Family Life in The Last Days | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Well, good afternoon. Do you have your Bibles with you this afternoon? Meet me in the book of second Timothy, please, in chapter three. Second Timothy chapter three. And if you're there, just bow your head with me as we pray.

Lord, again, we thank you for bringing us into this new year. Lord, we begin this new year together on the Lord's day because we dedicate this year to you. You are our life. There is no other purpose. There is no other ambition that can compare to our desire to glorify you on the earth.

Lord, we ask that in this moment as we hunger for righteousness, that you would fill us and that you would speak through the written word, for it is your voice. Lord, with all sincerity and desperation, we pray that this message would be free from confusion, that it would build up, that it would adorn us with godliness, that it would help us worship the Christ. We ask, oh, lord, that this message would not be delivered in mere words, but, lord, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Lord, we know that we cannot purchase that power. We cannot, fabricate it.

We can't replicate it. It has to come from heaven. And we know, lord, that you purchased the gift of the Holy Spirit for us through the blood. And so we just ask, oh god, because we do not depend on the flesh today. We are eager to receive your touch.

We are desperate to receive your conviction and your comfort. Lord, you are well aware who in this place is not born of the spirit. You know who needs to be born again. Would you would you show them that they need it, that they need your salvation? Lord, you are fully aware who in this place is hiding pain with a smile.

You know who in this place may be singing with words, but their hearts are dry. Lord, do a reviving work in this place. We ask you in Jesus' name that you would be exalted. We ask you, oh god, that you would be the theme of our conversation as a result of this morning. Lord, have your way reign in our hearts, and be be blessed by what you hear.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Second Timothy three beginning in verse one. But understand this, that in the last days, there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness but denying its power.

Avoid such people. You and I over the past few meetings paused in this series in the book of second Timothy to rightfully commemorate the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. We took some time to worship God in light of the events surrounding his first advent when Christ entered into this world, and it deserves for us to pause and to reflect on. And so we we stopped and we turned our attention to that truth, but now we we give our focus back not to the events that led to the first coming, but to the events that will lead to his second coming, to his return, to the return of the reigning Christ Jesus. And I'm sure maybe you have thought that we've spent quite some time on these things.

And, you're probably wondering, you said that we were gonna touch on these things, and we're still here. You you've repeated the same text a few times. So why is it that we are taking so much time to dissect this list of carnal characteristics that will pervade in society as it is now? Many reasons. May I provide one among many.

Here's one, that as you and I understand, the contrast between us and the world may encourage us, not not discourage us, but encourage us to shine all the brighter in light of the gloominess that will cloud this generation and future generations. In other words, as you and I hear these things, it should motivate us to be the exact opposite by the power of the holy spirit. May I remind you today of your identity in Christ. You are the salt of the earth. You and I are a light, a city on a hill.

And you and I are seeing these things not so that we can get some kind of prophetic insight. It's pretty straightforward. But that as you and I continue to live in this world, we would look at things like this and say, lord, if this is true, if the world will become more passionate about sin, if they're gonna go from bad to worse, then make me holier and more effective. Give me the grace to be able to stand out and to win people to your kingdom. And you and I from time to time are also gonna hear how Christ Jesus, when he comes to this world that's gonna be riddled with such things, is gonna clean up house.

And he's gonna rule and reign and righteousness will cover this earth as well as his glory as the sea does. And so we come here and we read these things again hoping that you'll be energized, hoping that you will you will sense an excitement that God perhaps may use me in a world covered with this filth. Does anything stand out to you from this list? I'm sure if we had a conversation about it, you would say, isn't it amazing that Paul said this? Isn't it amazing that people will increase in that?

And we have now arrived to a certain portion that I believe is worthy to stop on and to consider. I don't want you to be afraid. We're not gonna stop on every single point, but there are some things to just meditate on, and we're gonna meditate on where we left off. Paul says concerning the last days that one of the things that will go from bad to worst is that children will be more disobedient to their parents. I find that fascinating.

