Countering The Culture Part 1

One reason for us Jesus.

There are forces active today want to destroy your kids and redefine marriage in a rising tide of media fill numerology and political correctness threatens the foundations of our society today, except for some alarming news state from the Moody Church in Chicago this with Dr. Erwin Moser, whose clear teaching helps us make it across. Master loser, we can't help but live in the culture are born into.

I hope you have a defense plan. We can you Dave how I wish that I had a silver bullet.

How I wish that I could simply say a few words to parents and to say this is the answer.

This is the defense plan. This is foolproof but I can't but nonetheless this message is absolutely critical because what I try to do in the message is to strike a balance between cutting kids off totally from the culture and standing against the culture that's actually the burden of my heart and I want to thank the many of you who support this ministry who help us get the gospel of Jesus Christ to 20 different countries in three different languages would you consider becoming an endurance partner that someone who stands with us regularly with their prayers and their gifts. Here's what you can do good RTW offer.com when you're there, click on the endurance partner button or call us at 1-888-218-9337 now at the end of this message. I'm going to be giving you that contact information again because right now I want you to listen carefully as I talk about becoming a countercultural family little girl who is sitting next to her mother in the church. Notice that the pastor was taking his wristwatch off to get on the podium like I'm doing today and she said, what does that mean mommy mother said she doesn't mean a thing. I may not get through today's sermon.

I may have to put it in next week's sermon. I believe that there are thieves that are stealing our children today. If the thieves were to break through Windows and steal their bodies we call the police but because the thieves don't do that because the thieves steal the soul. Parents often do not care and if they care they don't know what to do. I believe that this may be one of the most to anti-families anti-family times in the history of the world. Now, of course, said the family has always been under attack. You've always had the church in the midst of paganism that is not new. What is new is the entertainment industry. No generation of parents in the past has ever had to raise children with MTV. No generation in the past has ever had to raise children with violent movies fill with sexuality and then of course the Internet now with the click of the mouse, you can have a porn shop in the privacy of your own home. Our challenges are unique, never before in history have parents tried to rear children under those conditions. In fact, I would liken it onto a tsunami, a tidal wave that is engulfing the whole United States of America. Children purchasing cell phones that can download pornography from the satellite and lactose tsunami is not only engulfing children. It is also engulfing adults and sometimes whole families so I have to ask you today what are you doing as a parent, what are you doing it faithfully, intentionally and unitedly to stand against a culture that once your child and is willing to do anything possible to get the soul of those whom you love, what are you doing a youth pastor in another church very fine evangelical church told me that he finally concluded that most Christian parents do not want godly children what they want is good. Children. Children who will give them a hard time children who won't do drugs and sex in children who will fit in very well with all of their peers but not necessarily godly children will stand against the culture because in the minds of many parents. One of the worst possible things you can do is to expect your child to stand against what his other peers happen to be doing and if the child can do it.

We think that is really awful because he's going to feel bad. What is it that we are after. When we raise our children someone is said that we want independent spirit filled children who know the difference between right and wrong, and the courage and the power to do what is right, the Bible might put it a little differently. We are to rear children who love the Lord our God with all of our hearts with all of our minds, and with all of ourselves and our neighbor as we love ourselves. That's what God wants, not just good kids but godly kids today when I speak on this. I'm entering into Satan's territory. This is where he rules.

This is where he is King what he is saying is old get your children if it's not through the Internet. It'll be through movies.

If it's not true movies. It's the friends that your children choose at school, it'll be through drugs. One way or another. I will get your children and I'm here today to tell you that by God's grace we have to say no you won't get our children, our text is the sixth chapter of the book of Deuteronomy Deuteronomy chapter 6, God says in verse one. Now this is the commandment, the statutes and rules that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you that you may do them in the land to which you are going to possess it, that you may fear the Lord your God that you and your son and your sons son by keeping all of his statutes and his commandments which I command you all the days of your life, and that your days may be long here. Therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you and that you may multiply greatly as the Lord, the God of your fathers has promised you in a land flowing with milk and honey hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise, you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorpost of your house and on your gates while God says fathers fathers you have the responsibility of passing the torch to your sons mother's you are included in the process. And God says the goal is to love me with all of your heart and to teach your children to love me and to fear me, that's the agenda so how are we going to be countercultural, never before that I can remember. Have I ever preached a message at Moody church that has 11 points, 11 points you say well all right reminded of a man who left a meeting because the sermon was long and the pastor pointed them out just like I would if you were to get up and leave right now. Any syndrome where you're going. And the man said I'm going to get a haircut. The pastor said well why did you get a haircut before you came in here. He said when I came in here I didn't need one. Here's what I decided to do I'm going to quit at a certain time today whether I'm finished or not. And I'm going to pick it up next week.

