Advancing the Cause of Christ Through Biblical Family Life - 2023 Ohio Grace Family Conference

[0:00] Tim, it's all yours. All right. Well, good morning, and it is a tremendous blessing for, here we go, George Whitfield didn't need one of these. But it's been a tremendous blessing for us being here as far as out-of-towners, and thank you to the elders and all the saints here at Grace Bible Church Springfield for hosting the first ever Grace Family Conference outside of South Dakota that they've been doing for 20 years out west and everything.

[0:32] And so there's a lot of us guys that are full-time in ministry. We've been, and even just men in general this weekend, we've been discussing a whole lot of strategic ministry initiatives and things that the Lord's doing.

[0:45] And so, yeah, and I, in fact, yesterday, you know, Things to Come Mission, we sponsored supper, and so part of the things I was sharing last night is that I'm actually going to be, we're going to be winding down with TCM next month and going to be shifting gears, moving forward, continuing doing what we have been doing with some changes and expansion and launching a new ministry that we call Grace Family Ministries, doing similar things we're doing this weekend, you know, just far and wide and a lot of other ideas we have on the docket and everything.

[1:19] So we cover your prayers for our family, and I encourage you to make sure to get a TCM promo pack on the way out and check out the ministry display tables that are, you know, in the entryway and everything.

[1:32] And so we certainly cover your prayers, not only for our family, but each of the ministries represented, you know, here in Dostoevsky. It's just the beauty of the body of Christ. I mean, we need each other, amen?

[1:43] Amen. And we pray that this song blesses your heart in a very special way. Amen. Turn your eyes to the hillside where justice and mercy embrace.

[2:39] Jesus, to you we lift our eyes.

[2:58] Jesus, our glory and our prize. We adore you, behold you, our Savior ever true.

[3:11] Oh, Jesus, we turn our eyes to you. Turn your eyes to the morning And see Christ the lion awake.

[3:28] What a glorious dawn fear of death is gone For we carry his life in our veins.

[3:42] Jesus, to you we lift our eyes. Jesus, our glory and our prize.

[3:53] Jesus, our glory and our prize. We adore you, behold you, our Savior ever true. Oh, Jesus, we turn our eyes to you.

[4:06] Turn your eyes to the heavens Our King will return for his own.

[4:16] Every knee will bow, every tongue will shout All glory to Jesus, our prize.

[4:28] Jesus, to you we lift our eyes. Jesus, our glory and our prize.

[4:40] We adore you, behold you, our Savior ever true. Oh, Jesus, we turn our eyes to you.

[5:16] Oh, Jesus, we turn our eyes to you. High fives.

