Participants: Edwin & Maria Nebbletts
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000953
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03:36 Good morning ASI.
03:39 Welcome to the worship this morning. 03:42 Let us begin by closing our eyes 03:44 and lifting our thoughts to Lord asking for His help here. 03:48 Precious Heavenly Father, we want to hear from your throne 03:54 as You call to each of our hearts. 03:57 What we can do to be more like You 03:59 and to rightly represent You 04:02 as individuals and as families here on earth. 04:06 So we invite your presence here now, Lord, 04:08 as we share from our hearts and share in song. 04:14 Let those who hear and if convicted 04:18 by the Holy Sprit will turn to You to achieve the strength 04:24 to do the things that you've called us to do 04:26 in Jesus name, amen. 04:31 We were excited when we heard that the theme 04:36 for the early morning devotionals 04:38 this year would be "Knowing Him as a Family." 04:43 Because for the past 15 years, we've been on a journey 04:47 that has led us to the discovery of 04:50 God's special beautiful design and purpose for each family 04:55 which is to experience intimacy with Him as a family. 05:03 There is incredible joy and blessing for us 05:06 and all others when we catch a vision of God's design 05:10 and seek to fulfill His glorious plan. 05:13 We find ourselves connected, happy, secure, fulfilled, 05:20 and empowered, and equipped with the most powerful 05:23 evangelistic tool in our hands. 05:27 What is that evangelistic tool? 05:30 There's a passage that is found 05:32 in "Adventist Home," page 32 that clearly defines 05:36 how we can be the most effective witnesses 05:40 for the gospel of Jesus Christ. 05:41 It states, the greatest evidence 05:45 of the power of Christianity that can be presented 05:48 to the world is a well-ordered, well disciplined family. 05:54 This will recommend the truth as nothing else can 06:00 for it is a living witness of its practical power 06:03 upon the heart. 06:05 So we wanna share with you about a time in our lives 06:09 when we came unto the conviction that 06:12 while we were professed Christians 06:15 engaged in God's work, we were not connected to God 06:20 and to one another in the way 06:22 that God designed families to be. 06:24 And thus we were unable to witness of the effectiveness 06:29 of the gospel of Jesus Christ in our own lives, 06:32 in our own hearts and how by God's grace 06:35 this has changed and continues changing. 06:39 I graduated from the family practice residency 06:42 at Hinsdale Hospital in the suburbs of Chicago in 1981. 06:46 I completed a teaching fellowship. 06:49 I joined the faculty, 06:50 and I began teaching in the residency program. 06:52 I was practicing obstetrics as a family physician. 06:56 I was administering the residency practice. 06:59 We were newly weds. Maria is a nurse. 07:01 She was working on the 3:00 to 11:00 shift. 07:04 So you can imagine how our lives crossed on different paths. 07:08 On the weekends, I was busy with 07:11 my responsibilities as a church elder 07:13 and engaged in starting a new church. 07:16 I loved my wife but I was not tuned in to her needs. 07:22 Well, as time went on we started a family. 07:26 I became more involved in service to others. 07:30 Maria learned to live with my busyness. 07:33 I was now involved in media ministry 07:37 with the focus of reaching the secular world 07:39 and then I added a children's series. 07:43 I was conducting health lectures at churches. 07:46 I had a part time medical practice 07:48 while now being the director of the residency program. 07:52 When I was at home I was often on the phone. 07:55 I was so busy doing God's work 07:59 that I had little or no time for God. 08:04 We live in an age, in a society where it seems 08:08 that nearly everyone is pressed for time, hurried and hassled. 08:14 Technology has provided us with more so called 08:18 time saving devices than ever before in the history 08:22 of mankind and yet we have less time 08:27 for meaningful communication and relatedness 08:32 than we have ever had before. 08:35 God says be still and know that I am God. 08:40 It takes time with Him first of all. 08:43 It takes silence in the soul to be able 08:47 to search out the deep things of God. 08:51 We cannot experience real intimacy 08:55 with our Father unless we take time 09:01 to have those periods of stillness 09:03 before Him on a regular basis. 09:06 Likewise we cannot experience intimacy with our spouses. 