teaching them how to live out their lives and the implications of The, gospel what are we teaching them? Ultimately how to be a, husband a, father a, mother a, wife a, son a, daughter a, brother a, sister all of these. Things when we teach him about the, church we're teaching him about the household Of, god the family of. Faith every last one of these things goes back to the same. Foundation it's a foundation that our culture has, neglected and it's a foundation that we must not for the sake of The. Cross let's, Pray, father thank you for the time that you've given us over these last few. Days were so incredibly grateful for all the things that you've taught, Us so grateful for reminding us Of christ and his, worthiness of our worship and the worship of everyone in the, world and how that drives us to. Mission so grateful for reminding us of The church and what you have called her to be and to, do and how you have called her to, multiply and what that means about the way that we view the. Church and thankful for what you've taught us tonight about the family and the implications for the great, commission and for the importance of raising and training and discipling future generations for the cause Of. Christ, now would you grant by your grace that we might take all of these, things that we might hear, them that we might heed them in order that we might Serve christ more, ably more, passionately or, fruitfully more, Faithfully and that we might do this again That he might have the fullness of the reward for which he. DIED i pray for those under the side of my voice with unsaved, children children who have not come to faith In, christ AND i pray that they would not grow weary in doing. Well that The gospel would be proclaimed consistently and faithfully in our, homes that our children might, hear because we're not ashamed of the, gospel because it is the power Of god and the salvation to all those who. Believe so grant by your grace that we might preach. Faithfully teach those of us who have children who have not yet come to faith to trust In, you not in, methods but to remember that salvation is of The. Lord and grant that we might pray most more fervently for these little, ones and for that, matter for the older ones who perhaps have not come to. Faith transform the way we think about the, Home transform the way we think about ministry and. Mission transform the way we think about our, Calling transform the way we think about our. Obedience we asked this In christ's name and for his. Sake. Amen