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Welcome to the Willow Ridge Sermons podcast. This is

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where you can find audio from Sunday morning, messages and

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more. Make sure you're subscribed so that you don't miss

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future episodes. And thanks for listening.

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Absolutely. To all of the graduates, we

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are so proud of you. To all of

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the parents, we are so desperately praying for

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you. You know, just a wonderful, time

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to see, all of the hard work for you graduates, all the

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hard work, the time, the energy that, you've put

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in, and the excitement of

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what's next. The excitement of

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the, certainty or the uncertainty of the

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certainty. Right. Of going where God has you and

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trusting in your path for him and seeing all. All the things that

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he unfolds for you and parents praying for

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you, seriously praying for you as

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you walk alongside them in a different chapter of

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their life, where you're called to walk alongside them in

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a different way, maybe, than you ever have

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before. but congratulations to all of

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our, graduates. if you have your bible, and I hope you do,

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I want to invite you to join me in Genesis, chapter

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29. We're going to look at verses one through 30

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this morning, and in a passage of scripture

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that I wasn't sure, when you have these graduate

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services, a lot of times it's this,

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challenge to the graduates. And what we've kind of done

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is continue where we're going to go. And I'll be honest with

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you, this morning's passage, a little bit different. and it was neat,

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though, as we studied this morning and spent time in prayer, how

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God wove together what Aaron and I are

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experiencing, as a couple, and something that we've been

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doing here at our church. And I think

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for the graduates here, as well, but

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also for, the parents as we dive

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into this, just quick handful, just reminders. The

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India meeting after the service is over

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with in room 200. I want to get all the information

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that I can about two possible trips. so whether you're a

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medical professional or not, if you feel God calling you, if

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you're interested, please come there. We'll have you out, as

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quickly as possible, please. Remember, sign up for kids camp. Sign

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up for our discipleship studies. They're on the cards around

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here. next Sunday, Robert

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Stevens will be sharing. Man, God's just brought Robert

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into my life, his whole family into my life. during COVID

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is when we met, when they started, coming to Willow Ridge church and being

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able to hear all that God's done in Robert's

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life and how God is using Robert, in

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his suffering and in his tragedy. What God is

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doing in him and how he's able to minister to

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others, that are close to God and then others who

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don't know God is remarkable. And so you'll want to be

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here early, for that next week, during our

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09:00, discipleship hour, we'll have youth, we'll

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have kids. We'll have all that. So you'll want to be there, for

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that. we will be pausing on Genesis

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after this morning for the remainder of the summer

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as we start our simple Sundays next summer,

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which means if you weren't here last week, go back and listen. We've got a video

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we're going to put out this week. We'll have our kindergarteners through second

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grade in here, each week and then dismissed

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after worship, keeping our third through fifth graders in

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here, abbreviating the message

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time. and we're going to be looking specifically at the

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parables of Jesus over the course of the summer. So

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it'll be a wonderful time of Bible study and worship and

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discipleship for us together, as a

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family.

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Well, this morning, what we're going to look at

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in Genesis chapter 29 is

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some comparison of what we're going to

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see. And the comparison,

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there's two weddings that take place.

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It gets weird quick. In Genesis

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29, it starts off, and

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maybe you'll recognize from a previous

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story and then. And then turn really,

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really crazy, turn in about midway through.

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But that's not necessarily the comparison that we're gonna look at.

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What we're gonna look at this morning is this concept

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of biblical parenting and worldly

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parenting. Biblical parenting,

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what God holds for us as parents and for the

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family. And then worldly parenting,

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what we see happening not only

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in our context in which we live, but

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also during biblical times. I do

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think this. I think that sometimes we look at

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our world and we think this is

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the worst it's ever been.

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There's new sin, there's

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new ways of doing evil, and I

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really don't think that's the case. I think when

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we look out and we see throughout the course,

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from the fall until today,

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mankind has been doing sin really

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well. Mankind has been rebelling

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from God. Mankind has been running

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from the statutes,

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the promises, the hopes,

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the joy of scripture to pursue

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the foolishness of the world. And

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so we can draw some really great. Maybe the

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scenarios are different,

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but the hearts are still the same.

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From Genesis chapter 29 to

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today, when it comes to this.

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Here at Willow Ridge Church, we place a high

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level of importance on what we call

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family discipleship. We

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believe that the family is

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God's design for discipleship.

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Not only God's design, but the best opportunity

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for. For discipleship to happen and take place.

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We believe that we, as a church, are called.

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It is our beautiful duty of

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responsibility to walk alongside

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moms and dads and grandmas and

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granddads as we walk alongside

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you, to be the assistants, to

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be the help, to be the mentor, to be

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the encourager as you lead

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discipleship in your family. We

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believe that's why God has entrusted you

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with those kids, and God blesses us

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and has entrusted us with your family.

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So discipleship for us is

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incomplete. If you feel like

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you're to bring your kids here, drop your

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kids off, or even for you, where you will

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receive discipleship, you check that box,

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and then you go home and you're done. You've done it for the week. It's like

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the trip to the grocery store. Who's

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gonna do that? Who's gonna fight those lines?

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Who's gonna figure that out? No, no, no. We believe that

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discipleship is what God has called the family to and best

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equipped the family to with the time, the energy, the skills, with

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all that's there. And it's our heart to come alongside you.

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Aaron and I have been leading a, parenting study over the last ten

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weeks. And, man, it's been so good. We've had a lot of

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great couples in there at, different stages in life

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with different unique situations in their families,

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walking through what it looks like to

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disciple the, kids that God has entrusted with them.

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And Aaron and I have learned so

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much as we've taught, as we've led this

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study, from the material that we were given, but then also

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from just the people that were in the class.

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But here's what it comes to. Here's what you've got to

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embrace. If you're going to be a

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biblical parent. Here's what you've got to just

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say, you know, I'm signing up for

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this. Being a parent is not

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easy, but being

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a biblical parent is

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a selfless act. It's

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continually. Continually

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thinking of others

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before thinking of yourself.

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It's embraced with sacrifice.

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It's embraced with living for the mission, where,

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as we see with worldly parenting. And

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now, I'm not saying that people who don't

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know the Lord are not parents who

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love their kids. I'm not saying that

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what I am going to say

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is the information

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that drives worldly

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parenting comes from a worldview

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of selfishness,

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while the truth of God's word that

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drives biblical parenting

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very selfless.

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Because biblical parenting is

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about discipleship, and the

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home is the best avenue for

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discipleship. Right? Look at

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Jesus when he calls. The disciples

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chooses a group of men, and he says,

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come follow me continually.

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They lived together, ate together, slept together,

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talked together, interacted together on a continual

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basis, right? If I were to come to

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you and say, I want to disciple

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you, and then later,

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come and follow me, which would be a

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weird statement to phrase it that way, but let's

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say I did. In that day, you showed up at

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my house with, like, two

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suitcases and a sack of

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groceries from Walmart, and you're like, all right,

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we're ready. Let's do this. I'm like,

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no, no, no. You misunderstood what I was talking about.

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I meant, like, let's meet at Creekside for breakfast.

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That's what I meant. but that's what Jesus did,

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and that's what we see in the family. We

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see the time, we see the opportunity, we see the venue

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where this can take place. Biblical parenting is

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about discipleship, but when we look at

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worldly parenting, what we see is that worldly parenting

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is about behavior modification. And we'll explain

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that. But what can I

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create? What can I turn you into?

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And biblical parenting and discipleship are

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not about behavior modification. And here's

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why. Biblical parenting and discipleship, in the light of

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the gospel, says this. This is who

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you are.

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Christianity always begins with

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Christ in who

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you are in Christ.

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Where your identity is

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found is in Christ.

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And so in discipleship,

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we begin with the mindset that this is

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who you are. And then the

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application of

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discipleship from that is

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then this is what you will continue to

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become, and then this is what you

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do. It all comes out of,

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here's who you are in Christ

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Jesus, our lord and savior,

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where worldly parenting

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and behavior modification

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is largely this. It is. This is

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what you do. So then this is

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what you will become. Your

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identity in those moments are

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found in your accomplishments,

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your successes, your achievements

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in life. Do you notice the difference in that

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with discipleship, with living? In the

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gospel, it's, I am a

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son of God.

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I am a daughter of God.

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And then there's expectations that come

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from that. But that's who you are.

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Where worldly parenting says, no, no, no,

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go and make yourself

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who you want to be by the things that you

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do. So parenting is about

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cultivating, this relationship with

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your children that seeks to help them

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become who God has called them to be in the light of

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his truth and his grace. And if you're here and you're

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skeptical about that, you're like, well, that seems

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to be a very hands off. That seems to be

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a very idealistic

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view of parenting. That's there.

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That seems to be, I'll use the word

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weak, but

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within this and what we see, and we won't get into great

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depths of these, but in biblical parenting, there's rules, there's

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instruction, there's teaching, there's discipline, there's structure,

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there's boundaries, there's expectations

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that are established and met within there. In fact, one of the

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verses that I see, that I cling to is

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this. Proverbs 22 six. Train up a

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child in the way he should go. Even when he is

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old.

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He will not depart from that.

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It's this process of giving of

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yourself to train up to help them

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understand who they are, setting the parameters and setting

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the expectations of God's word of what it means to

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love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength,

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to love your neighbor as yourself and to then understand

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that you do these things so that you can embrace the great commission in

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your life, which is to go out and live for

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Jesus Christ and to raise up disciples,

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to see people come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Like, that's it. And then here's the other. So,

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like, let's say you're at a different stage in life and you're sitting here. Well,

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here's some disclaimers that we want to kind of share about

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parenting, about, being a parent, about being a

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child, of someone, right?

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I'm a man. I'm 44,

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45 sooner than I really want to

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be. Right? but I'm still Randy and

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Donna Bradbury's child. All right,

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here's what I want to say in the Bible. Honor your

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father and mother does not come with an expiration

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date. You don't hit 18 and you're done

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with that, all right?