Do you know why I find it fascinating? Because when you look at all these other evils, there there is no trouble to see how they have broader application. There are many ways somebody can be a lover of self. There are many ways somebody can be proud. There are many ways somebody can be a lover of money, but this sin is specific.

It's very narrow. It's highlighted. Children will be disobedient to their parents. And I believe one reason why it is mentioned is because God is trying to hint to us that this is a great crime in his sight. God is trying to show us his heart that this is a significant disturbance to him, And that might challenge you.

That might disturb you because I'm sure you can think of much more atrocious evils that do more damage than a certain behavioral pattern that is common among children anyway. Is this really a big deal to God? Is this really worthy of mentioning? Is this a flag for us to consider when we meditate on the final days before the return of Christ? It is.

If you understand the mind of God, if you understand the value that he places on the home, if you understand his design for the family, if you understand his purpose in children and us bearing children. You see, when Paul mentions that there will be a greater disobedience to parents, he's talking much more than just about an unfortunate attitude that makes the job of parents a little bit more difficult. No. He's speaking about the decay in the most foundational institution that God has ordained in order for a civilization to thrive. We're not speaking about just a bad temper or terrible twos.

No. We're talking about here that there will be a troubling resistance to the ordained authority that God has placed in the home on a level that it will corrupt the culture. How? Very simple. Because if you have people, more specifically children, who will not who will not abide by the the authority of a father and a mother, then what makes you think that they're going to accept any other system of authority in the spheres of society?

That's the problem. The problem is this, that if there is disobedience at the foundational level, what will it look like on the secondary ones? If there is corruption and chaos and havoc within the home, what is gonna happen in the schools? What's gonna happen at work? What's gonna happen on the streets?

We must see that Paul is speaking about here the degeneration of the family when he says that there will be disobedience to parents. And this is particularly angering to God. Why? Because in Malachi two fifteen, we learned that one of the purposes in which God brings a man and a woman together is that they would produce what? Offspring?

No. Godly offspring. That from generation to generation, God would have those who reflect the image of his Son as a witness to the world. And when you come to this text, we realize that this assaults, this attacks the very DNA of the purpose of God in having children and raising our offspring. But I wanna tell you that as Paul prophesies this, he's not saying that this is just gonna happen out of nowhere.

He's not just saying that this is just gonna spring up and all you're gonna have is now is a band of disobedient kids running around. No. No. No. No.

No. There are things that will lead to this. This is the fruit of something else. This is the result. This is the consequence, I believe, of many things.

And for the sake of time today, we're not gonna consider all the things, but may I present you at least a couple of options of why it is that in the days to come, we're gonna see greater rebels. We're gonna see greater, greater rebels. And some of them won't be able to drive yet. One of the things that I believe will contribute to this this dysfunction, Number one is that there will be a growing neglect of parental discipleship. There will be a growing neglect of parental discipleship.

Although I don't have kids I don't. I have to do something else before I get there. I don't have children. I hope that my lack of experience will not bring hindrance to your hearing. I praise God today that my my job as a as a servant in the capacity of a minister is not to tell you about my experience.

Though it may help, and I'm sure there's a level of authority that comes from experience. I'm not against that. But my job today is just to tell you what God said. My task today is just to tell you what God says about the matter, and I trust that it is clear enough and it is straightforward enough to provide instruction, though the vessel may not be in the season of the subject. With that being said, would you turn in the Old Testament with me to the book of first Kings and chapter one beginning in verse five?

First Kings chapter one beginning in verse five. There will be a growing neglect of parental discipleship, and here is an example for us to consider. In first Kings one five, we read, now Adonijah, the son of Hagath, exalted himself saying, I will be king. And he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen and 50 men to run before him. Adonijah.

Keep that name in mind. We read of this man early in the book of first Kings right after the first few verses in which we learn about the failing body and the old age of King David himself. Yes. That man after God's heart. And we are told now early in this book about one of his sons named Adonijah, and he is one of many sons.

