Family Leadership

You know, I could sing like that a meal as well. In about a million years, probably. It'd take a while for me to do that. But anyway, we will be looking forward to hearing more from you over the months and weeks ahead. We really appreciate that our young people have that kind of talent, that ability. I hope all of you had a good week. Last night, by the way, at our home, the rain just poured down. I don't know if that happened where you were, but boy, it really pounded. I think about the time I went to bed, I heard this rush of a mighty wind and no tons of fire, but boy, it was really coming down. But isn't it a beautiful day today? Could you ask for a more beautiful Sabbath? And if you did, rather than we'd be very selfish, wouldn't we, to be asking for a better Sabbath than what a lot of people are having across the country? You know, some of the areas are quite cold at this particular time. But anyway, we have one correction. The Breidenfahls address is not on Bald Eagle. It's at 513 Feather, Riverway Vacaville. So anyway, we can make that note a little bit later on, too. But I'll leave this up here in case someone leading songs could maybe say something about that. Hint, hint. You know, for the song leader, whoever he is. But anyway. I think one thing, brethren, that is abundantly clear to even those in the world, because you hear people talking about this from time to time, even on the talk shows, is there is a great lack of leadership in this world. I mean, we're not the only ones saying this, by the way. We've been saying it quite a long time. But there is a great lack of leadership in the world. Recently, of course, this past week, the news has been filled up with about Nelson Mandela, who was a former South African president who died, I think he was 95 years of age, and remarkable individual, was unique. And he, of course, modeled the piece when he could have been very vindictive, he could have been very angry. I don't know all of Nelson Mandela's history, but, you know, had him being put into prison and was there for 27 years, he could have come out very hostile. He could have been like Bugavi, by the way, in Zimbabwe, but he was not. And I think that was a fear that a lot of people thought at that time that if he came, he was released from prison, he became president, then it would basically turn South Africa into a bloodbath. But, of course, it did not happen that way. If you've read any of the things that Nelson Mandela has said, you would understand that. One thing that he said, by the way, which I think is very poignant and very wise, shows the depth of wisdom that Mr. Mandela had. He said that resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies. And what a remarkable thing to say. Very wise. And, of course, he led South Africa in a way that was very surprising.

And, hopefully, things will remain in a peaceful state there with his passing. Of course, there are troubles there that are brewing, you may be aware of. But anyway, we'll pray that things will continue to go well so that the work of God can have free concourse as we preach the Gospel in that part of the world.

I'd like you to go to Isaiah 3, though. Isaiah 3. Beginning in verse 1, it says, "...For behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah." This was going to happen to Judah, and it did happen to Judah. It happened to Israel before this. But he said, I'm going to take away from you the stock and the store, the whole supply of the bread and the whole supply of the water, and the mighty man and the man of war.

You know, in Judah, they had some powerful leaders for a while, but gradually you see these people being taken away, like happened with Israel before. And notice it says, "...and the judge and the prophet and the diviner and the elder and the captain of fifty and the honorable man, the counselor and the skillful artisan and the expert enchanter." But notice in verse 4, it says, "...and I will give children to be, their princes and babes shall rule over them." Well, unfortunately, we're seeing this happening in the world more and more.

We have those that are babes, as it were, that are ruling over countries and misleading them. Isaiah says more about that, and quite frankly, true leadership in the world is becoming very precious, and there are so very few that actually fill the bill, as they did in the past crises that we had with this country and other countries around the world. I want to ask you the question, brother, how many of you consider yourself a leader?

I don't want you to raise your hand, by the way. But how many of us consider ourselves leaders? And yet, brother, we all should be leaders, shouldn't we? Shouldn't we be leaders in one form or another in our lives? You know, if we're going to be obeying God's law, and that is not omitting doing the things that we need to do, we need to take the leadership in our lives and begin to impact at least those things that we can.

You ever wondered, brother, where does leadership begin anyway? How do people become leaders? You know, they're not born. Certainly, they're not born. You know, they have to be taught, don't they? They have to be instructed in some way or another. Well, brother, the only place that leadership really can begin is in the family. You know, when we're born into this world, we are imprinted by our families. Now, brother, why is family leadership so important in the process of leading and learning leadership?