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And I think teenagers need to understand that.

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And I think adults

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really, really, really need to

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understand that. In fact,

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the older you get, I believe the harder that is

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in this world to apply. But the greater

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the call is to honor your father and

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mother. All right? The

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second thing with that is the verse we just

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read to train up a child. Like, being a parent also

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doesn't come with an expiration date. It doesn't

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come with, they're 18, they're done,

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they're out, they're released. They're not my

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burden. They're not my responsibility anymore.

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Right. The beauty of what God

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gives us is the beauty in these relationships

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where we keep functioning, we keep working, and we keep

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moving, all for this. Okay,

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00:14:44.278 --> 00:14:46.574
so how do we look at. In Genesis

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29 is the

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00:14:48.934 --> 00:14:51.830
negative example of what this looks

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like? Okay. And so we're going to look at the negative

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00:14:54.730 --> 00:14:57.730
and then turn to the positive and see what are these lessons of what

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00:14:57.762 --> 00:15:00.690
it looks like to be a biblical parent. And we're going to see

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some absolute craziness in

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Genesis 29. And my

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caution, as we look at the craziness,

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is not to get caught up on the crazy

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and think that's them and their problem, but to see the

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connection for us within there.

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So let's start reading verse one.

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Then Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the

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people of the east as he looked and saw

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a ah well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep

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lying beside it. For out of that well, the

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flocks were watered. The stone on the well's

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mouth was large, and when all the flocks were

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gathered there, the shepherds would roll the

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stone from the mouth of the well and water the

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sheep and put the stone back in its

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place over the mouth of the well.

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Jacob said to them, my brothers, where do you come from?

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They said, we are from Haran. He said to them,

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do you know Laban, the son of Nahor? And they said, we know

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him. He said to them,

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is it well with him? And they said,

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00:16:05.026 --> 00:16:07.778
it is well. And see, Rachel, his

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00:16:07.826 --> 00:16:10.590
daughter, is coming with the sheep. And he

335
00:16:10.622 --> 00:16:13.502
said, behold, it is still high day. It

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00:16:13.518 --> 00:16:16.230
is not time for the livestock to be gathered together,

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00:16:16.422 --> 00:16:18.974
water the sheep, and go and

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pasture them. But they said, we cannot until all

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the flocks are gathered together and the stone is

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rolled from the mouth of the well. Then

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00:16:27.638 --> 00:16:30.318
we water the sheep. While he was still

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00:16:30.366 --> 00:16:33.286
speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for

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00:16:33.310 --> 00:16:36.302
she was the shepherdess. Now, as soon as Jacob saw

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00:16:36.358 --> 00:16:39.134
Rachel, the daughter of Laban, from his mother's

345
00:16:39.174 --> 00:16:41.920
brother, and the sheep of Laban, his mother's

346
00:16:41.952 --> 00:16:44.800
brother, Jacob came near and rolled the

347
00:16:44.832 --> 00:16:47.440
stone from the well's mouth and

348
00:16:47.472 --> 00:16:49.928
watered the flock of Laban, his

349
00:16:49.976 --> 00:16:52.810
mother's brother. Okay, so real quick, recap

350
00:16:52.842 --> 00:16:55.650
of kind of what's going on. Jacob has been

351
00:16:55.682 --> 00:16:58.666
told. There's the whole deceit thing that we looked at a couple weeks

352
00:16:58.690 --> 00:17:01.514
ago, right? Jacob has been told to leave

353
00:17:01.634 --> 00:17:04.618
and to go to the land of

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00:17:04.666 --> 00:17:07.639
his mother. And so this is what

355
00:17:07.791 --> 00:17:10.775
he does, which is also the land of his

356
00:17:10.839 --> 00:17:13.671
grandfather, Abraham. And

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just as he has been instructed to do, he

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00:17:16.735 --> 00:17:19.639
approaches and he sees these shepherds and

359
00:17:19.671 --> 00:17:22.559
he asks them if they know Laban. This

360
00:17:22.591 --> 00:17:25.365
is what he's looking for in Genesis, 28 two. Just a

361
00:17:25.389 --> 00:17:28.101
reminder. Jacob been instructed to go there

362
00:17:28.197 --> 00:17:30.979
not just to find safety and keep,

363
00:17:31.101 --> 00:17:33.416
but to go there so that he would

364
00:17:33.480 --> 00:17:36.244
marry one of Laban's daughters.

365
00:17:36.744 --> 00:17:39.680
And the shepherds are like, yeah, yeah, yeah, we know

366
00:17:39.712 --> 00:17:42.552
him. We know who he is. This is of his flock.

367
00:17:42.648 --> 00:17:45.456
And Laban's. One of Laban's daughters is

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00:17:45.520 --> 00:17:48.040
coming. And Rachel

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00:17:48.232 --> 00:17:50.440
appears with her father's

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herd. Now, verse ten, I

371
00:17:53.358 --> 00:17:56.350
think is kind of cute things that

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00:17:56.382 --> 00:17:59.008
guys do sometimes so that girls

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notice. Remember, times haven't changed

374
00:18:01.976 --> 00:18:04.960
a whole lot, right? So he sees her and

375
00:18:04.992 --> 00:18:07.884
she's approaching, and he's

376
00:18:08.344 --> 00:18:11.192
what? We'll find out later. Let's just say this. He likes what he

377
00:18:11.208 --> 00:18:13.324
sees, right?

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00:18:13.944 --> 00:18:16.880
I'll never forget first time I saw my

379
00:18:16.912 --> 00:18:19.684
wife. She was not my wife at the time.

380
00:18:20.504 --> 00:18:23.378
She was walking down the stairs at first Baptist, North Augusta. We were set

381
00:18:23.402 --> 00:18:25.838
up on a blind date. And I remember

382
00:18:25.902 --> 00:18:28.902
thinking, I don't know if that's

383
00:18:28.974 --> 00:18:31.958
who I'm set up with or not, but

384
00:18:32.062 --> 00:18:34.910
if that's not who I'm set up with,

385
00:18:35.038 --> 00:18:37.878
I'm going to try to get to figure out who she is.

386
00:18:37.942 --> 00:18:39.866
Right. She's pretty.

387
00:18:40.206 --> 00:18:41.026
Whoo.

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00:18:42.886 --> 00:18:45.586
Jacob has some of the same reaction, right?

389
00:18:46.006 --> 00:18:48.726
Tries to get him to go away. They can't. They say

390
00:18:48.766 --> 00:18:51.766
that they can't until they water. And it's not time to water yet. They can't

391
00:18:51.806 --> 00:18:54.798
do that till the flock is there. So what the Bible says is that

392
00:18:54.822 --> 00:18:57.470
there's a stone over the well, and it says that

393
00:18:57.518 --> 00:19:00.318
shepherds, plural, would come together

394
00:19:00.462 --> 00:19:03.174
to remove the stone and to roll it away. All

395
00:19:03.190 --> 00:19:06.134
right. I don't know if it was adrenaline of, I've got

396
00:19:06.150 --> 00:19:08.998
to get these guys out of here. I don't know if it's

397
00:19:09.022 --> 00:19:11.686
the watch me show off in front of

398
00:19:11.726 --> 00:19:14.662
her. But he reaches down and

399
00:19:14.694 --> 00:19:17.238
in Crossfit style, like, this is where

400
00:19:17.262 --> 00:19:20.104
Crossfit came into being. Right here. Right? He lifts

401
00:19:20.160 --> 00:19:22.864
up this stone and he rolls it

402
00:19:22.880 --> 00:19:25.728
away. Look at me. Look at my muscles. This

403
00:19:25.752 --> 00:19:28.704
is who I am. Rachel, take notice of this. All

404
00:19:28.720 --> 00:19:31.368
right, this is the

405
00:19:31.392 --> 00:19:32.756
interaction, verse eleven.

406
00:19:35.216 --> 00:19:37.936
Then Jacob kissed

407
00:19:38.016 --> 00:19:39.982
Rachel and wept aloud.

408
00:19:43.416 --> 00:19:46.122
I don't know. I don't know what to do with that. Right.

409
00:19:48.832 --> 00:19:51.172
and Jacob told Rachel

410
00:19:51.992 --> 00:19:54.932
that he was her father's kinsman

411
00:19:55.352 --> 00:19:57.936
and that he was Rebekah's son.

412
00:19:58.104 --> 00:20:00.944
And she ran and told her father, there are

413
00:20:00.968 --> 00:20:03.848
things culturally that are just off there for us, and we just gotta

414
00:20:03.880 --> 00:20:06.616
trust it. All right? As soon as Laban heard the news

415
00:20:06.664 --> 00:20:09.552
about Jacob, his sister son, he ran to

416
00:20:09.592 --> 00:20:12.338
meet him m and embraced him and kissed him and brought him

417
00:20:12.440 --> 00:20:15.182
to his house. And Jacob told Laban all these things.

418
00:20:15.302 --> 00:20:18.046
And Laban said to him, surely you are

419
00:20:18.134 --> 00:20:20.942
bone. You are my bone and my flesh. And

420
00:20:20.982 --> 00:20:23.702
he stayed with him a month. All right?

421
00:20:23.742 --> 00:20:26.662
Now, no scholar that I could read could give

422
00:20:26.702 --> 00:20:29.374
great clarity to verse eleven. But like,

423
00:20:29.518 --> 00:20:32.302
that just had to be a kiss. You know what I mean? Like,

424
00:20:32.462 --> 00:20:34.630
that's a good kiss right there. He wept.

425
00:20:34.726 --> 00:20:36.242
Right here's where at.

