Children, our Heritage

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. [4] Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. [5] Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate."   Psalm 127:3-5

As God does not slumber or sleep, neither does the enemy of our souls.  Satan is actively seeking to pervert the straight ways of the LORD.  He will not stop his assault upon our children.  Men like Karl Marx know that the way to turn a nation is to indoctrinate the youth through media, subversion of morality, the denial of God and the absolute truth of scripture, and the fracturing of the God-ordained family.  God ordained marriage as a union between one man and one woman and this is under fire today even in kindergarten classrooms.  Children are a heritage from the LORD, but many are convinced that killing a child in the womb through abortion is not crime but convenience.  Satan would like nothing more than to twist and dull the arrows in our quiver so our spiritual warfare will be in vain.

The devil has a lot more time than I do.  He does not expect immediate results and does not seek them.  The longer he can operate unnoticed, the more pronounced the perversion will be in the end.  As tares grow together with the wheat after planting, the damage he does through deceit and lies will be more evident in seasons to come.  Children of God, it is high time that we allow the Holy Spirit to mobilize us to action in teaching our children according to God's truth.  Satan wants to strip us of the godly heritage our children are intended to be for Him and future generations of people on the earth.  No means or method is off-limits for Satan as he schemes and plots the destruction of God and the righteous truth He stands for.  He targets especially those who are young, impressionable, and hold the hope of the future.

Can Satan win?  Not in the end.  It doesn't mean we won't lose good men and women to his devices.  The devil is so proud he believes victory will be his and is dangerous beyond belief.  As a pastor I have seen the collatoral damage caused by enemy attacks.  When the bombs start falling it's not only those in uniform who can die.  More than soldiers are affected in warfare:  families are torn apart, civilians wounded and killed, and infrastructure is destroyed.  Satan has taken aim at our children through music, television, and the internet which are loaded with the potential to decay and rot morality with atomic force.  As parents we must be willing to stand up for godliness and righteousness and call sin what it is:  sin.

Solomon writes "... they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate."  These straight arrows raised up as godly seed of righteousness will not be ashamed of the truth.    Romans 1:16 says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek."  We should never be ashamed of what has the power to bring salvation to all people.  Notice the righteous children "speak with their enemies in the gate."  From this we learn many things:

• The children of righteousness recognize their enemies.  This is only possible through the wisdom and truth that springs through the Holy Spirit, a person whose eyes have been opened by Jesus Christ.
• The children of righteousness guard the gate.  Proverbs 4:23 says, "Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life."  It is a wise man who guards himself from the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16).
• Wise children will not abandon the wisdom of their righteous forefathers.  The gate of the city in Bible times would be the place where the elders and people of authority sat.  We are blessed with many forefathers of faith:  Enoch, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, and Jesus Himself.  There are many who have been blessed with godly parents.  I would rather a child be born without limbs than being born into a family that hates God and seeks to turn the hearts of children against Him.  Even in this, however, God receives much glory when He redeems and saves by His grace, mercy, and love!
  
• These righteous children speak with the authority of Jesus Christ.  God tells us the perfect words to say at the right moment.  Titus 2:11-15 says, "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, [12] teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, [13] looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, [14] who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. [15] Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you."
• The enemy remains the enemy, and the enemy is kept outside.  The devil would love our children to lower themselves to embracing his standards.  Deut. 6:4-7 says:  "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! [5] You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. [6] "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. [7] You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up."

  I have been blessed with two children of whom I am steward for a while.  I will answer to God for the way I have raised them, how I have taught them of God and His statutes, and how I encouraged, nurtured, disciplined, and trained them.  I pray that they are sharpened straight arrows in my quiver, sent by God to do His will, and will not miss the mark.  My children are precious to me, but they are even treasured greater by my Father in heaven for His love is infinite.  Use me to sharpen them Father, and hone them to a sharp point looking toward the day when they are shot out from me they might bring you glory.

A Great Heritage

Isaiah 54:1-17
    "Sing, O barren,
    You who have not borne!
    Break forth into singing, and cry aloud,
    You who have not labored with child!
    For more are the children of the desolate
    Than the children of the married woman," says the Lord.
    [2] "Enlarge the place of your tent,
    And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings;
    Do not spare;
    Lengthen your cords,
    And strengthen your stakes.
    [3] For you shall expand to the right and to the left,
    And your descendants will inherit the nations,
    And make the desolate cities inhabited.

    [4] "Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed;
    Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame;
    For you will forget the shame of your youth,
    And will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.
    [5] For your Maker is your husband,
    The Lord of hosts is His name;
    And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel;
    He is called the God of the whole earth.
    [6] For the Lord has called you
    Like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit,
    Like a youthful wife when you were refused,"
    Says your God.
    [7] "For a mere moment I have forsaken you,
    But with great mercies I will gather you.
    [8] With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment;
    But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,"
    Says the Lord, your Redeemer.

    [9] "For this is like the waters of Noah to Me;
    For as I have sworn
    That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth,
    So have I sworn
    That I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you.
    [10] For the mountains shall depart
    And the hills be removed,
    But My kindness shall not depart from you,
    Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,"
    Says the Lord, who has mercy on you.

    [11] "O you afflicted one,
    Tossed with tempest, and not comforted,
    Behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems,
    And lay your foundations with sapphires.
    [12] I will make your pinnacles of rubies,
    Your gates of crystal,
    And all your walls of precious stones.
    [13] All your children shall be taught by the Lord,
    And great shall be the peace of your children.
    [14] In righteousness you shall be established;
    You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
    And from terror, for it shall not come near you.
    [15] Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me.
    Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake.

