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Amen. Amen. All right, good to see you all again. Thank you, Pastor Shelley, for sending me here this week. It's good to be here, and today we're in Psalm, chapter 127, and the title of my sermon is Children Are a Blessing. Children are a blessing. We see here in verse number three, lo, children are in heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is his reward. So the Bible calls children a reward. And I'm preaching this because a few weeks ago my wife let me know that I'm having my third on the way, and I'm very, very excited for that. You know, people, I'm sure, in the world would think that I'm crazy because I'm 23, my wife is 20, I have a one-year-old, a seven-month-old, and a third on the way. And you know, if I wanted to, I could just focus on the negative, and I could just focus on all the challenges that that's going to bring, having three under three, right? But here's the thing. The Bible says that it's a blessing. The Bible says that children are a blessing, and I'm very happy about the fact that I'm having my third on the way. I don't think it's a negative thing at all. But you know, a lot of times Christians, just because of fear of finances or fear of just being super busy, they'll want to not have children. And especially in tumultuous times, you know, our country may be facing tumultuous times soon with just how much wickedness is in our country, I wouldn't be surprised. And that could cause people to be discouraged from having children. But I want us to be encouraged to remember what the Bible says about having children today, and to remember that it actually is a blessing. So I want to give you a few reasons why having children is a blessing. Number one, go to Philippians chapter number two. Philippians chapter two. Number one is that having children teaches us to serve others. That is the first blessing about having children, is that having children teaches you to serve other people. Look at Philippians chapter two, verse number two. Fulfill ye my joy that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem other better than themselves. So God wants us to esteem other people better than ourselves, to lower ourselves, to humble ourselves, and to care about other people. But the only problem with that is that that does not come natural for us. As this fallen man, as sinful man, you know, we're worried of looking out for number one. We're selfish people by nature, and so God wants us to have this attitude, this lowly and humble mind, to want to serve others, but it does not come natural. Look at verse number five. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. So, you know, Jesus Christ was a servant, and God also wants us to be servants. And so, you know, what God did is he made it to where we have to take care of a little baby until they get married, and you're basically serving them non-stop. Especially when they're young, kids do not serve you. Let's think about all the things that parents do to serve their children. They change their diapers. The mom's just feeding all the time, just there looks like permanently attached, right? Just constantly serving the baby. You know, they can't even walk anywhere by themselves. They get in and out of the car by mom and dad. In and out of the car seat by mom and dad. Every scoop of food that goes in their mouth is done by mom and dad. And you know what? That may seem like a burden, but it's actually a blessing because it forces us to serve others, and it forces us to humble ourselves, and to esteem that child better than ourselves, and just to serve that child. And so, God has this natural system to where you have no other option but to serve that child. So it teaches us to serve other people. Go to Titus chapter number one. Titus chapter number one, look at verse number five. For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordained elders in every city as I had appointed thee. If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children, not accused of riot or unruly. So this is the qualifications of a pastor, and one of the qualifications of a pastor is the fact that he has faithful children. Now think about this. Pastor Shelley was preaching about this, I believe, last week or the week before. How the pastor is a ruler, but the pastor is also a servant. So if you want to know, hey, who's qualified to be a pastor, we need to know, can this person be a servant? Can this person serve other people? Well, you can tell by the way that they rule their house, if they have a wife and if they have faithful children, that shows that that man knows how to serve other people. Because obviously he wouldn't have kids that are alive if he wasn't serving his kids. But not only that, it says that he has to have faithful children. And why is that? Look at verse number seven. So he says he needs to have faithful children for, so because, a bishop must be blameless as the steward of God, not self-willed. You know what having kids teaches you how to do? To not be self-willed. To not only care about what you want and just always putting yourself first, but actually to think about other people and to consider other people. This is a must quality in a pastor, but really this is a quality that God wants all of God's people to have. All of God's people should be people that are not self-willed and people that are serving other people. But hey, having children will force you to be that way if you're doing it right. If you're doing parenting right, you will actually be serving your children. Go to First Timothy chapter three, back a few pages. First Timothy chapter three. First Timothy three verse twelve. Let the deacons be the husband of one wife, ruling their children and their own house as well. So a few weeks ago, Pat Shelley was also talking about how, you know, the pastor, he's a servant and a ruler. And the deacon is just a servant. That is his full-time job. He is a servant. So don't you think that the deacon should have faithful house as well? Don't you think that