426
00:20:37.422 --> 00:20:40.406
Jacob tells Rachel who he is, that he's a kinsman. He's in the

427
00:20:40.414 --> 00:20:43.210
line of Abraham. This is what she knows. Rachel and Laban

428
00:20:43.266 --> 00:20:46.266
know who he is. Would have known

429
00:20:46.314 --> 00:20:49.234
Abraham, would have known Isaac. They are family. They would have known

430
00:20:49.258 --> 00:20:52.170
the generational wealth. They would have known all that's there.

431
00:20:52.266 --> 00:20:55.234
They would have known who he was. All right? And he is brought

432
00:20:55.258 --> 00:20:58.138
in. Look at verse 15. Then Laban says

433
00:20:58.170 --> 00:21:00.834
to Jacob, because you are my kinsman, should you

434
00:21:00.858 --> 00:21:03.738
therefore serve me for nothing? This kind

435
00:21:03.770 --> 00:21:06.714
of changes a little bit. Tell me what

436
00:21:06.738 --> 00:21:09.734
your wages should be. Now, Laban had

437
00:21:09.758 --> 00:21:12.662
two daughters. The name of the older was

438
00:21:12.742 --> 00:21:15.496
Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.

439
00:21:15.664 --> 00:21:18.280
Leah's eyes were weak, but

440
00:21:18.336 --> 00:21:20.624
Rachel was beautiful in form and

441
00:21:20.648 --> 00:21:22.968
appearance. And Jacob loved

442
00:21:23.040 --> 00:21:25.920
Rachel. And he said, I will

443
00:21:25.976 --> 00:21:28.880
serve you seven years for your younger

444
00:21:28.936 --> 00:21:31.688
daughter, Rachel. And Laban said, it is

445
00:21:31.720 --> 00:21:34.688
better that I give her to you than I

446
00:21:34.720 --> 00:21:37.232
should give her to any other man.

447
00:21:37.392 --> 00:21:40.032
Stay with me. So Jacob

448
00:21:40.112 --> 00:21:42.376
served seven years for

449
00:21:42.464 --> 00:21:45.200
Rachel. And they seemed to him

450
00:21:45.296 --> 00:21:48.126
but a few days, all, right. That's sweet.

451
00:21:48.214 --> 00:21:51.062
But they seemed to him but a few days because of

452
00:21:51.102 --> 00:21:53.598
the love he had for her. So

453
00:21:53.630 --> 00:21:56.190
Laban and Jacob, they strike a

454
00:21:56.206 --> 00:21:59.002
deal. Laban says, look, if you want to stay with me,

455
00:21:59.142 --> 00:22:02.042
you gotta work, set your salary.

456
00:22:02.122 --> 00:22:04.994
So he hires him as a hired servant,

457
00:22:05.058 --> 00:22:07.754
and he agrees. And so he's willing to

458
00:22:07.818 --> 00:22:10.666
do this because of his love

459
00:22:10.714 --> 00:22:13.542
for Rachel. And it's very clear

460
00:22:13.882 --> 00:22:16.538
in scripture that the Bible says that she was. She was

461
00:22:16.570 --> 00:22:19.570
pretty. She's very pretty. He loved

462
00:22:19.586 --> 00:22:22.354
her. But there's a second sister that's there as

463
00:22:22.378 --> 00:22:25.138
well. And the second sister is the older

464
00:22:25.170 --> 00:22:28.098
sister named Leah. And the description that the Bible

465
00:22:28.170 --> 00:22:31.014
gives of her is that her eyes are weak.

466
00:22:31.138 --> 00:22:33.574
And so this is unsure of

467
00:22:33.678 --> 00:22:36.558
exactly what that means. One theologian said that

468
00:22:36.590 --> 00:22:39.222
her eyes may have been just a dull, like, not

469
00:22:39.262 --> 00:22:42.084
attractive eyes. another theologian would say that she

470
00:22:42.108 --> 00:22:44.788
was blind. But here's the difference.

471
00:22:44.860 --> 00:22:47.748
One draws what they would have characterized

472
00:22:47.820 --> 00:22:50.788
a negative aspect. And then on the counter

473
00:22:50.820 --> 00:22:53.668
of that, for Rachel is the

474
00:22:53.740 --> 00:22:56.708
opposite of that. So what we

475
00:22:56.740 --> 00:22:59.252
see are two sisters who are

476
00:22:59.292 --> 00:23:02.062
different, and he is

477
00:23:02.102 --> 00:23:04.902
in love with one and

478
00:23:04.942 --> 00:23:07.798
not the other. And so Jacob and

479
00:23:07.830 --> 00:23:10.750
Laban, what they do here, it seems different, and it

480
00:23:10.766 --> 00:23:13.724
seems, weird to us. But they agree to a dowry,

481
00:23:13.828 --> 00:23:16.392
right? Now, Jacob has no money

482
00:23:16.772 --> 00:23:19.550
to, be able to come at this point because of how he had to

483
00:23:19.574 --> 00:23:22.446
flee his family. So in order for him, which

484
00:23:22.462 --> 00:23:25.010
had been customary of the time, to provide a

485
00:23:25.034 --> 00:23:28.034
dowry, he agrees to work for seven years.

486
00:23:28.186 --> 00:23:31.092
And the sweetness of there right at the end. I've

487
00:23:31.140 --> 00:23:33.908
never worked for my father in law as

488
00:23:33.948 --> 00:23:36.748
employment. I can understand where that could be

489
00:23:36.868 --> 00:23:39.836
a, stressful situation. And it says that over those

490
00:23:39.876 --> 00:23:42.660
seven years, it seemed like days, right?

491
00:23:42.748 --> 00:23:45.588
Because of his love for Rachel.

492
00:23:45.692 --> 00:23:48.668
So, verse 21. Then Jacob

493
00:23:48.692 --> 00:23:51.638
said to, laban, give me my wife, that I may go into

494
00:23:51.702 --> 00:23:54.438
her, for my time is complete. So

495
00:23:54.462 --> 00:23:57.318
Laban gathered together all the people of the place and made a

496
00:23:57.342 --> 00:24:00.222
feast. But in the evening, he took his

497
00:24:00.254 --> 00:24:02.870
daughter Leah and brought

498
00:24:02.918 --> 00:24:05.886
her to Jacob. And he went

499
00:24:05.926 --> 00:24:08.534
into her. Laban gave his

500
00:24:08.670 --> 00:24:11.526
female servant, Zilpah, to his daughter Leah

501
00:24:11.566 --> 00:24:14.030
to be her servant. And in the morning,

502
00:24:14.118 --> 00:24:16.546
behold, it was Leah.

503
00:24:17.026 --> 00:24:19.326
And Jacob said to Laban,

504
00:24:19.786 --> 00:24:22.406
what is this you have done to me?

505
00:24:22.906 --> 00:24:25.810
Did I not serve with you for

506
00:24:25.858 --> 00:24:28.562
Rachel? Why, then, have

507
00:24:28.594 --> 00:24:30.206
you deceived me?

508
00:24:30.546 --> 00:24:33.266
So we jump, seven years

509
00:24:33.426 --> 00:24:36.186
later, and Jacob

510
00:24:36.346 --> 00:24:38.738
is ready for his

511
00:24:38.842 --> 00:24:41.650
life. He's ready for his

512
00:24:41.698 --> 00:24:44.182
wedding. He's ready to

513
00:24:44.214 --> 00:24:46.958
consummate his marriage. He's

514
00:24:47.022 --> 00:24:50.022
ready to start his life with

515
00:24:50.054 --> 00:24:52.478
Rachel. And a wedding

516
00:24:52.542 --> 00:24:55.118
happens. But he

517
00:24:55.182 --> 00:24:57.146
doesn't marry

518
00:24:57.446 --> 00:24:59.986
Rachel. Instead,

519
00:25:00.406 --> 00:25:03.246
he married Leah. He was

520
00:25:03.286 --> 00:25:06.066
tricked. The deceiver

521
00:25:06.566 --> 00:25:08.466
was deceived again,

522
00:25:09.436 --> 00:25:11.656
not only in service,

523
00:25:12.236 --> 00:25:14.652
but even in consummating his

524
00:25:14.764 --> 00:25:17.612
marriage. And you're thinking like, man, like,

525
00:25:17.724 --> 00:25:19.776
how can this happen?

526
00:25:20.636 --> 00:25:23.580
All right. Well, during this time, it was

527
00:25:23.708 --> 00:25:26.692
customary for a bride to wear

528
00:25:26.724 --> 00:25:29.020
a veil. And we've seen

529
00:25:29.068 --> 00:25:31.900
veils at our weddings. Maybe some of you ladies,

530
00:25:31.988 --> 00:25:34.574
when you got married, maybe you wore one that

531
00:25:34.590 --> 00:25:36.774
very thin, see through

532
00:25:36.910 --> 00:25:39.638
material where your face can be seen. And

533
00:25:39.662 --> 00:25:42.318
it's more symbolic than it is for anything else. But it was

534
00:25:42.342 --> 00:25:45.054
very customary for this time for it to completely

535
00:25:45.150 --> 00:25:47.990
hide who she was. And in certain

536
00:25:48.118 --> 00:25:50.878
instances, the veil would be

537
00:25:50.942 --> 00:25:53.582
worn not just for the wedding ceremony, but for the

538
00:25:53.614 --> 00:25:56.494
wedding night as well. And

539
00:25:56.510 --> 00:25:59.426
so here he's deceived

540
00:26:00.426 --> 00:26:03.122
by a dad who

541
00:26:03.194 --> 00:26:06.086
uses the control and the authorities

542
00:26:06.426 --> 00:26:09.338
over his daughters, to treat them

543
00:26:09.402 --> 00:26:12.266
as his possessions, to leverage them

544
00:26:12.306 --> 00:26:15.286
for what he wants. Now,

545
00:26:16.066 --> 00:26:18.606
next morning, the next day,

546
00:26:18.986 --> 00:26:21.746
Jacob, all of this is found out. He's

547
00:26:21.786 --> 00:26:24.698
enraged. This is what he's done. This is

548
00:26:24.722 --> 00:26:27.612
what he's committed to. Why has this happened? I, mean, think about

549
00:26:27.644 --> 00:26:30.420
this. All

550
00:26:30.468 --> 00:26:33.380
that you've worked for, all that you've dedicated

551
00:26:33.428 --> 00:26:36.204
yourself for, all that you've held near

552
00:26:36.260 --> 00:26:38.956
and dear in what seven years

553
00:26:39.076 --> 00:26:42.044
seemed like moments in time. Because

554
00:26:42.100 --> 00:26:45.092
for his love. And what happens

555
00:26:45.204 --> 00:26:48.096
is not honoring that, but deception,

556
00:26:48.756 --> 00:26:51.516
selfishness, the heart of a

557
00:26:51.556 --> 00:26:53.926
corrupt dad thinking only of

558
00:26:53.966 --> 00:26:56.422
himself. So he confronts

559
00:26:56.454 --> 00:26:58.706
him. Verse 26 through 30.