In fact I didn't even make a conclusion to this message because I knew that there was no way that I could possibly get to the conclusion today. The conclusion will come next time. I know that the outline that you have says, probably 11 principles this morning. I thought know these aren't principles I should rename them commandments commandments. Now Moses had his 10 Commandments. I have 11 commandments. So naturally you might ask the question, where did you get yours from well I had a discussion with the pastoral staff and then I sat at my computer and I was aiming for 10, but ended up with 11 are you ready for the first commandment. The first commandment.

In fulfilling this scripture and from time to time, we shall directly refer to the Scripture. Some of these commandments are based on some common sense and wisdom that anyone of us if we thought about it would come up with the first commandment is this be informed regarding the culture and your children's activities. Parents do you know what movies your children are watching.

Do you know who their friends are when they come home. Do you say tell me what happened in school and you listen nonjudgmentally you listen so that they can tell you and you are absorbing it into your soul and you're not reacting trying to correct trying to say this or that but but your learning and you are listening listening are you doing that. Do you know where your child is had you entered into your child's life in the sphere in which your child goes to school or the friends that he has every once in a while we wake up and we discover that there was another terrible shooting in one of our high schools when the parents are interviewed, they usually say oh we didn't know we thought everything was fine. Oh really then investigation shows what the kids were watching on the website. If the parents had talked to the teenager if the parents had seen some of the warning signs the notes that they wrote. If the parents had just gone into the child's room. They have seen the posters and they have known that this child is on a very, very dangerous path. But parents say today will I can't go into my child's room.

Oh really, you can't, of course, if you're a snoop your child is going to reject that.

But there ought to be some kind of a semblance of relationship by which you can say it is important for me to know what you are watching on the Internet. It is important for me to know who you hang out with in school and if the child does not want that to be your business you lovingly and sweetly make it your business because God says it's your business. So first of all know the culture and your children's activities so many parents think if I don't deal with it then either a maybe it won't be there, or else be. It'll just go away by itself. What I don't investigate somehow is going to turn out okay. It won't number one commandment number one be informed about the culture and your children's activities.

Commandment number two. Combine a meaningful relationship with rules a meaningful relationship. The Scripture says in Ephesians, children obey your parents.

But then it says fathers, do not provoke your children to anger I have in my family, file a list of 27 different ways that fathers provoke their children to anger, and one is to have rules sent to say were going to keep these rules and the important thing is the rules without the heart without the relationship and so children begin to rebel against the rules and they begin to say I hate my dad so I hate is God and they and they begin to so despise the rules that because they don't like their father, they will deliberately do what he does not want Don so the girl will marry the guy that her father despises just to get even with him just to teach him just to irritate him from my heart to yours rules have no power in themselves to keep your child from going in the wrong way only a relationship can do that rules are important, but it's relationships. That is, are the strength. It's that it's that loving relationship with a child wants to do wants to please you. Because the relationship is been destroyed. I shouldn't say that.

I meant restored where the relationship has been restored. Later on we talk about relationships that have been destroyed. Commandment number two combine meaningful relationships with rules. Number three discipline. Discipline is essential.

You say, does that mean we should spank our children off course that means that you should spank your children it's probably the ones who weren't spank that didn't clap. There are two reasons why spanking children has fallen out of favor today.

One is because of abuse.