Well, you know, as we've said many, many years within the church, as goes the family, so goes the nation. As the family becomes more and more eroded, then the nation becomes more and more eroded. And quite frankly, I think that, to a large degree, is true in the church as well.

The church becomes eroded. Eventually, the church disappears if the family, again, ceases to be. It ceases to fulfill the function for which it was intended to fulfill. And without right family leadership, everything is destined to failure. I want to ask you another question, brother. Within the Bible, who would you consider to be, I'm going to give you a really attaching thing to think about for the rest of the sermon until I tell you, who would you consider to be the three top leaders when it came to family in the Bible? I wish I had that music that they do with the game shows, because I know that all of us are trying to figure out who those were.

I asked my wife yesterday, and asked her who the top father in the Bible was, and she came up with that. I thought, I said, well, who's the second? She had a hard time with that one. But anyway, who are the top three fathers in the Bible? Another question, brother, for you is, how many of you are interested in time travel? That's a big segue, isn't it? How many of you like time travels? How many of you like to go back in time and change anything in your life? Only one person here wants to go back in time.

How many want to go back in time and change anything in your life? I have a lot of things I'd like to change. I'd like to really kick myself in the rump several times in my life.

But many are intrigued by the idea of time travel. Some have written much about, in fact, the possibility of time travel. Stephen Hawking, a very famous physicist, has said that it's possible. Einstein's equations apparently allow for going back in time. Of course, he would say you would have to have a lot of energy to be able to do it. If you know anything about Michio Kaku, and if you've been watching the Science Channel, you know this name. He's a strength theory expert.

He says so as well about time travel. So when I ask, how many of you are interested in time travel, it could be possible. Hollywood uses the concept quite a bit, don't they? Remember the movie Back to the Future? Michael J. Fox goes back in time to the fifties using a time machine built into a DeLorean by an eccentric professor?

What a script that was. And the car must go 88 miles per hour in order to blast back into the past. Now, I go 88 miles an hour, and I get a ticket. But what happens when this young man goes back in time, he changes. Apparently, he changes things a bit, and he comes back to the present. And at the present, he left his father and mother, and they were a bunch of misfits. And he goes back and he changes things in the fifties, and he comes forward in time, and all of a sudden, his mom and dad are debonair.

You remember the story of Back to the Future? This dysfunctional family of dorky brother and dorky sister, they become cool. Mom and dad are so suave and debonair. Well, maybe, brethren, you like to do that. Go back and change something about your life to make yourself different in some way. Some of you old-timers, particularly, what would you change if you could go back and change it for the better?

I mean, if you could sort of make an incision and make a change, a little bit of a change, knowing what you know now, what would you change? Well, we can't go back in time. You and I don't have enough energy. We can barely have the energy to get up in the morning.

But what is the next best thing to traveling forward in time? Forward in time? In a way, back in time? Well, someone telling you now what the future is going to be. That's the next best thing. And we have that in the church, you know that? We can be told what the future is going to be.

If we do thus and such, we know what's going to happen. Let's go to Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11.

And here, of course, is the who's who in the Bible of people who are faithful through the ages. And there was one particularly notable individual that was very, very faithful. But notice here about all of these people that are listed in chapter 11 of Hebrews, the faith chapter, as it's called. But it says, these all, speaking about these patriarchs and matriarchs, died in the faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off. Were assured of them. So they saw these great promises afar off, and they were assured of them, and they embraced them. They believed them with all of their heart and soul and mind, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. And it says, for those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly, if they had called the mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is a heavenly country. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He's prepared a city for them.

So they had far-reaching vision of the future, and they went forward in the future, and they saw it. And they believed it, and they embraced it. And you know what? They changed the past now. They changed the past, as it were now, to match up with what the future was going to be. And they lived their lives differently, accordingly, according to what we see in the Bible. But they knew the future, and they really believed what God said. Now, brethren, let's focus on just one of those who was told about the future. And he was the leader of the pack, as it were. And his name was Abraham. A remarkable individual.

