Blessing of the Children

When you had the blessing of little children, and there were a lot of children, you always said, will my baby be good? Because it was almost like, if my baby cries, I must be a bad parent. You know, it's like, well, babies cry. They don't know any better. They don't say, hey, you know what? I'm in front of everybody here. I shouldn't cry. I'm going to make a bad mom look bad. What a good little boy. But the point is, even if he cried, that would be okay. We just pray a little faster. But it used to be, in those days, we all felt we had to get our hands all over his head. You know, it doesn't say that. Just touch it. Put your hands on it. We all felt, you know, you're going to have these heavy hands on this little baby. This is quite a, if they're awake, that's really a great thing. Have these hands all over them. So, I'm very grateful to have the opportunity to be here, to do that. Do you remember when you were a little child? Or perhaps, do you remember the first baby cards you got when you had your first child? Do you remember how special that was? We wanted, well, let me share with you, we wanted children after our first year of marriage, but with no success. When Barb became pregnant after an anointing with Mr. Armstrong, one month later, in fact, he announced her pregnancy to almost 1,000 brethren from Buffalo and Toronto on the night to be observed. I stood up, we were all gathered together for a dinner that we all took care of, a thousand people. And we announced that she was pregnant, and they all burst into clapping and cheers, because for years they asked us, when do you even have a child? When do you even have a child? And we couldn't have any children. We almost got to the place where we thought we would be childless. And then, after going out to the conference, Mr. Armstrong said, he said, you don't have any children here. He said, no, sir. He said, well, come over to my house. So, we went over to his house, and he anointed both of us. And one month later, my wife conceived.

One month later, we tried every which way, and tried to have a baby, and we couldn't. So, God did bless us to cheers, and children are wonderful blessings. Psalms 127, verses 3 and 4. I ask you to project back and think, when you were a child. I'll share with you about six moments that I remember when I was a child, and why children need God's blessings, and why we should treasure our children. Psalms 127, verses 3 and 4. Psalms 127, we read this. Though children are a heritage of the Lord, children are a blessing that God gives, and the fruit of the womb is his reward. Children are blessings, and children bring blessings to us. As arrows in the hand of a mighty man, so are his children of his youth. When I read that, I always think of Ben Cartwright and Bonanza, or whatever the ponderosa, they have different names on it. Now, I always think of Ben Cartwright. When he showed up, and there was Big Hoss, and there was Adam, the fast gunslinger, and there was little Joe. When he showed up and his three boys, they could take down any gang of ruffians or gang of criminals. They could take them down.

Having children is a wonderful blessing from every one of us. They are from God, and they are a gift to hold, to treasure, to rear, and to love. And as I read in Mark chapter 10, Jesus Christ loved children and blessed them. So let's take a look at some famous and infamous children in the Bible, and then we'll list some of the blessings of children to us. First of all, I want to share with you what I remember as a child and ask you to think back. What do you remember when you were a child? I remember when I was a little boy, and I couldn't tell you how old. Probably four. I wasn't in school yet. I went to school at five, just after five years of age. So I was trying to think, must have been about four. And my mother somehow or another needed some cream or sugar, so she was going to go next door to the neighbor's house. And she went out the front door. She only had her house coat on, so she put on her outer coat, and she ran across the street. I don't know what time of the year, spring to fall or spring, early spring. When she went out the door, I locked it.

When she came back, she tried to get in. She couldn't get in. She walked down the door, and I came to the door, and she said, Gary, can you open the door for me? And I kind of looked like, I don't know what I'm doing here. How do you open this door? And I thought, I don't know why I did that. Honestly, I wasn't trying to be mean. I wasn't trying to do anything here. I didn't, for the longest time that she'd get neighbors to come, and they were all begging me, please, Gary, open the door. Just take this little thing, and have all these neighbors up. I said, finally, I just did it. And my mother came in. I don't remember her beating me, or I would have remembered that, too. But I'm sure she was scolded me and was very disappointed that I locked her out with her bike down on as well, and I was good, so she didn't like that.

I also remember walking down the street in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. My mother had gone shopping, so I was, again, not old enough to go to school. She was downtown for some reason, and we were walking along. I remember holding her hand, and I don't know, a message dropped hand for a minute, and I kept on walking, and then I reached my hand up, and I grabbed her hand, I thought, and I was walking. I grabbed another lady's hand. I was walking. My mother was behind me. She watched me all the way. She was walking along, holding this other lady's hand, and then we came to the stoplight or to the edge of the street, and I looked up, and I was all sitting here, I was holding on to somebody else. I remember that very vividly. I also remember, as a little boy, loving the color in a thermometer. You know, the red, is that mercury or whatever it is in there? I love it. I thought, oh, that was something. So I decided I'll eat it. So I actually bit into a thermometer. A red, to see what that red would be, and my parents got me before I guess I died or whatever of the glass. My mom took it away from me. I remember having a habit, a bad habit, smoking. I watched an example of parents and family big time. My dad would smoke, and when he is done sitting outside, he'd take a cigarette, throw it, and step on it, you know. And sometimes, it didn't go out. So after they would go in the house, I would run over there and pick it up, reform it a little bit, and take a puff or two. I did that several times when I was a little kid. I was like, hey, I smoked more when I was a little kid. After I got older, I never smoked. And I never got sick, because I didn't really inhale much. I just didn't get sick. But it was like I saw big people doing this, so I wanted to do it too. I also remember drinking.