the deacon should also have served his family and served his wife and served his children if he's going to make his entire full-time job serving the ministry of the church? It wouldn't make sense if he didn't care about his children, he didn't care about his wife that he's going to all of a sudden now serve other people. The deacon also has to be someone that serves his children. And that's something that we learned by being parents. Go to Matthew chapter number 20. Look at verse number 25. So even Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, he did not come to this earth to just be served, to be ministered unto. He actually came to serve other people. Even though he was God, he had every right to just take the worship, take the service, but he humbled himself and served other people. You know, how much more should we just humble ourselves and serve our children? If God was able to humble himself and serve others and himself not be served, we should at least be able to serve our children who we just naturally love anyways. That is something that you're going to learn by being a parent on how to serve others. Go to Acts chapter number 20 and you know, some people may hear this and think, well, why is that a blessing? You know, children are a blessing. Why is it a blessing that I get to now just serve others and that I get to just with every waking second serve my children and every single cry in the middle of the night? That doesn't sound like a blessing to me. Well, look at Acts chapter number 20 in verse 35. And I can't think of anyone more weak than a little baby. And so when you're taking care of your kids, you are supporting the weak. But notice Jesus said it's more blessed to give than to receive. And just on a side note, what's interesting about this verse is this saying of the Lord Jesus Christ is not found anywhere in any of the four gospels. Yet Paul is saying that Jesus said this. Why is that? I'll read for you John 21 25. The Bible says, and there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. So it's pretty cool to know that there was a bunch of things that Jesus did and said that we don't even know about. Obviously we have the full word of God. Everything that God wanted us to know is in this King James Bible. But it's cool to know that up in heaven, Jesus is going to be teaching us some new things and that we're going to be learning more and more and more from the Lord Jesus Christ. Because Paul, I mean, maybe Jesus said it straight to Paul because he said, Hey, remember the Lord Jesus said this, yet it's nowhere in the gospels. Hey, that's cool that just think about that, that the whole world could be filled with books telling what Jesus did. That's pretty amazing. It's pretty shocking thing to just to think about, but that's just as a side note. But he said, it's more blessed to give than to receive. Why is it more of a blessing to give than to receive? Because just in our flesh, you would think, Hey, it's better just to get stuff. I mean, kids that are just carnal and in the flesh, they love Christmas, not because of the Christmas story. Most of the time it's because they're getting stuff. That's why they love it. Right. But Jesus said, it's better to give. Why is that? Go to second Corinthians chapter eight. You know, the first reason why I think it's more blessed to give than to receive is because it shows appreciation for the gospel. You know, John three 16 for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. You know, when we're giving it, it shows appreciation for the gospel because God gave the most precious gift that ever could be given his son, Jesus Christ. So God gave to us. That's why it's more blessed to give than to receive. Also giving is a way to have a selfless heart. Second Corinthians chapter eight, verse nine says for, you know, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich yet for your sakes, he became poor that ye through his poverty might be rich. So Jesus Christ, he sacrificed absolutely everything. He would, he's gone. He came on this earth, clothed himself with flesh, had no place to lay his head, you know, was hungered 40 days in the wilderness and 40 nights fasting, went through all the temptations, you know, suffered on the cross. He became poor for our sakes. He was giving of himself, right? Why is that? Because Jesus was selfless. That's why. And if you're a giving person, Hey, it's more blessed to give than receive because it can make you like Christ in the sense of it'll make you become a more selfless person. It's also a blessing because God will exalt you for it. Go to Matthew chapter 23, Matthew chapter 23, Matthew chapter 23. Look at verse number 10, neither be he called masters for one is your master, even Christ, but he that is greatest among you shall be your servant and whosoever shall exalt himself shall be a base. But he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. So when we just in general are people that are giving people and people and are people that want to serve others and we just abase ourselves, God says that he will exalt us. And obviously we need to be like that in every area of life, but you know, where it starts for a lot of people is when they have kids. For a lot of people, that is the first time in their life where they're not being selfish. You know, you'll notice that sometimes not all, but sometimes people that are single are very selfish and they all, you know, they're only worried about carrying the stuff that they need. When you get married and you have kids, it's like, okay, diapers, all right, bag, all right, car seat. All right. All you know, you start to get off the checklist and you know all the things you need, but I'm just saying that's where it starts for a lot of people. They learn to be selfless people after they have children. And that is a blessing. That is one of the blessings of having children. Number two, go to Proverbs chapter number 20. The second blessing is that children will help ease your burdens as they get older. See, at the beginning, you're serving