09:11 We cannot experience closeness as a family 09:14 unless we take time, once again 09:17 for that meaningful association, 09:21 deep communication, and relatedness. 09:25 This is why cohesive families tend to be a thing of the past. 09:31 One pastor speaking of the people of God 09:34 in the context of modern life has said, 09:38 "We have become a body of people 09:41 that look more like a herd of cattle in a stampede 09:47 than a flock of God beside green pastures 09:51 and still waters." 09:53 And this is the way that I remember our lives 09:56 being in those early years of our marriage. 09:59 I remember always longing for more time 10:03 with my husband and never feeling like I had enough. 10:08 As the months and years passed 10:11 we began having children. 10:13 And I grew up hearing stories from my mother 10:16 of her very happy family life in a large family 10:19 so I wanted to have a large family. 10:21 But by the time we had three and then four 10:24 I was overwhelmed and I felt alone in the day-to-day 10:30 coping with the challenges 10:32 of raising and mothering several young children. 10:38 I often ended the day with tremendous fatigue, 10:43 with tears and regret desiring with all my heart 10:47 to be a happy, a nurturing godly mother 10:53 but often losing my temper with them. 10:57 You see I was ignorant because I wasn't taking 11:00 that time to be still and to learn of the Father. 11:04 I was ignorant of the principles that could make 11:09 our home that could bring peace and order into our home. 11:14 One evening, I was especially fatigued 11:17 and disappointed having learned that he was not coming home. 11:20 He had just admitted a woman in labor 11:24 to the hospital and he would not be home that evening. 11:28 I lost my temper once again with our children 11:32 as I was trying to get them to bed early 11:34 and they were not quickly cooperating. 11:37 I yelled at our oldest, our seven year old. 11:40 I said, "When will you ever learn to listen 11:44 and to be considerate of your mother?" 11:49 Now while it was not infrequent 11:51 for me to lose my temper with them. 11:55 It was different this time in that instead of bringing 12:00 all activity to a halt as they usually did 12:03 when I lost my temper and just watching me 12:07 in silent dread, this time she spoke up and it shocked me. 12:13 She said, "I can never please you," 12:17 with big tears in her eyes. 12:19 "I'll never be able to please you." 12:24 I was silenced by her words and I put them to bed quietly 12:29 and filled with shame and regret 12:32 I lay in bed wondering how can I be so hurtful 12:38 to children that I wanted so much 12:40 and that I love so dearly? 12:45 For the first time, I was struck 12:46 by the ugliness of the sin of angry words 12:49 and the devastating effect upon the heart. 12:53 I cried to God in despair that evening. 12:57 How could I learn to manage my children 13:00 in a loving God-honoring way? 13:03 How could I teach them to love Jesus 13:06 and to love, honor, and obey their parents 13:10 without losing my temper frequently 13:13 and speaking words of condemnation to them? 13:18 In a passage from Ellen White, 13:20 that is found in the S.D.A. Bible Commentary 13:23 among other places. 13:24 It says, "The greatest insult 13:27 that we can inflict upon Him, upon Christ, 13:31 is to pretend to be His disciples, 13:34 while manifesting the spirit of Satan in our words, 13:38 our dispositions, and our actions." 13:42 The same principle is stated in James 1:26 where it states, 13:48 "If any man among you seem to be religious, 13:52 and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, 13:57 this man's religion is in vain." 14:01 My religion friends was in vain during that period of my life. 14:06 I was as Romans 1:18 puts it, 14:10 "Holding the truth in unrighteousness." 14:14 As I cried to God that evening, I desperately wanted victory 14:21 but I lacked elements that are necessary for victory 14:26 like the habit of consistent daily earnest study 14:30 of the word of God specifically searching 14:33 for the solutions to the problems 14:35 that challenged me in my daily experience. 14:38 I lacked the power of the Holy Spirit. 14:41 I longed for my husband to be spiritual leader 14:46 and priest of our home to conduct family worship 14:49 on a daily basis to lead us to Jesus 14:51 and to the answers that we needed 14:54 so that we could become the happy godly family 14:57 that I knew God wanted us to be. 15:01 But he only conducted worship 15:04 on a hit-or-miss basis because he was too busy, 15:07 too busy with work, ministry activities, 15:11 and commitments outside of our home. 15:17 So Lord calling to your heart? 