Where is Dad? Fathers Should Prepare Their Children for Eternity.
Prepare Your Children for the World…. and Eternity
The family is under attack. Around the world cultural forces seek to undermine God’s plan for the family. Sadly, its working.
- Nearly 75% of youth in Christian families leave the church after high school.
It is no wonder that this is the case. College professors are five times more likely to identify as atheists than the general public.
The battle for youth is an old one. In the book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar takes the youth from Jerusalem after conquering it. He doesn’t kill them or imprison them. Instead he enrolls them into Babylon University, a three year brainwashing program. Daniel and his three friends were among those taken. Their names were changed from representing belief in God to affiliation with pagan gods. They were taught a new language, new culture, and new religion. And they were given different food. The goal was a complete re-education of everything they knew and believed. The king’s goal was to have loyal puppets, Jews on the outside, but Babylonian on the inside.
The same battle goes on today. Secular institutions bombard our youth with atheism, evolution, materialism, and relativism. It is a modern day brainwashing.
In 2018 the UN issued a publication titled “International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education”. Its aim is to “ensure all children in schools worldwide” are taught about sexual education with a focus on gender identity and diverse sexual orientations.
It’s happening all over the world.
In September 2020 the UK will make “Relationships Education” mandatory in all primary schools and “Relationships and Sex Education” will become mandatory in all secondary schools. One of the clearly stated aims of this sexual education is to promote the acceptance of LGBT lifestyles and identities, even in children as young as 4. 4 year old story time included same sex parenting books like “King and King,” “Mommy, Mamma, and Me.” Other children were required to draw LGBT slogans and logos in art class.
Your children will face this onslaught of attacks against Biblical values their whole lives. Your children are already facing it.
Fathers, you need to prepare your children to face a darker world. But more than this, you need to prepare your children to face eternity.
The average student will spend roughly 21,600 hours in school over the course of their life. And one study shows that children between 8-12 spend 6 hours a day on electronics. The point is this. Your children are continuously exposed to these things. How much time do you spend preparing them for eternity?
It is normal to prepare your children for important things in their life such as:
- Driving test
- Exams
- Piano recital
- Sporting competitions
How much more time should you spend preparing your children for eternity. These things are temporary. One day your children will stand before God. God will be sitting as judge upon His throne. And He will either say “Depart from me” or “Well done, good and faithful servant.” This is the exam that matters. These are the words that matter.
By all means, teach your children practical life skills. Yes, educate them academically. Prepare them to get a job one day. But far more importantly, prepare them to face God. And prepare them to face this world and the shifting sands of secular culture.
My wife and I prayed before we had each of our children (4). We prayed that God would not give us any children who would not one day believe in Jesus and go to heaven. The worst thing imaginable as a parent would be to see one’s child sentenced to an eternity in hell. Every other fate pales in comparison to this. Every other failure is nothing compared to this.
Why do we spend so much money and time teaching our children academics, karate, soccer, and piano and so little time teaching them about God? If they haven’t been prepared at home, then how can they possibly hope to withstand the attacks out there in the world which are coming so much harder and faster than before?
So what should you do?
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 has the answer:
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
I will briefly pull out a few points from these verses.
1. Teach your own children.
Parents, this is your job. It is not the primary job of the Sunday School teacher, the pastor, the tutor, or the public school teacher. You have to take this responsibility. Teach them the truth from God’s Word. Sit down with them and have family devotions. Read the Bible and talk about it.
2. Teach your children diligently.
I watch nature documentaries with my children. In almost every single one it mentions evolution and that the world is billions of years old. The world is diligently teaching our children its ideology. As parents how can we do less?
This requires a lot of time. But our children’s souls are at stake. The time is worth it.
3. Teach your children in your house.
It says whether you lie down or get up. The concept is really simple. Call your family together. Open the Bible. Read it together. Then talk about it. Pray together. Sing together. And do it consistently day after day after day. Some people call it family worship. Others call it family devotions. Or Bible time. The title is not important, but as parents you need to be doing this with your children regularly.
4. Teach your children in real life settings.
The last part of verse 7 says you shall talk of them “when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.” Quite simply this means that you you should talk with your kids about the things of God all the time and everywhere. Talking about the Lord, His creation, His Word, and His character should be a lifestyle.
But teaching them in everyday life in real life situations is what is really life transforming. This is where they make the connections between knowledge and practical application. This where they learn how to live out their faith.
Matthew 19:14 – Permit the children to come to me.
Jesus invited the children to go to Him. The world does not want them to. Your job is to prepare them to.
Fathers Day is coming up. For me, it is a reminder of my role as a dad to prepare my children to be ready to face God one day.
Fathers, there is no greater responsibility then watching over your children’s souls. But the tremendous blessing of seeing your children walk with the Lord is worth all of the sacrifices. This Fathers Day, commit yourself to redouble your efforts in training up your children to know God.
Proverbs 22:6 – Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
For a more in depth look at Deuteronomy 6:4-9 read the full sermon.
Thank you so much for these amazing studies. I have just purchased my first one..Nehemiah and looking forward to receiving many more.
Such good clear teaching – thank you and may God bless you and your ministry abundantly.
Sincerely in Jesus’ precious Name.
Wendy Tucker.
Thank you, Wendy, for your kind comment. We are very happy to hear that they are helpful for you!
Thank you sir for the message in the sections above A. C. E. Says we should touch the world for the Lord Jesus Christ one child at a time. I’m a mother of four children called by God. At present I’m writing my project on the topic approaches to children evangelism in the 21st century society. I and my husband were called by God to serve Him in helping children to know Him. We are missionaries by the grace of God. Thank you Favor Jesse Samuel.