In fact, he's not just one among many sons, he is one among many sons among many wives. More specifically, he is the fourth son to his fourth wife. I don't know what got into David's head, but you read in a portion of scripture that with every wife, he had a child. And what's interesting is that this man after God's heart really failed in his understanding of God's will for marriage. God's will and design for the home.

And what we read here in this verse is that one of his sons Adonijah is ready to secure the throne knowing full well that that throne belongs to his brother Solomon the successor. And we read here that he exalted himself. That he was puffed up with pride unashamedly. And he begins to create a problem within not just the home, but in the kingdom of Israel itself. Now I believe there's a lesson here just based on that, understanding David's background and the behavior of many of his children.

You see, here's the principle. When you and I fail to trust in God's design and his blueprint for relationships, especially marriage, which includes the roles of marriage, and we fail to understand the design and the blueprint for the home, including children, what you and I will do is inherit pain, confusion, frustration. When we place our own ideas of how we should express and experience relationships and we don't trust God's wisdom about the standard of who a wife should be or a a husband, then you inherit to a certain degree what David will inherit, and that is much, much pain that could have been avoided if you had just believed God to begin with, if you just trusted God throughout the process, throughout the journey. And so the fruit of what we're about to discover in part comes from David's failure to understand how a family should even start. But is that really the main reason?

Some would say yes. And if you ever had wondered why it is that God allows polygamy in the bible, realize that God never permitted it, and realize that with every example of polygamy in the bible, you never see a successful home. Just because God is silent about the issue doesn't mean that he is for it. Just go to his will and you'll see his mind on the matter. But that's not the main reason.

Polygamy is not the issue. It contributed to it. It fueled it. But it's what we read in the next verse that shows us what happened for Adonijah to be this way. Verse six.

His father had never at any time displeased him saying or asking, why have you done thus and so? He was also a very handsome man just like dad, and he was born next after Absalom. Do you see it? Do you see it? Why was Adonijah willfully fighting against God's will for the throne?

Why was this man so puffed up? Why was this man gathering other men to come against his own dad? It's not because of Adonijah, though he did have a will. But in great part, the Holy Spirit is showing us that he was deficient in his character because of the lack of investment from his father. The Holy Spirit is showing us this.

The Holy Spirit is it's so clear. Why mention this right after telling us about the revolt that he's about to start? There is a deficiency there. A deficiency so great that we are told that David never even questioned Adonijah's behavior. You might wonder why it is.

Was David absent from his life? Was was David so busy with the kingdom? I I mean, I can I can tell you that if you have several wives and each of them have a few children, you're not gonna be as present? Or or was David here in a trap throughout his fatherhood? The trap of in the name of love to to smother your children with all these gifts and and a reservation to correct and to disciple them, lest you think that they will rebel as a result.

So I I better not step on their toes and just and just from time to time maybe say, yeah, a little bit of a tap, but nothing significant enough to open their eyes to their sin. David may have provided in many ways for his children and for Adonijah, but he failed to give to him the very thing that would shape his character, especially in the developmental years of his life. Where was the discipleship? Proverbs twenty two fifteen tells us folly, folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him. Folly is bound up in the heart of a child.

That's very insightful, isn't it? This may disappoint you, but our children don't enter into this world with the book of Proverbs wired in their system. Our children don't come with a heart filled with discretion and knowledge, and it'll only manifest as they develop their communication skills. No. That bundle of joy, that bundle of cuteness, the rolls on their arms and their legs, the cute smile, all of that is covering up a heart ready to rebel.

Not your child, of course. Right? Because of Adam. Because that is a nature that we all inherited. And look at the wisdom of God.

Here's the wisdom of God that as this gift is given to a family, God designed foolishness to be chiseled from them through the means of loving discipline from a father and a mother who's been entrusted with them. God designed it that way. You see, there's an attack on the home for greater things than just attacking the home. There's generational consequences. And it's as though God is saying I'm going to provide you a gift that will reflect my image and has the potential to be a vessel of righteousness.