15:19 Well, conviction came to me on Shante's seventh birthday. 15:25 As I sat around in the boisterous children's voices 15:30 and I'm looking at this seven-year-old child, 15:32 it dawned on me, I did not know her. 15:37 I did not know what her favorite color was. 15:39 I did not know what the name was of that thing 15:43 she drags around that looks like a teddy bear once in a while. 15:47 I didn't know what its name was. 15:50 I realized with sadness that I had lived 15:53 for seven years with this child and in my heart 15:57 while I longed to be a godly father, 16:01 where was I to find the time? 16:05 Every moment was consumed in the practice of medicine 16:08 at the hospital, teaching the art 16:10 to up and coming physicians. 16:12 At the hospital, I was Mr. Wonderful. 16:14 There I was a success. 16:17 Work consumed me and I did not resist. 16:21 How many of you can relate to this? 16:24 I also managed to make time for an outreach 16:27 and for service to others but at home I was failing. 16:31 Well, God brought me to conviction that day 16:35 that something needed to change 16:37 if I was to hear the words one day 16:39 well done thou good and faithful service. 16:43 When the Lord asked me where is the beautiful flock 16:48 that I gave you? 16:50 Well, during the rest of our time this morning 16:52 we want to share with you the simple steps 16:54 that God led us to take as we sought answers from His word. 17:00 There were two things that we as parents were missing 17:03 in our lives that we came to understand 17:06 were necessary absolutely necessary 17:09 for us to become the happy, cohesive, vibrant, 17:14 fully functional, full of purpose, 17:17 mission driven minded family that God designed 17:21 ever family to become. 17:22 The first, Maria, has already spoken of 17:25 and brothers and sisters if you've not already done this 17:29 we just plead with you to experience the joy. 17:32 There's joy to be found in a personal intimate real 17:38 living connection with Jesus Christ. 17:40 It is that connection that gives us the strength 17:45 to overcome the areas in our lives 17:47 where we're having difficulty. 17:48 That we can experience victory over our flesh 17:52 and continual growth in grace 17:55 which transforms our marriage, our parenting, 17:59 and every aspect of our lives. 18:01 The second is a strong heart-to-heart connection 18:07 amongst all members of our family. 18:09 First with Maria and myself and with each of our children. 18:13 So that we become partakers together of all the blessings 18:17 that God wants to bestow 18:18 on families and through families. 18:23 Well, let's look at the first element that we are missing. 18:28 You know, the challenge that we're faced 18:29 with is that often times we look for our own solutions 18:32 but the solutions to any issues that we face 18:36 are to be found in God's word. 18:38 In John 6:63 it says, "It is the spirit that quickeneth, 18:42 the flesh profiteth nothing: 18:44 the words that I speak unto you, 18:47 they are spirit and they are life." 18:49 Spiritual life can only be kindled, 18:51 revived and maintained by the Holy Spirit 18:54 through the word of God. 18:56 So coming on to this conviction, 18:58 I made the commitment 14 years ago that I would spend 19:01 the first hour of every day in God's word. 19:06 Since then I have sought to follow the admonition 19:09 that I read one day in my devotions 19:11 in "Steps to Christ," page 70, where it says, 19:14 "Consecrate yourself to God." 19:17 In the morning make this your very first work. 19:22 You know, we are promised 19:24 that as we do this our lives will be molded more and more 19:30 after the life of Christ. 19:32 You know, I've sought to make my study of God's word 19:35 very practical dealing with my personal needs 19:39 like how to be a godly husband? 19:41 And how to be the father that God would have me to be? 19:44 And how to overcome the areas of weakness 19:47 that the Holy Spirit opens my eyes to see? 19:49 I believed that making my study practical 19:53 has made the most dramatic difference in my life. 19:56 It's not always been easy to keep this commitment. 19:59 There are obstacles like spending long evenings 20:04 engaged in projects or programs 20:07 that make for a late day and make it very hard 20:10 to get up in the morning 20:11 to spend that time in God's word. 20:15 Referring back to the text that Edwin quoted. 