My parents went across the street. I think it was New Year's Eve. They kept New Years. They went across the street, and they were partying in a neighbor's house. They left my brother and me in the house. They probably wouldn't get away with that. Now, he was about... he must have been about nine. I must have been about five. And he said, you want some whiskey, dear? Sure! Took one of these shot glasses. He filled it. I drank it. He filled it. I drank it. He filled it. I drank it. He filled it. I drank it. That's all I remember. I honestly don't remember going up the steps to our bedroom. I honestly don't remember getting in bed. But the only thing I do remember is, after that time, my mother thought about picking up the family and moving to Arizona because she thought I had asthma. I had such a hard time breathing, I probably could have died. She didn't know. We didn't tell her. In fact, we didn't tell her until I was in my 50s. I think I was old enough to defend myself at that time. We finally told my mother, and she was shocked. Do you remember when you thought I had asthma? My brother Dave gave me multiple glasses, shot glasses of whiskey, which I don straight down. I don't even do that now. In fact, I don't like whiskey, for sure. I have an aversion to whiskey. I'll never ask for a drink that has whiskey in it. The only time I'll ever drink even a little bit is if I have a really bad sore throat and there's nothing else around, and if that's the sore throat. That's not my liquor of choice at all, ever.

And so, I have that aversion to it. But I drank more and smoked more when I was a little kid than I've ever done in the rest of my life. Finally, when I was about seven, on April Fool's Day, the bus dropped us off the school bus, right where we lived on a farm in Claysville, Pennsylvania. Right across the street was our lane that goes down. I think it's called Antion Lane now, but anyway, it's right across the street from on the highway, Highway 40. And my dad would meet us there in the springtime because the road was really bad and muddy to walk down there.

It wasn't a good thing. So, we had this little World War II Jeep that we had gotten from whatever, but it was a nice little Jeep. And all of us loved to sit in the front seat of the Jeep. It was seat four of us. There were four of us boys, and three would have to sit in the back. And so, we saw that whoever was there first could get the front seat. So, my cousins got off, my brother and my two cousins got off the bus first, and they were going around to the front of the bus to the back of the bus. I think the back of the bus, and I got off, and I was going to go around the front.

I'll cut them off. I'll get there before him. They had crossed the street already. When I ran out and I was running across the street looking at my dad, and I didn't know that there was a car that had pulled out and was barreling down just as I came out. And my dad didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to yell. He didn't want to say, Gary, because he thought I might stop, and then I'd be hit broadside. He was hoping that my pudgy little body would have taken me across the road by legs, but I would have beaten the car.

But I didn't. He hit me, knocked me about a hundred feet into a slag pile, you know, the ash that they put on the road, the black ash. And there I was, like a rag doll in that pile. I don't know what it feels like. I didn't feel anything until the only thing I knew is a little, as a seven-year-old boy, I remember lying in my dad's arms in the car that hit me.

And I remember moaning. That's all I remember. I do remember that very vividly. I remember moaning in his arms. He had Red Cross training, so he knew how to carry me, hold me, case something else. And you know what? Talk about blessings of children. I wasn't blessed, but God took care of me. I didn't have one broken bone. I had a concussion, but no broken bones. I had to stay out of school for about a month, which was nice.

But I mean, I had to stay out of school for a month because to make sure my head was healed. And I had a little bit of trouble on my left arm because that's where I was hit. But other than that, but I'd never broken. It was just weak for a long time, but it's no lasting damage now. But again, I remember, seven-year-old, lying there, children are blessings, and children do remember. And I ask you, do you remember when you were a little child? Sometimes we forget. Sometimes we ask of our children what we don't even do ourselves.

So I encourage us all to think about our children. Let's go through now. Let's look at some of the blessings. We'll look at some of the biblical examples, but I wanted to share that with you lest you have some memories, too, of your childhood. I had lots of other ones I could share, but I won't, especially about one of them, about words. When I was about eight, my dad took me to a meat-packing place. And as he went through, he grabbed some bologna or whatever hot dog. It was a hot dog. Here, you can eat this because it was already cured and everything else. So I was biting on it.

When we came to pay the bill, I still have this in my hand. And at the check-out, he said, what are you doing with that hot dog?

You know what I said? Would you like me to shove this down your throat?

I don't know why I said that. My dad and parents have taught me to be kind and nice and curious. But I guess I was threatened. And because I was threatened, I said, my dad didn't even know what to do. He was stunned. He should probably go out and sit in the car. So I went out and sat in the car and waited for him to get the meat-packing order. We had a restaurant, so he was getting this meat from the restaurant. And they came and got in. And he never scolded me. I guess he didn't. He was flabbergasted. I would never say so. I don't know why I said that. I didn't do that to people. That wasn't the way I was taught or trained. But it just blurted on. Needless to say, I never went back to that meat-packing place again. Because, as was said, that probably that that kid told me shoved that thing on my throat, you know. The point being, we have to be careful. And we have to rear our kids in the right way. But you can't always guard them from mistakes. But lasting ones of the time will hurt. Ain't enabled. Let's take a look at them. Ain't enabled. Some people think they could have been twins. Some one commentary I read says, well, they might have been twins. Now, I don't know that necessarily so. But one commentary brought that out. But in Genesis chapter 4, verses 1-9, we read this. Adam knew Eve, his wife. She conceived and bore Cain and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. I got a man. That's how she put it. I got a man from the Lord. It was not really a great way to express it. He was prized of his mother as the firstborn. And she again, doesn't say she conceived, and she again bore his brother Abel. So that's why some commentaries think they may have been twins. Irrelevant. Cain was the older. Abel was second.

In verse 2, verse 3, verse 2 says, Abel was a tiller or keeper of sheep. But Cain was a tiller of the ground. So one of them planted vegetables, and the other one took care of livestock. And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground when it was time, when it was yielding, an offering to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstlings of the flock and of the fact thereof. And the Lord had respect to Abel and his offering, but to Cain and his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very raw, and his countenance fell. Now why was he so upset and why didn't God have respect? I would believe that God must have told the parents and told Cain and Abel what was an acceptable offering. See, if I say to you, brethren, I'm going to put a little basket up here, and I'm going to ask you to just give any donation you can, any donation you can to help these poor saints in Jerusalem. If you put in a penny, am I going to be mad at you? What? You gave a penny? I didn't say how much. Now if I say, brethren, let's give an offering to the poor saints in Jerusalem, five dollars or more. Now if you put a penny in or anything other, under five dollars, I could be upset at you because I asked you to give at least five.

Why would God be upset if there were no standards, if he had no expectations of anything else?

Then why did he respect Abel's offering because he brought of the firstlings of the flock?