[5:33] Amen. Praise the Lord. one of the men said this weekend i think it was paul turner he said that one of the things that he is going to miss most that when his kids are all out of the house is singing together with his family uh and i don't think he was necessarily talking about you know publicly but doing so privately at home and i mean that's that's who does that well and that's you know those types of grassroots countercultural initiatives uh is what is one of the many things that's desperately needed uh in the modern church and therefore our country uh so so brother uh you know i you know i tend to uh go this i mean so how how we doing maybe do i have one of those helmet apparatuses or whatever and uh these types of types of things uh anyway just you know just uh i forgot just thought of uh for some reason when i said that i thought of uh crash test dummies you familiar with those uh yeah and so the uh current events uh news deal that we do with our kids during uh you know the breakfast hour uh there's this outfit i think it's in germany or sweden they actually are just coming out with uh the first ever female crash test dummies because they're talking about all like uh just you know how physiologically we're different i said my my my that'll preach uh but anyway let's go ahead and let's go ahead and open our bibles to genesis chapter one as you see uh the conference program uh this weekend the theme is advancing the cause of christ uh beginning right at home understanding how biblical family life is central to god's glory and so pastor rambeck he led us off friday night we're looking at generational impact uh and then paul turner the family foundation amidst cultural rebellion and joel fink uh you know he got a kick out of this when uh you know after nathan and i are putting our heads together and coordinating uh ideas for this weekend and uh as far as i said yeah joel fink what i wish i knew when my kids were young and uh you know the the job passage basically talks about listen to the old guys and uh so yeah that was he and he had us in ribbons uh saturday morning and uh last night i pray that the panel discussion was as much fun for you those of you that were here as it was for us uh that we could have gone another hour uh and so now did you were you guys able to record that last night nathan what's a cd well oh man uh yeah so and we had him saying and then uh bernardo this morning mentoring grandchildren and young families right in their wheelhouse and everything and so this morning as we was we rounded out uh advancing the cause of christ through biblical family life and honestly as my family and i as we uh wrap our ministry up with uh things to come mission this next month uh and tcm will continue receiving donations for us through january 31st and uh but as we shift gears to grace family ministries honestly the theme of this weekend is going to be uh pretty much very similar to what our tagline or just as far as encapsulating uh the the mission vision passion heart and purpose of grace family ministries is advancing the cause of christ the light of the gospel to the ends of the earth beginning right at home on the grassroots level and of course the health and vitality of churches is reflected of the home and therefore the state of the of our country not only ours but the the nations of the world and uh but anyway as you open your bibles to genesis chapter one i'll share this with you i'd like to invite you uh to take a uh albeit brief journey back in time to the ancient roman empire because advancing the cause of christ it does indeed begin right at home with biblical marriage and family life and watch this robert wolgemuth and his book the most important place on earth what a christian home looks like and how to build when he shares how he and his almost eight-year-old granddaughter viewed a massive piece of art in a charlotte north carolina museum it was jean leon jerome's 1863 piece called early christian martyrs in the coliseum at rome personally i first came across this this uh classic piece of art in an almost 100 year old copy of fox's book of martyrs that i was uh combing through the the books there in the lodge uh at northern grace youth camp and uh you know in wisconsin and uh it's a striking image in fact i have a canvas portrait of this uh hanging my office uh at things to come mission and and in the picture you see the roman coliseum the stands packed with blood bloodthirsty mob of people and beyond the coliseum you see the pagan temples on the hill and you even see i believe it's a statue of julius caesar pointing to heaven and of course you know he thought he was the big deal but he's not jesus christ is preeminent as king of kings and lord of lords and those people who refuse to bow the knee to caesar well they were given the royal treatment as it were because on the perimeter of the coliseum in this piece of art you see crucifixes with the charred remains of christians who gave their lives for the cause of christ and and you even see some that are still ablaze and you even see a a a man cloaked in red garb with a you know a long tiki torch as it were lighting them up and in the foreground you see a huddled mass of christians bowing in prayer and then in their midst is a sage wise old patriarch lifting his hands and his eyes to heaven in prayer and praised to god and crying out for his mercy indeed and perhaps even praying for the salvation of their persecutors but perhaps one of the most striking parts of this piece of art is right in the very front the bottom left of this piece of art you see a massive male lion followed by a bengal tiger emerging from a subterranean lair announcing their presence to all the spectators and you know what's going to happen robert wolgamuth you know he he says he explains the situation what was going on in the ancient roman empire and i'm sure you're very familiar with the stories and once again uh yeah i i paid my oldest son like 20 bucks to read through that 100 year old copy of fox's book of martyrs he was like 10 years old at the time he slogged through it but he did it wolgamuth he says he said can you imagine what it would be like sitting in your home explaining to your children what it would perhaps cost them to be a christian in that neighbor that kind of neighborhood and he says the answer takes different to a whole