20:17 John 6:63, "It is the spirit 20:20 that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing." 20:23 Friends, it was my flesh 20:24 that was in charge of my life in the illustration 20:27 that I gave you of my parenting in those 20:30 early years and indeed it profited nothing. 20:35 Both my husband's hectic lifestyle 20:39 and the resulting lack of spiritual leadership 20:42 in our home and my own lack 20:45 of a deep growing personal experience 20:49 with God were leading us away from the blessings 20:53 that God has in store and that He wants 20:55 to bestow on every family. 20:58 The blessing of nurturing a cohesive, 21:00 happy, vibrant Christian family 21:03 that is a powerful testimony to the world. 21:07 But as Edwin and I began to establish 21:10 that living connection through the word of God 21:15 with him on a daily basis through communion with Him 21:18 over the months and years that followed it made 21:21 a dramatic difference in our family life. 21:24 Friends, we are here to tell you that there is saving power, 21:28 life changing power in the gospel of Jesus Christ. 21:32 Amen. And as I began to make-- 21:35 to sit at the feet of Jesus to make that the first priority 21:41 of my day on a daily basis I began 21:46 to experience that life changing power in my own life. 21:50 As a mother I needed to have self-subdued 21:54 to gain victory over my temper. 21:57 As I spent time in His word 21:59 not as a hasty or careless reader would 22:04 but diligently searching for the solutions 22:08 to my challenges the Lord began to teach me 22:14 the way that He is willing and eager to teach anyone 22:18 of us who lack wisdom, who lack knowledge. 22:21 He began to teach me how to consistently speak 22:26 to our children and to my husband 22:29 with the law of kindness on my lips. 22:33 Now I don't have time to share 22:35 with you that particular journey, 22:36 I share that in a different message 22:38 but suffice it to say that as we re-ordered 22:42 our priorities in our home, in our lives, 22:45 the Lord began to give us an experience 22:47 that has not only blessed our family to this day, 22:51 making our home as a little piece of heaven 22:54 to us but it has given us a testimony to share 22:58 with others of what Christ 23:01 can do when we learn to surrender, 23:04 when we learn to die to self on a daily basis. 23:07 I wonder how many of you were here yesterday 23:10 as the misters were sharing, very powerful, 23:14 the principles that they were sharing 23:16 were the things that the Lord began to teach us 23:19 as we started taking that time with Him. 23:22 When self is on the throne there can be no happiness, 23:26 no real happiness in a marriage, in a parenting relationship. 23:30 Self must die. Christ must live in us. 23:37 That we can have all that we can become the inheritors 23:41 of all the blessings that He wants to bestow on us. 23:45 The Bible says, "Taste and see." 23:48 Taste and see" that it is good. 23:51 The second element that I mentioned 23:53 earlier that we were missing in the ability 23:56 to keep the hearts up was the ability for us 23:58 to be able to win and keep the hearts of our children. 24:01 In the book "Child Guidance," page 148, it says, listen, 24:04 listen carefully, "You must, 24:09 you must win their affection if you would impress 24:15 religious truth upon their hearts." 24:19 We've heard the heart cry of many parents 24:22 that have lost the hearts of their children. 24:27 And they see their children making decisions 24:30 that just bring their hearts to grief. 24:33 If you want to impress religious truths 24:36 on your children's hearts you must have their heart first. 24:42 This requires time. It requires your presence. 24:50 I tell my brothers that our wives and our children 24:54 need more than a paycheck. 24:56 They need us to be present, not distracted, present. 25:04 We need to give ourselves to our wives and our children 25:08 as the priest of the home, as the one appointed 25:12 to lead them to the kingdom of heaven. 25:15 The bible requires us to lead it's not an option. 25:20 Ephesians 5:23 says, "For the husband is the head 25:23 of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church 25:27 and He is the Savior of the body." 25:31 Have you ever thought of yourself brothers 25:33 as being the savior for your family's salvation? 25:38 I know Christ is the one that 25:39 gives us the strength to do this 25:41 but you are to act your part. 25:43 So as I sought to learn 25:45 how to do this in my devotional time, 25:47 one day I read in two favorite volumes that I love 25:50 to recall "Mind Character and Personality," 25:53 volume I, page 162, "All our powers 25:57 are to be used for Christ, 26:00 this is the debt we each owe to God. 26:05 Informing a relationship with Christ the renewed man 26:08 is but coming back 26:10 to his appointed relationship with God. 26:14 He is a representative of Christ 26:16 and He is ever to watch 26:18 and pray and watch unto prayer. 