But because of Adam, they will come to you with a disposition to disobey me, to disobey you, and disobey others. And left to themselves, they will like Adonijah seek to be their own rulers. They will, like Adonijah, say, I want to be king. I want to be queen. But it is your duty to direct them.

It is your duty to guide them in a way that would lead them ultimately to my son who can who can be the only one who ultimately changes them. David didn't do this at all. The role of a parent is a great responsibility, and just watching parents just traveling with their kids alone, I can feel the weight. I can I can see that I can see the difficulty? But one of the responsibilities that is so great is to guide them to progressively be delivered from Adam's nature.

Although we cannot save them, there is a restraining power that God has given us through the principles of his word, and our ultimate hope is that they would meet Christ and be changed from the inside out. David was a man who loved God with his heart. The bible tells us that. But I'm gonna say something that might shock you. Although he loved God with his heart, he indirectly hated his son.

Not directly hated his son, indirectly hated his son. Because in the same book of Proverbs we read in chapter 13 verse 24, whoever spares his rod hates his son. Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him. What does this mean? It means this, that he who refuses to lovingly teach and warn and exhort and even at the appropriate age provides some kind of discipline by the rod.

According to God, the person who neglects this hates their child. No matter how much you say you love them, no matter how much you buy stuff for them, no matter how much you feel about them, if this is absent, according to god, it is hatred in his sight. You say, how can that be? Well, let me ask you this. If if a child was riddled with disease, was infected with a disease, and the cure, the remedy has been placed in the hands of the parent, but they refuse to give it to their child, would you not think that they hate their child?

And yet there is the sin of the soul. There's the sickness of the soul. And the medicine has been provided through the means of parents who understand the word of God and who apply the wisdom of the spirit and who operate with the fruit of the spirit in order to see a greater deliverance. A posturing for them to be people who would represent the prince of peace. I'm not here today to provide you lessons on how to best discipline your children.

That's another time, and there are people more qualified to give that advice than me, I believe. But what I am saying is this, David missed it completely. He completely missed it. And the bible is true in showing us the reality of his failure. I love the bible because it does not hide the failures of men and women.

And what David failed to show his son Adarijah, God does not fail to show his children. Because my bible and your bible says in Hebrews 12 verse six, for the Lord disciplines the one he loves. How do you know Jesus loved you? Well, for God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son. Wonderful.

Have you reached the point in your Christian life where you say, I know God loves me because he disciplines me? Many Christians limit God's love to what he provides for them, to the blessings, the new car, the great health. That's that's one expression. But can I ask you this? Do you believe God loves you through his discipline?

Because the Bible says he loves those whom he disciplines. You know what that means about God? Unlike David, he is not willing to allow you to remain a state, in a state of apathy and disobedience. He will not. He loves you too much as a father to allow you to remain in a condition that will destroy you, others, and ultimately taint his glory.

He loves you too much. And so what will he do? He will disturb you lovingly. He will send piercing conviction. He will even have to wound you in order to sanctify you.

And he will allow you oh, trust me. He will allow you to stay and remain in this season of hardship so that it can have a cleansing work on your soul. Where am I getting this from? Is this my own idea? This is not the only place where it tells us on more than one occasion, it tells us in our bibles, that he chastises those whom he loves.

And he told it to a whole church at one point. A whole church that was plagued with lukewarmness, and they were happy in that condition. They thought we're rich. We're prosperous. We have prestige.

We have pedigree that they were dead inside and God from heaven as a heavenly father says, I cannot in my love allow you to stay that way. So he sends a word of rebuke and he says, are you ready for me to spit you out of my mouth? And then he clarifies by saying, those whom I rebuke, those whom I discipline are those whom I love. Read it in Revelation three nineteen. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline.

And so he was ready to shake them. He was ready to do something spectacular that might have hurt, that might have been painful, but what does Hebrews tell us? Just listen to it and don't don't turn there. You don't have to. In Hebrews twelve ten, speaking about earthly fathers, for they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them.

