DON'T FORGET THE CHILDREN

DON'T FORGET THE CHILDREN

By:  Alan D. George

Children are an important part of our future.  Therefore it seems only right to minister to them while they are young because their minds are ready, willing and able to be mold to love, trust and obey God.

Jesus became angry when the disciples wanted to dismissed the children from His presence, (Mark 10:14).  But children are important to our future and we are to never forget that fact.

Chapter 1 - Joshua Forgot

Joshua was tutored by Moses.  Joshua lead the people of God and he came to know the God of the people.  His desire was to know and serve God courageously.  But Joshua made one mistake, he didn't teach the children about God and when he died the next generation was not aware of what God has done for the former generation.  This caused them to sin and worship false gods.  Joshua didn't teach the children the oracles of God, (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).  We are to teach our children the Word of God.  When we go through trials and tribulation, let the children share in them so they too can call on the Lord to bring them through.  This will prepare them for when in their life they go through trials they'll know who to turn to.  Children can learn if we will allow them the privilege of going through the trials with us.

Chapter 2 - Empty, Swept, and Garnished

The word of God clearly teaches that children are sinners by their very nature and without spiritual teaching, they do not have the capacity to choose the right way to go.  In Matthew 12 you will see that a person can't reform himself.  He needs God's teaching to guide him in the right direction.  Boys and girls are not empty vessels.  They are spiritual beings made to be filled, to be guided, to be obedient to the Lord.  If that child is not led to the Lord Jesus Christ and if he is not taught how to make right choices with the Lord's guidance, he will be filled with behavior that is far worse than we ever thought possible.  His mind will be worldly.  We have to teach children where to walk.

Chapter 3 - Come Before My Child Dies

Spiritual death is an eternal condition that affects every child born into this world.  Children are born spiritually dead and they don't even know it.  A teacher has to lead them to the cross to make them aware of their spiritual death.  We have to pray that the Holy Spirit will work conviction in his heart and conscience.  There are many evil forces in the world that want our children and that is why we need to be forceful in seeking them for the Savior.  For our children are lost and they are sinners and they need God in their lives.

We need to be very concerned for the souls of children to the point of constantly going before God in prayer for their salvation.  We need to daily cry before the Lord for the lives of the children, (Lamentations 2:19).  It is God's will that every child be saved, (Matthew 18:14).  God wants them to trust Him for eternal life.  I am not to trust in the ability of the child to understand.  I am to trust in the ability of God to do what He wants through the Living Seed, (the Word of God) implanted in the child.

We as adults have to be earnest before the Lord when we go in prayer before God for our children.  A child must come to the place where he himself believes the message of salvation and trust Christ as Savior.  We as parents can only pray in force that the child will be saved, for God can work in a heart.

Chapter 4 - The Message of Salvation

We should begin in teaching the gospel to children with the very foundation of the gospel, the Word of God itself.  We must handle the Bible carefully and speak of it reverently.  The Bible should be read every day to your child if they can't read.  We have to make sure that we teach children that God is the Creator.  This is important.  God is the One who made the earth and everything in it.  This should be told to the children while they are young so they can appreciate God.  We need to let them know that God is holy and without sin.  Yet God loves us and we are born in sin.  He loved us first.  The child needs to be taught that he has a sinful nature.  Sins are actions, words and thought against God.  Sin has to be punished by God.  God is Holy and He cannot allow sin in His presence.  Sin will not be in heaven because that's where God lives.  The punishment for sin is death and children need to hear this message.  Once they know this you can talk about the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross.  Sin was punished by the Lord Jesus Christ dying on the cross for us. 

We have to make sure children know who Jesus is.  For some children might not know because no one told them, (Romans 10:13-14) [View Pages 31-32].  The Lord Jesus Christ had finished taking our punishment for sin.  Nothing and no one else have to do anything.  The Lord Jesus Christ did it all.  The children have to be aware after Jesus was taken from the cross, He was buried in a tomb.  But He did not stay there!  He is alive!  His body was placed in the grave, and His body arose from the dead.  Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ is the only road to heaven.  Jesus Christ is alive, not just spiritually, but bodily.  With His physical body He lives in heaven.  With His Spirit He lives in the hearts and lives of those who have received Him.