26:21 His duties lie around him, nigh and a far off. 26:29 His first duty--his first duty is to his children 26:34 and his earnest relatives nothing can excuse him 26:38 from neglecting the inner circle 26:41 for the larger circle outside. 26:43 Oh, was this a call to my heart? 26:45 In the day of final reckoning fathers and mothers 26:48 will be required to answer in regard to their children. 26:52 Parents will be asked what they did? 26:55 and said to secure the salvation of the souls 26:58 they took upon themselves 26:59 the responsibility of bringing into the world. 27:03 Did they neglect their lambs leaving them 27:06 to the care of strangers? Fathers and mothers 27:11 are you allowing your children 27:13 to grow up in impurity and sin? 27:17 A great--this was the one that really hit me. 27:20 A great good done for others will not cancel 27:26 the debt you owe to God to care for your children. 27:31 The spiritual welfare of your family comes first. 27:35 Take them with you to the cross 27:37 of Calvary laboring for them 27:39 as those that must give an account. 27:42 Oh, this called to my heart that I needed 27:46 to reprioritize my life and do it in the way 27:53 that God would have me to do it. 27:56 The great deal good done for others will not cancel 28:00 the debt you owe to God to care for your children. 28:06 The Old Testament ends with a prophecy of a voice 28:11 of one that would cry in the wilderness calling people 28:16 to repentance and reformation preparing people 28:19 for the First Coming of the Lord. 28:21 It is found in Malachi 4 verse 4 through 6. 28:25 And it says, "Behold I will send you Elijah the Prophet 28:31 before the coming of that great and dreadful day 28:34 of the Lord and he shall turn the hearts 28:38 of the fathers to the children and the hearts 28:42 of the children to their fathers." 28:45 We are told that this message is also applicable 28:49 at the end of time in order to prepare people 28:52 to be ready for the Second Coming of the Lord. 28:55 And we believe that it is very appropriate 28:58 that this end time message would include turning 29:04 the hearts of the fathers to their children 29:07 and of the children to their fathers 29:09 because friends Satan has 29:12 so arranged modern life that parents, 29:17 most parents don't have time for their children 29:21 the amount of time that they should devote. 29:25 They have no time for communicating 29:27 spiritual values as we are admonished to do 29:31 in Deuteronomy Chapter 6 verses 6 and 7. 29:35 We are admonished to do this to share with them 29:38 every thing that God has said 29:40 as we sit in our houses as we walk by the way 29:45 when we lie down and when we rise up. 29:48 Parents don't have time 29:51 to simply talk or listen to their children, 29:56 to play with the children to befriend them, 29:59 to win their hearts, 30:01 no time to put into place the elements 30:04 that make for a happy home. 30:07 It is no wonder that in their teens the hearts 30:11 of their children are more bound to the hearts 30:14 of their peers than to the hearts of their parents. 30:17 That is not the way that God meant for it to be. 30:22 Do you have time for this in your life? 30:24 Are you finding time to follow 30:27 this Deuteronomy 6:6-7 lifestyle? 30:31 Is that the way you live your life 30:34 or are you finding that you have no time for this 30:38 because the important always gets sacrificed 30:43 on the altar of the urgent? 30:47 Friends, if that is the way that is in your life 30:49 then it is time, we would invite you 30:53 to right now without any-- with out delaying any longer 30:59 reorder the priorities 31:01 in your life after heavens order. 31:04 You see we need to give ourselves first 31:07 to God then to our spouses and to our children, 31:11 not only to our children, not only for this moment 31:14 by moment instruction in Godliness, guidance, 31:18 and correction but also in pleasant 31:24 refreshing association in recreation, 31:29 recreation that binds the hearts of parents 31:33 and children in a bond that cannot be easily broken. 31:36 Indeed we're told that we must prepare 31:40 the soil of our children's hearts with love 31:44 and affection thus preparing it to receive 31:48 the seed of truth that's found 31:50 in "Adventist Home," home page 18. 