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Chariot of Fire -4- |
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Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Since the last issue, much has happened in our lives. I want to thank many of you who have prayed for my wife, Alma, and me as she went through a surgery to remove a benign tumor at the base of her brain. We are grateful for God's goodness, His watchfulness, and steadfast love expressed through the body of Christ. It is in times like these that we see, with wonder and awe, the beauty of God's great mystery revealed in His body: Christ in us, the hope of glory. The purpose of a Chariot of Fire is to encourage men in the turning of their hearts to God, their wives, and their children. May I encourage you to become a part of advancing the spirit of Elijah? Do you know someone who might benefit from the articles in this newsletter? If so, please forward the newsletter to them and encourage them to do the same. They may then subscribe to receive the free newsletter directly by emailing info@spiritofelijah.com and placing "subscribe" in the subject line. It is our prayer that the Spirit of Elijah would spread like wildfire across our country for the glory of God. Thank you for joining with me in turning the hearts of men in our country and the world. We continue our series of articles on "Rising to the Call of God" in our lives. May God give you a revelation of Himself as we consider more responsibilities of our foundational calling in life.
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F E A T U R E A R T I C L E Rising to the Responsibilities of our Foundational Calling in Life IIIn the previous article, we began to think about what instruction is contained in the Bible pertaining to our calling as sons and daughters of our fathers. In review, we saw that children are to treat their fathers as holy, they are to be attentive to every word of their fathers, they are to protect their father's name, and to bring joy to their fathers. These are some of the most important responsibilities that children must learn if they are to be prepared for the future callings in life. But there are other responsibilities that are also important. If faithfully fulfilled, they will provide great hope for their futures. Here's another one. Give their hearts to their fathers In Proverbs 23:26, the father asks his son to give his heart to him. I'm going to write about this with regard to a son, but remember it is just as true for a daughter. We might say that it is the responsibility of a son to keep his heart turned toward his father. Every child faces severe challenges in life: guarding his heart and maintaining holiness toward his father. According to the scriptures, the heart involves the mind (Prov. 23:7), the conscience (I John 3:19-21), and the spirit of a person (Ezekiel 11:19, 36:26). For a son to give his heart to his father means that he must be diligent in getting his thinking from his father, keeping his conscience clear with regard to his father, and keeping his spirit opened to his father. You can see from this the importance of a father having a relationship with Jesus Christ, knowledge of God's Word, and maintaining his heart direction toward his son. As I've indicated before, this is not to say that the mother is unimportant. The relationship with the father involves the relationship with the mother because they are one. For a son to ignore his mother is tantamount to ignoring his father. The challenges for a son lie in understanding the significance of his calling as a son of his father and in resisting all the allurements of the world, the flesh, and the devil. Not viewing his sonship as a call of God nor understanding the responsibilities of such a calling leaves the son open to the calling of the world. The world attracts the son by its deceptive and destructive philosophies advanced through advertising, entertainment, and education (just to name a few). If a son doesn't understand that his flesh, empowered by sin, naturally turns to the call of the world, he'll not realize the vital importance of resisting that call and guarding his heart. Furthermore, the devil, the father of sin and destruction in this world has been given jurisdiction to test the sons of men to see if the fathers and sons have knowledge and a heart to apply that knowledge of God's ways. As you can see it is difficult to talk about the responsibilities of this foundational calling without getting into the responsibilities of the call of God in parenthood. For now, we will suspend further discussion on the call of a father, but you'll find yourselves thinking about the importance of your calling as we discuss the calling of a son, and that's good! You may notice that if you had difficulty keeping your heart turned to your father, you may also have difficulty keeping your heart turned to God, your wife/husband, or your children. Where was your heart turned when you were in junior high and high school? Where is your son or daughter's heart turned? Lead the way for your children in dealing with this before God since it is His way and a responsibility of this foundational call. Don't live for themselves, but for others Although the Bible doesn't state this for children explicitly, one finds the implication in various scriptures. For instance, for daughters, the instructions to older women in their ministry to young women gives insight into what must be taught. You'll notice that the basis for their curriculum isn't some cultural norm, but so that God won't be dishonored. Sons are given instructions in order that they not bring reproach to their fathers and the church. In other words they must learn that their choices are made by thinking of others instead of themselves. As you look at the following verses, notice how everything is focused away from selfishness.