That's what God wanted. Cain, he probably just picked a few vegetables here. He didn't really care about whether they were first-roots. He probably didn't care if it was one-tenth or whatever he was supposed to give and probably said, well, these are about to die anyway. They're, we'll take advantage of God. God doesn't, God owns everything anyway. He can heal this fruit if he wants to. I'll just give it to him. So God had respect to Cain and to Abel and his offering, but to Cain he did not have respect. Cain was mad. Why? Because his brother showed him up. Verse 6, and the Lord had said to Cain, why are you so mad? Why is your count as high? See it in your face. You're upset. Verse 7, if you do well, shall you not be accepted? And if you don't do well, sin lies at the door. You don't do what's right. You're going to be a sinner. And to you, shall it be its desire, sin's desire, and you must rule over sin, not him. Sin, you must master it. Verse 8, and Cain talked with Abel, his brother. Now, we don't know what they said. And it came to pass when they were in the field that Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and killed him. What might he have said? We don't know for sure, but let's say, do a possible scenario. Okay, smart aleck, you'd have to show me up in front of God. You had to go and give an offer. You had to go and give the first thing. And look, God's mad at me, because you did well. He compared you with me. And I came up short. And who knows? And Abel said, what I just did with God, said, yeah, why'd you do that? Maybe started pushing him. And maybe Abel backed off, and maybe pushed him again, and maybe killed him. Well, he did kill him, not maybe. He did kill him.

In verse 9, God's Lord said to Cain, where's Abel, your brother? And he said, I don't know.

Am I my brother's keeper? Am I supposed to look after my little brother? Yes, you are. You're supposed to take care of your little brother. Yes, not kill him. So you have the first children. One of them was a murderer, or a delinquent, the first two. The first children, one didn't turn out so well. What about Esau and Jacob, Genesis chapter 25? Esau and Jacob, one came out holding his brother's foot. Two very different children came from the same family, and they were twins, fraternal twins, obviously not identical. Fraternal twins two very different children, one an outdoorsman and one a homebody. The dads don't take a lot of pride in a son who knows how to dust. Well, my son, he can really dust the coffee table. He's really good. He scrubs good floor. He scrubs the floor really nicely, puts a nice polish on. Most dads don't don't brag about that. What do they brag about? Oh, he's got a seven-point back. He goes, He's a great hunter, but he knows how to track those deer, and he knows how to bring them on. He knows how to put this right sauce on. Yeah, he loved one of them more than the other. What a shame. So we read in Genesis 25 verse 24, And when the days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.

And the first came out red, all over like a hairy garment. They called his name Esau.

And then he goes on to say, And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel. So he grabbed all of Esau's heel. Like you're going to trip somebody out. If somebody grabs you by the heel, you go to give them a karate kick, and they grab your heel. Uh-oh, you're in trouble. One foot's in the air, and the other's on the ground. And guess where your back's going to be soon? On the ground, too. So he was called a supplanter Jacob. His name was called Jacob, and Isaac was three score years old, sixty years old, when she bore them. So he took a while to have a child. Of course, they were childless for a while. Verse 27, The boys grew, and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field. Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. Jacob, he could cook. Dads don't usually brag about that. My son's a really good cook. They don't usually brag about that. Of course, food might be nice for them. Oh, he can really clean the house. He cleans the tents well. Most parents, most dads are not going to brag about that. Mom might like that, and sure enough, notice what happened. Isaac loved Esau because he did eat of his venison. Or Esau, he goes, ah, he knows where to get those deer. He knows how to hunt. He's a hunter, mighty man. But Rebecca loved Jacob. Big problem. Playing favorites.

Now, you will have your favorite. In the one article I read, it's the child that needs you at the time. The child that needs you at the time. That will be your favorite.

Now, sometimes you have a favorite because you just have a closer personality to them. Their personality and yours mesh a little better. You have to be really careful. I will say this, is my experience in dealing with people, to say that a mother's heart usually goes off to her baby.

For some reason, that the baby will always pull a tug at the mother's heart, whether it's because it's the last child she ever had or because it's the youngest one. That can be a tendency to favor the baby. In this case, the younger one, the second one born, of course, not by many minutes. The second one born was Jacob. Isaac loved Esau, but Rebecca loved Jacob. And in verse 29, Jacob cooked the cottage, or stew. Esau came from the field, and he was faint. Mighty Hunter didn't get anything. Mighty Hunter doesn't know vegetation that he can eat out in the field if he's so hungry. Mighty Hunter doesn't have his little private blueberry patch that he can get some energy from. What happens to the Mighty Hunter? Esau said to Jacob, feed me. He came in, he was faint. Feed me, I beg you, with that same red cottage, lentil soup it was. For I am faint. Therefore, was his name called Edom, or Red.

And in verse 31, Jacob said, Sell me this day your birthright. Now, most homes, I know Arabic Middle Eastern homes. My aunt had 15 kids and baked 35 loaves of bread a day.

Every day. 35 loaves of bread. I know there probably would have been at least some bread in their home. Bread was a staple. Think of the time we got to him. But no, he didn't. He was willing to sell his birthright for that soup. And so he said, Sell me your birthright. Esau said, Behold, I'm going to die. A big white hunter is going to die. He doesn't know where to get food out in the wilderness. What profit shall my birthright do to me? What good is it going to be? I'm going to die. Jacob said, Okay, swear to me this day. And he swore to him. And he sold his birthright to Jacob. For some stew, some lentils. And Jacob gave Esau bread and cottage of lentils. So he gave him stew that had lentils in it. And he did eat and drink and rose up and went his way. And Esau despised his birthright. So you have these two brothers. One that outsmarts the other one. One that's preferred by the father. The other's preferred by the mother. Not a good idea. And you know, later on, there was conflict. And after dad died, he was going to kill Jacob because Jacob also got the blessing from him, the end-time blessing that his dad would give.