31:52 Well, we are here to tell you 31:54 that in taking time over the past 15 years 31:58 first of all to give ourselves to each other 32:01 and to our children, taking time to take 32:04 interest in their interest, we have found 32:07 that their hearts have not only been bound 32:10 to ours in a deeper love than we ever dreamed possible 32:15 but it has made them more willing to hear 32:20 what we have sort to teach them about God 32:24 over the years more willing to adopt for themselves 32:28 to embrace the values 32:31 that we have purposed to pass on to them. 32:35 Now at this point some of you 32:38 may be sitting here saying, I blew it. 32:41 Now what do I do? My children are grown. 32:44 We're estranged, what can I do? 32:47 Brothers and sisters as long 32:49 as there is life there is hope. 32:52 Jesus is the answer, go to your Savior 32:55 and say Lord I blew it. 32:57 What would you have me to do? 32:59 You can still reach the hardened heart of a child. 33:04 God will show you the way, 33:06 I believe it-- we've seen it happen, 33:09 where you say Lord, I don't know what to do. 33:11 Where do I start? First place you start is on your knees. 33:15 I am willing to do whatever you would have me to do. 33:17 Second thing you do, 33:19 you find where you can connect with them. 33:22 The Lord will show you a way, a common ground 33:25 and then you can build the bridges. 33:29 It is even an adult child with grandchildren, 33:33 great grandchildren you can still 33:35 connect with them for the Kingdom of Heaven. 33:37 Brothers and sisters we've seen 33:38 it happen over and over again. 33:40 Do not give up, where there is life there is hope. 33:45 Practically speaking taking time to give ourselves 33:49 to our children requires some hard decisions 33:54 and I want to share with you what some of those 33:56 were for us and the fruit of those decisions. 34:00 I knew from God's word that there is a season 34:04 for everything under the sun 34:07 and that this was the season for me 34:10 to stop doing so many good things, 34:13 good things outside of the home 34:15 that were keeping me from having a proper focus 34:18 on my home mission field, that's what I called it. 34:22 So I made some tough choices. 34:24 You have to understand that for me 34:26 saying no was very hard and disappointing others 34:31 was like having razors in my flesh, 34:36 but I resigned from media work for a time, 34:40 I resigned from my membership on boards 34:45 and other service opportunities that required 34:48 that I be out of the home 34:50 taking time away from my family. 34:52 And I focused rather on service and outreach 34:56 that we could do as a family. 34:59 So we moved to the country which we believed 35:01 to be the setting most conducive 35:03 to the accomplishment of our goals. 35:06 Our primary purpose became the spiritual nurture 35:10 of our family and binding our hearts 35:12 to Jesus Christ and to one to another. 35:14 So we took advantage of opportunities for service 35:17 and outreach as a family 35:19 and we use the two small churches in our county 35:23 as training ground for our children 35:26 to develop their talents for service and leadership. 35:29 We spend many seasons in communion with God 35:32 and with one another in nature. 35:34 We took the time to study God's word 35:37 and we made the memorization of scripture 35:39 a priority in our lives 35:41 seeking to make it, the rule of our lives. 35:46 We also took time to do things 35:48 with our children that were enjoyable for them. 35:50 Ellen White says, in "Adventist Home," page 110," 35:54 Make the evening a pleasant social season 35:58 a family reunion after the days duties." 36:02 So we took an hour in the evening 36:06 right before family worship for family time. 36:10 So we read books together or played games 36:13 or did engaged in other activities 36:17 that were enjoyable for them that were exciting to them 36:19 such as riding bikes in the moonlight 36:24 and long winter evenings 36:26 or playing hide and seek in the snow. 36:28 Over the months and the years that followed 36:31 we began to see the fruit of that time investment. 36:38 We began to see it in our marriage first of all. 36:40 We saw it in our relationship with our Father 36:44 because that was our first priority 36:46 and we began to see that in the heart binding 36:50 that was taking place not just between us 36:54 and the children but between-- 36:55 among the siblings themselves. 36:58 And friends, the fruit was sweet. 