Relationships

Notes from a Sermon on Sunday 26 May 2013

EPHESIANS 6 verses 1 – 9

As Paul concludes this section to the Ephesian church he addresses relationships within the home – children to parents, father and mother and children.  All before he goes into the section on the armour of God and the battle the Christian is in.  In these coming days there is going to be a great onslaught for the home.  It will be changed for ever if this bill goes through.  Already we can see the debates for and against same sex marriage.  There is a generation rising up now that knows nothing of the word of God, of the Lord and what he has done for us.  Paul is saying in verse 4 “ye fathers provoke not your children to wrath but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”  This is about reaching the next generation with the word of God. 

As Paul speaks here this has to be done with a priority.  A priority on you and me as those leaders in the work of God to reach the next generation.  We cannot save them, that is not within our powers to save anyone.  It is within our power that they grow up knowing the things of God.  Joshua in the days when the children of Israel were brought into the land of Canaan divided up among the people, when people came into believing it was the land God gave them, a land of vineyards never planted yet God gave them this land and it was theirs to work for him.  There arose another generation that knew not the Lord.  We need to be passing on the knowledge of saving grace of the Lord, seek to win others for Christ.  There is a great responsibility on us today.  We need to show our little ones that God’s own son came into this world to be made sin for you and I.  That is the responsibility we all have for the children in our homes.  It is placed on you by the word of God.  “Bring them up in the nuture (discipline) and admonition (teaching) of the Lord.”  That is the responsibility we have.  It is widened out into the fellowship to reach out to those in our own fellowships.  Timothy as a child in his mother’s and grandmother’s home trusted the Lord as Saviour.  How Paul could commend that home – “you were taught there Timothy about Jesus being the Saviour of the world who died to save him from his sins.  It was a priority.  2 women folk made priority to reach him for the gospel of Christ.  Sometimes we have our priority wrong.  What are they in life and for our children?  In Judges 3 we read of a young child that was to be born called Samson.  A young man with tremendous strength through his hair.  It wasn’t to be cut.  Then he was betrayed by a woman.  He wouldn’t give that secret up to her but eventually he did.  Before he was born an angel appeared to his mother out in the fields.  One day she was told she would have a child, would be a mighty man who would rise up to judge the nation of Israel.  The angel told her everything about this child.  She ran home and told her husband they would have a son.  Manoah rushed to the spot where she had met with the angel.  “Lord if we are to have this child tell us how we should raise him.”  Judges 13 verse 12 a priority to reach the next generation.  That is the priority of the work of God.

There is secondly a patience - we are to teach the children patiently.  It is easy to provoke a child but we are not to do that.  We have to have patience to work with the Lord to teach them the things of God.  There will be many a heartache.  We need to have that patience whether in the home or in the Sunday School.  It can be discouraging to have everything ready for the children to share yet feel falls on deaf ears.  “My word shall not return unto me void.”  When you take the word of God you have the promise that it will not return unto God void.  It will accomplish that which God hath ordained.  It takes patience.  James talks of the farmer going out into the field sowing the seed and he waits patiently.  He waits for the rain to bring on the crops, to reap a harvest.  Think of the patience of the prodigal’s father.  I see that man standing at the gates of his own home waiting for the son to come home again, to see sense and make his way home.  Day after day he is waiting for that.  How sad it was for him when his son walked out on him.  That man could have just turned around and said “go out and you make your bed where ever I don’t really care any more.”  No doubt he said to that son “there will always be a bed for you here if you ever decide to return home.”  One day he was standing and in the distance he saw a speck.  He never left that position gazing, waiting for his son to come home.  Are we teaching children patiently?  Don’t give up and give in.  It is really easy to take step back and give in.

Thirdly we have to be persistent – “bring them up”.  Consistent in our teaching and constant in our teaching.  In Timothy’s house the teaching began at an early age but it was persistent.  It was built upon.  Think of Moses, look into his home as his mother left her son never to see him again possibly.  Because condemnation was on male children that day he was laid in an ark of bulrushes.  She made it so safe and secure for him.  No doubt she prayed to the God of heaven asking him to keep him safe as she laid him in the water.  She asked the Lord to keep him safe.  Pharaoh’s daughter came down to the water, saw the ark in the water, opened up the lid of the ark and just then the child wept.  Something touched the heart of Pharaoh’s daughter.  Miriam saw the situation and asked her if she wanted a nurse for the child.  Pharaoh’s daughter said yes if you get one then I will pay her to look after the child.  Miriam called for Moses’ mother to look after him.  She would have taught Moses persistently day after day all about the things of God.  She knew it was a limited time so was persistent.  We have to be like Moses’ mother.  Later in life when Moses had been brought up in the king’s palace he made the decision not to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.  He was going to take on the sufferings of his own people the children of Israel.  He took their pain on himself.  As we teach children we have to realise where they might end up.  The instruction in Deuteronomy is clear – pass on from one generation to another – that is our responsibility.

Teach them prayerfully.  Hannah brought up Samuel to the house of God, she met Eli the priest who remembered her prayer.  She had promised God to give him back to the Lord – “Lord if you give me a child I will give him back to you.”  I wonder when we get to heaven’s glory and say I prayed for them.  Thank God they are gathered around the Lord’s feet today.

Teach them with persuasion.  Paul is told not to provoke them but to persuade.  Let’s hold on until we see a generation reached for the things of God.