new level doesn't it he says but the message has some similarities to your family and mine today he says culture friendly can't be on our family's top priority list that builds nothing in our homes and takes us nowhere different should be on that list and just as i said advancing the cause of christ to the ends of the earth begins right at home literally on the grassroots level it's similar to what rod drear in his book live not by lies he says that christian parents must be intentionally counter-cultural in their approach to family dynamics and so we must do so therefore with dead serious missional urgency through the irreplaceable nature of one manhood to marriage three fatherhood and finally a multiplied legacy to the praise of god's glory in christ jesus throughout eternity and perhaps you may be scratching your head and it's like wait a second like uh you know i thought you're with things to commission aren't you supposed to be uh recruiting missionaries and you know in these types of things and well listen yeah i mean that's a valid question to ask and i'm glad that you are perhaps asking yourself that question because it has everything to do with it dear ones where will the next generation of pastors and missionaries come from it's not the responsibility of ministry training schools to raise up those lifetime servants of the lord yes they they're actively engaged and coming alongside the church and training them and everything but ministry training dear ones begins well ahead of time right at home with dad and mom as they live on mission in christ anchored in the local church and watch this as families like ours and the turners in in in many of you that as far as you get out of your neck of neck of the woods and you're able to go places and and visit other churches and these types of things uh and listen demographics are grim and radical changes must be made by churches and families moving forward as what i describe as as co-champions of the next generation the strength of our gospel outreach over there in the regions beyond on the mission field depends on the health and vitality of american grace churches and therefore dear ones if we care if you and i care about the nations of the world then you must care about the state of our country you must care about the state of our churches and therefore you must care about the state of our homes dear ones you follow me on this amen now watch this in genesis chapter one as we break the bread of life this morning always remember and never forget that the historical narratives of the word of god did not transpire in a galaxy far away long long ago because what does the first verse of the bible say does it say once upon a time no it doesn't listen that's important for us to remember because of the paradigm of secularization and listen uh it's so very easy for us to relegate the historical narratives of holy scripture to basically hey that's that's quote bible stories yes we enjoy you know different pop culture things and everything yes discernment is needed and everything and the rather redemptive themes but listen those aren't real this is real dear ones and as we come to genesis chapter one here zero in in verses 26 and 27 is that it's important for us to understand that we don't need to have a phd in ancient near eastern history and schooled in the likes of the literary genre of of mytho history that type of stuff i mean there's there's there's people that call themselves evangelical scholars that you know they say these types of things but listen you recall what william tyndale did when what he said when he was translating the word of god into english he said that when he has done the the plow boy think the blue collar mechanic truck driver all right you know he is going to understand more of scripture than the religious aristocracy of his day all right and so when we have the word of god in our hands we can be confident by the grace of god and the spiritual illumination of god's spirit then we can understand that god says what he means and he meant what he said all right and so in genesis chapter one in contrast to evolutionary naturalism and everything god spoke galaxies into existence from nothing and he created mankind in his image for his glory watch this in genesis chapter one in verse 26 the word of god says this by divine inspiration of god the holy spirit said then god said let us make man in our image according to our likeness let them have dominion over the fish of the sea over the birds of the air over the cattle over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth so god created verse 27 god created man in his own image in the image of god he created him male and female he created them and so advancing the cause of christ begins with the irreplaceable nature of manhood and yes we do know what a man is and we do know what a woman is and listen uh this weekend has been a beautiful complimentary testimony and witness as far as and we've had a great time but let's remember that we got work to do moving forward dear ones because our families don't merely exist for ourselves god has called every one of us to be the salt and light and moral back pressure of the banner of the lord jesus christ the the christian worldview in general and the gospel in in particular in a culture in a world that is hell-bent on rebellion against almighty god they have their feet firmly planted in thin air dear ones and so what's encouraging is that god is on the move that for example there is a u.s senator from missouri that has a it has a book in barnes and noble it's called manhood and the subtitle is called the masculine virtues that america needs and i bring this up because there is it's chock full of scripture there are ones and so god has his people you know there as well as in your neck of the woods and he's calls every one of us to make a difference and so as far as the irreplaceable nature of manhood is concerned look over here as far as when god created mankind male and female look across the page in chapter 2 in verse 7 that in on the sixth day of creation and in the lord what he made in genesis 2 in verse 7 and the lord god formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being and look across the page in verse 15 he says then the lord god took the man adam and put him in the garden to tend and keep it god branded mankind in his