37:02 When we thus cooperate with God talking the time 37:06 to follow His instructions, taking the time to be still 37:10 before Him to learn of Him, to learn how to die to self 37:15 and taking the time to bond with one another, 37:19 our families can become all that 37:23 God design them to be and we're told that His peace 37:27 and grace and love will pervade 37:30 the family circle like a precious perfume. 37:34 "Adventist Home," page 17, "That home then becomes" 37:40 An Eden of bliss, " the family, 37:44 a beautiful symbol of the family of heaven." 37:48 A light in the community then we find ourselves 37:52 equipped with the most powerful 37:55 evangelistic tool in our hands because we have 37:58 something that the world is starving for. 38:02 Because we have something 38:03 that people think is no longer possible. 38:07 Today our four young people love the Lord. 38:11 They are fully committed to Him, 38:14 fully committed to our family, 38:15 they are each others best friends. 38:18 They have said to us that they would rather spend time 38:22 with our family than with anyone else on earth. 38:26 The heart to heart connection that is there is sweet. 38:31 They are fully engaged in service to their Savior. 38:37 In our ministry as a family 38:38 with Restoration International sharing 38:41 the practical gospel with individuals and families. 38:45 They have been very busy pursuing their studies, 38:49 three of them already engaged in their college studies, 38:55 and yet they're devoted to God first 38:59 and to His service and they are willing 39:03 to sacrifice for Christ sake 39:05 because that is their passion. 39:07 We invested in them and now they're willing 39:11 and eager to invest their life 39:15 in the service of their Master. 39:17 Honey, I want to give people a sense of hope. 39:20 They'll be listening and saying my teenagers, 39:22 forget it, it will never happen. 39:25 When we first made these hard choices, 39:28 did our children say, yes! this is great, 39:31 what was their response 39:32 when they-- when we first started? 39:34 Actually they did not, we one of the first things 39:37 that we instituted was this having family time. 39:41 And the truth is that up until this time 39:43 we had some close friends in our lives 39:45 with whom our children were bonded 39:48 more than they were with their own siblings. 39:51 And so as we started having family time 39:54 and we said okay from now on we're gonna take this hour 39:57 and we are just gonna do special things together. 40:00 And they looked at us and said what about-- 40:03 when are we gonna to go to our friends house? 40:06 You see they were not-- 40:08 it didn't show up as fun, but we persevered. 40:11 Ah-aah. Persevere. 40:16 Persevere brothers and sisters, 40:17 don't give up, persevere. 40:19 Just say, Lord, I'm willing to do 40:20 whatever you would have me to do, 40:22 but don't give up, don't give up. 40:25 We persevered and the day came after months. 40:31 When one evening we said to them, you know, 40:34 tonight we're gonna do something different. 40:39 We're going to go over to our friends house 40:41 a particular friends whose, whose company 40:44 they had coveted more than anything else 40:47 and our oldest said to us, well, what's gonna happen 40:51 to our family time? And I said, 40:54 well, that is our family time, 40:55 that's what we're doing tonight for our family time. 40:57 Well, you see we were engaged in reading 40:59 a particularly gripping story and interesting-- 41:04 Always end on a cliffhanger. 41:06 Character building story and they wanted 41:09 to be together to learn what was happening next. 41:12 So she said, well, can we, 41:15 can we go to their house another day. 41:19 And we knew that God was blessing. 41:21 Just brings tears to your eyes. 41:23 In another passage from Adventist home, 41:24 you'll be going, why are they picking 41:26 all of these things from Adventist Home, 41:27 Child Guidance? Brothers and sisters, 41:29 we have a wealth of information 41:31 at our hands use them. 41:34 They have the answers to the questions 41:36 that you need, but you can't get it 41:37 unless you take time to read it. 41:39 In another passage in Adventist Home, 41:42 we read where we, how we can accomplish 41:45 setting getting the home setting and the work 41:47 that the Lord would have us to do. 41:49 And it says, "Our sphere of influence may seem narrow 41:54 our ability small, our opportunities few, 41:59 our acquirements limited, yet wonderful possibilities 42:04 are ours through a faithful use 42:07 of the opportunities of our own homes. 