them 100%. They give absolutely nothing in return, but as they get older, hey, they should be put to work and they should be actually serving you once they get a little bit older. You know, obviously my kids, a one-year-old, a seven-month-old, and one on the way is not going to be doing much work around the house. The most that Bethany can do right now is like throw a little piece of trash away or go grab her shoes or something like that, but she's not doing a lot of work, but look what the Bible says. Proverbs chapter 20 verse 11, even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure and whether it be right. So a child should be known by his doings, whether his work is pure. A child should be put to work today. And you know, a lot of these communists and a lot of just liberal weirdos in our society think that putting children to work is child abuse. You have all these child labor laws where it's like you can't have certain jobs if you're under 18. Oh, you can only work four hours a day. Hey, you should put your children to work. You want to know why kids grow up to be little Antifa weirdos and believing in communism? You want to know why kids grow up to vote for Joe Biden and people that believe in all these handouts, all this crap that the government does? Hey, it's because they didn't learn to work when they were a kid. It's because their parents didn't actually put them to work and teach them some character. Hey, you need to put your kids to work. You need to make sure they don't grow up just to be entitled, lazy people that have no work ethic and no character. And guess what? This is a blessing because this is a blessing for you because you're receiving free labor. And it's a blessing for them because they're receiving character. And so guess what? It is a blessing to have servants, you know, your children as servants. That's what they should be. They should be servants in the home. You know, the Bible commands children to obey their parents. They're just not there on a free meal ticket to just sit on their butt and play video games for 12 hours a day as their mom works hard in the house, as their mom makes all the meals and as their dad is out there toiling and making all the money. No, you don't get to just sit around and do absolutely nothing with your life. I don't care if you're a boy or a girl, you need to be working. That's what you need to be doing with your life, working even as a child, even before you're married, even before you leave the home. Lamentations 327 says, it is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. It doesn't say, make sure you have all these labor laws and they can't work more than two hours on a school day. No, it says, hey, put that yoke on that kid. Put the yoke on that boy and let's go. Let's work, you know, teach them how to turn a screwdriver, teach them how to work on cars, teach them how to do lots of different things. It's going to benefit them and you, Ephesians chapter six, let's go to Ephesians chapter number six, Ephesians six, look at verse number one, children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right, honor thy father and thy mother, which is the first commandment with promise that it may be well with thee and thou mayest live long on the earth. So again, this is a mutually beneficial commandment right here. Children obeying their parents. Hey, that's a blessing to mom and dad when your children obey you, right? That's a blessing. Hey, it's a blessing, like I said, because you're getting free labor around the house, which you should be, but it's also a blessing because if children obey their parents and work hard for their parents, when they tell them to you'll live a longer life, you'll actually literally live a longer life when you obey your parents. That's what the Bible says. It's the first commandment with promise. When you obey your mom and dad, it says you'll live long on the earth. You know, I guarantee you people that live really, really long lives. That's a, that's a big reason for it is obeying their mom and dad. So it's not like it's just parents receiving all this blessing and the child's just suffering. No, actually it's a mutually beneficial commandment here. God knows what's best for us. God's not going to do anything to hurt us. This is what he wants for our life. So number two, like I said, children will help ease your burdens as you get older. Number three, go to first Timothy chapter five, first Timothy chapter five, first Timothy five. And let's look at verse number 13, the Bible says, and with all they learn to be idle. Speaking of young widows, wandering about from house to house and not only idle, but tattlers also in busy bodies speaking things which they ought not. So you have a group of ladies here who are idle. They're not working hard in the home. They're just wandering about from house to house, no purpose to their life, no work that they're getting done. And it says, what are they doing? Well, they're busy bodies. They're getting into other people's business instead of working, being gossips, tattlers, things like that. It says speaking things which they ought not. So they're out running their mouth instead of working. What does God say about it? Verse 14, I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. So number three, the third blessing about having children is that it keeps you out of trouble. It keeps you out of trouble because having children will keep you very, very busy, especially when you have lots of children, like the Bible commands, you have lots of children, you will be very, very busy. And then if you're very, very busy taking care of the things God wants you to take care of, then you're not going to be idle, you're not going to be wandering about from house to house, you're not going to be a busy body, you're not going to be speaking things which you ought not. Because today you see a lot of women who are stay-at-home moms, for us as Christians, our stay-at-home moms are hardworking people, they're homeschooling the kids, they're cooking all the