He lived in an advanced culture in Ur of the Chaudes, and they've uncovered, by the way, Ur. If some of you young people want to do some research, and the kind of life that Abraham may have had, it was a comfortable life. You know, the only thing that he probably didn't have is a light bulb to turn on. He probably had everything else. But God told him to get out of his place that he was, and that he should go to a place that he should show him. And so he got out of his comfort zone, and he did what God commanded him to do. And God told him—I'm not going to go to Genesis 12 in verses 1 through 2, but you might want to write it down— that he was going to bless him in major.

He was going to bless him in such a tremendous way. And not only him, but God was going to bless the entire world. He was going to give a tremendous blessing to the entire world. And we know God did that with Abraham. Not only did he bless the entire world with the physical, in the physical realm, but we know that through Abraham, God's promise that he would send his son, Jesus Christ, who would become, of course, himself a sacrifice for the world and make it possible for us to be a part of God's divine family.

And so Abraham believed God, and we're so thankful that he did. And you know what, brethren? His children are going to inherit the kingdom of God. This man, Abraham. Hebrews—let's go to Hebrews, verse 8. It says, for by faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance, and he went out not knowing where he was going. Wow! Talk about belief! That, of course, is something that not many people do. Not many people have the courage to do that.

By faith, he dwelt in the land of promise in a foreign country. And it says, camping with Isaac and Jacob. He was an attempt. Now, an Ur, by the way, of Chaldees, he would not have to have been an attempt. I can assure you, there were multi-storied dwelling places there. And I can only imagine, considering the fact that Abraham was a prince—he was not, by the way, he was not an impoverished person. Very wealthy person.

He was a descendant of Noah, by the way. Very wealthy individual. And he left it to go camping. And he believed God here. It's well intense with Isaac and Jacob. And it says, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. And it says, by faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed. Remember, she was—what was she? Ninety years old? How many of us would even think about children at ninety years of age, you know? You know, I'm thirty-five, and I don't think about them.

And if I asked my wife to have another child at this time in her life, I think she would throw the kitchen sink at me. And she bore a child when she was past the age, way past the age, because she judged him faithful, who had promised. Therefore for one man, and him as good as dead, was born as many as the stars of the sky. It says in multitude, in norma-ble as the sand which is by the seashore.

From this one man, you have the United States, Britain, Australia, you know, you could go on and on, the millions upon millions upon the earth that emanated from this man, Abraham, and from his offspring after that. But one notable characteristic, by the way, about Abraham, I think we can really pick up on and see, is that he was a faithful person to God. In fact, he's been called the Father of the Faithful. He was obedient to God. He walked in God's ways, unlike anybody else.

And by the way, you know, you might be thinking, well, you know, he didn't have to keep the Sabbath, he didn't have to keep the Holy Days, he didn't tithe, he didn't do any of those. No. Contrary to that, he did. Did you know that Abraham kept the Sabbath? By himself! You know, I'm sure that Abraham may have had services with his people. You know, who knows? We don't have records of those kinds of things, but you can imagine that Abraham would have shared what he had with his household. And he had 300 men in his household that could go to war.

By the way, he had a big group, bigger than the church that we have here. And you can imagine that probably Abraham stood up and talked to them about God's way. Now, they may not have ever gotten it, but what they got maybe changed their lives.

And they stuck with Abraham probably, and were very faithful to him. But he was the father of the faithful. And also, you know, in Galatians 3, 9, it says, So then they which be of faith, hopefully that's you and me, brethren, are blessed with faithful Abraham. So because of Abraham, we're blessed as God's people.

We're his children, as it were. Let's go over to James 2. James 2, over here. In James 2, the Apostle James over here mentions about Abraham. Again, this remarkable man, who the Jews, of course, claimed proudly as their progenitor. But in James 2, down in verse 23, notice it says, And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, Abraham believed God, and it was a candidate for righteousness. And he was called the friend of God.

And I'm not going to go to Genesis 26, verse 25, to show what Abraham did. But there, in Genesis 26, verse 5, it says, And so, you know, we see in the life of Abraham what it meant when he believed God. And so, brethren, how can we have the qualities of Abraham and be a friend of God? I think it's very clear that we must keep God's laws as well, in our lives. How well are we doing that, brethren? How well are we doing that? Abraham kept the laws of God.