Let's look at Joseph's example, another example of a child in the Bible. Genesis 37, talking about children and the blessings they are. And part of the responsibilities we have to revere them effectively. Genesis 37 and verse 2. I love Joseph. You ask me who I identify with a lot in the Bible? Joseph and John. I love Joseph in the Old Testament. I love the Apostle John in the New Testament. I'll tell you why I love Joseph. Joseph cared about him. But Joseph was very open. That's too open, perhaps. Maybe he was too open with his brothers. Genesis 37, verse 2. These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being 17 years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren, his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Billa and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought to his father their evil report.

Hey, Dad! They lost the sheep today. Hey, Dad! They got a wolf! Drag off that one of the lambs. Joseph was very open with his dad. He was close to his dad. Verse 3. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also, because he was the son of the woman that Jacob loved.

He really wanted to marry Rachel. But he substituted Leah. So now he had Leah and Rachel and two handmaids. But Joseph was the firstborn son of the woman he loved. He may have even looked a little bit like Rachel. So Joseph loved him. And he said he loved more than all of his children, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a coat of many colors.

I had a sweater of many colors, which I hated to throw away, but I got a snag. And my wife saw me wearing it at home. And so she's going to make me throw it away. It was my Joseph sweater. It had many different colors on it. Now, mind you, if most people wore just a plain colored outfit, if Joseph came walking up with this coat of many colors, it was obvious he had something different than everybody else. This one has a white. This one has an acru. This one has a little bit light pale blue. Joseph, he's got all these different stripes on his outfit. He stood out. Now, Dad's favorite gives him that coat. He didn't give us a coat. But his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all the brethren. They hated him. They could not speak peaceably to him. They were never nice to him. They just weren't. In verse 5, now Joseph added to this, Joseph was very open. Joseph dreamed a dream. He told it to his brothers. And they didn't get the war. He wasn't very discerned what was going on. Verse 6, and he said to them, Here I beg you, this dream, which I have dreamed, I want to tell you my dream. Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field. Lo, my sheep were rose and stood upright, and behold, your sheaves stood round about and bowed down to mine. Oh, you were out there in the field, and this sheaf that I had of grain stood up. And then all of you, these other sheaves, they were bowed down.

And verse 8, his brothers said to him, Shall you indeed reign over us, or shall you indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet more for his dreams and for his words. In verse 9, he dreamed another, yet another dream. And again, he was very open, told his brothers, and said, Behold, I have dreamed another dream, and behold, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to the me.

Sun, the moon, and the eleven stars. You check Revelation 12, 1, and 2. It talks about sun, moon, twelve stars. He told it to his brothers and to his brethren. His father reduked him and said, What is this dream that you have? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow down ourselves to you, to the earth? And in verse 11, his brothers envied him, but his father observed the saying. So he was very open about things. And, of course, he got him into trouble. His brothers were hostile and would not even wish him peace, would not even say hello to him. Let's look at another example.

So again, favoritism. You want to be really careful. You also want to be careful, kids, about being too open. Too open. What is doubling your brothers and sisters? All right. Moses. Moses, a good-looking and well-favored baby, was a beautiful baby, Exodus 2, verses 1 to 10. Exodus 2, verses 1 to 10 can also show you that environment can also, for a while, rule over heredity. But Exodus 2, verse 1, there went a man out of the house of Levi, and he took a wife of the daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived and bore a son. When she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him for three months. So in this case, Adam ran in Yosabel or Yosabed, that's Numbers 26, 59. They had this goodly child. And when she could not any longer hide him, she took him. So they had him and they kept him for three months. And when she could no longer hide him, she took for him an ark, a bull-russ. She laid in an ark and she little raft. She dobbed it with slime and with pitch so that it wouldn't leak. And she put the child in. She laid it by the flags of the river's brink, and her sister stood far off to see what would be done with him. And the daughter, Pharaoh, came down to wash herself. So this comes floating in. Pharaoh's daughter didn't have any children, and now she automatically has a child. She saw this ark. She sent her maid the fetch it. When she opened it, she saw a child, and behold, the baby wept. And she had compassion on him and said, this is one of the Hebrews' children. And then said the sister of the Pharaoh's daughter, shall I go and call to you a nurse of the Hebrew? And the sister said, can I go do this? And she said, the nurse for you? And she said, sure. And the Pharaoh's daughter said, go. And the maid went and called the child's mother. And Pharaoh's daughter said, take this child away, nurse it for me, and I will give you wages. And the woman took the child. And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. She called him Moses, because she drew him out of that plan. And Moses grew up, became a mighty warrior, a general with Egypt. Notice in Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 23, train up a child, and the way you should go, he'll come back to you. So he finally realized who he was. As you know, he came to himself to realize he did belong to the Jews, to the Israelites. Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 23. Hebrews chapter 11 verse 23 was a Levite. Verse 23, by fake Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they knew he was a proper child. They said, this is a special little boy. I don't know how many parents don't think their little boys are special. Every parent thinks their boy is special. Every parent thinks their baby is the cutest the world has ever seen. Some of them are wrinkled-faced and so on.

And they're not... Usually newborn babies aren't beautiful, but they are beautiful to the parents.

They are beautiful to the parents. But once they have that child for a while, they grow even more beautiful. Anyway, she saw that this child was beautiful because they saw he was a proper child and they were not afraid of the king's commandments. So rather than giving him up to be killed, they hid him. By faith, Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the Pharaoh's daughter. As he grew up, as he understood, as he came to himself and understood who he was, he refused, choosing rather to suffer the affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. And verse 26, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, that all he would go through is to be a godly person, for he had respect to the recompense or to the reward that God would offer. By faith, he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. So he saw God. And because he saw God and he understood God's plan, he was willing to come back to it. So Moses, good-looking, well-favored baby, has a beautiful example there and was spared. One of my favorite stories is that of Samuel, little Samuel. Remember Samuel's mother, Hannah? She was lamenting because she was childless. And when you were childless back in those days, it was like this is a curse put upon you.