meals. There's a lot of stay-at-home moms in the world that just think it's their free ticket to watch The Bachelor all day, or The Biggest Loser, or Dancing with the Stars, and just not work at all, and just sit on their butts all day. Hey, that is not what God wants for ladies. When you're idle, when you're not working at all, that's going to lead to an abundance of sin. An abundance of time often leads to an abundance of sin. So one of the things that people often complain about when they're like, oh man, I don't want any more kids, or I don't want any kids at all, because they don't want to lose their me time. They don't want to lose their free time by having more kids. And hey, I've got news for you. If you're parenting right, you will lose your free time. You will lose your me time, but hey, that is a blessing. That is what you want. Because you don't want to have an abundance of idle time, because that's when you become a loud-mouthed, uppity woman gossip on every Facebook page, on every single post, you're the one that's on there giving your doctrinal two cents, because you're sitting at home on Facebook all day, scrolling all day, instead of working. Hey, it amazes me, you know, because my wife has young children, it amazes me how I see ladies with young kids who are just posting all the time. Just here's my new vlog, here's my new Facebook post, here's my new Instagram post, and it's like how in the world are you raising a bunch of little kids? Because my wife only has two little ones, and she doesn't have time for that. How is it that these ladies have all this time? It's because they're idle. It's because they're doing their job poorly. That's why. And look at verse number 15, it says, for some are already turned aside after Satan. You know, the devil wants to destroy women today, and you know what he allures them with? He allures them a lot of times with idleness. That's why there's all these tons of daytime shows for the housewife to just get addicted to. You know what? You need to put that stuff away if it's something you struggle with. You need to get focused on your children. Focused on point number one, serving other people, making that your number one priority instead of serving yourself, instead of just sitting on your butt doing nothing all day. The Bible says those women are turned aside after Satan. Go to Titus, flip over to the right a few pages, Titus chapter number two, Titus chapter number two verse three, the aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things, that they may teach the young women to be CEOs, oh wait, that's not what the Bible says, that they may teach the young women to be police officers and in the military and you go girl, you start your own business girl, you get away from the home girl, no, you know what the Bible says? Young to be discreet, I'm sorry, verse four, that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. You know the Bible does not say that women should just be out making a name for themselves, starting their own business, going to college, that is a bunch of crap, that is a bunch of lies that the devil wants you to do so that you can destroy your life because you know what a woman does when she gets by herself, you know what sometimes happens to ladies that are out by themselves, they can get raped or they just become a total whore, go to college and find me the girl that's a virgin down at the university, you won't find it, go to the college and find me the girl that doesn't do drugs or try alcohol or has defiled her life in some way, you know, because guess what, the Bible already said that those ladies that are not taking care of the home, their husbands and their children are turned aside after Satan is what the Bible says and that's what you see in reality, a woman that does not get to work in the things that God has chosen for her, she's going to turn her life aside unto Satan, you're not going to be the exception to the rule, don't think as a single young lady that you could go out and just live your own life away from the authority of dad, away from the authority of your husband and that you will turn out okay, you will not turn out okay, you will be turned aside after Satan is what the Bible says and hey, God gave us this really great solution for ladies that are idle, it says love your husbands, love your children and keep the house and guess what, if you are lacking in one of those areas, then you're obviously not doing your job that God has called you to do, you know, God has called us men to provide, to lead our homes spiritually, financially and in every way but ladies, he has called to bear children, guide the house, take care of their husbands and if you are busy in these things, then you'll stay out of trouble and so if you have a lot of children, you will stay out of trouble and I've been harping on the ladies but it's the same thing with men, you know, I'm 23 years old and I'm having my third on the way, do you think that my life might look a little different than a 23 year old who has no wife and no children and no responsibilities, you know, we may just have a little bit different lifestyles I'm guessing because you know, I have four or five mouths to take care of and the 23 year old down at the university that's just smoking weed doing whatever he wants, he doesn't, okay, so having lots of kids is also going to keep me out of trouble too because I have the same flesh as all those guys do too, so I have to make sure that I stay out of trouble and I want to read for you this, man, where did it go, go to, it's in 1 Timothy 5, 1 Timothy 5, I lost in my notes here, 1 Timothy 5, look at verse number 8, but if any provide not for his own and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith and is worse than an infidel, so don't you think that the man who has a lot of children is going to take things like his job more seriously and the Bible says that he's commanded to take care of his family, to support his family, when all of a sudden you have a lot of kids, you're like wow, I need to take my