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Ben Stewart
11 min read

Role of a child…

Introduction of a role of a child:

1. Today in this world there is an assault on the homes of Americans. It may not be just in America but also in other parts of the world. In the past I have given a lesson on the role of a father and that of a mother. In this lesson I will be speaking to the children.

2. Children are an awesome blessing to have, in fact they are the future of the world. They are the products of their moms, dads, brothers, sisters, and even society. They are the ones who are most influenced in the world today.

3. Children have to worry about all kinds of pressure that those of past generations did not have to worry about. Today by watching the invited rude guest in all of our homes, they are influenced by him to smoke, to drink, to think that premarital sex is okay, to try and fit in with their friends, and that lying is okay as long as it is for a good purpose. Do you know who this invited gust is? We call Mr. T.V.

4. The T.V. spends more time influencing our lives than anything else does in our society today. The children and teenagers of this era have to be strong enough to resist the temptations of peer pressure. They must see the love and need for God in their lives. Children today must realize they are responsible for their actions. We can not always have mommy or daddy bail us out of jam. All of this is brought about by being disciplined…and Jesus is our example… Although He was a Son, yet He learned obedience from the things that He suffered; 9 And having been perfected, He became the Author of eternal salvation to all those who obey Him, Heb 5:8-9 AFV


I. Honor your Father and your Mother

A. A commandment for all times.

1. The Old Testament this was a command to be obeyed.

a. Ex 20:12. It was the 5th commandment given to the Jews.

2. It is repeated in the New Testament

a. Eph 6:1-3 “children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right. Honor your father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise, that it may be well with you and that you might live long on the earth.”

3. God changed many things from the Jewish religion to what Christians practice today

a. We no longer worship in the temple, we no longer have incense, we no longer kill animals to atone for sins, we no longer have tribes or the Levitical priesthood.

b. God changed what he expected from us in many things but one of the things he did not was to honor our fathers and mothers.

4. Even those that do not know God understand that this is right to do.

a. Your mom and dad have wiped your but and nose for a many a night. They have provided for you in all your life. They took care of you and nurtured you, as you needed it.

b. It is only reasonable that when they are feeble and can not take care of themselves, that their children should be their providers.

c. James said it this way, “Pure religion and undefiled is this to visit the widows and orphans in their afflictions, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world” James 1:27

d. God has always had a soft spot in His heart for those who are unable to take care of themselves. That is why such a great emphasis is put on taking care of widows and orphans. They are helpless.

e. We should not allow our mothers and fathers to be helpless. It is our duty to provide for them as the best that we can.

B. Wisdom of Solomon for children (Excerpt from Leroy Brownlow Christian Do’s & Don’t’s)

1. “A wise son hears his father’s words but a scoffer does not hear a rebuke” Prov 13:1

2. “A fool does not regard his father’s correction, but he that regards reproof gets prudence” Prov 15:5

3. “A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish man despises his mother” Prov 15:20

4. “A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her that bore him” Prov 17:25

5. He that is violent towards his father and chases his mother away is a son that causes shame and brings reproach” Prov 19:26

6. Hearken unto your father that beget you and do not despise your mother when she is old” Prov 23:22.

C. How can we honor our father and our mothers?

1. We can tell them we love them. What is louder than words? Our actions. The saying I can not hear what you are saying over what you are doing rings true. James said it this way, “faith without works is dead” James 2:17

a. We can not say mom I love you and allow her to starve or be without can we?

b. One of the last thing Jesus did before he gave up his life as a ransom for all was to make provision for his mom in his absence. He was the oldest son and asked a dear friend to watch out for his mother. John 19:27

2. We also can honor them by writing to them if they are a distance away.

a. By keeping in touch a person can tell if their mom has an urgent need.

b. By staying in contact we are able to show and give affection if only through our communication and concern for their well being.

3. We can honor our moms and dads by being the type of person we should be.

a. The old saying the apple does not fall far from the tree is generally true.

b. When a person is of good moral character it reflects well on the parents of the child. Children are the fruit of their parents.

4. We can take care of their needs

a. They cared for us at least we can do is the same.

D. Blessings that happen if we honor our fathers and mothers

1. If all of us tried to please our moms and dads then the world would be a better place to live. We would all live in such a way that makes our parents proud and not ashamed.

a. The stronger the family the stronger the society and the stronger the society the stronger the nation will be. If children disrespect their parents and their parents authority then there will be no respect for what is right in that child’s life.

b. A person who has this type of attitude will develop other good attitudes. I imagine that most people who honor their moms and dads probably are good neighbor and friends. In other words they have a better sense of duty towards others.

c. Helping out someone you love is a way to make yourself feel better. The story goes, there was a man ready to give up on going to church he had about all he could stand. He goes to talk to the preacher to tell him he is going to leave and not come back. Well the wise preacher sees this coming and when he gets to his office, he asks the man “will help me run some errands? I need to carry this bag of groceries over to Jones house.” The disturbed man said, “sure” not knowing why. So they went out an ran the errand, then the preacher stopped by and helped someone else out of a jam, and by the time they had got back to the office, they had helped more than just two families. Then the preacher invited the man into his office and said, “now what was it you were wanting to talk about?” The disturbed man said, “nothing now” The man had forgotten what following Jesus was all about. It is all about love.

d. It produces long life. God gave a commandment and a promise saying that it may go well with you and have a long life.


II. Temptations Teenagers and Kids face

A. Drugs and Alcohol

1. Gal 5: 19-25

a. Notice that being drunk or drunkenness is in this list of fleshly sins.

b. Notice also that anyone who does these will not inherit the kingdom of God

2. It also applies to pot, weed, or marijuana

a. Notice carefully, that if some one does things like these also they will not inherit the kingdom of God. It was not only the drinking but also anything that is similar to being drunk.

b. It applies to anything that causes one to not be themselves. If inhibits the mind, then it is wrong. God wants us to be as he made us. You must keep a sober mind…if you get drunk and it causes you to lie…or fight…then you have gone to far. You must keep a sober mind and make sound moral decisions regardless of the drug or medicine.