42:10 If we will open our hearts and homes 42:14 to the divine principles of life, 42:16 we shall become channels 42:18 for currents of life-giving power. 42:22 From our homes will flow streams of healing, 42:26 bringing life, and beauty, and fruitfulness 42:29 where now are barrenness and dearth." 42:32 This is found in page 32. 42:34 We have been experiencing the fulfillment 42:36 of that promise in a very tangible way in our home 42:39 for the past year and a half. 42:41 As we opened our home in a ministry 42:44 of hospitality in our community, 42:46 we've invited our neighbors and people that I encountered 42:50 in my medical practice to an evening of food, 42:53 fellowship, music, and Bible study 42:56 which we now do on a regular basis as time permits. 43:00 We have been amazed by the results. 43:03 They confirmed that the world is hungering 43:06 and thirsting to see the power 43:09 of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a very practical way 43:13 doing its amazing work to change lives of our family 43:18 at a time when families are falling apart. 43:22 We pray, that our testimony will be encouragement 43:24 to you to reestablish your priorities 43:28 if they are not ordered a right to seek 43:31 to place the proper emphasis on the first work 43:35 that the Kingdom of God and His righteousness 43:39 will be made manifest in the lives of your family 43:43 and mine and the fruit of the spirit 43:45 may abound in all our lives. 43:49 One of our sons has written a song 43:51 that we want to close with this morning. 43:54 And its a song that portrays what happens 43:59 when Jesus is really at the centre 44:01 of our hearts and our homes. 44:03 What happens in our homes, 44:05 become not only that extremely happy place, 44:10 but a light our home becomes as a "Beacon of Light" 44:14 in the land to illuminate the darkness 44:19 that we find as we see families falling apart. 44:23 "Home in Jesus Hands" 44:36 There is a place upon this earth 44:42 That stands unrivaled in its worth 44:48 It is a home where Jesus reigns, 44:53 And angels love to dwell 44:59 Where father, mother, girl and boy 45:05 Are satellites of Heaven's joy 45:10 And servants of the King of Kings 45:15 While on the earth they dwell. 45:19 When Christ is the life of the family, 45:25 That home is a light in the land 45:30 A beacon so bright, it shines through the night, 45:36 As proof that a family can stand, 45:41 When their home is in Jesus hands 45:48 There are times when the world looks dark 45:53 When wind and storm have left their mark, 45:58 When clouds have covered up the sun 46:03 And all is cold and gray 46:09 But in our hearts there shines a light, 46:14 The Word of God, the ways of right 46:19 When it its ways we walk and stay 46:24 The darkness turns to day 46:29 When Christ is the life of the family, 46:34 That home is a light in the land 46:40 A beacon so bright, it shines through the night, 46:45 As proof that a family can stand, 46:50 When their home is in Jesus hands 46:56 There is a call for every soul, 47:01 Each father, mother, boy and girl, 47:07 To live a life that speaks of love 47:12 In service here below 47:17 And all throughout the ages blessed 47:22 When we have found eternal rest, 47:28 We'll be at home with Heaven's Best 47:33 Our Savior, God, and King 47:37 When Christ is the life of the family, 47:43 That home is a light in the land 47:48 A beacon so bright, it shines through the night, 47:53 As proof that a family can stand, 47:58 When Christ is the life of the family, 48:03 That home is a light in the land 48:08 A beacon so bright, it shines through the night, 48:14 As proof that a family can stand, 48:18 When their home is in Jesus hands 48:35 Let us pray, heavenly Father I believe 48:39 that every family here desires to be in a family 48:44 that You will have us to be. 48:48 We want to be demonstration projects Lord 48:50 of what the saving power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ 48:55 can do in a family. 49:00 Father, we know that as the Holy Spirit 49:04 calls to our hearts we want to respond not in despair 49:09 but leaning upon the strength of Jesus Christ to do 49:13 what You have called us to do. 49:16 So we pray for every family here 49:18 that if they've come into the conviction 49:19 that they will go to You for the answers 49:22 that they will hear not just be hearers 49:26 but doers of the word. 49:28 To this end we give You the glory 49:29 and the honor and praise for any good thing 49:31 that we do, that shows, what a family in Jesus can do, 49:38 in this world, in Jesus name. |
Revised 2014-12-17