image as male and female and we see the rest of the you know chapter 2 played out as far as the expanded details and everything as far as how the lord instituted marriage and family life and everything but he gave adam a job to do he gave him work and a part of that is to be fruitful and multiply and take dominion of creation there is no one like mankind that can fill this world with worship and therefore worshipers of the true and living god yes you know the animal kingdom the created world bears witness the heavens declare the glory of god hallelujah and we praise that but there because we're created in god's image there is no one like mankind that can do so like god has designed us to do so and so first off the irreplaceable nature of manhood like i said begins with uh this and look at in chapter 3 in verse 6 so when the woman saw as far as satan is deceiving uh eve but man but adam willfully rebelled against the creator so when the woman saw that the tree was good for food 3 6 that it was pleasant to the eyes and a tree desirable to make the woman wise she took of its fruit and ate she also gave to her husband with her and he ate and listen why didn't he protect his family why didn't he defend the integrity of god's character and the authenticity of his word well dear ones this biblical manhood rejects passivity i submit to you one of the the the biggest problems that we're facing facing today as well as historically is when men do not play the man man up quit you like men and do what god has called us to do you know as far as in in leadership providing protecting in work in in church in the community and everything but listen what was that one guy said all it takes for evil men or for evil to triumph is for good men to say and do nothing so biblical manhood rejects passivity being passive dear ones and so wherever we are like jim elliott said be all there live to the hilt every situation you know to be the will of god and so but look at this biblical manhood reject not only rejects passivity but we saw there in 215 as far as to tend and keep it but also biblical manhood accepts responsibility and it's just like hey it's not my fault yes it is we are in the driver's seat and and and yes and listen i understand there's some type of you know sometimes situations that you know prohibit you know a man from literally being in the driver's seat but it's a big issue in our day when the dude is not in the driver's seat and he's just messing around on his phone and everything anyway that's ask my wife about that she'll talk with you about that so but also look at this in chapter 3 and verse 7 then the eyes of both of them were opened and they knew that they were naked and they saw sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings and they heard the sound of the garden walking in the god the lord god walking in the garden in the cool of the day and adam and eve hid themselves from the presence of the lord god among the trees of the garden listen instead of acting courageously the vice of cowardice took root in their hearts under adam's leadership so biblical manhood therefore rejects passivity accepts responsibility but also acts courageously and you know that uh that famous new testament theologian john wayne he uh you know he got a lot of things right and you know he said courage as he as he defines courage is being scared out of your wits but saddling up anyway courage is not the absence of of fear courage is understanding that hey there is something that more important than than than my comforts and things that i'm afraid of and i man up play the part of the man and do what needs to be done entrusting my life unto almighty god knowing that he goes before me in his mighty hand outstretched arm we can trust him with our lives dear ones and so so far as as you go ahead and turn over to as you do so uh just some of the very practical things uh as far as irreplaceable nature of manhood and everything and building spiritual muscle and everything and yes it's a tremendous challenge as i as i encourage men across the country young and old and everything uh and listen we need men with have developed spiritual muscle and you do so by cultivating spiritual disciplines that means cult by communion with the lord and word and in prayer and and you know in these types of things being actively involved in your church community and reaching out with the gospel and going places and doing things and and overcoming challenges and reading books and podcasts i mean just listen we need to learn and grow being equipped with tools that we need body soul and spirit to do what god has called us to do because of who he has called us to be in christ jesus and so look at this in matthew 19 we've already referenced this generally but let's zero in on matthew 19 because advancing the cause of christ we do so through the irreplaceable nature of manhood but also through marriage and i submit to you dear ones that a culture of manliness uh in the in the church lends itself toward upholding the beauty and nobility and glory of being a woman and a wife and a mother and we'll get there shortly because look at this and the lord jesus christ and his earthly ministry to the nation of israel you know we understand that from uh romans 15 8 and as far as what's going on here as far as the fulfillment of the covenants of promise given to the patriarchs of old abraham isaac and jacob uh and everything and so the lord jesus here this is beautiful in matthew 19 he says this in verse 4 he says and he answered and said to them have you not read in other words uh like have you been reading your bibles and listen biblical illiteracy is a huge issue in the modern church and if we are not deliberate in reading the entirety of holy scripture i guarantee you there will be perhaps massive chunks sections of scripture that you will seldom if ever read and i'll tell you right now the most foundational and significant tool that my family and that that we have experienced and by god's grace he's bearing fruit to the praise of his glory and through our lives and listen we haven't arrived we're we're all on you know on the same journey moving moving forward you know as far as growing in grace and knowledge of the lord jesus christ pressing on the upward way but what the tool is really just reading through the entirety of the bible i mean we we we