You're cursed. You can't have a child. What's wrong with you? So she was praying, and she was in tears, and she was begging God to please give her a baby, give her a child that she might have a child. And the prophet, Eli, saw her doing this. He thought she was drunk. Because what person sits there, you know, stupefied or crying and tears and talking to themselves. So he said, you know, the prophet condemned her. And then she said, no, that's not the case. That's not the way I am. I want a child. So let's go back and pick it up. 1 Samuel chapter 1 and verse 8.

1 Samuel 1 and verse 8.

Then said, Elkanah, her husband to her, Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don't you eat something? Why is your heart so grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons? And the answer, no, you're not.

I'll be your son. I'll be your little boy. I'll act like a child. That will make you happy. Am I not better to you than ten sons? Answer, no. So Hannah rose up after they had eaten at Shiloh, after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seed at the post of the temple of the Lord, and she was in bitterness of soul and prayed to the Lord and wept store and vowed a vow and said, O Lord God, Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on my affliction and remember me and not forget your handmaid, but will give to your handmaid. This is verse 11.

Will give to your handmaid a man child. I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head. That's right vow. And it came to pass as he continued praying before the Lord that Eli marked her mouth. He saw her mouth moving, but he thought she was drunk. Now Hannah spoke in her own heart, only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she had been drunk.

Eli said there, How long will you, drunken, no woman, put away wine from you? And Hannah said, No, my Lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor a strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the Lord. Count not your handmaid for a daughter of Delial. For out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken, and Eli answered and said, There go in peace. The God of Israel grants you your petition that you have asked of him. She said, Let your handmaid find grace in your sight, so the woman went her way and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad. And they rose up in the morning early, worshiped before the Lord, returned, and came to the house of Rama. And Al-Qana knew his wife, they had sexual relations, and the Lord remembered her. I like that. God remembered her. Hell, she poured out her heart. God remembered that she did that. God doesn't always answer us right away. God will remember your prayers. God will remember what you say and what you do. Verse 17 and 18, I've already read that. Let's go to chapter 2 and verse 11. She had this child, chapter 2, verse 11. And Al-Qana went through Rama, to his house, and the child did minister to the Lord before Eli the priest. So after she had this child, and after she had weaned this child, verse 24, after she had weaned the child, she took him up, this is verse 24, chapter 1. She took him up, and the child was young.

And verse 28, therefore also I have lent him to the Lord for as long as he lives.

Now what is a little three-year-old boy? Let's assume he nursed until he was three. You know, you want to keep this baby as long as you can. I have known of some who nurse until they're three. They can actually open the mother's blouse and know where to go for the milk. And they're standing on their feet, and they get their little shot of nourishment, and they're on their way again, probably until three. She takes him and gives him a... What does a little three-year-old boy do at a temple? The mother takes him and gives him to Eli. Maybe he takes trash out. Maybe he takes little baskets of trash and empties it. Maybe he puts out the candles. Maybe he carries the matches, I don't think they have matches, but whatever they did to light the candles, maybe he carries those from Eli. Maybe he goes and brings Eli's scroll to him. But whatever he did, he did, and he did well. And it's interesting that what Hannah did, she took this little boy there every time in verses 18 and 19. But Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child, girded with a little linen ephod. He had this little coat that he wore. And moreover, his mother made him a little coat and brought it to him from year to year. She'd probably bring him a new one. She'd estimate his size. Now he's grown for a year. Estimated the size, brought it. Put the other one back. Maybe she'd lengthen the next one or open up the seams, whatever. Brought it back to him. Every year, she brought him this new coat. When she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. So from year to year, she'd bring him a new coat. That's pretty nice. Pretty nice mom. She cared for him. In verse 26, and the child Samuel grew on and was in favor with both the Lord and also with men.

In chapter 3, you picture this little boy. I don't know what he does. You know how much he does. But chapter 3, and the child Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. Now saying he's probably 12 years old, according to James and Fawcett and Brown. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days. There was no open vision. People hadn't heard from God for a long time directly. And he hears this call. He hears this voice saying, Samuel, Samuel. And he says, Here I am. Yeah, here I am. And he doesn't know what it is. And he ran to Eli. He thought Eli was calling him. So he ran. Eli, what do you want? Eli said, Oh, you must be having a dream. Go back to bed. So he did this again. And again, the third time, and the Lord called Samuel, verse 8 of chapter 3. The third time, and he arose, and he went to Eli and said, Here I am, for you surely did call me. And Eli perceived. It was the Lord calling him. And in verse 10, the fourth time, the Lord came and stood and called, as at other times, Samuel, Samuel, Samuel says, Here I am, speak to me. And he told him what was happening. I'm going to have to replace Eli and his sons. His sons are wicked. Now, what a thing to dump on a 12-year-old, but he could handle it. Eli wanted to know what happened. Verse 19, verse 19, And Samuel grew, and the Lord, he told, verse 18, he told him everything, held nothing back from him. And verse 19, Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. Everything that, as we heard about words, everything that Samuel said had meaning and impact. So, little Samuel, one of my favorite stories, this three-year-old little boy, given to this prophet, this priest, to help him at the temple, to help him serve there, minister at the tabernacle. What would he have done? And every year, his beautiful mom brought him a new coat. What a nice story. David is another story. David was so insignificant that when Samuel was sent to ordain somebody, notice 1 Samuel 16, 1 Samuel 16, when Samuel came, he said, God told me to come here to your home. He gave me a garment. He put it on my garment on my horse, and I was able to get here. The right place. I know him at the right place, because my garment always gives good directions. So, I got here, and he said, I know it's going to be one of your children. So, he said, let your children come before me. So, he started passing the children. The boys passed him. And everybody, no, it's not him. No, God didn't make any distinguishing. No, that's not him. No, that's not him. God can't be wrong. Is there anybody else? Well, there's that. David is not in the field, but he surely wouldn't want him.

