The four-hour sun break between rain showers was just enough to get our family out into the garden.  The first thing to do was to prepare the beds for planting - i.e. pull up what we didn’t want to grow.  All kinds of random seeds (weeds) get sown in the garden and begin coming up in the spring.  We have to stay on top of it or the “volunteers” take over and choke out what we really want to grow.
Even the good things will take over.  A man reaps what he sows, right?  (Galatians 6:7)
Sometimes, even good seed is too much of a good thing.  We had some Rose Campion flowers spend a season in the garden.
Great looking flowers – greenish-silver colored leaves that are fuzzy like lamb’s ears; bright fuchsia flowers in the summer; self-seeds like crazy.  An hour of pulling up starts worth of crazy.
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. (2 Cor 9:6)

The converse is that outside of the boundaries set in place by authority is a place of danger. “The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.” (Romans 13:1-2) Therefore, as parents, putting boundaries in place and applying discipline and course correction is like a rescue mission for the hearts of sons and daughters.

“Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord… “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters…” (2 Corinthians 6:17-18) For me to train up my child in the specific way he or she should go, I need to think differently and I need to teach my children to think differently.

It takes courage to separate them, but hey, we’re on a mission from God.

Because it seems everyone else has such great freedom to roam about, at first glance that’s good, right? The truth is, lack of boundaries and unrestrained direction is equivalent to having no purpose. You see, by definition, to have a purpose we must have a direction, an objective, an aim. But no aim or no direction = no purpose = no vision. No vision creates only random motion and results in statements like “I’m bored.” That’s code for “I don’t have vision” or “I don’t have a purpose.” Hearing a statement like that grieves a father’s heart.

The Lord is seeking godly offspring. He says my son or daughter must be “singled out” – be separated – heart aimed toward Him – set apart, for he or she is “God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for them to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)

THAT… not only gives my son and daughters a purpose and a destiny, that gives ME purpose and destiny and joy as a father. My purpose is to discover the gifts and calling of my son and my daughters and to finish the work He gave me to do!

I teach them discipline with words of instruction and through the “exercise” of training, and by developing the habits of obedience and self-control. Discipline channels and directs their attention, their efforts and their gifts toward a purpose. Disciplined people finish strong!

• My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in. (Proverbs 3:11-12)
• Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to his death. (Proverbs 19:18)
• No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:11)

In discipline there is love, there is hope, there is righteousness and there is peace. Wow.

Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. (Deuteronomy 8:5) Discipline creates a disciple. A disciple has purpose. A disciple is in fellowship with the one giving instruction. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” (2 Corinthians 6:16) “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord… “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters...” (2 Corinthians 6:17-18)

He says so in Deuteronomy 6:5-8 “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  Impress them on your children.  Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

He says so in Ephesians 6:4 “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”

These commands mean when I am shepherding my child’s heart, I am assured I am actually following orders.  When applying correction and discipline, I have to remember He’s the one who gave the order:  “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  ‘Honor your father and mother’ – which is the first commandment with a promise – ‘that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.’”  (Ephesians 6:1-3)

I can talk this concept through with my children, even when the dialog goes like this:

“Why?”

“Because I said so.”

“Why?”

“Because He said so… so it will go well with you and you will enjoy long life on the earth.”

It may seem strange to constrain an 18-month old to obey our commands, but she needs our direction and protection.  A three-year-old needs to learn how to trust the wisdom of his parents and not trust his own ideas.  When a nine-year-old has learned how to submit to the patient and loving instruction of her parents, she will have learned to live under God-ordained authority.

I’m the “subcontractor” and the Lord is the general contractor.  Together we’re building a foundation for a godly life.  Take a look at the finished product of our efforts in Titus 2.  These are the things we are teaching our children.

Blessings.

That Malachi 4:6 stuff was good – turning the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers – but it was still a mystery.  How could I turn my heart toward my child and how would I capture her heart and keep it turned toward me?  Do you ever get the feeling (I did) that you’re “winging it”?  What are we up against?  Like the commercial; “life comes at you fast” and sometimes we barely have time to make things up as we go along. The good news is we can be prepared – no matter what season we are in.

God’s Word says in Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”   Training our children is our calling as parents.

In 2 Timothy 3, Paul writes, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”  Therefore, Scripture gives us the answers we need as we shepherd our children.

“Shepherding a Child’s Heart” is one of several real useful books we use as parents.  It’s good, solid information, but you can read it and still walk away without the complete picture.  Looking to Scripture, along with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and with each other’s encouragement, we don’t have to wing it.  We do actually learn more each time we re-read “Shepherding” and ask the Lord for wisdom to train our kids and maintain their heart.  We’ll incorporate additional materials beyond just this one book and we go forward and practice shepherding over the next couple of months – applying the principles of the Word at a “heart” level, not just a “behavior” level.

Ecclesiastes says “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!”  Being in life groups together is a good time of encouragement and prayer for each other as parents.  We enjoyed the time before getting to know each family in our previous groups and we’re anticipating good times as we build closer relationships with the families joining with us in this new group – beginning Wednesday evenings in March at the church.  See you there!

Blessings,
Pastor Brian

Have a wonderful day, enjoy the sunshine and the video.  Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow morning!

God bless,

Pastor Ed

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