love the one-year bible 365 daily daily readings old new testament psalms and proverbs these and listen you make time for what's important for you and so we need to do so because this world and a workaday world will i guarantee it will prohibit you from prioritizing biblical priorities guarantee it count on it and so he said goes on he says have you not read that he who made them at the beginning made them male and female and said for this reason a man shall leave his father and this is great because he's quoting from genesis 1 and 2 they're not contrary accounts they're complementary accounts and one of the greatest apologetic evidences of the authenticity of holy scripture is looking at how the lord jesus christ god in the flesh how you know he approached and what his attitude was toward the word of god and he had complete confidence in scripture for the mouth of the lord has spoken he says and and shall be joined to his wife and they too shall become one flesh and so the irreplaceable nature of merit of marriage and so biblical marriage upholds god's nuclear design and so listen this doesn't relegate the the importance of the extended family uh to it just to the periphery and just in unimportance or anything but as far as what god began with remember the meaning of everything is directly tied to its origin and so we know what marriage is because god began with a family he didn't begin with a community he didn't begin with the government or the church and so it's the biblical principle known as subsidiarity in other words the most efficient and foundational and effective entity toward human flourishing in civilization is the lowest common denominator the most basic unit that's dad basically man woman husband wife dad mom kids it's called the nuclear family and it is not a western cultural construct dear ones it's rooted in the biblical world view and if we want to get it right over there advancing the light of the gospel to the ends of the earth we must absolutely get it right on the grassroots level does that make sense and so biblical marriage upholds god's nuclear design and of course we see the mass delusion in the culture and the the the moral insanity of a romans one world will continue wreaking havoc upon generations of young people and the collateral damage is increasingly manifold and it will present increasingly tremendous opportunity for the church to come alongside with the healing balm of grace and truth in jesus christ to people that have no idea what it means to be human in the midst of this the you know the the moral insanity i mean you know i mean it's just what does it mean to be human we understand that even scientifically as far as genetics and everything ask any high school student that's taking biology it's not that complicated and uh yeah but also look at this turn over to genesis back over to genesis 2 18 let me show you this now in the in the midst of the garden this is glorious genesis 2 18 i i was uh i was referencing this verse many times when i was traveling the philippines for two weeks in in in may just i was on the island of mindanao with a group of our uh filipino uh you know leaders there and just fascinating and everything and it was like hey uh it's like it's important when you're doing things like that i've shared this with some of you guys already this weekend when a a whole bunch of women want to take their picture with you and then some of the you know the some individual ladies with like a selfie with you and it's like you know it's like yeah it's like it's very easy for things like that to go to your head and it's like yeah you know you know like a celebrity rock star type of status you know if you will and word was getting out in social media and everybody wanted a piece of the action and just like come here come here and everything and it was just so it's so very easy to think it's like yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah let me adjust the hat size here a little bit uh you know get a big head and thinking that yeah i am the big deal so i would i was actively taking you know hey showing people you know picture of my you know my uh you know my my family my wife and everything talk to my wife and say hey uh it's not good for a man to be alone i would emphasize i'm looking forward to being home praise god because look at what it says right here verse 18 and the lord god said it is not good that a man should be alone i will make him a helper comparable to him and listen the world says oh that's misogynistic patriarchal sexist toxic masculinity you you've heard the whole gamut i'm sure but through all through all that cacophony and confusion the mouth of the lord has spoken period dear ones so biblical marriage upholds god's nuclear design but also upholds gender roles we know about gender roles and and of course the world is in rebellion shaking their fists in defiance in the face of almighty god they suppress and listen i would encourage you anytime you see a rainbow flag or these types of things recite romans 118 for the wrath of god is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress or hold down the truth and unrighteousness dear ones and pray for the salvation of the perverse dear ones and pray that god would protect christian families from the fiery darts of the wicked one but look at this in psalm 128 as you're turning over to psalm 128 it's beautiful when you see nuggets like this in scripture because you know perhaps we're more familiar with the shepherd psalm 23 where it talks about how the lord is our good shepherd and he prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies and it was spurgeon who said that yeah uh there's no hurry there's no rush the enemy's at the door but seated at god's table there's peace and tranquility some of the most significant events in our lives transpire around the table in fact it was chuck swindoll who said this is where around your family table this is where the world makes up its mind and where we change the world look at psalm 128 speaking of the the godly man who walks in awe and reverence of almighty god in verse 3 it says your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house your children like olive plants all around your what your table friend of mine said yeah he's got you know just you know poshle of kids and everything he said i want i would like a viking