Isaac kept the laws of God. Jacob kept the laws of God. Joseph kept the laws of God. Can you imagine, brethren, that here you have four generations of people that are keeping the laws of God? How many generations do we have represented here in this congregation? Two, three generations? In some cases, we do. Two or three generations. Of course, the jury is still out in terms of how well we do by the end of our lives. But hopefully, we have more than one generation that is represented here. But here, amazing!

You've got three generations. One of my goals as a father, by the way, is I'd like to see my sons obey God, I want my grandsons to obey God, and I want their sons to obey God. They're daughters as well. Of course, right now, I don't know how to have a daughter or granddaughter. But when we do, I want her to obey God, too. But to our younger people, I'm going to ask you something.

What laws of God are sometimes difficult to keep in the world? I'm talking about in the world. What laws would be hard for you? Is it Christmas? If some of you young people were involved in choir at school, do you ever have to dodge some of the Christmas songs? You know, I'm not talking about going through Walmart and hearing Christmas music, but I mean at school. How about the Sabbath? You know, some of you older young people, how about it work? Do you have any issues with some of those things?

You know, I can say with all without question that if you have a parent, you know, they had the same issues. Now, when you came across those issues with regard to the Sabbath or with regard to the Christmas Easter or whatever it would be, the conflicts at school, you know, what did your parents encourage you to do? Did they say, well, that's just your decision?

I don't want to have anything to do with that. I hope not. I hope that they talk with you. I hope that they allowed you to come to see it, but I hope they talk to you. And I hope they tried to show you the right way. And I'm assured that most of our parents, if not all of them, would do that. Let's go to Ephesians 6 over here.

Ephesians 6, in verse 1 through 3, here are just a few verses we're going to go through. Here it says, and this is commandment to children, by the way, children obey your parents and the Lord, for this is right. So if your parents try to give you direction, instruction, and so forth, it's right that you should listen to them. And here God again commands all of us, honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise, that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.

And you fathers, now this is a commandment to fathers here, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and the admonition of the Lord. Because in the King James, nurture an admonition of the Lord. So maybe a little bit more comforting word, nurture, than training. You know, training sometimes can carry the connotation of a drill sergeant.

But I think as a father, we can't be drill sergeants with our children, that we want to teach our children and nurture them, bring them up. Of course, as they get older, you've got to talk to the older ones like men and women, obviously, and not as their children. But when a father's children is nurturing and training and teaching, what does that show about him? He's leading. He's trying to lead and provide leadership. Now, young people, did you agree with your parents always? With what they had to say? I would say, maybe not right away, but maybe you came to see that or you wouldn't be here today. Maybe you thought that they were too rigid, you know, about what they required.

I remember in the past, down in Arizona, our older children, they thought we were a little too strict with regard to not letting them do things connected with the school on Friday nights. They didn't like that.

And I think I've told you this before, that more than once, our kids told us we were the worst parents on Earth. A lot of dads get the number one dad. I got the number one worst dad in the world, at Father's Day. Now, to rescue what I just said, later, when they turned 21 or so, they thought we were the absolute perfect parents. It sort of made me mad when they told me that I was the perfect parent. But because I wondered why they didn't say something before, you know.

But anyway, when a mother and father are trying to tell you certain things, they're trying to provide that leadership. And you know what? They're teaching you about leadership. Because someday, mark my words, you're going to have the same discussion with your children in the future. It is not going to be as easy as you think it's going to be. And you know what? You're going to want, with all your being for them to listen to you, and to hear what you have to say.

Because you're going to want them not to stumble in their lives and make flubs and make mistakes in their lives. But parents must lead children. Do not let children lead you, parents. And fathers, let me state this emphatically, fathers must spearhead the family. You know, more than one occasion, I've told our sons, you know, you've got to lead your family. You have to lead your family. And of course, I know the wife, the mother is very important, but you know, the father needs to take the lead.

And you know what? Mothers need to let the fathers take the lead. And I understand sometimes women have more ability than men. But that's not news. That's been true for a long time. Mr. Armstrong used to say if we could ordain women, we'd have more elders than we knew what to do with in the church. Because women, oftentimes, I remember when I was in college, I don't know, Mr. Rorm may remember this, but he's not that old, though. But I'm implied you might forget it. But you get in speech class and the women, I mean, they blow you out of the water every time.