3. Anything can be used for good

a. Anything can have good purposes, such as alcohol can be used to clean a wound, or disinfect your mouth. Alcohol is used in some cough syrups. If it used as medicine to help the body heal then it is okay, however if it is being abused in order to enjoy a buzz it is wrong.

b. Doctor prescribes marijuana to cancer patients because it helps them deal with chemotherapy. The medicine for chemotherapy causes extreme nausea and marijuana helps counteract these effects.

4. One of three things will happen if a person begins involving themselves with drugs.

a. You will end up in jail

b. You will end up dead

c. You will end up a junkie.

d. It all depends on time, the more times you mess with it the more likely hood the more severe will occur. The more times you do it the easier it is to do it next time.

B. Sexual Activity

1. On TV it is easily portrayed that sex is common and recommended as nature behavior among people who are not married.

a. There is a false prophet in you living room called the TV. He is telling you lies.

b. He shows programs that say it is okay to do these things it is the normal things people do. If the devil can get you to think that sin is okay then he has you beat.

2. In the same list in Gal 5, notice that fornication is one of the sins that will condemn a person

a. Fornication is defined as sex between two people who are not married, make no mistake if a person has premarital sex they will be lost.

b. Adultery is also in that list and is defined as sex between a married person and an unmarried person. This was the only grounds Jesus gave for divorce, unfaithfulness and death.

c. Regardless of what people may say about sex being natural, the fact still remains that we are to listen to our Lord above any other source of information.

3. Peer pressure to have sex

a. People tend to want to fit it with those people they consider their friends. That is called peer pressure. It is human to want to be accepted.

b. So the thing to keep in mind is who are we to be accepted by, our friends or our Lord? Which is more important? Of course that would be Jesus.

c. We need to be more concerned about what Jesus said than out friends say.

C. Becoming worldly

1. We are to be in the world but not of the world.

a. 1 John 2:15-17, “Love not the world neither the things in the world, for all that is in the world the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the father but of the world.”

b. If a teenager or child fits in with the world more than those of good moral values then they are becoming wordily. I am not saying have no contact with anyone who is not a Christian but just to safe guard your heart in such a way that you will influence them and they would not influence you.

2. We can turn our backs on God and walk away if we choose to do so.

a. In order to have love there must be free will. Love does not seek its own, therefore in order to love someone a person must be willing to sacrifice his or her desire for someone else’s.

b. That is what God wants for us even as adults. We all would do good to learn this.

c. Heb 10:26 “for if we sin willfully after we have a knowledge of the truth there remains no more sacrifice for sin” This is not oops I messed up sin it is I know it is wrong and I do not care what you think God I am going to do it anyway type of sin.

3. The cure to becoming of the world is to walk with Jesus everyday from the time you wake up to the time you go to bed.

a. You may think it odd but pretend that Jesus is right beside you one day all day long and see how many times you and Him grow closer together.

b. When you are driving down the road by yourself pretend, He is sitting in the empty car seat beside you. You will find yourself praying more often and in a more intimate way.

c. You could always ask wwjd? Or if you are pretending Jesus is beside you; you could say what would you do Lord? Or even What will we do Lord?


Conclusion:

1. So the commandment for that of children is simple. Obey your parents in all things and honor you father and mother. If the mother or father is asking things that are in conflict with Jesus then we are to obey Jesus first family second. If your mom asks you to steal you need to follow Jesus instead of your mom.

2. By honoring our parents we help make society and the world a better place. We give a good name to our parents. We can feel good about ourselves when we are taking care of those who would be helpless unless we did help. We are promised a long life if we honor them.

3. Some temptations that are being thrown at kids and teenagers these days are thing that were unheard of a few decades ago. Kids today are bombed with images, ideas, movies, etc of sex, drinking, and drug use. Some may even think that everyone is doing it when really there are only a few. I used to think that the cool kids, was where I needed to be so that I would fit in. So that I could be with the “in crowd”, but guess what I realize now, the group of cool kids was actually a small group. If there are only a few cool kids, then the majority of the kids are not doing the things the cool kids are doing. So actually the fitting in is doing what most kids are doing and hopefully that is not drinking, doing drugs, or having causal sex. No matter what group or groups you fit in with a Christian must at all cost follow Jesus and His Will.

4. Teenagers and kids are faced with a temptation to become like the world around them. They want acceptance so they will try to fit in with everyone else. To become familiar with the world is to become a stranger to God. The more you fit in with the God the less you fit in with world. It is the most important thing in the world to keep Jesus as your friend and Lord.

5. Remember… Col 3:17-25 AFV And in everything—whatever you do in word or in deed—do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him. 18 Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as it is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives, and do not be bitter against them. 20 Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they be discouraged. 22 Servants, obey your fleshly masters in all things—not with eye service as pleasing men; but with singleness of heart, fearing God. 23 And whatever you do, do heartily, as to the Lord and not to men; 24 Knowing that you shall receive from the Lord the recompense of the inheritance, for you are serving Christ the Lord. 25 But the one who does wrong shall receive for the wrong he has done, and there is no respect of persons.



Father please teach us the Truth and help us raise our children right by You the Creator of all things…we renounce anything unholy and ask Your will be done in Jesus of Nazareth’s name amen.


Try…A…Daily Pause for Prayer and Devotional a Wellsaid Christian Devotional about the teachings of Jesus… https://www.anopenbiblestudy.com/blog-by-ben-the-friend...



Save the rod of correction you spoil the child…

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