He's too young. He brought David, and David was the one. David was the one that God wanted, verses 6 and 7. He says, And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab and said, Surely the Lord's anointed is before him. No, it wasn't him. The Lord said, The Samuel, don't look on the countenance, or on the height of the men, because I have refused him. For the Lord sees not as man sees, for the Lord looks not on the outer appearance, but looks on the heart. That's why it's important with your kids, to help them have a good heart when they're growing up. Children are naturally selfish. They have to be. A baby can't say, Give me something. So it cries. You have to learn what a baby needs and wants. But if a baby is allowed to cry when they're 6 and 7 years old, they become a brat. And they become very difficult to manage in life. And if there are a lot of people who keep crying into their twenties and throwing tantrums, it would be very difficult ever to curb. So that's why parents are supposed to rear their children, not watch them. Oh, look what he did now! Look, isn't that nice? He just took his mashed banana and put it all over your nice drapes. Boy, that's a great little thing to do. What are you watching him for? You're supposed to teach him. Teach her. Teach them how to be. So anyway, heart means everything. God looked upon heart. So Jesse called all his boys, had them pass by, and they didn't have anybody. And they said, don't you have any more? And they said, yes, there's the youngest, but he's keeping the sheep. You wouldn't want him. And verse 12, and he sent and he brought him. Now he was ruddy and withal of a beautiful countenance. So handsome little boy, young man, and goodly he looked at and the Lord said, arise and anoint him. This is he. God picked up David. So insignificant that he was not even considered for king. Misjudged by his brothers when he came to bring cheese and bread for the mayor fighting this war against the Philistines. Oh, what did you come out here for? To see a fight? And he didn't see any fight because Goliath was walking up and down the valley threatening the Israelites. And David said, why doesn't somebody gonna fight that guy? Okay, you keep quiet. They'll say, you don't think somebody wants to fight him.

He said, come send one down. No use to all of us being slaughtered. Let's just send one down. It'll be one against one. Whoever wins and everybody else will be their subjects.

To the winner. And he said, is he gonna let this man defy the armies of the living God?

Well, I'm gonna fight that guy. And if somebody heard him say that, hey, we've gotta fall to the tier. Take him to Saul. And Saul looks at him, you can't fight him. You're just a boy. And David convinced him, you know, I killed a bear and I killed a lion and I can take this guy down. You go, well, if you're gonna do it, put on my armor, at least protect yourself. And of course, the arm was too heavy and not the right size. And so he said, I can do it my way.

God's way. So you remember the example? He got the stones and he got his swing.

And he looked and walked down into the valley and he said, what? Am I a dog? Did they sent this boy down to fight me? If that's what you want, I'll feed him to the vultures. And he started running toward David. And what did David do? David picked up the stones and started running toward him.

And God let that stone go right where it needed to go. And down went the giant, because David had courage. David was loyal to his God. I'll tell you, sometimes children can have such awesome faith that their complicated family cannot have. Sometimes children put us to shame. I remember one time in Pasadena, when there was a lot of controversy out there over the leaders, over the sit-ins and so on that they were having when the government was trying to take over the church. And a lot of times, church became more like a pep rally and it was really weighing on me. And sometimes I didn't even feel like going to church because it was like going and hearing a political rally for something. And I don't know if I need to go. And you know what my daughter said? They were teenagers. Well, Dad, remember when you were pastoring in Toronto? Would you have wanted your people to stay home?

You feel like an arrow in my heart. Would you have wanted your church members to stay home? And it smote me. I said, no. Here are my daughters, teenagers, young teenagers, 15, 13, whatever it was.

I started going to church because I was the one that didn't want to because of that. And then we changed. There were four different churches in Pasadena, so we went to the one that did not have that rally as much. And we started going to church. But kids, children, can have faith and can sometimes help you. We can learn from them as we will see. What about Daniel?

Daniel and his friends. Daniel was taken and his friends as talented children to learn the ways of Babylon. But he stayed focused and was faithful to God. He wouldn't eat certain foods that he felt were not good. Daniel chapter 1 verses 3 and 4. And we'll find out that God used those little, those young boys. Daniel chapter 1 verses 3 and 4. Daniel 1 verse 3, And the king spoke to Ashpenaz, the master of the units, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the prince's children, in whom was no blemish, but well-favored, skillful in all wisdom, cunning in knowledge and understanding of science, and such as that ability in them to stand in the king's palace, whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans. Bring them here. We'll convert them to the Chaldean way. Verses 19 and 20. Of course, they refused certain foods. You could find that in the intervening chapter. Verses here, the chapter. Let's go to verse 19. And the king communed with them, and among them all found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Misha'el, and Azariah, the Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Therefore stood they before the king, in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king inquired of them. He found them ten times better than all of his magicians and astrologers that were in his realm. Verse 21. And David continued, even to the first year of King Cyrus. So here were children who were well blessed, but here were children, young children, let's say, teenage, young teens, who kept their focus. Even though they could have been enthralled, they could have been captivated by the treatment that they could be given if they would only play their cards right in Babylon. Final one I want to give to you is Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ was born into the world. Luke chapter 2 verses 6 and 7. Jesus Christ was born into the world. He was God in the flesh, but he was a little child at one time. Luke chapter 2 verses 6 and 7.

Luke 2 and verse 6. And so it was that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered while they were down in Bethlehem. And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, laid him in the manger because there was no room for them in the inn. What must this young lady have fought to be bearing the very Son of God, because she was told that child is from God? What must she have fought? How would she have had to care for him? Verses 10 and 11. The angel said to them, Fear not, for behold, I bring good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. Verse 11. For to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. So a child has been born who's destined to be a leader and a ruler. Verses 39 to 52. And when they had performed all the things according to the law of the Lord, returned to Galilee to their own city Nazareth. And the child grew. So little Jesus grew. Now, there were other children too, as Mark 6 tells us. There were sons and brothers and sisters, at least a couple of sisters and several brothers. What must it have been like to grow up with a perfect child? Now, none of you will ever have a perfect child. There's never been a perfect child since Jesus. He was perfect. He always obeyed his parents. Whatever they asked him to do, he did it, or he'd been a sinner. Now, if you were his brother, what would your mother have said to you? Why don't you be like Jesus? He cleans his room. He obeys me all the time. He takes a shower when I ask him. Doesn't give me a hard time. He does his chores always on time. What would it have been like to grow up with a perfect brother? He was perfect. And so the child grew and waxed strong in the Spirit, filled with wisdom and the grace of God was upon him. After all, he had the Holy Spirit since his conception all the way through. As he grew up, he had the Holy Spirit in him to give him the strength to do the right thing, even as a child. In verse 41, now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of Passover. When he was twelve years old, he went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. So they went up there, as some say, for a bar mitzvah. I doubt that. But anyway, verse 43, I've been to some bar mitzvahs. I don't think that would have been Christ's thing. But anyway, he went up. And when they had fulfilled the days, they returned, and the child tarried Jesus, tarried behind in Jerusalem. Twelve years old, he stayed behind.