You know, I'd get up and I'd be like Mr. Kosher was, you know, like that. Knees smiting each other, you know, like in the book of Daniel. And usually my speeches were over in about two minutes. They wanted me to give a This Is Your Life speech. I said it all in about a minute. I was born, you know, and then here I am, and then sit down. But women have that ability. But women, when in marriage, their role is different. Let your husbands take the lead and help them lead.

A woman, you know, rocks the cradle and rules the world by helping her husband, you know, realize his potential in the marriage. Now, I'm sure we're going to hear more about fathers and husbands and families next week. But, brethren, you know, fathers are the spearhead and take the lead. So, fathers, you're the ones that have to motivate as much as you can your family. Mothers and fathers work together, of course, with one another. But we're talking today about leadership, aren't we? We're talking about family leadership, specifically we're talking about Abraham. Remember, Abraham was led to the land of Canaan, and God multiplied the livestock of both Abraham and Lot.

And there arose a conflict between Abraham and the herdsmen of both Abraham and Lot. Remember, they had multiplied so much. And what did Abraham do? Just to show his character and his demeanor. And he basically said to Lot, you know, let's not fight because we're family. You know, we're family with each other. We shouldn't fight each other. We should support each other. He said, what we should do is we should just, because, you know, we've multiplied so much, we should just simply divide.

You go one way and I'll go the other. And you choose which way you want to go. So he was a peacemaker. And fathers, we have to be peacemakers always. And you know, those that are peacemakers are going to see God. They're going to be in the kingdom of God. But Abraham, we could just discuss all of his qualities.

He had many wonderful qualities. I was looking in the Bible at the mistakes that Abraham made. And really, there are just very few that are mentioned in the Bible. He told a half-truth member to Dalin Gaurar. And maybe, maybe, just maybe he made a mistake with Hagar, but, you know, acquiescing to that.

But he was trying to be an obedient husband. In that case, unfortunately, he's probably too willing to be an obedient husband. But that's about all you read about. Abraham is the mistake he made. But Abraham had all these qualities. Now, remember this story in the account. Where did Abraham's nephew choose to take his family? Where did Lot's family settle? Remember, they had this choice. I think it shows the selfishness of Lot, for one thing. But he looked down at the fertile plains near the Jordan, the well-watered land, and Lot said, we'll go there. And, of course, Abraham took the rougher land, as it were. But the unfortunate thing is, Lot chose right near the center of wickedness at that time. It says he pitched his tent toward Sodom. Now, let me ask you, brethren, did Lot have any problems with his family? You see what I'm saying? He made decisions, not very good decisions. You know, he probably had, well, I mean, look, you've probably had, it'd be like going across Arizona. You go back, there are miles and miles sometimes out there in Nevada. You could settle anywhere. But he pitched his tent toward Sodom, of all places. And he had all kinds of problems with his family. His sons-in-laws laughed at him before Sodom was destroyed, and his wife was turned into a pillar of salt.

He had a lot of problems, of course, besides what happened in the cave afterwards, with his own daughters that, frankly, labeled Lot's descendants from then on in perpetuity. Moab and Ammon, as we know the story in the account. But how did Abraham lead his family? Let's go over to Genesis 18. Genesis 18. So again, we see the remarkable differences here between the two.

Now, brethren, who are the three greatest fathers in the Bible? Am I going to tell you yet? You're going to have to stay awake until we get there. Genesis 18. Somebody says... Genesis 18, verse 19, down here. Remember the story here? The Lord appeared to Abraham on the plains of Mamre. He's heard the cries, the Houston cries coming up from Sodom and Gomorrah. He's going down to investigate, and he decides he's going to have to go in. Remember the discourses that he had with Abraham about if there are so many righteous and so forth. But notice here what God begins to think. In verse 19... Well, let's go to verse 17.

And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing? Since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed in him, for I have known him in order that he may command his children. He's going to command his children in his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has spoken to him.

And you get that, brethren? That he would teach his children. He knew that. God knew that about Abraham. Not only would he teach his children, but you notice there as well, he would teach his household. And like I said, he had a mighty big household.

You look at the example, by the way, of the lead servant that Abraham had when he was sent to retrieve the wife for Isaac. You see a man of incredible character, by the way. And by the way, among the Jewish traditions, that character, by the way, who was the lead in the family in terms of the custodian, was the one who was king Og, who was a giant.

