If you have your Bibles, I want you to turn to Matthew chapter 5.
Matthew chapter 5, a boy came to his dad and said,
Dad, I just turned 16, or this year I'm going to turn 16,
and I wonder if you'd buy me a car for my 16th birthday.
And his dad said, I'll tell you what I'll do.
I'll sign a contract with you that if you make all A's
and if you read your Bible daily and if you get a haircut,
then I'll buy you a car for your birthday.
And the time went by and the boy's 16th birthday was approaching
and he came to his dad and said, Dad, I got straight A's in school
and I read my Bible daily.
Now what about that car?
And he said, that's good, son. I'm proud of you.
You made straight A's. You've read your Bible.
You hadn't got a haircut.
And he said, well, Dad, I've been reading the Bible
and I found out that Jesus had long hair.
And his dad said, that's right.
And he walked everywhere he went.
It's tough to raise a family today.
It is.
And family matters.
And so I want to spend some of these hot days this summer
talking about family matters.
I'll give you four reasons right off the bat
why I believe raising a family is tough today.
For one, we're a fallen people.
We were born in sin.
We have a sin nature to us.
And we live in a world of sin.
And we all willfully sin.
You combine that together and it makes for a fallen world,
which makes every relationship more difficult.
And so that plays into some of it.
Not only that, but our world is dark.
We live in a dark world.
And it's getting darker.
And, you know, when we say world,
really what we think about is America.
I mean, that's really typically what we think about.
And we feel like that whatever's happening in America,
that must be what the whole world's doing.
Well, I'm telling you that that's not necessarily the case.
But in our world, right here amongst us,
we live in a dark world, goofy stuff,
that is kind of unexplainable in a lot of ways.
It's going on around us.
And not only that, but our world is filled with social media.
And I really believe that it is a primary factor of why it's tough to raise a family today.
Because on social media, either everybody is perfect,
or they're not.
And they're telling you everything that's wrong.
One or the other.
There's nobody that's normal on social media, except for y'all.
There's nobody else that's normal on social media.
Everybody's always perfect.
And grand places are either, they're dismal,
and they need to speak to the Lord.
Instead, they just post it, you know.
So, and that makes us vulnerable.
It makes us vulnerable to the temptation to try to be like somebody else.
It makes us vulnerable to depression,
to temptations as well as depression.
All kinds of dangers.
Because of the evils of social media.
It's not all bad.
But there's so much of it bad,
that it has really changed our culture and changed our world.
And lastly, the fourth thing is, we're in a war.
And I'm not talking about the Middle Eastern war.
And I'm not talking about a political war.
I'm not even just necessarily talking about a cultural war.
We're in a spiritual war.
And I plan to spend all of this fall talking about the depths of the real war
that's going on around us.
But it affects us at the house.
It does.
And when you put that we're all a fallen people together with,
we're in a war,
that makes for a dark situation.
We live in a dark world.
You're exposed to the darkness.
Your family's exposed to the darkness.
As much as we don't want it to be,
you're influenced by the darkness.
And your family is influenced by the darkness.
The Apostle Paul put it this way in Ephesians 6, verse 12.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood,
but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the cosmic powers over this present darkness,
against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Please acknowledge and let's fight it accordingly.
Because family matters and because it does,
I want to talk about family matters this summer.
And I want to begin with a passage that's got a phrase
that just stuck out to me.
I kind of hung on.
It's in Matthew chapter 5, beginning in verse 14.
And Jesus said,
You are the light of the world.
A city set on a hill cannot be hidden,
nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket,
but on a stand and it gives light to all the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before others
so that they may see your good works
and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
I want to focus today on the last phrase of verse 15.
And the last phrase of verse 15 says
that we are to shed light to all in the house.
How do we do that?
Be a lampstand.
Lampstands are often mentioned in Scripture.
They're used instead of a light bulb.
And they are to shed light on many manners.
The lampstand that stands out to me the most
is first described in Exodus chapter 25,
along with a lot of other instructions
about the tabernacle holy place.
And very specific instructions are given
for this lampstand.
It's a large floor-standing oil lamp
that stands with six additional branches on it,
each that look like an almond bloom.
Each bloom holds oil that is to be lit.
And that was in the tabernacle,
strategically placed in front of the curtain
of the Holy of Holies,
across from the table that held
what was called the bread of presence.
Now, the bread of presence was 12 loaves
that were replaced every week on the Sabbath.
And those 12 loaves there would be removed on the Sabbath,
and the priest would eat them
and use that as their bread supply.
And then the new loaves would be replaced
on that table week after week.