Chapter 5 - The Appropriation of Salvation

Many children have been taught the truths of the gospel, but they are still spiritually lost.  Why?  Because they have not been led to appropriate those truths to their own lives.  Children are to believe Christ and receive Him in their heart.  Only when this action is done will they have eternal life, (Acts 16:31).

Every child is significant to Jesus therefore He said, "Take heed [watch out, be careful, there could be a tendency] that you do not despise one of these little ones", (Matthew 18:10).  Sometimes we count children as having little value or being insignificant.  What is the child's (or anyone else's) responsibility in appropriating the gift of everlasting life?  First, he is to realize and agree with what God has said about his sinful condition.  He must see himself a lost sinner, (Romans 3:23; Isaiah 56:6).  Next we inform the child that there is nothing he can do to cleanse his own heart or life.  The blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is the only thing that will cleanse the heart from sin.  Also we have to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and receive Him as our Savior and then will our sinful hearts be washed clean.  The child has to be willing to turn from his sin and from every means of self-effort to God for salvation.  We also have to help the child receive the gift of God to lead him to trust Jesus Christ, who died for him.  This is done through prayer.  The child will pass from darkness to the light when he receives Christ into his heart, (John 5:24).  You might want the child to pray so you can hear what he is saying to make sure he have an understanding of what's taken place in his life at that time.  We have to make sure we don't offend a newly saved child, (Matthew 18:6).  We are to teach that child.  He will need to be fed from the Word of God.  The child must grow spiritually.

Chapter 6 - God Is Forever!

Once  a child accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior let them know that their Savior is eternal and that He is with them all the time.  There are three doctrines present here:  assurance of salvation, the eternality of God, and God's abiding presence. 

When we teach about the assurance of salvation this is when the child makes his decision to receive Christ as Savior.  When talking to the child we use God's Word, the Bible.  A good verse to use would be Revelation 3:20 (NIV) Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me.  You can also use either of these two verses:  John 5:24 and John 3:16.

Two additional doctrines are closely related to the assurance of salvation:  eternality of God, and the promise of His presence with His people.  Here are several verses dealing with the eternality of God that can be used:  Micah 5:2; Isaiah 57:15; Psalm 90:2 and John 17:5.  When the child receives Jesus Christ as Savior, he receives the eternal God into his heart.  The One who came into his heart will never cease to exist.

God is unchanging.  Hebrews 13:8 (NIV) - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today and forever.  As the eternal one, God knows everything happening now.  He can see the beginning from the end.  God knows everything that is going to happen therefore He can take care of us.  All we have to do is keep our trust in Him.  God's faithfulness and eternal nature are related.  God will always be faithful in keeping His promise to us, Hebrews 10:23 (NIV) - Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.  Being that Jesus Christ exists from eternity to eternity, we know that He will continue to be our "life" throughout eternity.

Chapter 7 - God Is Always Present!

In the following verses you will see the presence of God is with us always:  Psalms 139:7-12, 17-18.  But in these two verses and these five words a child can remember them in their heart and as they get older they can learn the entire verses:  Matthew 28:20 - "I am with you always", and Hebrews 13:5 - "I will never leave you".  We are to remind the child that the Lord Jesus Christ is eternal and that He will always keep His promises and never leave him no matter what.  Jesus will always be there.

Chapter 8 - Good Buddy - or Lord of My Life?

We are not only supposed to teach of God's love and mercy but we are also supposed to teach about His hatred of sin, of His holiness and of His justice.  We need to teach them to fear and respect God.  We are to teach children the Ten Commandments so they will fear Him if they break God's laws.  [Salvation is by grace and faith not by keeping any laws or rules.]

Chapter 9 - To Influence Life and Character

A true teacher influence a child to make choices that are right.  A true teacher sets the building blocks so the Holy Spirit can use you.  Even though we may not see the results in the lives of the children we teach, the Bible lets us know that they are being touched/used as found in Isaiah 55:10, 11.  Also look at 1 Corinthians 3:16, God will use His Word in the life of a child.