And in fact, according to Jewish traditions, Abraham terrified Og, even though Og was this huge, big guy. Abraham terrified him. And he was, he came and he was subservient to, according against Jewish tradition, whether it's true or not, I don't know. But you see a very obedient servant that goes to get Rebecca for Isaac. But we see here that he would teach his children. George Santinana, who is a philosopher and writer, said this, A child only at school is an uneducated child. And we have many children, brethren, in this world now that are uneducated.

Just don't have the education, the maturity that they need. And unfortunately, sometimes they advance high into political office, not only in this country, but around the world. So, brethren, what should, though, we be teaching our children as God's people today? What should we be teaching our children like Abraham? I thought I went through and showed there in Genesis 26, verse 5, that Abraham kept the charge that God gave him, obeyed his commandments, his statutes and his judgments.

And obviously, we should do that. We should be teaching our children the laws of God and instructing in the laws of God. I think other things that we need in the light of this humanistic world that we live in today, brethren, we need to be doing other things as well. Because in the school system, our young people are taught about evolution.

And so we need to prove that God exists to our children, because evolution basically presupposes there is no God. So, to prove God exists, we need to prove also that his word is the inspired word. That this book is God's inspired word. And teach them to live by this book. And how it's important not only just to read the book, but to study the book.

To come to understand the book. We need to teach them to the point where they can come to full maturity when they get old enough and be baptized. And then, hopefully, their generation can begin to do the same thing that you've taught them. So prove God exists, brethren. Prove that the Bible is God's word. And how it's important to study and apply it in our lives. We need to also teach our young people about love. What love is. There are so many people searching for love in the world. How many of you have a clue what love is? What is love?

Well, we don't know without the Bible. We really don't. It's not that feeling, that butterfly feeling, when you see that girl that you like. That's not love. That's just a butterfly in your stomach. That's all. And, you know, love is different than that. Love is defined by the commandments, actually. The first four tell us how to love God, and the last six tell us how to love our neighbor. So teach your children about love and model love for them.

Show them about the giveaway. Explain to them about the giveaway and the getaway. I like the way Mr. Armstrong used to explain that. So simply, you know, we used to teach in the church. We want to explain things so simply that you can understand it from 9 to 99. That covers about everybody, doesn't it? That everybody can understand it. So show love to our children always. Even when we correct them, we should show them love. Then, brethren, discipline your children. Bring them up in the way that they should go, you know, as the Proverbs says.

And even when they're old, they're not going to depart from it. So discipline your children. And by that, I don't mean, you know, always taking a switch to your children, spanking your children. I'm talking about disciplining your children. You know, helping them to realize, again, what is the best way. And teaching them that way. Taking the time to do it. To talk to them. To spend time with them.

I'm not going to go to Hebrews 12, verses 7 through 11 over there. But, you know, we're told over there that, you know, if we do not discipline our children, then, you know, basically they are out of wedlock children.

You know, they are orphans, as it were.

And, you know, the word, of course, is bastard in the Old King James, I believe, is how it puts that.

But pretty hard word if we don't teach our children.

Unfortunately, the world is full of children that were never taught. Never instructed.

And, boy, you see that these days. And so many. You know, some parents have no clue as to how to rear their children.

They don't rear their children. I saw a program the other day about, you know, there was this couple that was so, you know, sort of one of these flower children type couple. And somebody tied up a dog, you know, near a restaurant where they were, and they got upset.

And this was sort of a spoof, by the way. Sort of a joke. But anyway, they were so upset.

And they released the dog. And then the owner came back and was upset, you know, because they had released the dog. And they got on to him. You know, how'd you like to be tied up to this post here? And left. And he said, well, we were only gone a few minutes.

You know, and you let our dog go. And anyway, this young couple then afterwards, you know, after they had this argument with the owner, who went to go back to look for the dog, afterwards in this spoof, they go over and they've tied up their child.

You know, but anyway, I think that's the way a lot of people think. In this world today, that's how warped people are.

It's okay to tie up a child, but not a dog. But, you know, sometimes people, again, are sadly lacking when it comes to child rearing and disciplining their children.

But the Bible says God chases all children that he receives. So you're going to go through some chastisements.