career seriously because I have to feed all these kids, I need to take my life seriously and you know what, people probably think I'm crazy for being 23 and having my third on the way, but you know what, I'd rather have three precious, beautiful blessings from God with my wife in God's will than out what most guys are doing right now, which is committing fortication and having a bunch of bastard children out of wedlock and you think they're going to grow up and care for those kids, you think they're going to grow up in love for those kids, hey, they're doing the same thing, it's just outside of marriage and they're having a bunch of bastard children, you think that I would trade my position for them, never, I would never want to trade my position for them because you know what most men in their 20s are doing, they're out doing a bunch of drugs, they're out wasting their lives, they're not investing in the next generation, they're not investing in their children, people that they can love and that could take care of them in their old age, all they care about is just going and sowing your wild oats, I wouldn't trade my life for one second for theirs, but yet people will think we're crazy for having a lot of kids, you know what, they're crazy, they're the one that has to pay the punishment for their sins in the long run and sometimes maybe we can get envious at the wicked, you know, seeing the world quote unquote having fun, but it's really not fun, what's fun is having a bunch of children that grow up to be godly, what's fun is staying married to one woman, what's fun is following God's commandments because that's actually what's best for you and that's actually what's not going to bring you a bunch of pain and misery like the 23-year-old idiot that has a bunch of STDs and a bunch of bastard children because he didn't listen to the Bible or the woman who wastes her life watching soap operas, playing on Facebook instead of actually taking care of her husband and actually taking care of her children, I wouldn't trade God's system for anything. Let's go to Malachi chapter number 2, last chapter in the Old Testament, but before we get there, I'll read for you Psalms 119 7, the Bible says, it is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes, because people will say, man, having a lot of kids, that sounds like a lot of hard work and it is a lot of hard work, but here's the thing, the Bible says, it's good that I've been afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes, I guarantee you that it's better for the woman who has no spare time, all she has time for is to invest everything into the Lord and into her children and into her husband, you know, she's going to be learning the statutes of God and she's going to actually, it's actually going to be good for her, but maybe the woman who has no affliction, who's just out doing her own thing, yeah, see where her life leads her, it's going to lead her to destruction. Proverbs 3, 5, I'll read for you, it says, trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding, in all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths, be not wise in thine own eyes, fear the Lord and depart from evil, it shall be health to thy navel and marrow to thy bones, so even if the world is just telling us something opposite of what the Bible is telling us, that's when we need to trust in the Lord with all our hearts and not lean unto our own understanding, you know, the Bible says following his commandments is going to bring health to us, it's going to bring marrow to our bones, God knows what is best for us and for ladies, the best thing for you is to get married, to bear children and guide the house, that's what the Bible says. So number four, I had you turn to Malachi, the fourth blessing, and I think this is the greatest blessing about having children, Malachi chapter number two, is that having children gives us the opportunity to raise a godly heritage, to raise a godly generation, Malachi 2 14, the Bible says, yet ye say, wherefore, because the Lord hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou has dealt treacherously, yet is she thy companion and the wife of thy covenant, and did he not make one, yet had he the residue of the spirit, and wherefore one, that he might seek a godly seed, therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. One of the reasons why man and wife is one flesh is because he seeks a godly seed, God seeks us to reproduce after our own kind as Christians, right, because here's the thing, hey, the world can go reproduce physically, they can go have children, and even false prophets can reproduce physically and have children, but it's funny, you know what, only two Christians can produce a godly seed, only Christian families can raise godly children, it is not possible for Mormons to raise godly children, it is not possible for Pentecostal, Benny Hinns to raise godly children, it is not possible for Jehovah's Witnesses, it's not possible for the unsaved, you know what, we need a godly seed, just like it's not possible for an unsaved person to get another person saved, right, a false prophet is only going to make twofold more the child of hell, if a false prophet raises a child, it's not going to grow up and be a godly seed, most likely, okay, but for us, the reason why God wants us to be yoked equally with another believer is because he wants us to raise godly seed, a godly heritage that we were raising the next generation of Christians, let's go back to our text in Psalms 127, and this is why, you know, I'm happy to have more kids, because I want more godly Christians in this world, I want more soul winners in this world, more people that believe the Bible, and I think it's a great honor and privilege that God gives us to allow us to raise up the next generation of Christians, Psalm 127 verse three, low children are an heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is his reward, as arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are children of the