And the point of that is,
well, the reason almond blooms are used
is because the Hebrew word for almond
means early, early waker.
In other words, God's watchfulness
and vigilant response to us.
It's kind of like an almond.
It kind of shows the signs of the times.
It blooms early.
And because of that, in the same way,
God is well aware of our circumstances.
And it reminds us of that.
The showbread there, the bread of presence,
there's 12 loaves because of the 12 tribes.
God provides for every one of his people.
And the names, the nearness and the provision of God
all is symbolized in that bread.
And the point of all that is,
God provides.
He steadily provides our needs.
His blessings come again and again.
That bread was always there.
The light always shone on that bread.
And one of the priests' primary job
was to make sure that that lampstand never burned out.
It was the single source of light in the tabernacle,
except for God's presence in the inner sanctum.
And that light was placed there,
get this now,
to shine on the ever-present loaves of bread
called the bread of presence.
In other words,
people were always to know
of God's provision and God's presence.
And in the same way,
just like Jesus told us,
we need to shed light for our family
in all the house,
in many ways.
I'll tell you four things
you ought to expose your family to.
One is you ought to expose your family to his care.
Expose them to God's care.
The care of the Lord for your family.
Everything that you have came from the Lord.
I hope you realize that.
And when you realize that,
I hope you'll tell your family that.
Families need to know that.
We need to acknowledge that.
And we need to know it a lot
because we're often to forget it.
That means that you tell them a lot.
That means that you faithfully give to the Lord
your tithe and your offering.
And sometimes,
when you give your tithe and offering,
you're going to do without some things
that you wish you had.
You're going to do without some things
that you want.
Don't be afraid to explain the choices
that you make.
Tell your family,
a lot of people replace the tithe
with another vehicle.
A lot of people replace the tithe
with recreational toys.
Or they take weekend outings
that we don't take.
Or they get another house.
We don't do those things.
We give to the Lord.
He provides our needs.
Could we have more stuff?
Yes.
But we believe everything that we have
is the Lord's.
And that we ought to honor Him with it.
Kids will trust the Lord
and watch Him provide our every need.
That needs to be a shining lamp
in your house at all times.
At every meal,
in every trip,
in every good gift along the way,
and every time you cannot get exactly
what you want,
you need to be reminded
and you need to remind those around you,
God provides.
We can trust in God.
He'll provide.
He'll take care of it.
So be clear to your family.
God's not taking what I give to Him.
I give it to Him.
I give Him cheerfully to God
because I want to bless God.
God's blessed me.
And there's no ties to this.
I don't give so that God will get me out of a hole.
That's prosperity theology
and it's not in Scripture.
No, you give to God because you trust Him.
You give to God because you love Him.
You give to God because He's been more generous to you
than He ever should have been.
And so therefore we give faithfully to God
because I want to bless God.
Not because I owe Him everything
because I couldn't give Him anything anyway.
There's nothing I got that would be enough
to repay what Christ has done for my life.
So I give out of obedience to Him
because He tells me to
and I also give it because
I want to bless the Lord with what I have.
He's given us all we have
and I want to be an obedient blessing to Him.
And I think that
your left hand don't need to know
what your right hand's doing.
I believe you ought to give in confidence to the Lord
and leave it between you and the Lord.
But at the same time,
without the details,
you need to share with your family
and you need to let them know
what God gives to us
has been entrusted to us by God
and we give back to Him obediently
and we trust Him for the difference.
And if you don't do that,
you should do that
because you can do that.
You can trust Him for the difference.
I promise you.
Expose Him to His care.
Expose Him to His lead.
Expose His lead.
Psalm 119, 105 says,
Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.
Not only do you give God the credit
for everything in your family,
but you teach your children to look to the Lord
and to praise the Lord as you watch Him work.
But you also look to the Lord
in the decisions that you make.
Something is going to guide you
in the decisions that you make.
And that might be money.
And that might be opportunity.
And that might be power.
And that might be popularity.
It might be good old mammon.
And mammon is a transliterated Greek word
that speaks of the stuff
that we accumulate
because of the money that we make.
That's your stuff, you know.
The stuff you don't want nobody messing with.
That's your mammon, you know.
That stuff you save up for and you get,
you know,
and you treasure that,
that's your mammon.
That's your stuff.
Stuff's fun.
It can also be very deceptive.
I love what Lou Holtz said.
I heard him say one time,
he said,
if you want to be happy for an hour,
eat a steak.
If you want to be happy for a day,
play golf.
I bet he ain't played with me,
but anyway.
If you want to be happy for a week,
go on a cruise.