table in my house you know big old maybe amish made type of thing you get you get the picture says behold thus shall the man be blessed who fears the lord and i share this with you because biblical marriage upholds the beauty the glory of motherhood you can count on you can do the research woke neo-marxism you know just marxism in general we were playing bible smugglers last night around the the property and everything and just yeah so we were having a great time and uh and in fact even on the way to church this morning brother you know shiloh was she was still playing the the the commie part and you know just okay and and one of my sons just you know basically sharing biblical apologetics you know we're having a great time it's been a tremendous weekend uh but right from the horse's mouth you do the research i'm sure you're you're very familiar i mean even uh dr erwin lutzer some of his writings uh pastor emeritus longtime pastor there moody church in chicago uh laying out just like hey the marxist agenda uh is all about destroying what it means to be a woman and it's biblical marriage and family life is is right in the crosshairs it's basically rosie the riveter we can do it you know all about that and so but in contrast the word of god upholds the glory and the nobility of being a wife and a mother in contrast to radical feminism and these things let me show you this over in first thessalonians chapter two first thessalonians chapter two advancing the cause of christ through the irreplaceable nature of manhood marriage but also this at the at the the heart and soul of god's design for the family is the irreplaceable nature of fatherhood in first thessalonians 2 verse 11 2 we have a nugget here that speaks to the heart and soul of fatherhood and listen uh what's fascinating is that you look at social science research and just as far as demographic you know issues and fertility and everything uh many countries of the world if you just want to look at it pragmatically you know as far as in that way many countries of the world whether it's japan or in eastern europe they're facing huge massive issues basically they're growing old before they get rich grow rich and like china you know hey they think they can do this basically hey uh have more babies we have a crisis on our hands and and that's where it gets into being countercultural and yes just like one of the men was saying last night just don't just merely you know pop them out but hey be grateful to god and deliberately yes take care of your wife but deliberately and intentionally transmit the truth of god and disciple generations in the pathway of the righteousness here once because not all homeschool families have a passion for parent-led home-based family discipleship dear ones and yes there are there are pathologies even in the midst of the you know wholesome uh communities and everything and jesus christ is the heart and soul and foundation and unless he is preeminent and forefront of our hearts and our minds as men we got issues we got problems look at first thessalonians 2 11 and 12 here the word of god says as you know how we exhorted apostle paul recounting his testimony and life and ministry bearing witness to as far as their ministry there in the church in thessalonica there he says as you know in verse 11 how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you as a father does his own children why look at this in verse 12 in other words that there is a transcendent cause of life that we invest the time talent and treasure thereof into eternity and it's not about us we are not the center of the universe and but we say but pastor that's my favorite subject though me myself and i because i'm the big deal like paul david tripp you know talks about in his writings you know his book all why it matters for everything we think say and do and he says you know i wrote this book for me because i need it he says i wrote this book for you because your heart is just like mine you know the darkness and depravity of man's heart you know we want to be at the throne of the universe but we're not unless we forget let's be reminded any given sunday who's in charge because look in verse 12 that you would walk worthy of god who calls you into his own kingdom and glory so the irreplaceable nature of fatherhood is rooted in this that biblical fatherhood invests wisdom because you see there as far as how we exhorted the fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom is the beginning of knowledge and knowledge of the holy one is understanding that's where the biblical christian worldview begins dear ones and yes and we are concerned as far as in grace dismissational circles we are concerned about okay the perpetuity okay of a comprehensive thorough understanding of the word of god rightly divided to the next generation but dear ones we are dealing with even more foundational issues than than that understand the pre-trib rapture all these types of things and you know the contrasting prophecy and mystery in israel in the body of christ law and grace and everything uh but listen we're dealing with even more foundational issues than that dear ones even in grace churches and so as far as as we deliberately invest wisdom but also vision to have a can-do glass half full rather than half empty understanding of what the lord has called us to do and to exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think because one of the things we've been emphasizing this weekend christ may return today dead serious gospel urgency but he may not return for a thousand years and so lord give us wisdom and vision to see beyond our years to understand what we ought to do by your grace in our lifetime that will set up future generations to stand strong in the lord and the power of his might in their generation and so but also this you remember in the book of nehemiah nehemiah where the the jews are returning from exile from babylon and nehemiah as god's man he was the the cup bearer to a pagan king and that day and he got wind of the state of the holy city of jerusalem and he was distraught and consistently you see these nuggets in the book of nehemiah and he prayed and he prayed and he was just beautiful testimony of nehemiah and it it came to a point where he pitched the whole idea to the king and and and in god's mighty hand and just his ways beyond our