Now, he was such a good boy that they figured they're all leaving. He's going to be with part of the family. A lot of extended family was along. He's bound to be with those walking back there with some of them as they walk along with their carts. He's probably back there with them. And so they supposing, verse 44, him to have been with the company, they went a day's journey. So they went a whole day. They were always back there playing with his cousins, playing with his friends, playing with his brothers, playing with his uncle or aunt. And they supposing him to be in there, they didn't worry about it. And they saw him among the kinsfolk and acquaintance.

You've seen Jesus anywhere? No, we haven't seen him. And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. One day back, they had to go back. They came to pass. After three days, they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, hearing them and asking them questions. Can little children learn of God? Yes. Can a 12-year-old, yes.

At the winter family weekend, I reacquainted and I had seen him a couple times since, with a 12-year-old boy, when my wife and I met him. He was a boy scout. His dad was an assistant scout master. His dad wanted him to go out every so often on Sabbath for the campfire for the boy scout camps. The boy had read the literature and said, I don't want to do it. And his dad said, you've got to do it or you'd get spanked. So the boy wrote and asked, what could he do?

My wife and I were in New York City at that time, so we got to go visit him.

So we sat down and talked with him. Very good knowledge of God's way.

He did not want to compromise on the Sabbath. While we were talking, his dad came home.

And I greeted his dad and I just said to him, your son tells me that you won't let him off for the Sabbath. He said, that's right.

I said, he's too young to move out of your home. You are responsible for him.

If he goes with you on boy scout outings, which is about once or twice a year, will you take his sin upon you? He said, yes. He said, all right, you're saying you'll take the sin of breaking the Sabbath on you because he's subject to you as your child. He can't do anything on his own. He can't move out. He said, yes. I said, if I tell him it's okay to do that, you'll take his sin on you. Will you let him go to our church every Sabbath otherwise? He said, yes. So we picked him up and we took him to church. He went to church every week.

That 12-year-old boy grew up, became a young man, went to Ambassador College, had graduated from Ambassador College, was employed for about 20 years in the technical departments out there, in the ICS, the computer departments, or in the administrative areas. Finally, after things began to shut down in California, he moved back. He now goes to the Montreal Church with United, and we met him again. He's married and has three or four kids, and we reminisced about our visit with him when he was 12 years old. Could you imagine a 12-year-old boy ready to stand on his convictions? When he was old enough, he kept the Sabbath on his own.

Pretty strong. Twelve years old, Jesus sat in the temple, questioning the doctors and giving them answers. But I'd like to share with you what he still did in verse 51. He went down with them to Nazareth, who was subject to them, but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.

Now, if we bring this sermon to a close, I'm going to share with you some of the blessings of children. Let's consider. First of all, they are gifts from God. Never forget that. Children are gifts from God, whether they're blonde, brunette, or redheads, or hairless, whether they're a large baby or a small baby, they're yours. And they are a gift from God. Never forget that. I had to try to, after we waited five years with my wife and I said, you know, the greatest thing I can do is raise a child to the point where I can give them back to God.

And when they're baptized, and that's a blessing we all have an opportunity to see, we have a chance to see both of our children baptized. To see your child baptized, you've given them back to God. They're now His. He gives them to you to love, to care for, to rear, to train, to teach, to care about, to laugh with, to have fun with, ultimately to give them back to God. So they're a gift from God. Number two is another blessing of children. They come from two perfect strangers. When you get married, you know, before you were married, you were two strangers. Now you're married. They have characteristics of both. So in your children, you'll see characteristics of both of you. That's a blessing. Thirdly, if they want as a blessing, they bring joy to us.

They bring joy to us. That first smile, their first words, usually dada, dada, feels good about that. I don't know why it's easier to say dada than mama. Maybe some say mama first, but most experience it's dada. So dada gets to be paired first. First words, first laugh, first steps, where they can hold their own spoon and eat. When they hold their own bottle, look, they can hold their bottle and drink and have their milk that way.

And the fun that they add to our lives, the joy that they bring when they first console. Sometimes they smile and all it is is a reflex. It really wasn't intending to smile at you. But you still take it that way. Look, they smiled. I was just going, well, I got a little twitch in my lip and I said, look, they smiled at me.

They probably didn't really deliberately smile at you. It probably was a reflex. But as time goes on, it won't be a reflex anymore. Number four, warmth. When that little child crawls up beside you and snuggles close or sits on your lap or holds your hand as you walk and sit on your lap and look at you.

I used to sit on my dad's lap. He smoked that time. He would blow smoke rings and I would put my fingers there. I remember sitting across his lap. I remember taking his chin. He had a dimple and I would squeeze it like this so it looked like the behind of somebody.

I wasn't a pervert or anything, but I would squeeze his little thing like this and I would say, tickle, tickle, tickle on his little chin. He had a little more than I did. I didn't inherit that part of my dad. He had a little dimple here and he could squeeze it. I remember that very vividly. But when that little child sits, it just comes and sits beside you and snuggles beside you. That is so warming, so enthralling. Number five, they love you. Children love you. Looking at you and saying, I love you. Bringing home those that handmade card or that gadget that they made out of popsicle sticks.