    [16] "Behold, I have created the blacksmith
    Who blows the coals in the fire,
    Who brings forth an instrument for his work;
    And I have created the spoiler to destroy.
    [17] No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
    And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
    You shall condemn.
    This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
    And their righteousness is from Me,"
    Says the Lord."

Look to Yourselves

This morning I read 2 John during my quiet time with the LORD.  2 John 1:8 caught my attention:  "Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward."  Things that grab my attention usually make me think.  Hebrews 12:3 says we are to look unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.  These verses are not contradictory but complimentary.  Looking unto Jesus ought to be our primary concern and focus, since He is our Savior and Light of the World.  We ought not to be self-focused, but there is a healthy need for thorough self-examination.  We are called to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.  We need to take heed to ourselves for the purpose of seeing whether we are in the faith or not, if we are abiding in Christ, and remaining obedient to the Holy Spirit's leading.

What struck me in this verse is the possibility of working for something and losing the full reward.  It is God who works in us both to will and do of His good pleasure.  We have salvation through the free gift of Jesus Christ and His shed blood, who alone can reconcile a man dead in His sins with God and breathe the breath of life into his soul.  The scripture talks about people who enter heaven "as by fire," people who have narrowly escaped hell.  Eternal life, though a great reward, is their own reward.  I wrote in my notebook this morning:  "Our Savior comes quickly, and His reward is with Him.  It is possible to enter heaven without great reward, and only a fool would aspire to such a heavenly entry.  We are rewarded for the glory of God.  Is it not wise to glorify God now so we may glorify Him even more in heaven, His reward being a testimony not of our greatness but of His?"

Pastor Dale said this morning the Bible reveals God asks for three things of people:  glory, praise, and thanks.  God is worthy of these things and is willing to receive them from sinners once opposed to Him, people like me.  How wonderful it is that the more we receive from God the more glory we can give to God.  Those who have been forgiven much love much.  Those who have much of worldly glory often become thankless, arrogant, and proud.  May it not be true of those who have received much from God!  My mind went immediately to Micah 6:8:  "He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?"  When we do what is right God will receive the glory, praise, and thanks of his people and those who are not yet His people.  How many times did people see the wondrous works of Christ and give God the glory?  We have been created unto good works that people may see them and glorify our Father who is in heaven.

May we look to Jesus and look unto ourselves.  There is a song that goes, "Search me O God, and know my heart.  See if there be anything at all that might keep me from hearing you, keep me from knowing you, keep me from loving you, O LORD."  We could add to it, "See if there be anything at all that might keep me from glorifying you, keep me from praising you, keep me from thanking you."  Let us be receivers of God's full reward and givers of the love that Christ has ushered into our hearts.

The God who Establishes

Proverbs 16:3 says, "Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established."  When we surrender our lives to God's control He guides us in conduct and thought.  The Christian walk is not the avoidance of sin but the active doing of good.  When we are doing good we will not be sinning.  There is no neutral position.

One of the things God emphatically showed me during my trip to Australia was the need to have my family established.  To do that I personally must be established by Christ upon His Word and walk in accordance to the leading of the Holy Spirit.  Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.  It is God's work, but I must be willing to allow God to work in me before He can work through me.  For a ministry to be successful in your home country or the foreign mission field, the family structure must not only be intact, but established.

Before I left for OZ, a large potted tree at Calvary Chapel El Cajon tipped over.  The pot stayed firm to the ground but the tree fell over, lifting the muddy root ball out of the pot.  Because there was a lot of dirt in the roots it did not immediately go into shock and it was decided we would attempt to transplant the tree.  One of the brothers remarked that the tree was possibly a picture of me and my family, being transplanted from one location to another.  The tree lives to this day and has fresh green leaves, though it hasn't grown much new wood.

It occurred to me that when a tree is transplanted, it will droop a little bit and go into shock.  You would not expect a transplanted tree to instantly start producing fruit or growing new boughs.  It should be expected that leaves would fall, a few branches would die and need to be pruned, and it would need to be staked to keep winds from knocking it over.  It is a similar picture to a family moving to minister in a foreign country.  It would be unrealistic to expect immediate fruit from such a venture, and there would need to be a support system in place to enable the tree to stand firm.

I am so blessed to have a supportive home church and care team with loving people who are enthusiastic in their prayers and encouragemnent.  This support system will be crucial in America but also in Australia.  It is the LORD who will establish us.  Life is more than food, clothing, and houses:  life is found only in Jesus Christ.  Without Him providing the life, all I could provide is religion powered by the flesh.  Less than one horsepower won't move you fast or far, and a work of the flesh is abominable in God's sight - as if we could do HIS work on our own!

Remember to commit your works to the LORD and your thoughts will be established.  Should cares and worry crowd out praise and worship of our Savior?  The church in Australia is largely like that fallen tree still in the pot.  It is not standing upright and is not established wholly upon the Word of God.  The condition of the church is Christ's responsibility and every Christian has a work to do in the church to edify, exhort, and strengthen that Body with the strength every joint supplies.  Do you realize God has a great work for you to do?  This work will take many forms.  Stay faithful and be content where you are.  Right where God has you is the place He will receive the most glory.  It is not reserved for some distant place or some other season or time:  it is right now because today is the day of salvation.