Sermon Notes February 15, 2015 AM West Side Church of Christ, Searcy, Arkansas Setting an Example of Faith for Your Children Steve W. Reeves INTRODUCTION: A. Perhaps you have heard a poem written in 1972 by Dorothy Law Nolte, entitled, Children Learn What They Live. If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn. If children live with hostility, they learn to fight. If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive. If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves. If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy. If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy. If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty. If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence. If children live with tolerance, they learn patience. If children live with praise, they learn appreciation. If children live with acceptance, they learn to love. If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves. If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal. If children live with sharing, they learn generosity. If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness. If children live with fairness, they learn justice. If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect. If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those about them. If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live. B. Each of us has a precious possession. It is our example. 1. Your life is like a piece of chalk. Everywhere the chalk goes it leaves a part of itself. 2. You leave a part of yourself with every person you meet and every life you touch. 3. This is especially true in the life of a child. a. Children who see physical violence between their parents are six times more
likely to abuse their own spouses after they marry. If those children were also hit by their parents as teenagers, they are 12 times more likely to abuse their spouses. Bottom Line, in Homemade, November, 1985. b. Paul said, Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ 1 Cor. 11:1. c. To the Ephesians he wrote, Follow God s example as dearly loved children (Eph. 5:1). d. Timothy was instructed, Don t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity (1 Tim. 4:12). C. What are some of the specific examples we need to be setting for our children? It s easy to speak in generic terms such as, being good, using good speech, treating others right, etc. I want to look at a familiar occurrence from the life of Christ where the actions of the apostles reveal some common areas of life where we need to set an example. 1. The occasion I m thinking of is when Jesus came to the disciples while they were in a boat on the sea of Galilee in the middle of the night. 2. It is recorded in Matthew 14:22-33, Mark 6:45-52 and John 6. 3. This was a busy time in Jesus ministry in Galilee. He had fed 5000. Following the meal He was so popular the people wanted to take him by force and make him their king. He instructed the apostles to get in a boat and go to the other side while he dismissed the crowds. Following this He went into the hills to pray and be by Himself. It was at this point Mark says He saw the disciples straining at the oars because the wind was against them (Mk. 6:48). D. This provides the beginning point for the examples I want us to notice. I. HOW TO STRUGGLE AGAINSt ADVERSITY. A. The disciples were about half way across the Sea of Galilee but they were not making much headway. They had encountered a stiff wind and were also near the spot where the Jordan River flowed into Galilee with a strong current. The waves were high these men were exhausted. They were struggling. 1. You may remember that earlier they had been in a storm on the Sea of Galilee and Jesus had been with them. When they cried out to Him he arose and said, Peace, Be Still, and the sea became calm. 2. Jesus was not in the boat with them on this occasion. He still saw them. He knew what was going on. B. God never promised you or I that life would be easy. He never promises that we are going to have smooth sailing all the way through. Sometimes life is tough! It is a struggle! 1. James says that we should count such times as joy because the testing of our faith produces endurance and maturity (Jas. 1:3). 2. Times of struggle also provide us with a remarkable opportunity to set a positive example for our children as they see us remain faithful against adversity. 3. One of the greatest lessons we teach children are not from lives that are perfect
but from our brokenness. They need to see how to respond in tough times and difficult circumstances. 4. Robert Schuller in his book, Tough Times Never Last But Tough People Do, tells about growing up in the plains states during the dust bowl of the great depression. Times were already hard and one day while the family was in town a tornado ravaged the countryside. He told of riding along in an old truck and topping a small hill to find their farm completely destroyed. What did they do? They immediately started to rebuild. C. When Jesus saw them struggling against the wind why didn t He calm it? He had done so before. 1. He wanted them to struggle. There is strength in the struggle. 2. A little boy watched as a butterfly emerged from the cocoon. It was struggling and wiggling to get out. He reached out to help when his grandfather explained that in the struggle to get out the butterfly was developing the strength to fly. 3. We do not help our children when we try to remove all of the struggles of life and give them everything. II. HOW TO HANDLE FEAR. A. As the disciples struggled against the wind Jesus miraculously walked on the water across the lake. Matthew and Mark say that when the disciples saw Him they were terrified. John says they were frightened. They did not recognize Jesus. 1. Don t be too harsh in your judgment of these disciples. I ve done some nighttime fishing. When you re on the water in the middle of the night things can look pretty eerie. 2. Add to this the fact that the wind was blowing, the waves were crashing and they were exhausted. It is easy to see why they were afraid. B. What are you afraid of? 1. I m not afraid of anything! Yes you are the truth! The more we come to know the love of God fear subsides. Remember, David said, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for you are with me. Your road and staff comfort me. 2. Are you afraid of failure? Sickness? Catastrophe? Death? C. Children need to know that it is okay to experience fear. We can help them with their fears because of the comfort we receive from God (2 Cor.1:33-4). III. HOW TO STEP OUT IN FAITH. A. Don t you just love Peter? 1. Peter was impulsive. He was act before thinking. 2. On this occasion he speaks up, Lord, if it s you, Peter replied, tell me to come to you on the water (Mt. 14:28). 3. I admire Peter. Anybody can sit in the boat. It takes someone with faith to step out of the boat. That s precisely what Peter did. B. Do our children see us stepping out in faith?