560
00:26:59.846 --> 00:27:02.582
Laban said, it is not

561
00:27:02.614 --> 00:27:05.558
so done in our country to

562
00:27:05.582 --> 00:27:08.106
give the younger before the firstborn.

563
00:27:08.926 --> 00:27:11.614
Complete the week of this one,

564
00:27:11.790 --> 00:27:14.046
and we will give you the other

565
00:27:14.166 --> 00:27:17.126
also in return for

566
00:27:17.166 --> 00:27:19.624
serving me another

567
00:27:19.800 --> 00:27:22.632
seven years. Jacob

568
00:27:22.664 --> 00:27:25.636
did so, completed her week.

569
00:27:26.136 --> 00:27:28.952
Then Laban gave him his daughter, Rachel to be his

570
00:27:28.984 --> 00:27:31.656
wife. And Laban gave him his female

571
00:27:31.696 --> 00:27:34.544
servant, Bilhah, to his daughter Rachel to

572
00:27:34.560 --> 00:27:37.304
be her servant. So Jacob went into

573
00:27:37.360 --> 00:27:39.704
Rachel also, and he loved

574
00:27:39.760 --> 00:27:42.656
Rachel more than Leah and

575
00:27:42.696 --> 00:27:45.332
served Laban for another seven

576
00:27:45.404 --> 00:27:48.060
years. Some

577
00:27:48.108 --> 00:27:50.836
levels of dysfunction that are

578
00:27:50.876 --> 00:27:53.696
happening in that family. All right,

579
00:27:54.876 --> 00:27:57.816
ladies, I don't know how close you are with your sister,

580
00:27:58.316 --> 00:28:01.292
but I imagine having the same husband would

581
00:28:01.324 --> 00:28:04.220
lead to some conflict. But let's look

582
00:28:04.268 --> 00:28:07.052
and see. Let's eliminate the

583
00:28:07.084 --> 00:28:09.680
very specific actions

584
00:28:09.828 --> 00:28:12.480
that were done here and look at the

585
00:28:12.528 --> 00:28:14.756
categories of what Laban did,

586
00:28:15.376 --> 00:28:18.176
what Laban took on of himself, that

587
00:28:18.216 --> 00:28:20.936
embraced worldly parenting

588
00:28:21.056 --> 00:28:23.672
versus the parenting of the standard of God. Number,

589
00:28:23.968 --> 00:28:26.808
one, he determines for himself that he is

590
00:28:26.832 --> 00:28:29.736
the authority, and he controls the lives of his

591
00:28:29.776 --> 00:28:32.456
daughters. In this moment, he

592
00:28:32.496 --> 00:28:35.160
says, it's my will. It's my

593
00:28:35.208 --> 00:28:38.140
way. I'm going to determine who you are. I'm going

594
00:28:38.148 --> 00:28:40.780
to determine what you become. There are these that are

595
00:28:40.828 --> 00:28:43.724
set so it's not in light of who you are.

596
00:28:43.780 --> 00:28:46.628
This is what you do, but it's inside of what I'm going

597
00:28:46.652 --> 00:28:49.132
to cause you to do, of what you're going to

598
00:28:49.164 --> 00:28:52.132
be. In spite of the expectations,

599
00:28:52.284 --> 00:28:54.908
what he does, as crazy

600
00:28:55.092 --> 00:28:57.860
as this seems for us, as

601
00:28:57.908 --> 00:29:00.332
off putting, as offensive,

602
00:29:00.524 --> 00:29:03.156
as grotesque as this seems for

603
00:29:03.196 --> 00:29:06.008
us, he embraced the norms and

604
00:29:06.032 --> 00:29:08.872
the customs of the society of which he lived.

605
00:29:08.944 --> 00:29:11.880
That was his excuse to Jacob. He's like, listen, man, like,

606
00:29:11.928 --> 00:29:14.240
I just did what culture and

607
00:29:14.288 --> 00:29:17.248
society demand or what is normal

608
00:29:17.312 --> 00:29:18.956
or what is right for us.

609
00:29:20.256 --> 00:29:23.056
And then what he does is he

610
00:29:23.096 --> 00:29:24.436
continues on.

611
00:29:25.416 --> 00:29:28.364
14 years of, securing

612
00:29:28.500 --> 00:29:31.458
financial freedom and benefits for

613
00:29:31.482 --> 00:29:33.926
his family, above all things.

614
00:29:34.426 --> 00:29:36.606
When I looked at in this light.

615
00:29:37.546 --> 00:29:39.786
Laban has many of the same

616
00:29:39.906 --> 00:29:42.714
aspirations as parents.

617
00:29:42.770 --> 00:29:45.610
In 2024, just

618
00:29:45.658 --> 00:29:47.446
played out in a different environment.

619
00:29:48.786 --> 00:29:51.562
He wanted to control. They are going to do.

620
00:29:51.674 --> 00:29:54.658
They are going to be what I have determined for

621
00:29:54.682 --> 00:29:57.518
them. We're not going

622
00:29:57.542 --> 00:30:00.462
to be influencers in society,

623
00:30:00.614 --> 00:30:03.390
but society is going to influence us,

624
00:30:03.478 --> 00:30:06.462
and it will rise above the standards of what

625
00:30:06.494 --> 00:30:09.238
God has for us and above

626
00:30:09.302 --> 00:30:11.974
all things. What does this

627
00:30:12.030 --> 00:30:14.322
mean, and how does this benefit me?

628
00:30:14.322 --> 00:30:17.286
M what does this mean, and how does this benefit

629
00:30:17.326 --> 00:30:19.822
me? It's kind of a difficult passage of

630
00:30:19.854 --> 00:30:22.826
scripture when we look at. So

631
00:30:22.946 --> 00:30:25.804
how can you and I, take this learning from

632
00:30:25.852 --> 00:30:28.620
others mistakes to see what God

633
00:30:28.660 --> 00:30:31.240
could call us to be as parents,

634
00:30:31.780 --> 00:30:34.724
to see what God would call us to

635
00:30:34.772 --> 00:30:37.684
respond as children learning

636
00:30:37.772 --> 00:30:40.588
to and growing in honoring

637
00:30:40.644 --> 00:30:43.300
their mother and father. What can we look at with

638
00:30:43.340 --> 00:30:46.180
this? And I think the first thing that we see from

639
00:30:46.220 --> 00:30:48.888
this is movement, from controlling

640
00:30:48.984 --> 00:30:51.960
to navigating move. When it comes

641
00:30:52.000 --> 00:30:54.992
to biblical parenting, from

642
00:30:55.056 --> 00:30:57.480
controlling to navigating,

643
00:30:57.640 --> 00:31:00.528
Laban had determined what his daughters

644
00:31:00.584 --> 00:31:02.980
would become and who they would be.

645
00:31:03.640 --> 00:31:06.064
What I love about proverbs 22

646
00:31:06.112 --> 00:31:08.920
six is this train

647
00:31:09.000 --> 00:31:11.992
up a child. Train

648
00:31:12.056 --> 00:31:14.956
up, a child in the way that

649
00:31:14.988 --> 00:31:17.980
he should go. And even

650
00:31:18.060 --> 00:31:20.460
when he is old, he will

651
00:31:20.500 --> 00:31:23.200
not depart from it.

652
00:31:24.180 --> 00:31:26.080
This word train

653
00:31:26.900 --> 00:31:29.804
that's here, it means to

654
00:31:29.852 --> 00:31:32.400
initiate or to dedicate.

655
00:31:33.220 --> 00:31:35.396
To initiate or

656
00:31:35.428 --> 00:31:38.052
dedicate. To move

657
00:31:38.236 --> 00:31:41.004
a child toward where they should

658
00:31:41.052 --> 00:31:44.028
go in their walk, in their relationship with

659
00:31:44.044 --> 00:31:46.600
the Lord. In our parenting class, like,

660
00:31:47.300 --> 00:31:49.980
there is a season in

661
00:31:50.020 --> 00:31:52.000
parenting for control,

662
00:31:52.980 --> 00:31:55.972
right? Like, I love it. I loved

663
00:31:55.996 --> 00:31:58.972
it. In the times where we've got our kids, and

664
00:31:58.996 --> 00:32:01.720
it's like, we've got to control the environment

665
00:32:02.060 --> 00:32:04.908
to provide the opportunity

666
00:32:05.044 --> 00:32:07.884
for you to be able to grow in

667
00:32:07.932 --> 00:32:10.540
wisdom and knowledge of the Lord. And so, in this

668
00:32:10.580 --> 00:32:13.508
controlling environment, there's a lot of these rules that

669
00:32:13.524 --> 00:32:16.196
we've got to establish and the protection for you to do

670
00:32:16.228 --> 00:32:19.116
that. But here's what I know. That the older a

671
00:32:19.148 --> 00:32:22.124
kid gets and the more that we try to hold

672
00:32:22.212 --> 00:32:25.180
on and squeeze them tightly is the moment,

673
00:32:25.220 --> 00:32:27.964
like, right here in my fist, I can

674
00:32:28.012 --> 00:32:30.798
see the cracks and the crevices where they'll fight the

675
00:32:30.844 --> 00:32:31.630
push through.