But he, being God, disciplines us for our good that we may share his holiness. That we may share his holiness. It's always for our good. David failed to show that to his son, and Adonijah, because of that, was not just trouble for David and his other sons. He brought trouble to Israel.

And surely, this will contribute to the increased chaos in our culture as David's negligence will be common in those days. I think it's appropriate to stop here for a moment to speak about how what Paul says, this disobedience among children will will flourish and manifest. Here's one of the ways. Among many, we're seeing it already. Are we not?

Do we not perceive it? That the cultural continual assault on motherhood and the growing trend of a lack of examples from godly men who will lay down their lives for their wives and their children. Couple those things together, and we have a recipe for disaster. And you come to this book and you see how countercultural it is on every issue including the estimation and the value of the home. Can I show you one place in the book of Titus?

In Titus two four we read when God instructs not the pastor, not the Sunday school teachers. He's speaking to the mothers. He's speaking to the older woman of the church. And Train Train the young woman to love their husbands and children. Train them to be self controlled, pure, working at home.

And if I read this, if I posted this on social media, if I read this on my secular jaw, they would whip me out of the place. Working at home, kind and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. Older women in the church, listen to this, are commanded not suggested. Paul Paul is not giving suggestions for the local church, commanding that older woman within the church be intentional in actually speaking to those younger women who have been married, who are freshly married, and what? How to love their husband and their children.

And I read this and I thought to myself, is this really emphasized in the local church among many other things? How much is this really emphasized? Do older women really seek out younger women and to provide the wisdom from their own experience and the word of God? Do younger women in their humility and hunger seek out the wisdom of older women to know how they can be more prepared and more adorned for this wonderful role as a mother, as a wife? It goes to show that God cherishes, he sees the the incomparable value of the health of the home because I want to tell you today that a holy church is built by holy homes.

This is not individualistic here. We're not just coming here and just no. No. No. This is it it integrates in life, in in the living room, in the kitchen.

And God intends for the church to be a help to the home. And it's a circular thing where then the home comes and then blesses the church. And so he says among other things, older woman, train. Train the younger ones to love their husbands and their children. And you know what the message of the world is.

It's it's the opposite. Because what the world is saying, don't get married at all. Train to love your children? No. No.

No. No. Children are a burden. And they're such a burden that you have the right to kill them in the womb if they're inconvenient. And if you are married well, okay.

Let's figure this out since you did get married. If you are married, train to love them with loyalty? No. If you feel like your heart fell out of love, I mean, follow your heart even if it leads you away from your spouse. And this is why as we are understanding second Timothy three, we're not just dumping data on us this afternoon.

We're trying to understand this is gonna become a growing trend in the homes, in the narratives of the world. We must, as a church, strengthen our understanding, disciple, and train so that we would have healthy holy homes. Stand in contrast to this wicked world. A growing negligence of parental discipleship. Oh, we can talk about it for the next few Sundays.

Just to mention is enough, I believe. But there will be a growing, secondly, influence from corrupt surroundings. Not just a growing negligence of parental discipleship, but a growing influence from corrupt surroundings. I want us to look at another son of David. And if you turn to second Samuel 13, we'll see another insight to what Paul prophesied about children in the last days.

We looked at Adonijah, but now we're gonna look at Amnon. Amnon. Amnon's issue was not the same as Adonijah's issue. Adonijah had a craving for the throne. Amnon had a lust for a woman.

And this lust was not was not normal because he was he was wanting his half sister, Tamar. And this desire was so intense. It was eating up to such a degree that he actually became physically ill. Physically ill and wanting this woman that he knew he could not have. And in the same way, you and I heard the main cause to Adonijah's dangerous and rebellious behavior, you and I are now going to see the key factor that pushed Amnon over the edge.

What was the tipping point for this man to make this temptation become a reality? Because, unfortunately, when you read this chapter, you will see that Amnon Amnon responded to this desire and ended up raping his half sister. What was the reason? It's in verse three. But Amnon had a friend.

Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shemaiah, David's brother, and Jonadab was a very crafty man. But Amnon had a friend. You see, there was a man in Amnon's life that was not a faithful friend. You could almost say that this was Amnon's surroundings. Amnon did not have a friend that can look him in the eyes because he discovered why it was that Amnon's head was low and his shoulders shrugged.

Jonadab asked him, what's going on with you, man? Every time I see you, you look sad. You look depressed. You barely eat your food. And Amnon expresses his his longings, his fantasies with Tamar, and Jonadab failed to be a faithful friend because a true friend would have looked him in the eyes and says, what are you thinking, man?

Have you lost your mind? You're gonna give into this? Do you realize what's gonna happen to you? Do you realize what's gonna happen to her? Do you realize what's gonna happen to the glory of God?

He failed to rebuke him. He failed to warn him. He failed to admonish him. And he didn't just fail to do that. He actually did the opposite.

He encouraged him. See, you have two types of friends in life. You have friends who will help you fight your temptation, and you have friends who will help you fuel your temptation. And I've seen many Christians who can't grow because, like Amnan, they have a friend. They have a friend.

And I'm not just talking about people in the Gen z category. I'm talking about people who are baby boomers. They can't they haven't grown in Christ in twenty years all because they had a friend. And this man had a friend, and he fueled his temptation. He gave him a strategy.

He gave him a plan to know how to satisfy this lust. You know what's incredible here? I look at Jonadab, and I see a glimpse into the world of the last days. Because as we learned a few weeks ago, the spirit informs us that in the final hour, in those moments leading up to Christ's return, people, it will be a cultural norm. People will be lovers of self.

And we heard it. They will love pleasure more than they will love God. Even if that pleasure offends God, even if it strips people from their rights, people will be loved by pleasure more than God. And like Jonadab, the suggestions of the culture will only get louder and louder and louder, and what should be rightly recognized as perverted will actually be deemed as normal. That's what Jonadab did.

So you see, Ann then realized that he couldn't go for this because it was abnormal, and it was through the whispers of Jonah that, no, no, no. This is fine. You can actually satisfy this lust. Is that not what the culture is whispering to our children? If you feel it, do it.

If you think it, you are it. If you want it, you can have it. Such a truth may cause parents this afternoon to leave this place more discouraged and encouraged, more filled with anxiety than with hope. And And I'm not here to give this message to cause that. No.

I'm here to give you a message of hope because although although this will be more and more prevalent, we serve a God who is powerful. And he is so powerful and so faithful that he has supplied the church. He has supplied his spirit. He has supplied the word of God to ensure that our children would be so strong that no cultural tide can overpower them. We have to believe that.

It's a perfect cue for a song. Is it not? I, I don't know. I think we should keep it. I don't know where we should go.

Sounds more emotional, doesn't it? Live sermon jam. We don't have to edit it later. You and I have to understand something. God has given us so much to prepare our children.

I wanna give you hope today. And you might think, well yeah. Well well, Amnon was a son of a man who was known as a person after God's own heart. And he made this horrific decision. And I'm here to tell you that I completely understand.

I'm realistic in that people who've grown up with godly parents can make foolish decisions. But I'm also here to tell you that when you have a God fearing father, a God fearing mother, it makes it much more difficult for their children to dishonor Christ. There is a restraining power in every almost every institution. In fact, in every institution that God has ordained. In the home, with the government, with the church, and that is why our culture is attacking every single one of those institutions because it loosens the restraining power that God has built through these institutions.

May I remind you again, if you are not convinced what kind of a father David was? How do you think David responded when he heard about Amnon's sin against against Tamar? You don't have to guess. Go down to verse 21 of chapter 13. When king David heard of all these things, he was very angry.

Rightfully so. That's all that we heard. That's all that we see. He doesn't go to protect Tamar. He doesn't go to provide healing and provide comfort.