I guess, though, the only way to avoid it is if you are perfect. If you're perfect, you will never, never, ever be chastened.

But, you know, I don't know anybody like that.

Here's some other things, brethren, to teach children. Let me give you a list.

And the Bible tells us, Deuteronomy 6 and verse 7, if you want to read over there again, I encourage you to read.

God told Israel, you teach your children.

And He put the responsibility on the fathers to take that leadership and to teach children.

And, brethren, we are to teach them when we rise up in the morning up until you go to bed.

And back in those days, by the way, everybody slept in the same room.

You know, and if you, little kids can be very, they get a lot of questions with this time to go to bed.

And so here, if you're sleeping in the same room, you're talking in the dark until the wee hours of the night about every subject.

I'll never forget when we were up in Idaho, we used to drive back from Baker City, which is about a hundred and thirty mile trip.

And by the way, I don't envy the ice and the snow that Mr. Neusen has to drive back from now up there, because we had to do that sometimes.

But I remember Steven and Sean in the car, and you couldn't shut them up.

Of course, I was so wiped out. I'd been, I'd spoken in Boise, sometimes even done a Bible study afterwards.

Then we got in the car, drove up to Baker City and did the same thing.

So you were basically, if you went back home, you were filleted, as I used to say.

But then, then is when Steven and Sean had these questions that never ended.

Why is the sky blue? You have to know, you know.

And we talked about evolution, we talked about creation, we talked about everything in the book over those years.

And those were good years in that way. And of course, we've done the same thing with Jonathan.

You know, when he was younger, Christinai, he rides on his own these days when he comes to church.

But anyway, we need to again teach our children.

Do not neglect to do it. Do it when you rise up in the morning to the time you go to bed.

And by the way, that won't last forever. It won't last forever.

I guess unless they come back home later.

But life is your classroom. Here's some things to teach your children.

Respect for authority. Teach them the respect authority, brethren.

Be respectful to the officers, the authorities that be.

Get a lot more accomplished if you're respectful to people.

Respect to the opposite sex. Respecting the opposite sex.

Teach them to be friendly. If you want to have friends, you've got to show yourself friendly, as the proverb says. Teach them right work habits.

Teach them, look, everybody's not going to go by your schedule. You've got to get up before the crack of noon.

If you want to get a job. Right work habits.

Punctuality. Teach them to be on time. Expect them to be on time.

My dad taught me about punctuality. My punctuality, I mean.

I told you about that, but I won't rehash it. Teach them obedience.

And now they should be obedient to their parents. Of course, if you teach them about obedience, hopefully they'll do that.

Sharing. Teach them about sharing.

Teach them about self-control. Learning to control themselves.

Don't let them get out of control. And their attitudes, don't let them do that.

And by the way, don't wait until they get older to teach these things.

It needs to be taught from the time that they're born, basically.

If you wait until a child gets to be a teenager, it's too late.

Teach them cleanliness.

Teach them drive in their life.

Drive an aggressiveness in terms of getting things done. Accomplishing things.

Teach them about prayer. Of course, it goes without saying it. Teach them to pray every day.

Teach them about honesty.

Teach them good study habits.

99% of the grade, by the way, is studying.

And if it's too easy for you, you know, to make a grade, I think that's the school's fault, quite frankly.

But parents, we're going to have to give challenges, kid, if it's too easy for them.

Teach your children to be diligent in their life.

I guess that drive would go with that. Be diligent. You know, a person's diligence is not going to sit before average people, but they're going to have the opportunity to stand before great people.

Teach them resourcefulness.

Show them that there's more than one way to skin a cat.

If they ever come to you and they say, I'm sorry, those of you cat lovers, but just an expression.

But resourcefulness. Teach them, teach them that, in fact, you know, no is not an answer.

Or can't is not an answer.

You know, all of us, of course, read that little choo-choo story.

I think I can, I think I can, I can.

You know, and of course, eventually, the little train could. But we need to teach respect for property, other people's property, and their own, as a matter of fact.

One thing young people you learn is if you have things and you take care of them, they last a long time.

If you have them and you don't take care of them, you're going to be, you know, very good friends with a mechanic.

You know, and he's going to love you when he sees you show up on the way.