These scriptures give a general outline to parents of what to teach and train their children for future callings in life. Children would do well to memorize them and view them as guidelines in this foundational calling which prepares them for the future. Daily look for opportunities to teach your children that life is not about themselves, but about living for others. Romans 14:7-8 reveals one of the responsibilities of being a Son of God. "For not one of us lives for himself...for if we live, we live for the Lord..." I wonder if the reason adults have a stronghold of selfishness is a result of not understanding and practicing being others oriented in our first calling as sons and daughters of our fathers. Here are some suggestions for a family time. Read the verses mentioned above and talk about how they relate to life. Tell your children about your struggles with selfishness and how that relates to what you practiced in your first calling. Ask them to share what they can see about their future if they don't learn to be others oriented. Perhaps with younger children, you can develop projects that encouraged them to think of others with a view that these will prepare them for life and relationship with God. Practice serving Closely related to being others oriented is the responsibility of a son to serve his father and his mother. Again, although there are no scriptures that directly state, "Children serve your parents." We know that all of our future callings in life require an attitude of servanthood. Jesus taught his disciples that those who serve are greatest in the kingdom of God. Jesus' own example of serving us to the point of death on the cross and laying down his life for others provide enough of a basis for us to realize that a child needs to develop this attitude in his first calling. A son should serve his father in many ways. One way we've already mentioned: he serves his father by honoring and caring for his name through good deeds, by learning sound doctrine, by being sensible and dignified in his behavior, and through sound speech. He further ministers to his father by obeying his mother and serving her. He should do all he can to protect his mother and sisters as he grows older. All of these things are acts of service for others, but the real benefactor is the son! What a blessing that son will be to his wife and children. He'll receive the reward of a wife and children who rise up and bless him. The next generation also receives the blessing of having good examples to follow. Can you see the hope that comes from this calling if it is done faithfully? At another family time, why not read the verses regarding servanthood and talk about the hope for children who learn this quality. Perhaps together you may make a list of the blessings to the adult who has learned to serve others in the joy of the Lord. Can you think of people in history or in your church who exemplify this quality in a remarkable way? Why not interview them and ask them how they learned to be servants? Maybe they were taught it and practiced it during their first calling in life! For a son: Love and understand his mother. Consider the blessing a new bride would enjoy had her husband practiced twenty years loving, learning to communicate with, and understanding a woman -- his mother. Because God's Word clearly states that the responsibilities of a husband are to love his wife like Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5:25-30), to live with his wife in an understanding way (I Peter 3:7), and to treat her holy (Malachi 2:14-15), we can see the wisdom of learning this responsibility in his first calling. But there's more to it than knowing what to do. It must be a habit before the son is married. How does this happen? He should learn first from his father and follow his example with his mother. For instance, he needs to daily share his life with his mother. Why? Because that will be important in living with his wife in an understanding way and loving her as Christ loves the church. If a son doesn't practice thinking of opening his heart and life up to a woman, he won't know to do it with his wife. What impact has this had on your marriage? Additionally, daily it would be good for him to ask his mother about her day. How is she doing? What can he do to help her? If a son learns and practices these things as a son of his father, he'll be better prepared for being a husband and father. What are the hurdles to this occurring in your sons? In your own life? What needs to change for this to become a habit pattern in your son's life? In your own life? It is also very important for a son to learn that a woman is to be treated with honor and protected because she is the weaker vessel. A son will have many opportunities to see weakness in his mother. If he doesn't learn to live in an understanding way in those times, he'll practice judgment, criticism, and bitterness. When he gets married, how will he react to his wife when she's at "one of those times" in the month or overwhelmed with the affairs and responsibilities of life due to her nurturing nature? Fathers of teenage sons -- how have you demonstrated tenderness and understanding to your sons by the way you relate to your wife when she is weak? What responsibilities have you given your son that will enable him to practice living in an understanding way with his wife of the future? For a daughter: Respect and submit to her father. If a daughter has learned to submit to and respect her father, she is well on her way to being prepared for marriage. If a daughter contributes to her father's success in his business and at home, then she's ready to do the same with a husband. But, if she struggles with respecting her father, submitting to his vision for her, and keeping her heart turned to him, then she doesn't have the tools for being a godly wife to her future husband. A daughter must learn in her first calling as a daughter of her father to keep her heart turned to him. She should learn what is his vision and mission in life and assist him with her skills and abilities. A wise father would encourage his daughter to develop herself in every possible way for the purpose of being a gracious helpmeet to her husband. What a blessing to a husband and a glory to God when a new bride has kept herself for her husband and done him "good all the days of her life" (Prov. 31:12). How does she do him good all the days of his life if she only begins to respect and submit to him at the point she marries him? This verse implies she's been preparing herself all of his days -- just for him! How has she done that? By practicing respect and submission with her father. What can a father and daughter do now to prepare her for her relationship with her husband later? How about developing a list of areas to work on together? There may be a need for repentance and restoration if the relationship has not been understood and viewed as a calling by God. Here's a discussion question. What does a teenage daughter learn and practice when she works for herself and keeps the money for herself? How will this affect the future marriage relationship? What does a teenage daughter learn if she provides her own personal needs through a job instead of looking to God through her father? If a daughter works to make another man successful instead of her father, how is this detrimental to her respecting and submitting to her husband in that calling in life? Remember: a call is an act of God that calls someone into a special relationship. God did that when she was born. Perhaps asking the mother of the family what she wishes she had known or practiced before she was married will be insightful and give some vision. Other responsibilities? Can you think of other responsibilities of children to their parents that are important to learn in their first calling? I'm sure there are more. I've presented some of the more important ones in these last two articles. I hope this will stimulate discussion in your family and affect many generations to come. In the next newsletter, we'll look specifically at the privileges and promises that come with the first calling as sons and daughters of our fathers. You might be thinking about them. Let's see if we come up with some of the same things. Until then, may the Spirit of Elijah be advanced in your hearts, in your home, and across our country for the glory of God.
Norm
Wakefield
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Copyright 2008 / Spirit of Elijah Ministries
P.O. Box 377, Bulverde, Texas 78163 / info@spiritofelijah.com