He he doesn't do anything of the sort. And he never he never warns or disciplines or chastises Em. Makes you wonder if he was hesitant to do that because he was reminded of his own sin with Bathsheba. Makes you wonder that he felt this conviction. How can I go and tell my son what he did was wrong when I gave into my own lust?

I wanna tell you today that although there will be a corrupting culture that will try to reach the ears of our children as it as it did for Amnon, You have no reason to be afraid. I wanna show you a negative response as we close, a negative response to a person who cared for a child and the positive response to what you and I should do when there is a threat directed to our own children. We're still in Samuel? Go to second Samuel chapter four in verse four. I want you to see here how fear, the fear of a of a person who has been given the responsibility to to take care of a child could be more harmful than beneficial.

I want you to see what can happen when panic and anxiety overtakes the heart of a good hearted person who wants to really see their child thrive and grow and be protected. Jonathan, the son of Saul, had a son who was crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. And his nurse, the nurse who's been given the responsibility to take care of him, took him up and fled. And as she fled in her haste, he fell down and became lame, and his name was Mephibosheth.

He was this tender little boy. He was the son of Jonathan, the grandson of Saul, and we learned that that Saul and Jonathan die in battle and the news reaches the kingdom and all out panic breaks out. And this nurse who is unnamed begins to fear for Mephibosheth because she realizes that they're coming after the royal line. Surely he must be next. And so in her genuine care and her genuine love, she scoops up Mephibosheth, and she flees, but we're told she flees in haste.

And we're not told the details, but at one point as she runs, runs not just for her life but for his life, she drops him. And those tender little legs, that vulnerable neck, that spine was affected. I don't know if she fell over something. I don't know if it was a balcony. I don't know if she crushed him when she fell with him.

I don't know what it was, but it was enough damage to make him paralyzed for the rest of his life. And what's good news about Mephibosheth is that we later see that David brings him in and allows him to sit at the table, the royal table, and to feast with him because he promised he promised Jonathan that I will take care of your descendants. I will not do them harm. And it's a picture of the gospel. It's a picture of the gospel that you and I, because of our first parents, are crippled.

Are crippled. But he who is the son of David brings us to his table. Although you and I have been fractured by Adam's sin, you and I are invited to feast with Christ. What we see here is quite amazing though because there's a practical implication that this woman, this woman who is almost like a mother figure to Mephibosheth, was overcome by fear to such a point that she she acted in haste and she lost mobility. She lost focus, and it and it caused more harm than it did blessing.

I think I think a lot of parents can fall into that trap. I think a lot of parents out of great anxiety begin to operate more in the flesh than in the spirit, and and they implement certain principles and disciplines that that ultimately hurt their children more than actually help them flourish and grow. And so although you and I look into the horizon of our world and we hear about threats that will probably come to our children that are, in fact, not even it's not even solid anymore, are targeted towards our children, may we not erupt with such fear to the point where we hurt more than we help. Because here is the example to follow, and it's not an example that I'm pulling out as an example. It's an example that God gives.

It's incredible that when you go to that hall of faith in Hebrews 11, we think of men like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Samuel, Moses. But tucked in all of that are Moses's parents. God highlighted the faith of a mother and a father that we just brush by in the book of Exodus. And I want you to leave with this truth as we look out and we see that it's only getting gloomier and darker to not in haste, not in flesh, respond to our children without faith in god. Would you turn there in Hebrews eleven twenty three as we close together?

I wanna tell you today that there is no reason to fear the dangers in our world to the point where we lose our faith in God's sovereign will and sovereign wisdom. Here's the faith of Moses' parents. By faith, Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict. Put yourself in their sandals for a moment. Imagine a law that passes in America that every Christian male that is born must be killed.

And there is surveillance, and there are people knocking at your doors, and there are people wanting to see if you have a baby boy in your house. That was the edict. I don't think many young couples would be encouraged to have babies. I have a feeling that many people would delay on obeying, be fruitful, and multiply. But this couple, they weren't afraid.