youth, happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them, they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate. So the Bible says that, you know, our children is God's heritage, it's the next generation, it's bringing up God's heritage, and he says that they're like arrows, you know, whenever I see a mom out soul winning that has just a bunch of little kids, I'm like, dang, she's got a lot of arrows, because those kids, hey, if they grow up and learn how to be soul winners, it's just like arrow to that door, arrow to that door, arrow to that door, and then you're just wiping out neighborhoods super fast because you have all your arrows, right? That's a great blessing, that's what God wants for us, God doesn't want us to be selfish and just live our entire lives for ourselves, and oh, you know, I'll have more money if I don't have kids, and I'll have more time if I don't have kids, and I'll be able to go on more vacations if I don't have kids. Yeah, but you know what you can't do if you don't have kids? Have a bunch of arrows and raise up a godly heritage. That's something you can't do. Which one would you rather do? Wouldn't, I mean, eternity is a long time, right? Wouldn't you rather have a godly seed with you in heaven, a bunch of Christians that hopefully you got saved and taught how to be soul winners, and then they could have a bunch of rewards in heaven? Wouldn't you rather have the eternal rewards of raising up the next generation of Christians than just going on a couple more vacations and just having a little more money in the bank? It sounds pretty selfish, it sounds like a pretty easy decision, but today Christians, they don't want to trust the Lord, they just want to worry about money and just all this garbage. Let's go to Deuteronomy chapter 6. Deuteronomy chapter 6. How are we going to raise the next generation correctly? Because, you know, we see the baby boomers, they failed, they've dropped the ball, they're super liberal, they don't preach what the Bible says anymore, they've given up on soul winning, many of them. So how are we going to make sure that we're actually different, that we actually raise our children to be a godly heritage? This is important. Deuteronomy chapter 6, verse 5, and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might. And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house and when thou walkest by the way and when thou liest down and when thou risest up and thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes and thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house and on thy gates. So the Bible says that if we're going to raise up godly kids, we have to diligently teach them God's commandments, diligently. And so that's not just coming to church a couple times a week and letting the preacher just tell them a little quick sermon. Diligently teaching your children, the Bible says, is when you're walking, when you're sitting down, when you're rising up, when you're laying down, teaching them the Bible at all times. Any opportunity you have to teach your children the Bible, that is an opportunity that should be taken because church is not enough. Church is not even enough for us adults to learn the Bible. We have to be reading the Bible ourselves, line upon line, here a little, there a little. Church is not enough to learn the Bible and to learn how to be a godly Christian. You as parents, and we as parents, have to take the initiative upon ourselves to diligently teach our children to actually sit down and teach them the precepts and commandments of the Lord. Not just think, well, they go to church. They should be fine. Oh, you know, you know, I'm watching a sermon today on YouTube and they're sitting with me. You know, I'm sure they'll be fine. No, it's our job to sit down and explain to them the Bible. And I think that moms who homeschool their children, you know, this should be the most important part of your curriculum. You know, obviously I believe that as Christians, we should be intelligent and I believe we should learn the history and the science and the math and all of it. We should make sure that that is taught very seriously. But the most important thing, the most important thing you could do, mom, is teach your children the word of God. The most important thing, dad, you can do is teach your children the word of God diligently. That's how we're going to raise the next generation. Go to Luke chapter number 10. I'll read for you Proverbs 22, six, the Bible says, train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Hey, so that's a great promise that if we train up our children the right way, they won't depart from it. But training implies a lot of work. You can't just like train a dog in one day and children are a lot more complex and take a lot more work than just training an animal. These are human beings. These are real people and to train them to be godly Christians has to be a lifelong endeavor that never ends. Always be working on them. Luke chapter number 10. I'm sorry, we're going to go ahead and skip that for sake of time. Let's go to Proverbs chapter 22. So we said the first thing we need to do is teach them. The second thing we need to do is we must discipline them. Proverbs 22 verse 15. The Bible says foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. So the Bible says that children, their heart is just bound with foolishness. And sometimes I joke, obviously my daughter's one year old, so I'm just 100% joking when I say this, but I'm like Bethany, stop doing dumb things. Obviously she's not going to, you know, but I'm just like, you just have so much foolishness in your heart, you know, even at that young age of one, it's like, why are you jumping on top of that? You will break your leg, which she's done already once. Okay. I'm like, don't do that again. Foolishness is bound in your heart, right? But Hey, the Bible says we have to give them the rod. The rod drives the foolishness out. And moreover, a more important verse, look at Proverbs 13 and 24. He that spareth his rod, hateth his son, but he that loveth him