But if you do what you're supposed to do, if you have a car to take care of your car, keep it clean, to keep the engine oil changed, and all those things, you're going to see it'll last a long time.

Happens that way with everything, by the way.

Take care of your wife. She'll last a long time.

Take care of your husband. He lasts a long time as well.

So it really, really is a good thing to learn.

Financial responsibility. Teach your children financial responsibility.

Another thing, brethren, dependability.

Don't, you know, we don't want to become, as the proverb goes, somebody who is like a sore tooth.

We want to be dependable.

You know, they always say, if you want something done, give it to somebody who's a busy person.

It's because they're able always to carry through and get something done.

Dependability. Dependability.

Also, teach right attitudes in competition.

In fact, teach them cooperation more than competition.

And then, brethren, finally teach them humility.

Humility.

Even in the world, by the way, humility is very, very prized.

I mean, look at Nelson Mandela. Another example there.

A very humble individual.

At least what I've known about him and read about him. A very humble individual.

Another thing I would say is, do not allow your children to grow up too fast.

You don't want them to be exposed to too much, too soon.

But on the other hand, you don't want to put them in a monastery.

You want them to see certain things.

But take the opportunity to instruct them in these things.

You don't want your children to become callous, though, where their conscience is gone.

Nothing phases them.

Protect your children from the world as you pray.

Brethren, to the Father, as we should be praying, all of us lead us not into temptation.

We should be protecting our children as well as fathers and mothers, so that they don't fall into temptation. Sometimes, brethren, it's better to not leave a child home unless they fall into temptation, because they don't have the character yet to do that, to watch after themselves.

Well, brethren, Abraham did not compromise himself.

And you know what? He instructed Isaac.

And look at Isaac. Look up Isaac in the Bible. How many mistakes did Isaac make that are listed?

You know, he made the same mistake his dad did down in Garer.

But he may have been a little bit more favored toward Esau if that was a fault.

I think he favored Esau because he liked the venison.

But, you know, a man's stomach is very important.

But Abraham taught Isaac, and Isaac taught Jacob.

And Jacob taught, you know, his sons, twelve sons.

Now, they didn't all turn out that great.

But you have one jewel that came out, and that was Joseph.

Benjamin, apparently, was a very, very righteous man, too, by the way.

According to Jewish tradition, Benjamin's very high.

And, of course, Benjamin stayed with Judah, as you may remember, in the story in the account.

Now, brethren, what is at the heart of a family's leadership?

You know, what is at the heart of family leadership, brethren, is righteous character.

Knowing the difference between right and wrong, and doing what is right no matter what obstacle comes along, that you're going to live by God's law. That's the heart of leadership.

And having the courage to model and teach others through your example, even when nobody else is, you're doing it.

Abraham and Sarah, by the way, were sterling examples of leadership.

And you know what? Children pattern their leadership after their parents.

Just a fact of the matter. Your children, whether you want it or not, you're going to be like your parents.

Now, I could say it this way. The nut does not fall too far from the tree.

That's pretty negative, though, isn't it?

But hopefully you're not going to be a nut.

You're going to be more than that, but you're going to be maybe an acorn that's going to grow into a great oak tree.

That sinks its roots deep and becomes very, very big.

Well, brethren, if we follow the example of Abraham and his leadership, then we are told in the Book of Galatians that we are Christ, that we are Abraham's seed.

And that we're heirs according to promise.

And Abraham's going to inherit that city that was not made, is not made by human hands.

And, of course, that's New Jerusalem that's going to come down in the heaven.

And we're going to inherit that with him.

Not only that, we're going to inherit the kingdom of God that's going to come, the Millennial Rule.

And not only that, brethren, if we obey God's laws, if we keep the Sabbath, we're told that God will feed us on the heritage of Jacob, our Father.

And so the three greatest fathers, brethren, I asked you about at the beginning, who are they?

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Our fathers, brethren.

They're going to be there in the kingdom of God. They're going to be there when New Jerusalem comes down out of heaven.

And they are going to be there for all eternity, brethren. And that's the future, and it can be our future.

You don't have to go back in time to find out what your future is going to be. God has revealed the future to you already.

And if we can be like Abraham, we're going to be there in that wonderful, wonderful future.