Any results in our life we have to learn to leave it up to God.  He works the way He wants to work and He doesn't have to tell us what He's doing.  He's God.  He doesn't answer to us.  We answer to Him, Hebrews 4:12.

Chapter 10 - What Is Really Important?

An important lesson children can learn today is making important things important and leaving unimportant things unimportant.  They need to be able to view the here and now in the light of eternity.  Children must not lose perspective.  They need to keep their eyes on the end result, the goal and not let little things turn them away from that.  We as teachers/parents have to set examples and be positive too.   They are daily observing us.  We are who they are following.  We need to teach by example what is important and what is not important.

If we look at Hebrews 12:2 and think about what Jesus was thinking thank God Jesus was focused on eternity and not the cross.  Jesus had joy because He knew He would sit down at the right hand of the throne of God in the end.

Chapter 11 - Accountability or Comprehension?

A Jewish child ages 1-7 is taught the meaning of the word "no".  When he learns the meaning of the word no, he is learning to place his will under the will of another.  If a child does not learn to subject his will to that of his father and the authority structure God has put in the family, we can't expect him to submit to the Heavenly Father when he becomes a teenage or adult.  If a child has not surrendered his will to the authority God has brought into his life by the time he reaches age 7, he will usually rebel as a teenager.  Between the ages of 7 and 12 a Jewish child was taught by his father the Pentateuch and Jesus went to the temple when He was 12.  Age 20 is also important to the Jewish nation because those 20 years and older died in the wilderness because of their unbelief, Numbers 14:26-29.

God lets us know that a child reaches a time in life when he can do two things:  (1) he can know that something is wrong, and (2) he is able to choose to do right.  Isaiah used by God to prophesy the birth of Jesus Christ in Isaiah 7:16 (NIV) - But before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.  We are responsible for giving children information needed to make right choices.  If we teach right a child will choose to receive Jesus Christ as his personal Savior.  The Scripture that informs us of the fact that a child reaches a time he can determine right from wrong is James 4:17 (NIV) - Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.  [View Page 78]  Children have a tremendous capacity for comprehending spiritual truth long before they reach age 12.

Chapter 12 - A Child Can Make A Difference

Boys and girls who have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior face temptations from day to day just as we do.  The three basic problems children face today are:  their age, their home influence, and the influence of their nation.

The secret of success for any person is not his age but the time he spends in the Word of God and in getting to know the Lord.  A child's age is not against him; rather it is in his favor.  It is easier for a child than an adult to exercise faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and to receive Him as personal Savior.

Salvation is a gift received from the Lord by faith.  This happened once, and it can take place when the child is very young.  Dedication is giving one's life to the Lord, and it should take place regularly at every age.

***Proverbs 22:6 (NIV) - Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.***

The Word of God is living, and the Spirit of God uses it to bring spiritual life to the most unlikely soul living in the most unlikely place.  God is looking today for a positive response to His Word.  He wants us to teach it to the little ones so that He can save them and live within them.  God has spoken to us from His Word.

Chapter 13 - Does Anyone Cry Anymore?

The Scriptures emphasize God's desire that children be saved.  When we read the Word of God, we can't help but see His firm and unwavering determination to get His message to the next generation and to all succeeding generations.  We also see His clear declaration that it is not His will for anyone to perish.  He makes special mention of children.

How long has it been since you were so burdened for the souls of children that while you prayed for them, tears ran down your cheeks?  How long since you wept for souls?  Our hearts have become hardened, and we mistakenly believe that tears are a sign of weakness.  Was the Lord Jesus Christ a weakling?  Was Jeremiah, who was often called the weeping prophet a weakling?  Dry eyes often indicate a dry heart.  Do you care for the children?  Do you care enough to weep for them?   Would you be bold enough to ask God to give you a broken heart like that of the Lord Jesus and Jeremiah?  If so, I believe you will begin to see children turn to Christ for salvation.