676
00:32:33.610 --> 00:32:36.050
And you try to take a

677
00:32:36.090 --> 00:32:38.802
child, and our action is

678
00:32:38.866 --> 00:32:41.706
control. But what we see

679
00:32:41.818 --> 00:32:44.682
from scripture, what we are in this, is there's

680
00:32:44.706 --> 00:32:47.562
a season for that. But the end goal of what

681
00:32:47.586 --> 00:32:50.370
we're working toward, the end goal of what we're

682
00:32:50.450 --> 00:32:53.338
pushing to, is moving away from control

683
00:32:53.474 --> 00:32:55.670
and to help them navigate

684
00:32:56.750 --> 00:32:58.998
the waters, to

685
00:32:59.054 --> 00:33:01.410
navigate the path,

686
00:33:01.950 --> 00:33:03.810
man, like all of you parents

687
00:33:04.710 --> 00:33:07.618
and your precious kids were up, there

688
00:33:07.658 --> 00:33:10.586
on that screen, man. You're feeling

689
00:33:10.642 --> 00:33:13.514
that weight now of

690
00:33:13.666 --> 00:33:16.490
the release of what time

691
00:33:16.594 --> 00:33:19.474
in our culture has provided for

692
00:33:19.506 --> 00:33:22.074
them to go out into this world, into the

693
00:33:22.106 --> 00:33:24.930
workforce, into the military, into college,

694
00:33:24.994 --> 00:33:27.850
wherever the Lord has for them to go. And

695
00:33:27.874 --> 00:33:30.434
you're realizing that, man, I've got to move

696
00:33:30.546 --> 00:33:32.398
from this to this.

697
00:33:33.338 --> 00:33:36.018
And the caution that I

698
00:33:36.058 --> 00:33:38.882
say also often is, if it's that fast

699
00:33:38.930 --> 00:33:41.890
of a release, the shock to

700
00:33:41.914 --> 00:33:44.698
the system is unbearable. But over

701
00:33:44.738 --> 00:33:47.474
the course, if what we're moving toward is

702
00:33:47.506 --> 00:33:50.334
this gradual, so that they're equipped to go and to

703
00:33:50.366 --> 00:33:53.286
be all that God has called him to be. So what does

704
00:33:53.302 --> 00:33:56.118
it mean? Like, how do we train up? We point them to Jesus,

705
00:33:56.158 --> 00:33:58.950
we commit them to Jesus, we disciple them to Jesus,

706
00:33:59.054 --> 00:34:01.910
and then in this, we release them to

707
00:34:01.934 --> 00:34:04.646
follow Jesus. That's not what

708
00:34:04.662 --> 00:34:07.654
Laban does. Laban says, I'm going to term and

709
00:34:07.686 --> 00:34:10.470
I'm going to do. You're going to do as I instruct you to

710
00:34:10.494 --> 00:34:13.214
do. The second thing that we see of being a biblical

711
00:34:13.246 --> 00:34:16.152
parent is this. Understand that we need to be

712
00:34:16.270 --> 00:34:19.164
a culture influencer, not one

713
00:34:19.236 --> 00:34:22.188
influenced by culture. So

714
00:34:22.308 --> 00:34:25.140
this is even the second and the third time where

715
00:34:25.164 --> 00:34:27.972
we overly see polygamy in scripture.

716
00:34:28.140 --> 00:34:31.092
So I want to kind of talk about this for a minute.

717
00:34:31.140 --> 00:34:33.790
All right. Laban, within the

718
00:34:33.814 --> 00:34:36.782
context of his family, says yes

719
00:34:36.830 --> 00:34:39.608
to polygamy, even though this

720
00:34:39.648 --> 00:34:42.038
isn't the design of God. All right.

721
00:34:42.154 --> 00:34:44.358
specifically, polygamy

722
00:34:44.858 --> 00:34:47.826
is something that is common

723
00:34:47.922 --> 00:34:49.918
in the Old Testament.

724
00:34:50.618 --> 00:34:53.074
Polygamy is a practice that

725
00:34:53.186 --> 00:34:56.176
continues, throughout different parts and different

726
00:34:56.232 --> 00:34:58.148
places of the world.

727
00:34:58.888 --> 00:35:01.788
Polygamy culturally

728
00:35:03.088 --> 00:35:05.864
made sense during this

729
00:35:05.896 --> 00:35:06.468
time.

730
00:35:08.168 --> 00:35:10.920
Polygamy was never

731
00:35:10.984 --> 00:35:13.856
go all the way back to Genesis. Imperfection in the garden,

732
00:35:13.952 --> 00:35:16.628
polygamy never the design of God.

733
00:35:17.408 --> 00:35:20.028
But what we see is that culture

734
00:35:20.608 --> 00:35:23.512
established that polygamy made

735
00:35:23.560 --> 00:35:26.504
sense, and here's why. Now, I'm not saying it made sense in that I

736
00:35:26.536 --> 00:35:29.496
agree with it, but I'm saying in the norm

737
00:35:29.552 --> 00:35:32.012
of the society of what's there,

738
00:35:32.160 --> 00:35:34.924
polygamy made sense, and here's why. And

739
00:35:34.996 --> 00:35:37.828
it's all a break from the design of God

740
00:35:37.908 --> 00:35:40.516
or for what God had. But in this day,

741
00:35:40.612 --> 00:35:43.596
in essence, a woman had little to no

742
00:35:43.652 --> 00:35:46.500
value apart from the support of

743
00:35:46.524 --> 00:35:49.244
a man. And men

744
00:35:49.356 --> 00:35:52.258
would go off to war and men would die. and so

745
00:35:52.298 --> 00:35:55.018
it was common in the culture for there to be

746
00:35:55.058 --> 00:35:57.964
more women than there were men. And so

747
00:35:58.036 --> 00:36:00.628
in order for them to care for and to

748
00:36:00.668 --> 00:36:03.524
protect in their eyes, what they said

749
00:36:03.596 --> 00:36:06.044
was, well, then I'll take more

750
00:36:06.236 --> 00:36:09.132
women as wives. And this is the

751
00:36:09.180 --> 00:36:12.132
way that I will protect them. And this

752
00:36:12.180 --> 00:36:15.116
is the lie that they began to believe over

753
00:36:15.172 --> 00:36:16.848
and over and over again,

754
00:36:18.748 --> 00:36:21.324
breaking from the design, from

755
00:36:21.356 --> 00:36:24.168
God. So when the church is

756
00:36:24.208 --> 00:36:26.708
established in the book of acts,

757
00:36:27.968 --> 00:36:30.792
what did the early church, who were the group of people

758
00:36:30.840 --> 00:36:33.600
they were challenged to care for, the

759
00:36:33.624 --> 00:36:36.552
widows and the orphans, do you know

760
00:36:36.560 --> 00:36:39.536
what they didn't do? They didn't gather

761
00:36:39.592 --> 00:36:42.480
in a room and say, all right, we gotta

762
00:36:42.504 --> 00:36:45.384
care for these ladies. How many you

763
00:36:45.416 --> 00:36:47.848
want? How many you want? How many you

764
00:36:47.888 --> 00:36:50.168
want? They didn't do that.

765
00:36:50.668 --> 00:36:53.540
Do you know what they did? They

766
00:36:53.564 --> 00:36:55.248
sold all their possessions,

767
00:36:57.028 --> 00:36:59.932
and they gave it away because

768
00:36:59.980 --> 00:37:02.732
they knew that their value was not found

769
00:37:02.860 --> 00:37:05.724
in who they were married to or who they were promised to,

770
00:37:05.796 --> 00:37:08.688
but their value was found in who they are in Christ.

771
00:37:09.508 --> 00:37:12.340
That's where their value is. And

772
00:37:12.364 --> 00:37:14.976
so what we see in here is a

773
00:37:15.032 --> 00:37:17.920
culture influence of what

774
00:37:18.064 --> 00:37:20.808
Jacob, where Laban was. And

775
00:37:20.888 --> 00:37:22.908
what would it have been.

776
00:37:23.848 --> 00:37:26.696
How would the story, the narrative have been

777
00:37:26.832 --> 00:37:29.708
if Jacob would have been like, no, no, no,

778
00:37:30.048 --> 00:37:32.848
this is not God's design. This is

779
00:37:32.888 --> 00:37:35.748
not God's design. And you have deceived me.

780
00:37:36.608 --> 00:37:39.416
And she is the sister of the woman

781
00:37:39.472 --> 00:37:41.952
who I love. And so here's what I promise and here's what I

782
00:37:41.960 --> 00:37:44.798
plan. She is not my wife,

783
00:37:45.378 --> 00:37:48.314
but I'm going to care for her. I'm going to provide for her.

784
00:37:48.386 --> 00:37:51.298
I'm going to make sure that she is taken care of because that's

785
00:37:51.338 --> 00:37:54.306
what she needs. And instead, he gave into it

786
00:37:54.322 --> 00:37:55.038
as well.

787
00:37:55.818 --> 00:37:58.650
The question that I have when it comes to us

788
00:37:58.754 --> 00:38:00.998
as parenting is this.

789
00:38:01.578 --> 00:38:03.838
Do we press against

790
00:38:04.538 --> 00:38:07.266
the cultures of this world?

791
00:38:07.402 --> 00:38:10.300
Who wants to influence, influence us? And do

792
00:38:10.324 --> 00:38:12.808
we embrace them as the norm?