Look what I made for you. Could you just clean off a little bit of the popsicle before we... Anyway, but they brought back the popsicle sticks that they make for you or picking somebody else's flowers from their flower bed to give to you. How special is that? Carrying on your name, number six. They carry on your name, and even if they are a girl, they're still known as Mary Ann Miller. You're John Miller's thought, oh! Even though she's Mary Ann Bates, they remember you. They're your children. They carry on for you. Number seven, leadership opportunity. The blessing that you have of leading probably the most important people in the world, your children. Leading them and teaching them and bringing them to God in His way.

What a great opportunity. Sometimes people minimize what a mother does. Boy, mother and a father to teach their children about God and bring them up in the way of God. What greater blessing can there be? Number eight, you multiply yourself. That's a blessing. You've actually multiplied yourselves.

There are extra hands to help out. Extra hands to help out. When I left to go to college, my parents, I know they didn't realize what I did for them and with them. I used to wash the car, all to keep the car clean. I used to clean the garage. I used to mow the lawn. My dad never had to worry about the lawn.

He used to trim the hedges and trim the plants and to tend to the gardens. When I left for college, they didn't realize because then my younger brother and sister were too young to do all that. My dad said, now we realize how much you did. There are extra hands to have lawns. No, you don't have children so they can be your labor force. But the fact that you have them there for you, they have multiplied yourself.

Number nine are fruit. The Bible says, by their fruit you shall know them. What does your fruit look like? By their fruit you will know them. Your fruit, your children. They are what you have produced as a couple. Number ten, the monuments you leave behind. When I die, I can leave this world.

I'll be in the grave, not somewhere else. But when I leave this world, the greatest monument I can leave is my family, my children. That's what you leave. Stone monument, no good. I can make a sculptor for myself. How about a sculptor? Where am I going to put it? Not in the woods somewhere. Nobody wants to see it. What good does that do? When I leave children, live children who are a credit to the church and a credit to society. What an awesome monument to leave to the world.

In conclusion, Matthew 18 verses 1-4. I give you ten ways that I think of. You could probably think of a lot more ways children are blessings. Matthew 18 verses 1-4. Jesus said we should become like little children. At the same time came the disciples to Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Who is the greatest? Jesus called the little child to him and he set them in the midst of them, and he said, Verily I say to you, for sure I say to you, accept you be converted and become as little children. You shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever, therefore, shall humble himself as this little child. The same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus Christ said, Look at your children. Look at their characteristics and their qualities. Look how trusting. Look how the two babies have to completely trust their mom to feed them, to carry them, to transport them, to change them, to clean them, to groom them, to dress them. They're totally dependent. We have to also be dependent on God. We look to him for everything. He is our source. I love the opening prayer. Help us to become more like Jesus Christ. That's right. We train our children. We teach our children to be that way. Jesus said, Become like little children. I'm going to give you some characteristics of little children as we conclude. Children dream. They dream. I'm going to be a truck driver. I'm going to be a cowboy. They dream. I'm going to be a nurse. I'm going to be a school teacher. Now, many of their dreams don't come true, but they dream, and you and I need to also have vision. Like they do, we need to look ahead. We need to think about, what am I going to do in the future? The kingdom of God is coming. What am I going to be in the kingdom of God? What is it going to be like? We go to the Feast of Tabernacles. It helps us dream a little bit, but we need to dream about the world tomorrow. Dream about the future. Envision. See it. Secondly, children are forgiving. We need to exercise the attitude and the heart and the quality and characteristic of forgiveness. Do we forgive?

Do we easily forgive? My kids will come home one day and I'd say, oh, I hate that girl. And the kids, you shouldn't hate. Well, I do.

Why do you? Well, they did that to me. Oh, I'm sorry. Well, they'll never be my friend. Next day, they come walking with that kid beside them. Oh, I thought you said you hated them. That was yesterday. Children are forgiving. We need to be forgiving, too. Quick to forgive.

Children are energetic. They have to be doing something, running around, doing this, doing that thing, whatever. They're energetic. We, too, need to have zeal. Zeal for God. We need to exercise our energies toward God, for fulfilling His work, toward setting an example, toward being a part in our prayers, in our lives, in what we do and how we do it, and bearing good fruit. Children are simple. They're not complicated. They're easy to understand. They understand you when you're simple.

Reminds us that we need to stick to the basics.

Don't get out here on some tree limb or some branch or some twig. Oh, well, we need to say the right words. We need to be...we need to be...you've got to call God exactly the Hebrew word. Well, you know what? God understands all languages. How do I know that? Because He made them all.

He confounded the languages. You mean, all those people, He confounded their language, they couldn't talk to Him anymore because they didn't know Hebrew? Come on. Don't get out on a limb. Stick with the basics in life.

Children are gullible, but they also are believing. You can trick little kids real easy.

Now, I'm not telling us that we should be deceivable. I'm not telling you that way. But we should be willing to believe. Love is willing to believe the best. Little children are willing to believe. You tell them, the moon is made out of green...you know, the moon is made out of green sheets. Oh, really? You tell them this color is blue when it's really red. They will believe you because they don't know any better yet. We need to be believing, willing to believe, not gullible, willing to believe. Children absorb knowledge. They learn so much. They pick up so much. This one little child couldn't speak, wasn't speaking very much. And I just sat in front of him. I said, can you say, baby? They looked right at my mouth. They will. Will you teach your children to talk to send them across your lap and enunciate clearly and look them right in the eye and look at your mouth? Say, baby, baby. You know that little boy or child? He said, baby.

Mother looked. You know what? Just sit with your little child. They absorb. They pick up so much.

We also need to be learning. We need to be gathering and taking in knowledge ourselves. Humble? Yeah, you know what? They can't reach the faucet in the sink over the edge of the counter. They can't reach it. You have to give them a drink of water. Children live in a world of knees and thighs. And they're always looking at knees and thighs. They have to crank their neck to look up at you. They automatically have to be humble. We have to humble ourselves.

Because we don't live in that kind of a world anymore. Children are loving. Children are loving.

They're uncomplicated, and they love easily. You and I need to be loving, too. Let's make sure to appreciate the blessings our children are to us now and throughout our lives.