1. Do they see us being willing to step out of our comfort zones and do incredible things for God? 2. Abraham left his life in Ur to go to a land that He was not familiar with. He took his wife and nephew with him as he stepped out in faith. 3. I think of families I have known who have left secure jobs and left their homes to come to Searcy to train for ministry. I think of families who have left their homes to go into mission work. 4. Do your children see you expressing faith in your daily life? a. Do they see you reading the Bible? They see you watch TV. They see you on the computer and on the internet. b. Do your children ever see you pray at times other than meals? As your children grow will they have any memory of you praying for them? When I was a boy my grandmother would come occasionally and spend a few weeks at my house. She was in her 80 s. She loved to sew and cook and laugh. I often saw her with her hand covering her mouth and she was talking. I thought she was old and crazy. It did not occur to me until many years later she was praying. She was praying for her children and her grandchildren. d. Daddy, Teach Me How to Pray by Kathryn Twitty One night a sleepy little boy knelt beside my bed He smiled and looked into my eyes and this is what he said "Daddy, my daddy, you've taught me lots today So daddy, my daddy teach me how to pray" You brought me home a brand new kite, showed me how to fly And there ain't no wonder kid who's dad can knock a ball so high I'd like to thank God for you but I don't know what to say So daddy my daddy teach me how to pray I'd had to turn and leave his room, he began to cry I didn't want my boy to know but so did I His best pal forsaken him but what was there to say For daddy, yes daddy had forgotten how to pray (Daddy, my daddy teach me how to pray) IV. HOW TO HANDLE FAILURE A. Peter s great triumph of faith didn t last long did it? 1. He began well but then became distracted by the wind swept waves and the mist blowing in his face. 2. He began to doubt. Faith failed. He began to sink and thrash about in the water. 3. I find it difficult to believe that Peter couldn t swim. Here was a man who made his livelihood around water. At the end of John s gospel he jumped out of a boat and swam to shore. This situation was beyond his ability. He couldn t handle it. 4. This man with such bold faith suffered a brutal failure.
B. We do not like people to know that we have failed. Especially our children. We like to maintain an image of having everything under control. We like to maintain an image of being complete and whole. We don t want to admit that we fail. 1. But we do fail. All of us do. 2. Our children are going to fail. 3. How are they going to learn to deal with failure in their life when they have not seen their parents deal with failure in their lives? 3. What do these names have in common? Lucille Ball, Thomas Edison, Walt Disney, Ulysses Grant, Michael Jordon, Abraham Lincoln, All of them were failures. Lucille Ball was kicked out of the movies because she was too skinny and not a good actress. Michael Jordon was cut from high school backetball team. Lincoln lost eight elections. Disney and Edison told they had no ability. Grant had to return home to work on his father s farm in his 30 s. C. When you have failed make sure your can see you confess that failure and move on with God s grace. V. HOW TO WORSHIP. A. Jesus immediately reached out and saved Peter. He rebuked him for little faith and then they got into the boat. Immediately the winds died down and they all worshipped Him. 1. They were overwhelmed by what had happened. They were in awe. They were amazed. They could not help themselves they had to worship. 2. They had seen this before but it was so great that it never became old. If worship has become boring to you there is one thing for sure the problem is not with God. B. Our children really need to see us worship with a spirit of reverence and awe. 1. A study once disclosed that if both Mom and Dad attend church regularly, 72% of their children remain faithful. If only Dad, 55% remain faithful. If only Mom, 15%. If neither attended regularly, only 6% remain faithful. 2. Moms and Dads Grandmoms and Granddads listen. Your worship of God is the single most important factor in determining the direction of your child s life. CONCLUSION: A. Moms and Dads you are piloting a ship through difficult waters. On that ship are your children and all of your worldly goods. There are perils on every hand. There are rocks, reefs and stormy seas. It takes all of your skill and determination to make it through. Above all it takes faith in God. B. Where are you today in your relationship with Him? If you need to come to Christ or if you need to come and strengthen your faith we welcome you as we sing.