ways the king basically finance the project and everything and basically any time that you step out in faith and you're going to do something awesome as far as this william carrey said you know basically the father of modern mission he says he says expect great things from god attempt great things for god anytime that you step out in faith you can expect opposition that's exactly what nehemiah experienced and it came to a point where they were able to in the midst of rebuilding the wall you know the the fortifications around jerusalem came to a point they rebuilt it in record time because each man took personal responsibility for erecting the wall in front of his own home and they had a tool in one hand a weapon in one hand in the midst and there was opposition come over here let's talk and he says no i'm doing a great work and everything it came to a point where as the leader of the whole initiative he challenged and he beckoned to god's people in that day he says remember the lord great and awesome and he says fight for your families your wives your children and so biblical fatherhood invests wisdom instills vision but also infuses courage dear ones because we are heirs to the past we're ancestors to the future it's been said that fatherhood is automatic and value-free in other words every one of us for good or for ill we are passing on a legacy and by virtue of just being who we are we are going to be past it's father power is like a claw hammer as it were that tears out of your heart and slams it right into the the heart of the next generation so our lives affect one another and it's only by the grace of god that our progeny can overcome our foibles our weaknesses and listen our children and i pray that you know boys and girls i mean young men and young young women you have a front row seat to see all of your parents issues and listen one of the things that i i almost mentioned last night the panel discussion was uh somewhat of a confession uh we've had a rough couple weeks and there was a time last week we're we were we were really struggling with some stuff and it was one of those things where it's like okay our family worship time wasn't as robust as we'd love it to see but we were we were working through some stuff and it was a blessing to to go back and as we were kissing our kids good night and everything yeah you know my older boys maybe it's a little different maybe i kiss him on the the head or you know just you know right away just or that type of thing or the shoulder or just or sometimes honestly i said hey would you kiss me good night tuck me in because he's still he's still going these types of things but i bring this up because one of the things that we need to be very deliberate on is and listen is asking forgiveness from our apologizing to our kids or asking their forgiveness and ensuring even young people like hey make sure that you are ministering and responding to grace yourselves because listen you have a front row seat to see in all your parents issues and stuff we're not perfect and one of the big challenges is to relinquishing bitterness and resentment and forgiving them and once again being transparent with one another i mean that's the the beauty of god's grace is is he knits our hearts together in love and of course daily and weekly rhythms as far as putting words into action as far as the irreplaceable nature of manhood is you know things like the family table of course social science research bears witness to this just it's it makes a huge difference and of course family worship and worshiping together as a family in the context of local churches we're co-champions uh of the next generation as far as church and family being complimentary to one another as far as the church being deliberate to equip homes like we're doing this weekend in the in the home enriching uh the local church and intergenerational uh you know relationships and encouragement and hence bernardo session this morning uh but turn over to psalm 78 psalm 78 we're going to end where we started nathan let us off here in psalm 78 and once again the the urgency of missionally engaging culture and advancing the light of the gospel to the ends of the earth is is such that yes the imminent return of the lord jesus christ yes it is a reality he may come back today but he may not but regardless if we knew when he was coming back it should not make a difference in how we live our lives as we aren't being faithful literally on the grassroots level but it's the tension between the already and the not yet as far as the the the the short term but also the long-term urgency a reality dear one so look at psalm 78 this is the the first and the longest of the historical psalms as we see let's zero on in there on verse four it says we will not hide them basically you know the truths of the lord we will not hide them from the generation from their children telling to the generation to come the praises of the lord and strengthen his wonderful works that he has done verse six that the generation to come might know them the children who would be born that they may arise and declare them to their children that they may set their hope in god and not forget the works of god but keep his commandments because there was a generation in israel's national history that there arose a generation who knew not the lord nor the wonderful works which he had done i mean 10 plagues in egypt hello red sea crossing anybody home in in the just in the wilderness wanderings and god's you know sustaining them it's like how did they forget well how do we forget increasingly there's people in our country that have the the faintest clue about biblical history along with church history as far as the likes of the reformation or american history what god has done in our nation's history and and certainly they're also ignorant of what the lord has done in their own family history and we need to tell them because the irreplaceable nature of a multiplied legacy is such that biblical legacy champions the glory of children and listen and that word gets into the countercultural radical intentionality that hey just like rejecting the american dream you can't have it all i shared last night it was like listen if we waited till we had enough money as far as what the world says like oh yeah it's it's no it's time that we wouldn't have any kids but children