If you're abusive and angry, and you just flail away at a child, then do not touch your child whatever you do, spankings are not an opportunity for an adult to get his anger resolved or to get something off of his own chest. That is not what spanking is for. So if you do it that way, then don't. The purpose of spanking is to make sure that the will of the child is broken, but not the spirit of the child. You must do it with care. Don't ever spank a child without later on, putting her arms around him taking him assuring him that you do love him because if you want a healthy emotional child who can function well as somebody who loves God he or she needs to be spent some more than others is Rebecca and I discovered with our own children. My children will ask at this point. Please move on.

The other reason is because of the humanistic ideas below your little child is so good negotiate with him.

Have you ever tried to negotiate with a three-year-old who has justified you ever tried that negotiation and what I fear there more Christians getting their advice as to how to rear a child from Dr. Phil than they are from the Scriptures, and he may have some wisdom but he will never teach you how to raise children who love the Lord their God with all of their heart, with all of their mind and with all of their soul Ray comfort in one of his messages that I heard said that he discipline one of his children.

He gave the boy a spanking because of defiance, and then he hugged his boy and said now you stay here until you're finished crying and then you come to me and the little boy still sniffling. Found a sheet of paper and Ray wondered what the world is he writing on it. Any wrote on it. I love you daddy, the very same day neighbor child who's never been spank never discipline said to his mother.

I hate you and that's the difference if you want your child to love you want your child to hate you. Well, this is Pastor Luther and I certainly don't want to be misunderstood, of course, we should not abuse their children and there is a form of abuse that oftentimes takes place. We must stand against that but discipline is absolutely necessary if we want our children to be able to walk with God and in the end, love us and not hate us, you know, I believe very deeply that the ministry of running to win his touching. Of course, thousands upon thousands of lives I have in my hand a letter from someone who writes about the fact that it is through this ministry that she has been unable to walk with God and made right another one says the messages are a great help as I was struggling to understand salvation and our eternal benefits as a result of faith in Christ that we could go on and on. But here's the point. If you've been blessed as a result of the ministry of running to win. It is because other people have made an investment in this ministry, would you consider doing that. Would you consider becoming an endurance partner that someone who stands with us regularly with their prayers and their gifts. Here's what you do to get more info. You go to RTW offer.com RTW offer.com when you're there, click on the endurance partner button or if you prefer, call us at 1-888-218-9337 thanks in advance for helping us because the gospel of Jesus Christ is transforming and getting the name of Jesus to as many people as possible represents the heart of our ministry give us a call 1-888-218-9337 it's time now for you to ask Pastor Luther a question about the Bible or the Christian life. There are differing views on the nature of the life after death in many wonder what to believe.

Janice has written to us to say I have a few questions about purgatory.

According to Scripture doesn't exist why do Catholics insist that you must go through purgatory before you reach heaven. Janice two excellent questions.

First of all, I see no evidence in the New Testament for the existence of purgatory.

But the reason that purgatory came about is in my opinion because of a wrong view of justification in Roman Catholic theology.

Justification is a cooperative effort between you and God. And therefore, it is never completed. It's not as if you can say now I am fully justified. And so the idea was that nobody dies righteous enough to go directly into heaven, they need to go to purgatory where they are purged from their sins, and after some time, and nobody knows how long purgatory is after some period of time they will be purged and then perfected and then they'll be able to go into heaven. When Martin Luther discovered the doctrine of justification by faith in the book of Romans, one of the doctrines that he dropped almost immediately was purgatory because he saw something, namely, that when we believe in Jesus Christ, his righteousness is immediately credited to us, despite our continuing sinfulness and therefore because we are received on the basis of Jesus Christ. Merit 100% his merit and not ours. We can go directly from this life into the next God is able to receive us. Jesus proclaims us as perfect as he himself is welcomed into heaven.

All because of Jesus. That's what justification by faith alone really means.

Thank you Janice and thank you Dr. lutes are for those hopeful words, if you'd like to hear your question answered. Go to our website@rtwoffer.com and click on ask Pastor Luther or call us at 1-888-218-9337 that's 1-888-218-9337 you can write to us running to win 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago line 60614 running to win comes to you from the Moody Church in Chicago next time more commandments for parents who care about their kids for Dr. Irwin lutes are this is Dave McAllister running to win is sponsored by the Moody Church