chasteneth him at times. So it's not a loving thing to just let your children be little monsters to let Johnny just destroy the grocery store. Every time you go, it's not a loving thing. The Bible actually says, if you withhold your rod of correction from your child, that you actually hate your child. It's not my opinion. That's what God said. And that's a, that's a terrifying thought. I couldn't imagine it being said of me. Oh yeah. Dylan hates his kids. Do you imagine that's a, that's a horrible thing, but you know what people that don't spank their children at the end of the day, what they're doing to their children is extremely hateful by not spanking them. It's extremely hateful to, to have these kids grow up with the idea that there's no consequences for their actions, that they never need to be held to any accountability. And then it's funny how we knock on their door and try to bring them the gospel. And they're like, Oh, I don't believe in hell. I don't believe in a God that would punish anyone. It's like, yeah, maybe because your parents didn't spank you. Maybe that's why you don't believe in any, any type of punishment. Maybe that's why you don't believe in hell. And maybe now that's why you're going to go to hell because your parents didn't spank you. In fact, there's another verse. I don't have it in my note, but it says, Hey, when you spank your child, you will deliver his soul from hell. I wonder why it seems like these things are connected here. No, it's a loving thing to do to spank your children. And I don't care what the liberals say. I don't care if the SBLC wants to say, you know, we're a hate group because we spank our kids. No, we're a love group because we want to spank our kids. You're the hateful one. If you don't want to spank your kids. That's what the Bible says. Let's go to Ephesians chapter six, the last thing. And obviously this is just very boiled down. We could spend a lot of time on how to raise godly children and, and that wouldn't be a sermon for me to preach, to be honest, but just the basics of this concept, Ephesians chapter six, verse number four. The last thing is that we have to do is we must love them. Ephesians six, four, the Bible says, and you fathers provoke, not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. It's not enough. It's not enough just to correct them. It's not enough just to give them the rod. You also have to raise them up in nurture and children have to know that their father actually loves them and that dad's not just a drill Sergeant. That's going to come home, scream at the kids, spank them and then go hide in his room, right? That's not a loving father. And unfortunately that's, that's what a lot of kids are growing up with today. Even worse, a lot of kids are growing up with no father at all. And that's, that's a horrible thing, but us as Christians, we need to make sure as fathers that we're not provoking our kids to wrath, but we're actually raising them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. And I'll read for you Titus two, four again, that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children. Mom need to actually love their children today and not just be so absorbed in themselves and their own life, but sacrificing everything in their life for their children. That's what a good mother does. Hey, when I grew up, that's what my mom did for me. I didn't even grow up in a Christian home, but my mom sacrificed every single moment, every single dollar that she could for me and what she thought was best for me. I mean, she drove me to the baseball practices every day. I had the spring baseball team and the summer team and the fall ball and the winter baseball. And like, that was my thing growing up and Hey, my mom sacrificed everything to allow me to do that. And I have a lot of love and respect for, even though I didn't grow up going to church, my mom did love me. And I know that about her and I'll always love her for that. And so we want to make sure that when we're raising our kids, that we're actually loving our children, that we actually give them our heart. And lastly, number five, the last blessing about having children is that raising godly children will bring you joy. Raising godly children will actually bring real joy and real fulfillment to your life. Third John chapter one, third John chapter number one, third John chapter one, verse one, the Bible says the elder unto the well beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth, beloved, I wish above all things that thou may as prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prosper. For I rejoiced greatly when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. So I'm taking this a little out of context because he's actually speaking to his spiritual child, to someone that he begat in the faith, someone that he won out to the Lord's soul-winning. But this principle absolutely applies. I would have no greater joy in my life than for my children to grow up and walk in truth. I would have no greater joy in my life for my daughters, and I don't know if the next one's a boy or a girl, but all my daughters and sons and whatever God gives me, to grow up and love the Lord. I would trade anything for that. That is what I want for my kids. That is what I want for my life, is just for my kids to love God, for my kids to grow up and be in a good church, for my kids to grow up and read the Bible, to care about the Bible, to care about the words of God, and to care about the lost souls of this world, and to go out and preach them the gospel. That is what I want with my life, is raising up that generation. And hey, that is going to give me no greater joy if I can accomplish that one thing in my life. That will give me no greater joy. I'll read for you Proverbs 10.1. The Bible says, the Proverbs of Solomon, a wise son makeeth a glad father, but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother. The Bible says, if we have a wise son, that's going to bring gladness to us as parents, right? Specifically talking about a father, but obviously both. As a mother or a father, if you raise children that grow up to be wise people, that will make you happy. But if you raise a fool, that's going to bring heaviness. That's going to bring grief. Hey, if my kids grow up and join Antifa, I'm going to be really, you know, grieved. I'm going to be really heavy if my kids are that stupid that they want to just go be communists or something like that. I want my kids to love the Lord. That's what I want for my children. Proverbs 23 verse 24, the father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice, and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him. Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bear thee shall rejoice. So, you know, this blessing is that, think about children, there's a lot of joy that children can give you. You know, when they're babies, just their laugh brings you joy. Just playing with them brings you joy. All the funny and silly things that kids do brings you joy. But that only lasts for so long. That only lasts for so long. Hey, everyone has that type of joy when they have kids. You know what? When they get older, when it's all said and done, not everybody has joy. Some people have heaviness, some people have sorrow. You know how you're going to be that glad father, that glad mother, is that when you actually raise a wise child. When it's all said and done, and hey, they're passing them off to be married, and they love God, they're staying in church, they're reading the Bible. That's when you actually know that you can have real joy and fulfillment. And hey, if you skip out on having kids, you're going to miss that great blessing of having joy and real fulfillment of seeing your children grow up and love God. You know, people who live their whole lives without children, it's sad. The ending of their life is sad. They don't really have anyone around them, and they just die alone. It's like, why would you want your life to be that way? But you know, you reap what you sow. You live a whole life that is just dedicated to yourself and all of your selfish needs. You just want all the money and vacation and all that stuff. You don't invest anything into other people. Don't be surprised if you literally die alone. That's not what I want. I want to have joy of my kids, and I want my kids to grow up and serve the Lord and to love me as well. But obviously, if I could only pick one, I'd rather them just love the Lord. That would give me joy. Ecclesiastes 7, verse 8, Ecclesiastes 7, verse 8, we're almost done tonight. Ecclesiastes 7, verse 8, the Bible says, better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. You know, when your baby's born, hey, everyone's happy. But better is the end of the thing. Better is the end when your kids actually grow up and love God. That's a great blessing right there. And raising children is very hard. I haven't done it much. I just have little babies. But I've seen other people's lives, and I can tell that it's hard, and it is a sacrifice. But here's one thing I know. That is a sacrifice that is worth doing. That is a sacrifice that is worth putting in time and love and care and discipline and diligently teaching your children the Bible. That's something that's worth doing, because it's going to actually make a difference in the kingdom of God, and it's going to give you long-lasting joy and fulfillment in your life. So, lastly, we'll just make some application to these truths. Hey, if you can have children, have as many as God can give you. God said, be fruitful and multiply. That's the commandment of God. And if you're married, have as many children as God will give you. And even just because we're living in possibly tumultuous times in the future, that doesn't change God's commandment. God has promised to take care of us financially. I know that's one thing that people often worry about. God is going to honor you when you honor His commandments. And if you multiply and have lots of kids, He's going to bless you for that. And you're going to get all of these blessings that we've been talking about tonight. Lastly here, obviously, not everybody in here has the ability to have children, just because a lot of people aren't married, or maybe you're past childbearing age. And for them, I would just say, focus on your kids that are grown. If you have kids that are grown, focus on your grandchildren. Paul's talking to Timothy, and he talks about the great faith that his mother, Lois, and his grandmother, Eunice, had. You can be a great influence as a grandparent as well. And if you don't have any of those things, you can still have spiritual children. You can still go out and preach the gospel and beget people in the faith. And you can still multiply that way. And that's something we all should be doing anyways. But at the end of the day, having children is a blessing, whether it's physical or spiritual, no matter what way you slice it. I don't care how many kids you have, how close together, and how stressful it is. At the end of the day, it is a blessing. It is something that I would not want to trade for anything. And lastly, if you do have children, steward them well. Appreciate them. Realize that they are a gift from God. That God gave you that gift for what purpose? To raise a godly seed. And so we need to take our jobs as parents very seriously, and not drop the ball, and make sure that we are raising that next generation of Christians. And just realize that, hey, children are a blessing. Let's have a word of prayer, Lord. Thank you so much for this day, and I thank you for my next child that's on the way. I pray that you bless that child, and I pray for all of my children and all the children in church, Lord, that they would just grow up and serve you above all else. It doesn't matter what they choose for their careers, or it doesn't even matter as much who they marry, although those are important things, Lord, what matters most is that they would just get saved and serve you. And I pray that that would be done in this church, in Jesus' name we pray, amen.