793
00:38:13.628 --> 00:38:15.928
Or do we push against

794
00:38:17.788 --> 00:38:20.780
and allow discipleship in the gospel to ring true in our

795
00:38:20.804 --> 00:38:23.612
family? Deuteronomy, chapter

796
00:38:23.660 --> 00:38:26.140
six. One of my favorite passages on

797
00:38:26.164 --> 00:38:28.804
parenting. It says, hear,

798
00:38:28.916 --> 00:38:31.868
o Israel, the Lord our God is one. You shall

799
00:38:31.908 --> 00:38:34.906
love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, with

800
00:38:34.922 --> 00:38:37.834
all your might. And these words I command you today shall

801
00:38:37.866 --> 00:38:40.730
be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to

802
00:38:40.754 --> 00:38:43.738
your children and talk of them when you sit in your

803
00:38:43.778 --> 00:38:46.682
house and when you walk by the way and when you lie

804
00:38:46.730 --> 00:38:49.510
down and when you rise up. you shall bind them as a sign

805
00:38:49.574 --> 00:38:52.518
on your hand, and there should be frontlets between your eyes.

806
00:38:52.598 --> 00:38:55.014
You shall write them on the doorpost of your

807
00:38:55.046 --> 00:38:57.878
houses and on your gates. A lot of thing there

808
00:38:57.918 --> 00:39:00.830
is happening culturally within the context of

809
00:39:00.854 --> 00:39:03.694
what's being communicated here. But what Moses is

810
00:39:03.726 --> 00:39:06.646
communicating and the generational discipleship from

811
00:39:06.702 --> 00:39:09.582
the parents and the elders of Israel to their kids

812
00:39:09.670 --> 00:39:12.558
is this. It will be marked that we are different, that we

813
00:39:12.598 --> 00:39:15.502
are God's people, and we will live a lifestyle of

814
00:39:15.550 --> 00:39:18.262
discipleship that continually reminds the next

815
00:39:18.310 --> 00:39:21.214
generation that, so that they will know who God is. And they will

816
00:39:21.246 --> 00:39:24.174
remind the next generation that, so that they will know who God

817
00:39:24.206 --> 00:39:27.164
is. And they will remind the next generation that, so that they will

818
00:39:27.196 --> 00:39:30.124
know who God is. It will not be a class that we teach, take

819
00:39:30.156 --> 00:39:33.076
them to. It will not be a youth group that we drop them off at. It

820
00:39:33.092 --> 00:39:35.588
will not be a kid's ministry that they are sent to, but it is

821
00:39:35.628 --> 00:39:38.220
embodiment of who we are. And we will be marching

822
00:39:38.284 --> 00:39:41.116
into a culture to establish who God is, and we

823
00:39:41.132 --> 00:39:44.044
will not march into a culture and allow them to establish

824
00:39:44.076 --> 00:39:47.060
who we are. And here's what I think is

825
00:39:47.084 --> 00:39:49.820
the downfall of the

826
00:39:49.884 --> 00:39:52.572
american family christian

827
00:39:52.700 --> 00:39:55.540
unit. We have

828
00:39:55.604 --> 00:39:58.292
allowed everything around

829
00:39:58.380 --> 00:40:01.156
us to knock off, what

830
00:40:01.260 --> 00:40:04.260
we believe is not necessary

831
00:40:04.372 --> 00:40:07.020
when it comes to God's expectations. And we

832
00:40:07.052 --> 00:40:09.908
become more like them. And we've stopped

833
00:40:09.956 --> 00:40:12.904
spreading the gospel so that they become more like Christ.

834
00:40:13.484 --> 00:40:15.544
And the statistics back that up.

835
00:40:16.564 --> 00:40:18.464
The statistics back that up.

836
00:40:20.184 --> 00:40:21.524
Lexington county,

837
00:40:22.984 --> 00:40:25.664
I'm not going to talk about India. I'm not going to talk about

838
00:40:25.704 --> 00:40:28.672
China. I'm not going to talk about Syria. I'm going to talk

839
00:40:28.728 --> 00:40:31.680
about our place where we live, where

840
00:40:31.712 --> 00:40:34.044
there's a church on every corner,

841
00:40:35.064 --> 00:40:37.240
where there's christians living in every

842
00:40:37.312 --> 00:40:40.136
neighborhood, where we can go out and

843
00:40:40.160 --> 00:40:43.056
proclaim the gospel without fear of being arrested,

844
00:40:43.120 --> 00:40:46.090
of being persecuted, of anything bad happening to

845
00:40:46.122 --> 00:40:49.098
us. The government's not going to take your money. The government's not going

846
00:40:49.106 --> 00:40:52.010
to take your job. The government's not going to throw you in jail for

847
00:40:52.042 --> 00:40:54.810
talking to people about who Jesus is. And right now, in

848
00:40:54.842 --> 00:40:57.690
Lexington county, and I'm not saying that all of these people are actually

849
00:40:57.762 --> 00:41:00.522
saved. All right? 33% of Lexington

850
00:41:00.578 --> 00:41:03.534
county identifies themselves as a follower of Jesus Christ

851
00:41:05.554 --> 00:41:06.814
because christians

852
00:41:07.634 --> 00:41:10.506
stopped, or people who

853
00:41:10.530 --> 00:41:12.934
claim to be christians stop.

854
00:41:14.154 --> 00:41:16.962
We gotta press, gotta press. We

855
00:41:16.978 --> 00:41:19.802
gotta press. Jesus. John 17. And I

856
00:41:19.818 --> 00:41:22.802
apologize if this isn't on the screen. It

857
00:41:22.818 --> 00:41:25.514
says, I've given them your word, and the

858
00:41:25.554 --> 00:41:28.482
world has hated them because they are not

859
00:41:28.538 --> 00:41:31.402
of the world, just as I am not of the world.

860
00:41:31.498 --> 00:41:34.490
And oftentimes church. Let me pause here. We've done a disservice

861
00:41:34.522 --> 00:41:37.450
because we've stopped here. And this is the verse

862
00:41:37.482 --> 00:41:40.458
that we use to say, we're in the world, but not of the world.

863
00:41:40.506 --> 00:41:43.344
And that's partially what Jesus is saying. But there's more. Verse

864
00:41:43.384 --> 00:41:46.160
15. I do not ask that you take them out of the

865
00:41:46.192 --> 00:41:48.768
world, but that you keep them from the evil one. So

866
00:41:48.816 --> 00:41:51.672
Jesus's prayer to God is that where you're

867
00:41:51.728 --> 00:41:54.696
at and the dysfunction and the sin and the corruption and everywhere

868
00:41:54.720 --> 00:41:57.164
that you are, that God would leave you there

869
00:41:57.504 --> 00:42:00.440
and that God would protect you. They are not

870
00:42:00.472 --> 00:42:03.400
of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them

871
00:42:03.432 --> 00:42:06.280
in your truth. Your word is truth. And look what Jesus

872
00:42:06.312 --> 00:42:09.134
says. As you sent me into the world,

873
00:42:09.254 --> 00:42:11.794
so have I sent them into the world.

874
00:42:12.374 --> 00:42:14.814
See, our job as followers of

875
00:42:14.854 --> 00:42:17.262
Jesus, our job as

876
00:42:17.318 --> 00:42:19.878
parents, our jobs as, as a

877
00:42:19.926 --> 00:42:22.670
church, is not to say how do we

878
00:42:22.742 --> 00:42:25.670
isolate ourselves from the world, how do we

879
00:42:25.702 --> 00:42:28.430
build our own christian utopia that

880
00:42:28.462 --> 00:42:31.406
eliminates us from all influence, from

881
00:42:31.470 --> 00:42:33.732
all consequences, from all

882
00:42:33.828 --> 00:42:36.620
struggles, from all temptations. That's

883
00:42:36.652 --> 00:42:39.564
not it. Our prayer should be the prayer

884
00:42:39.604 --> 00:42:42.524
of Jesus, of what we say of God.

885
00:42:42.604 --> 00:42:45.436
I'm praying that you're going to keep them and that you're going to

886
00:42:45.460 --> 00:42:48.292
protect them and that you're going to keep me and that you're going to

887
00:42:48.308 --> 00:42:51.084
protect me. Because as Jesus was sent into the

888
00:42:51.124 --> 00:42:54.124
world to share who he is and what

889
00:42:54.164 --> 00:42:56.924
salvation comes from, that in him and him

890
00:42:56.964 --> 00:42:59.834
alone, that God, we would live for the same

891
00:42:59.914 --> 00:43:02.890
purpose and the same power, that we would walk into this

892
00:43:02.922 --> 00:43:05.698
world filled with the power of the Holy Spirit that you have given

893
00:43:05.746 --> 00:43:08.706
us to proclaim a gospel message that is not

894
00:43:08.770 --> 00:43:11.570
natural to those who hear it and not try

895
00:43:11.602 --> 00:43:14.258
to remove ourselves. And that in doing

896
00:43:14.346 --> 00:43:16.946
so, not through litigation,

897
00:43:17.130 --> 00:43:19.930
not through norms, but we influence

898
00:43:20.002 --> 00:43:22.774
culture through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

899
00:43:24.214 --> 00:43:25.794
And so we define

900
00:43:27.134 --> 00:43:29.674
who we are by Jesus.

901
00:43:30.814 --> 00:43:33.366
And then we go to the lost

902
00:43:33.470 --> 00:43:36.270
world and we don't say to

903
00:43:36.302 --> 00:43:39.286
them, hey, get your life right and do what I

904
00:43:39.310 --> 00:43:39.874
do.

905
00:43:41.934 --> 00:43:44.430
We say, get your life

906
00:43:44.502 --> 00:43:47.434
saved and come meet my friend Jesus.

907
00:43:48.694 --> 00:43:51.690
And then oh man, what he's going to

908
00:43:51.722 --> 00:43:54.634
do in your life. And we're

909
00:43:54.674 --> 00:43:57.090
proof of that. We're proof of

910
00:43:57.122 --> 00:43:57.694
that.

