Luke 2:40-52 (KJV)
And the child grew, and
waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.
Now his parents went to
Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover.
And when he was twelve
years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.
And when they had
fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in
Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it.
But they, supposing him
to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among
their kinsfolk and acquaintance.
And when they found him
not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.
And it came to pass,
that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the
doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.
And all that heard him
were astonished at his understanding and answers.
And when they saw him,
they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt
with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.
And he said unto them,
How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's
business?
And they understood not
the saying which he spake unto them.
And he went down with
them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all
these sayings in her heart.
And Jesus increased in
wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.
I want to preach tonight on the subject, Raising Kids with Purpose.
· I think we Christians sometimes try to protect our kids from worldly influences
· We might even pray
for our kids that they turn out to live for the Lord and do well in life
But sometimes we don’t
have a plan in place meant to bring up our children in the nurture and
the admonition of the Lord.
The Bible tells us that
as Jesus grew up, He increased in four areas.
I suggest that you
purpose to help your own children increase in these four ways
· Wisdom
· Stature and in favour with
· God and
· Man
I. WISDOM
The word wisdom does not
necessarily mean education, but it is strongly associated with it.
We might think that an
education is the imparting of facts. But that’s not true.
Every educator wants to
convert knowledge - facts, into practical application – wisdom.
Wisdom then could be
defined as, “the ability to apply
knowledge.”
Wisdom is a highly
esteemed word in the Bible.
Proverbs 4:7 (KJV)
Wisdom is the principal
thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
But I remind you that
not all wisdom is godly wisdom.
James 3:13-17 (KJV)
Who is a wise man and
endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his
works with meekness of wisdom.
But if ye have bitter
envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
This wisdom descendeth
not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
For where envying and
strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
But the wisdom that is
from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated,
full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
I was listening to some
polling numbers about the upcoming Presidential election.
The pollsters pointed
out that while Clinton has failed to reach
the young voters, those same young voters, especially the college educated young
voters have rejected Trump.
You know why the college
educated young voters have mostly rejected Trump?
Because they have been coached
in college to apply the knowledge they received at college in a particular way
that rejects conservative values.
The goal of a college is
not merely to present students with knowledge but to mold them to apply that
knowledge in a prescribed direction.
They give to them a
worldly wisdom.
Jesus increased in
wisdom, but it was not worldly wisdom.
Mark 6:2 (KJV)
And when the sabbath day
was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were
astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is
this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his
hands?
And He imparted this same
wisdom to the believers. Speaking of Stephen the Bible says,
Acts 6:10 (KJV)
And they were not able
to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.
As a parent you want to purpose
to give to your children godly wisdom
– knowledge that is applied spiritually and biblically, not worldly.
Secondly Jesus increased
in
II. STATURE
The word literally means
age, but most commentaries and Bible
scholars understand it to have deeper implications than just, “Jesus
got older.”
Perhaps a good
definition would be maturity.
Webster’s 1828
dictionary defines mature as, “competent
to manage one’s own [affairs].”[1]
If wisdom is the
application of knowledge
Stature is good sense in common life skills
As a parent
You want to purposefully mold your children so that they apply the
knowledge they gain according to a godly worldview.
You want provide them with life skills that enable them to
manage necessary living.
The Bible says then that
Jesus increased in favour with God and man. These are two separate qualities,
not just one.
III. FAVOUR WITH GOD
That Jesus could
increase in favor with God is a very interesting theological thought.
I do not believe that
Jesus was ever anything less than God.
But he did
· Please the Father and
· Learned obedience
I think what it means is
that He was daily in the favor of God through His righteousness.
As He fulfilled all
righteousness, God the Father was increasingly pleased.
A parent is able to help
their child grow in favor with God
· First, by teaching them the gospel and appealing to them to
accept Christ as Saviour
· Secondly by teaching them the essential practices of
Christian life:
o Baptism
o Faithful church attendance
o Christian service
o Witnessing
o Tithing
o Etc
· Thirdly, by encouraging them to constantly turn from sin and
too God
Jesus increased finally
in
IV. FAVOR WITH MAN
I had to really work on
this to see the difference between Jesus increasing in stature and increasing
in favor with man.
I think the difference
is that:
· Stature is the development of life skills in general
· Favor with man is the development of one specific life skill; manners
Having manners is the
ability to make others feel like they matter to you.
Having manners is the skill of thoughtfulness.
When you are able to
project to another human being that they are important to you – that you care
for them and:
· their feelings
· their comfort and
· their pleasure
they are going to think
more highly of you. They will enjoy being in your company. They will hold you
in their favor.
One last thing before I conclude:
Wisdom, I think, answers
to favor with God and
Stature answers to favor
with man
It reminds me of what
Jesus said were the two greatest commandments:
· To love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and
· To love thy neighbor as yourself
Conclusion
All of us want our kids
to succeed don’t we?
You can help them do
just that if you will bring them up purposely focusing on
· Wisdom, applying knowledge to godly world view
· Stature, giving them the skills to manage life’s affairs
· Favor with God, preaching to them the gospel, the first things of
Christianity and to turn from sin and to God and finally
· Favor with man, manners – the ability to make others feel cared for in
their presence.
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