They weren't afraid. You think, I don't know if I agree with that because that seems unwise. If if that's the case, I'm gonna hold off on having a child. I'm gonna wait till this passes by. They were not afraid because God said something and they trusted it.

Be fruitful and multiply, we're gonna be fruitful and multiply. Now being fearless is not the same as being foolish because what do you read there? That they still hit him for three months. They still protected him. They didn't expose him to danger.

See, it's not faith to say, well, God's in control, so let's just throw our kids into the lion's den. No. There's wisdom that needs to be applied still, but there's also faith that God is in control even over kings and their edicts. Even over the media and the the songs and all those things and the the growing corruption in the land, God is sovereign even over that because he has, an intent with your family. And just like Moses, I don't know if when they saw that he was beautiful, they saw that there was a a destiny that he was to fulfill.

Many people debate what they meant by this. What is it that they saw? Was it because he was a beautiful baby? Like, well, he's beautiful so we better keep him. I doubt that is what it is.

But perhaps it is that they saw that there was a special calling on Moses and they wanted to protect him. And this faith in God was so great for their child that these slaves, these immigrants in a different land could stand up to the king because they knew that their God was on their side. And they knew that their child has been dedicated to the true and living God. So they were not afraid. And because they were not afraid, you read later on in the same in the same text that when Moses grew up actually, let's turn there.

Look what happened to Moses as a result of the faith of his parents. Verse 27. By faith, he left Egypt not being afraid. Not being afraid of the anger of the king. Where did he learn that from?

Mom and dad. His faith, his fearlessness was something that he received from two fearless parents. And he can trust in God because mom and dad trusted in God. And I wanna tell you today that like these parents over their child, though your child may not be a Moses, your child may not be a preacher. Believe that God's design, God's intent for your children is that they would be used by him.

They'd be used by him. And today, as we start this new year, we're gonna dedicate a portion of our time to pray for our families, to pray for our children. And if your child is wayward tonight, this afternoon, if your child is not what you thought he or she would be though you have prayed and invested so much, I can't stop but think of Samson. That guy caused a lot of heartache to his mom and dad, and they were godly. But you know what happened to Samson?

His whole life was a train wreck, but at the final moments, he turned to god. Without eyes, without hair, humbled and stripped of dignity, he was included in the hall of faith. I want you to leave here encouraged today. Yes. It's gonna get worse out there with with families and children, but that means you and I have a chance to disciple a generation that will shine all the brighter for the glory of God.

God is with you. He hears you. He sees you, and he loves your children more than you love them. You keep praying for them. You keep loving them.

You keep having fun with them. Don't be afraid to sit with them and to talk to them about sin. The world is teaching them about sin. If we're not gonna disciple them, if we're not gonna have those honest conversations, the world gladly will. And let's not just believe I'm ending it here.

Let's not just believe that our children will be protected. That's one benefit. That's one side of the coin. Let's believe that they will go back and pierce the darkness as they are filled with the Holy Spirit of God. Believe God for your children as Moses believed God, as his parents believed God for him.

No need to fear this new year. God is with us. Let's pray. Let's pray. Shall we pray?

I can I have somebody on the the keys, please, just to kinda drown out any thoughts or distractions? Thank you, Lori. Here's what we're gonna do. If you're with your wife, if you're with your husband, pray for your children in this moment. If you are siblings, if you feel like you want, if your parents are here, go and pray with your parents.

Let's be intentional about this. K? We're not gonna hear something like this and then just wave it off. Let's be intentional about this. If this is the if this is the prophetic word for the generations leading to Christ, let's dedicate our hearts all the more to Christ.

Let's pray for our family. So you have the right now at this moment to get up and move closer to your parents, to your spouse, wherever they may be, and let's just spend time to pray for them. Okay? Shake it off. I know it's not the routine service, but it's okay.

Let's let the spirit of God lead us. So just in this moment now, pray with your spouse. Pray for the salvation of your daughter. Pray for the salvation of your son. Pray that God would use them.

Pray that God would protect them. Them.