are not an inconvenience dear ones they're at the heart and soul of god's plan to magnify his glory amongst the nations dear ones and biblical legacy champions godly character as we deliberately come alongside and walk alongside our children and shepherd their hearts in the pathways of righteousness but also biblical legacy champions generational faithfulness think of this consider what will be the testimony that your children and grandchildren will share with their grandchildren about the legacy of your life what will be the impact and listen there's a whole host of avenues that we can do to hey to you know especially in nowadays as far as you know uh you know technology and everything to be able to just bequeath actually you know our voice or printed page down to future generations out so they can you know look back and emulate us but so they but so that they can invest their lives emulating being conformed to the savior not just like wow what a great man what a great woman no what a great god they served amen and watch this just as robert wolgamuth he mentioned in the most important place on earth about the ancient roman empire that that painting that i shared with you similarly dr al moeller wrote in his book the gathering storm secularism culture in the church he said this basically that intentional ministry training begins at home in three poignant ways he said this that christian parents and grandparents for that matter must view church as the highest and utmost priority for their children for their family's weekly schedule and listen there are myriad distractions in our day and i submit to you one of the most significant competitors toward gospel ministry and the local church taking precedent and priority and family life is youth sports in our day listen i played baseball in college it's a literally it's a different ball game nowadays and so we should never be surprised that when generations of young people when they leave and they depart from something that they really never knew that well to begin with and hence the countercultural radical intentionality literally on the grassroots level anchored in the local church and moeller he also says that christian parents and grandparents need to be serious about the effects of technology screen time and social media one of the things that we didn't talk about last night in the panel discussion is what age do you give your kids a phone it's an issue there's kids in our neighborhood it's like jaw drop conk when they're talking with my my boys and they're saying you don't have a phone what do you do and i joked with my boys too that one of these kids asked him he's like hey do you got a girlfriend and i said yeah you should basically said i have seven of them you know just you know play with it and have fun uh and everything but it's an issue it's a huge issue and of course that deals with sexual integrity and a host of issues and everything and listen that's where it gets into dad the family watchdog that's for me in my house we were at one church in colorado and uh one of the the old boys there he was he was you know giving me a hard time he said hey what's the deal your kids don't have a phone uh and i said brother i wouldn't give my my son a phone even if you offer to pay for it so but anyway of course there comes a time you know that time will come uh and everything and so uh yeah like i said when they can pay for it particularly but anyway anyway but also christian parents must endeavor to fill their homes with the fragrance of the gospel is it real at home you know we can't give what we don't have and that's one of the one of the reasons why we've we've emphasized what we've emphasized this weekend and you know and even just you know various uh putting other other men speaking to different issues right in their wheelhouse with freedom and flexibility and everything we pray we pray that you're encouraged and that we pray that you uphold uh one another and the rest of us that are going to be heading home this afternoon upholding us in prayer and and asking god that he would do something awesome for this you know i'm talking about reformation revival and revitalization in this epoch of history beginning right on the grassroots level and and perhaps just perhaps god will be pleased to use us in his awesome plan to magnify his glory in amazing ways beginning right here with you and i that our lives will echo throughout eternity to the praise of his glory at that day and every day after that and on and on lord you are worthy of all praise and lord we do pray for the salvation of souls how we do pray oh god that you would give us as your people wisdom vision and courage to be deliberate and lord we pray that you would protect us from the fiery darts of the wicked one and lord that we pray that you would protect our children and our grandchildren lord that come what may whether it's a coliseum roman situation in that day or being canceled in this day and come what may lord we're grateful for the promise of your word that we are more than conquerors through him who loved us and nothing and no one can separate us from your love and your grace lavished upon us in christ jesus hallelujah amen amen amen amen amen all right thank you tim yeah all right everybody well that that finishes up our service and really our our conference weekend we're gonna have a meal now i did have one idea is john aiken still here no oh no there he is do you have the click do you have the camera do you think we could take a picture outside like a group one okay so here's my idea we're gonna take a group picture all the attendees whether you're here for one day or all three days uh we'll take a group picture outside go past the fire pit and um like with maybe the field as the backdrop i don't know john does that sound like a good idea all right should work i'm gonna go ahead and pray for the meal and so that that'll be taken care of but uh head out to head out outside we'll try to make it super fast uh just a few minutes uh and then we'll all go in and and eat father thank you so much for this weekend thank you for all the words that were spoken and the conversations that were had the relationships that were formed developed and uh and all the uh sharpening of iron against iron what a tremendous weekend thank you for the food that we're about to enjoy in jesus name amen