911
00:43:58.474 --> 00:44:01.354
The third thing, we'll close with this. The third

912
00:44:01.394 --> 00:44:04.266
thing, value children

913
00:44:04.370 --> 00:44:05.574
as a blessing

914
00:44:08.674 --> 00:44:11.334
and do not simply see them as valuables.

915
00:44:12.994 --> 00:44:15.698
Here's what I mean by that. Don't

916
00:44:15.746 --> 00:44:18.330
simply view, I've got

917
00:44:18.362 --> 00:44:20.814
enough because this is what I can get.

918
00:44:22.114 --> 00:44:24.482
Value children as a

919
00:44:24.498 --> 00:44:27.242
blessing. Doctor Tony Evans

920
00:44:27.338 --> 00:44:30.250
and his kids, they led the study that

921
00:44:30.282 --> 00:44:33.170
Aaron and I facilitated. I learned

922
00:44:33.202 --> 00:44:35.746
a lot. I really respect. I've had the opportunity to

923
00:44:35.770 --> 00:44:38.572
meet, him once. He came and spoke at the church that I grew up

924
00:44:38.588 --> 00:44:41.564
in. Very godly man followed his ministry. Stayed close

925
00:44:41.604 --> 00:44:44.502
to his ministry. and here's. He taught so much over

926
00:44:44.518 --> 00:44:47.470
the course of this study. But here's one of the quotes that he

927
00:44:47.502 --> 00:44:50.214
said that really hit home for me.

928
00:44:50.374 --> 00:44:53.334
Really hit home. Doctor Tony Evans

929
00:44:53.414 --> 00:44:55.954
said this. Children

930
00:44:56.774 --> 00:44:59.314
are the only blessing from God.

931
00:44:59.654 --> 00:45:02.034
Most people want less of.

932
00:45:08.354 --> 00:45:09.614
I want more health.

933
00:45:11.274 --> 00:45:14.266
I want more money. I want

934
00:45:14.290 --> 00:45:17.202
more influence. Jesus, I

935
00:45:17.218 --> 00:45:18.294
want more of you.

936
00:45:20.074 --> 00:45:23.010
But that's enough. That's

937
00:45:23.042 --> 00:45:23.614
enough.

938
00:45:25.994 --> 00:45:27.934
And I'm not just talking about

939
00:45:29.394 --> 00:45:31.814
how we view kids within the context

940
00:45:32.634 --> 00:45:33.854
of our marriage.

941
00:45:35.584 --> 00:45:38.564
I'm talking about how we view kids.

942
00:45:40.664 --> 00:45:43.280
We got a world that has

943
00:45:43.312 --> 00:45:46.096
said they're an inconvenience,

944
00:45:46.280 --> 00:45:47.444
and that's enough.

945
00:45:49.384 --> 00:45:51.896
We've got a culture that is

946
00:45:51.920 --> 00:45:54.684
said they're an inconvenience,

947
00:45:55.264 --> 00:45:58.152
that's enough. And I want to

948
00:45:58.168 --> 00:46:00.468
be honest with you. We've got

949
00:46:00.516 --> 00:46:03.264
churches that say,

950
00:46:04.324 --> 00:46:06.732
how can we find on Sunday mornings,

951
00:46:06.788 --> 00:46:09.660
opportunities to babysit our kids so that a group

952
00:46:09.692 --> 00:46:12.564
of selfish adults can gather in rooms away from them?

953
00:46:12.644 --> 00:46:15.424
Because I'll be honest with you, we've got enough.

954
00:46:18.564 --> 00:46:21.492
Children are the only blessing from

955
00:46:21.548 --> 00:46:24.548
God most people want less

956
00:46:24.596 --> 00:46:27.472
of. Laban

957
00:46:27.528 --> 00:46:30.164
wanted to know, man,

958
00:46:30.544 --> 00:46:32.324
how can I get rid of

959
00:46:33.664 --> 00:46:36.044
instead of understanding who they are?

960
00:46:36.784 --> 00:46:38.444
Psalm 127 three.

961
00:46:40.504 --> 00:46:43.364
Behold, children

962
00:46:44.224 --> 00:46:47.016
are a heritage from the

963
00:46:47.040 --> 00:46:49.712
Lord. The fruit

964
00:46:49.888 --> 00:46:52.404
of the womb, reward.

965
00:46:56.344 --> 00:46:57.524
They're loud,

966
00:46:59.784 --> 00:47:01.164
they're messy,

967
00:47:02.584 --> 00:47:04.204
they're complicated,

968
00:47:07.024 --> 00:47:08.524
they cause trouble.

969
00:47:11.984 --> 00:47:14.364
They'll make you frustrated.

970
00:47:16.544 --> 00:47:19.420
They'll give you a headache. All right, now,

971
00:47:19.452 --> 00:47:22.212
I was describing our men of this church. All

972
00:47:22.228 --> 00:47:24.944
right? You see,

973
00:47:25.884 --> 00:47:27.664
that describes people.

974
00:47:30.204 --> 00:47:32.532
Children are a

975
00:47:32.588 --> 00:47:34.944
heritage from the Lord.

976
00:47:36.124 --> 00:47:38.188
Children are a

977
00:47:38.236 --> 00:47:40.504
blessing from the Lord.

978
00:47:41.364 --> 00:47:44.216
A quiet church, a

979
00:47:44.240 --> 00:47:45.404
dying church.

980
00:47:49.464 --> 00:47:51.920
A quiet church is a dying

981
00:47:51.992 --> 00:47:54.932
church. Our kids are, not

982
00:47:54.972 --> 00:47:57.820
the church of tomorrow. I

983
00:47:57.836 --> 00:48:00.756
don't believe that. I believe

984
00:48:00.804 --> 00:48:02.592
when we say that that's foolish.

985
00:48:04.532 --> 00:48:07.236
Our kids are the church

986
00:48:07.284 --> 00:48:09.512
today. Our

987
00:48:09.552 --> 00:48:12.252
teenagers are the church today.

988
00:48:12.952 --> 00:48:15.304
They're a heritage. They're a

989
00:48:15.328 --> 00:48:16.092
blessing.

990
00:48:18.592 --> 00:48:19.572
Luke 18,

991
00:48:22.032 --> 00:48:23.412
Jesus is in a city,

992
00:48:25.672 --> 00:48:28.384
and they were bringing even

993
00:48:28.448 --> 00:48:31.248
infants to him that he might

994
00:48:31.280 --> 00:48:32.212
touch them.

995
00:48:34.152 --> 00:48:36.732
And when the disciples saw it,

996
00:48:37.782 --> 00:48:39.202
they rebuke them.

997
00:48:40.622 --> 00:48:42.482
Just pause for a moment

998
00:48:43.422 --> 00:48:46.002
and understand how offensive that is,

999
00:48:47.422 --> 00:48:49.762
but also pause for a moment

1000
00:48:50.942 --> 00:48:53.118
and understand how socially

1001
00:48:53.230 --> 00:48:56.002
applicable that is still today.

1002
00:48:57.382 --> 00:49:00.322
Nah, Jesus is too important for that.

1003
00:49:01.382 --> 00:49:03.562
Jesus doesn't have time for that.

1004
00:49:04.552 --> 00:49:06.692
We don't need to bother him with that.

1005
00:49:11.872 --> 00:49:14.412
But Jesus called them to him,

1006
00:49:16.272 --> 00:49:19.056
saying, let the

1007
00:49:19.104 --> 00:49:21.452
children come to me

1008
00:49:22.472 --> 00:49:25.328
and do not hinder them, for

1009
00:49:25.360 --> 00:49:27.632
to such belongs the

1010
00:49:27.672 --> 00:49:29.792
kingdom of God. God.

1011
00:49:31.292 --> 00:49:33.032
Truly, I say to you,

1012
00:49:33.932 --> 00:49:36.732
whoever does not receive

1013
00:49:36.852 --> 00:49:39.452
the kingdom of God like a

1014
00:49:39.492 --> 00:49:42.380
child, shall not

1015
00:49:42.556 --> 00:49:45.484
enter it. I've shared this

1016
00:49:45.508 --> 00:49:48.232
with you. Before anyone at our church gets baptized,

1017
00:49:49.692 --> 00:49:52.432
one of our ministers

1018
00:49:52.852 --> 00:49:54.712
has a conversation with them,

1019
00:49:55.672 --> 00:49:58.464
and then we share. At staff meeting, dawn will

1020
00:49:58.488 --> 00:50:01.344
share. Joel will share. Dave will share. Berger will share. I will

1021
00:50:01.368 --> 00:50:04.210
share. Hey, here's the conversation I

1022
00:50:04.234 --> 00:50:07.218
had with this person, and I'll be honest

1023
00:50:07.258 --> 00:50:10.158
with you. I love the conversations

1024
00:50:11.538 --> 00:50:13.518
that we get to have with dawn.

1025
00:50:14.538 --> 00:50:17.250
I love them, because

1026
00:50:17.314 --> 00:50:19.598
here's what usually what she says,

1027
00:50:20.118 --> 00:50:22.738
something in this world,

1028
00:50:24.318 --> 00:50:27.230
well, you know, they couldn't answer it

1029
00:50:27.254 --> 00:50:29.654
all, but they know

1030
00:50:29.686 --> 00:50:32.254
Jesus. They know

1031
00:50:32.286 --> 00:50:34.790
Jesus. And I

1032
00:50:34.814 --> 00:50:37.598
thought, isn't that

1033
00:50:37.638 --> 00:50:40.590
faith? Isn't that what it

1034
00:50:40.614 --> 00:50:42.658
means to come to Christ?

1035
00:50:43.678 --> 00:50:46.508
Let, me ask you, when you came to Jesus,

1036
00:50:46.908 --> 00:50:49.168
how many of you had your theology degrees?

1037
00:50:50.708 --> 00:50:52.928
When you came to Jesus,

1038
00:50:53.588 --> 00:50:55.964
how many of you knew the

1039
00:50:55.996 --> 00:50:58.368
intricacies of revelation?

1040
00:50:59.468 --> 00:51:02.316
When you came to Jesus, how many of you

1041
00:51:02.332 --> 00:51:05.076
had most of the Bible memorized? You

1042
00:51:05.092 --> 00:51:07.808
didn't, and you still don't today, and neither do I.

1043
00:51:08.748 --> 00:51:11.564
But we came to Jesus not

1044
00:51:11.596 --> 00:51:14.290
knowing at all. But we came to

1045
00:51:14.314 --> 00:51:16.558
Jesus because we knew him.

1046
00:51:18.098 --> 00:51:19.198
And parents,

1047
00:51:20.778 --> 00:51:21.998
parents, hear this.

1048
00:51:24.178 --> 00:51:25.198
One day.

1049
00:51:30.698 --> 00:51:32.958
One day your kid's going to stand before Christ,

1050
00:51:35.018 --> 00:51:36.678
and they're batting average,

1051
00:51:40.398 --> 00:51:42.058
their dance competitions,

1052
00:51:44.358 --> 00:51:45.898
their track meets,

1053
00:51:47.638 --> 00:51:48.978
their GPA,

1054
00:51:50.798 --> 00:51:53.782
their degree isn't going

1055
00:51:53.790 --> 00:51:56.390
to matter. Isn't going to

1056
00:51:56.414 --> 00:51:58.942
matter. The only

1057
00:51:59.030 --> 00:52:01.558
thing. The only thing that

1058
00:52:01.598 --> 00:52:04.538
matters is, do they know him?

1059
00:52:05.648 --> 00:52:08.256
Did they know him? And

1060
00:52:08.272 --> 00:52:10.868
so anything,

1061
00:52:12.048 --> 00:52:14.552
anything that

1062
00:52:14.600 --> 00:52:17.216
distracts from

1063
00:52:17.272 --> 00:52:17.868
that

1064
00:52:20.488 --> 00:52:23.328
is foolishness. Is

1065
00:52:23.368 --> 00:52:24.348
foolishness.

1066
00:52:25.368 --> 00:52:28.288
May we live as a people.

1067
00:52:28.448 --> 00:52:31.018
When Moses stood before

1068
00:52:31.098 --> 00:52:33.078
Israel in Deuteronomy six,

1069
00:52:34.378 --> 00:52:36.678
he stood before parents and grandparents.

1070
00:52:37.298 --> 00:52:40.170
He stood before senior adults. He

1071
00:52:40.194 --> 00:52:42.598
stood before young adults without kids.

1072
00:52:43.338 --> 00:52:46.018
He stood before all of them and

1073
00:52:46.058 --> 00:52:48.746
said, this is who we are to be

1074
00:52:48.882 --> 00:52:51.746
for the next generation. This is what we

1075
00:52:51.762 --> 00:52:54.210
are to do. Whether your name is

1076
00:52:54.274 --> 00:52:56.962
mom or dad, dad or

1077
00:52:57.010 --> 00:52:59.798
not, this is how we're to raise them up.

1078
00:53:00.778 --> 00:53:02.518
It's time for the church

1079
00:53:03.738 --> 00:53:06.530
to embrace what it means to

1080
00:53:06.594 --> 00:53:09.034
hold the discipleship of the

1081
00:53:09.066 --> 00:53:12.002
family and to continue on and continue

1082
00:53:12.090 --> 00:53:15.074
on so that we'll impact the

1083
00:53:15.106 --> 00:53:16.158
world for Jesus.

1084
00:53:16.578 --> 00:53:17.958
Would you pray with me?

1085
00:53:20.458 --> 00:53:23.404
God, I thank you so much for this

1086
00:53:23.436 --> 00:53:24.008
morning.

1087
00:53:26.628 --> 00:53:29.076
God, I thank you for just. Lord, a

1088
00:53:29.172 --> 00:53:32.060
very complicated passage of

1089
00:53:32.084 --> 00:53:32.848
scripture

1090
00:53:36.308 --> 00:53:39.188
that causes us where to cause

1091
00:53:39.228 --> 00:53:39.808
me

1092
00:53:42.228 --> 00:53:45.088
to dig, to see,

1093
00:53:45.588 --> 00:53:46.568
to pray.

1094
00:53:48.328 --> 00:53:50.028
And, Lord, we see a man

1095
00:53:51.448 --> 00:53:53.348
that the culture would have said

1096
00:53:54.448 --> 00:53:55.948
they're successful.

1097
00:53:58.088 --> 00:54:00.628
He took matters into his own hands.

1098
00:54:04.688 --> 00:54:07.144
He made sacrifices for the good of his

1099
00:54:07.176 --> 00:54:10.056
family. But for the good of

1100
00:54:10.072 --> 00:54:11.948
his family was not for the good of God.

1101
00:54:13.588 --> 00:54:15.248
And God. So often

1102
00:54:16.628 --> 00:54:19.572
what we have done is we

1103
00:54:19.620 --> 00:54:22.172
have lived like

1104
00:54:22.220 --> 00:54:24.208
Laban in our context,

1105
00:54:25.868 --> 00:54:28.804
succumbing to the culture of the

1106
00:54:28.836 --> 00:54:29.408
world,

1107
00:54:31.308 --> 00:54:34.292
succumbing to the standards that they've set

1108
00:54:34.340 --> 00:54:37.340
for us, succumbing to

1109
00:54:37.364 --> 00:54:39.448
the selfishness of our heart

1110
00:54:40.488 --> 00:54:42.628
and God. May we as a church,

1111
00:54:43.488 --> 00:54:46.472
may we as a people, may we as

1112
00:54:46.520 --> 00:54:48.888
families, may we as

1113
00:54:48.928 --> 00:54:51.784
individuals say, for the good

1114
00:54:51.816 --> 00:54:54.720
and for the glory of God in a world,

1115
00:54:54.904 --> 00:54:57.856
in a nation, in a state,

1116
00:54:58.032 --> 00:55:00.336
in a county, in a

1117
00:55:00.432 --> 00:55:03.336
city where the number

1118
00:55:03.392 --> 00:55:05.836
of christians are declining

1119
00:55:05.932 --> 00:55:08.628
rapidly. Lord, may we

1120
00:55:08.668 --> 00:55:11.668
say, not only do we want to live boldly

1121
00:55:11.708 --> 00:55:14.556
for Jesus, but Lord, we want to

1122
00:55:14.612 --> 00:55:17.500
invest the time. Lord, we

1123
00:55:17.524 --> 00:55:20.524
want to invest the volunteering. Lord,

1124
00:55:20.556 --> 00:55:23.500
we want to invest the money. Lord, we want

1125
00:55:23.524 --> 00:55:26.284
to invest the service, not

1126
00:55:26.396 --> 00:55:29.124
in anything else other than for the

1127
00:55:29.156 --> 00:55:30.648
continued movement of the

1128
00:55:32.328 --> 00:55:35.032
and God, I thank you so much for this

1129
00:55:35.080 --> 00:55:37.960
church who has embraced that. I

1130
00:55:37.984 --> 00:55:40.888
thank you for a staff who champions that.

1131
00:55:40.968 --> 00:55:43.760
But, Lord, can we do it more? Could we grow more

1132
00:55:43.824 --> 00:55:46.488
obedient to you, more passionate to

1133
00:55:46.528 --> 00:55:49.312
you for being

1134
00:55:49.360 --> 00:55:51.908
who you are and doing what you called us to do

1135
00:55:52.408 --> 00:55:55.320
as we live, for your name, for

1136
00:55:55.344 --> 00:55:57.916
your glory, God. If there's anyone

1137
00:55:57.972 --> 00:56:00.848
here who does not know you,

1138
00:56:01.828 --> 00:56:04.716
Lord, I pray that today they would come

1139
00:56:04.772 --> 00:56:07.648
to know you through faith like a child.

1140
00:56:08.668 --> 00:56:11.588
It's okay if you're in here this

1141
00:56:11.628 --> 00:56:14.608
morning and you don't know all the answers.

1142
00:56:16.108 --> 00:56:19.100
It's okay this morning if you don't even

1143
00:56:19.124 --> 00:56:21.528
really feel like you understand who Jesus is.

1144
00:56:24.048 --> 00:56:26.868
But if you would believe in the truth,

1145
00:56:28.008 --> 00:56:30.328
Jesus Christ

1146
00:56:30.408 --> 00:56:33.068
alone is the way, the truth and life.

1147
00:56:34.168 --> 00:56:36.680
You'll put your hope and your faith and your trust in

1148
00:56:36.704 --> 00:56:39.560
him that it is in a relationship with

1149
00:56:39.584 --> 00:56:42.584
him, the perfect, sinless son

1150
00:56:42.616 --> 00:56:45.328
of God who died on the cross

1151
00:56:45.488 --> 00:56:48.276
to save you from your sins and who rose from the

1152
00:56:48.292 --> 00:56:51.288
grief. You don't have to understand it,

1153
00:56:51.628 --> 00:56:54.580
but if you believe it this morning, put

1154
00:56:54.604 --> 00:56:57.516
your faith, your hope and trust in it. Today

1155
00:56:57.612 --> 00:56:59.568
will be the day of your salvation.

1156
00:57:00.388 --> 00:57:03.212
God, work and move how you

1157
00:57:03.260 --> 00:57:04.808
will and how you desire.

1158
00:57:06.748 --> 00:57:07.608
Amen.

1159
00:57:12.688 --> 00:57:15.672
Thanks again for listening and be sure to check back next

1160
00:57:15.720 --> 00:57:18.576
week for another episode. In the meantime, you

1161
00:57:18.592 --> 00:57:21.528
can visit us at ah, willowridgechurch.org dot or by

1162
00:57:21.568 --> 00:57:24.416
searching for Willow Ridge Church on Facebook, Instagram

1163
00:57:24.472 --> 00:57:24.888
and Twitter.