It's kind of like a prison with good food.
You can't go anywhere.
If you want to be happy for a month,
buy a car.
If you want to be happy for a year,
win the lottery.
But if you want to be happy for a lifetime,
you put your faith in the Lord Jesus
because he'll never let you down.
My friend,
that is so very true
and you don't need anything
to get in the way of your devotion to the Lord.
So,
be careful that your mammon
or your stuff
doesn't dictate your life.
And the best way to ensure that
is that God stays at the center of your life
and your family's life
is to keep the word of God
at the center of your life.
Let the word of God
light your path.
Let your family know
who leads the way.
It's a dark world,
but the word of God
empowered by the spirit of God
will navigate us
through it.
Jesus said in John 12,
verse 35,
he said,
the light is among you
for a little while longer.
Walk while you have light,
lest darkness overtake you.
The one who walks in the darkness
does not know
where he's going.
Parents,
let the word of God guide you every day.
Listen,
I'm glad you're here.
We got great attendance
for a middle of the summer
in June.
Not a special day.
Father's Day was great attendance.
I appreciate you being here
if you were here.
If you wasn't here,
shame on you.
I hope it was something extraordinary.
But now,
I'm glad you're here.
But I want to be clear.
I'll do everything I can
to encourage you
and to strengthen you
in God's word
every time you come
in these doors.
I'll do everything I can,
but I promise you
it's not enough.
You need the word of God
in your life daily
because when you go out
at these doors,
you'll face the world.
If you don't cut on
some ball game this afternoon,
you'll watch the news
or you'll watch
how somebody
takes care of their mammon
or whatever.
We'll immediately
get right back
in the world.
And
six more days of that
before we ever get
any spiritual nutrients
is not enough.
you'll be spiritually depleted.
You need a plan
and a pattern
in your life
to spend time
in God's word
daily
and you need
to tell your children
how you can,
they can trust
God's lead.
And when you do,
I want you to watch.
God will light your path.
He'll light your path
for your family.
Even in the midst
of the ever-surrounding
darkness,
God will light the path.
Not only spend time
in the word of God,
but share what he shows you
to your family.
Share it.
Just this past week,
I was,
Abby is here this week
and she is in the car
with me
and she was charging
her phone
and the phone
wouldn't charge
and her mother
had problems
with that cord.
Abby said,
the problem is
there's a short
in this cord.
But she said,
Daddy,
I know where
some more cords are.
They're down
in your chair
in the den.
But this is what she said.
She said,
they're down
in that Jesus chair.
I had never
called it that.
But she knows.
She knows.
That every morning
I get a cup of coffee
and I sit in that chair
and I read God's word
and I pray for my family
and I pray for my church.
And I don't know
what she meant by that.
But when I said it,
when I heard her say it,
I thought,
Lord,
may some of that
trickle down
and let her know
that her daddy needs
the word of God
daily.
expose them,
folks.
Expose them
to the darkness.
And I don't mean,
please don't get this wrong.
Ephesians 5
lets us know
where we've come from.
And as Christians,
I'm not going to read
the whole chapter.
You can this afternoon.
But how God
has changed us.
Ephesians 5 tells us
it challenges us
to live that way
that God has changed us.
And Paul tells us
to walk as children
of light
and to try to discern
what's pleasing
to the Lord.
And he goes on
to explain that
we are to expose
the darkness.
Call it for what it is.
Live a life
contrary to the darkness
of the world.
He then tells us
to watch how we walk.
Ephesians 5,
15 through 17
says this.
Look carefully then
how you walk.
Not as unwise
but as wise
making the best use
of the time
because the days
are evil.
Therefore do not
be foolish
but understand
what the will
of the Lord is.
Listen.
When we shed light
in our daily walk
we expose
the wrong
in the world
by not participating
in it.
By not pandering
to it.
Don't get lost
in this world folks.
Not parading it
before our kids.
We serve
a holy God
and we are
to strive
to be holy
and that word
means set apart
for his purposes.
We don't wonder
in the dark
and the only way
to keep from
wondering in the dark
is to stay near
the light.
You better pay
attention to that.
I love the old hymn.
Not all of it
but I love this verse.
It says this.
Prone to wonder Lord.
I feel it.
Prone to leave
the God I love.
Here's my heart.
Oh take
and seal it.
Friend
if you don't
pay attention
to the traps
of darkness
you will wonder
right into them
and you'll take
your dear family
with you.
See it
for what it is.
The evil one
is at work
around us.
Don't fall
for that.
Don't take
your kids
down the wrong way.
Don't be
permissive
in what you
allow them
to venture
into.
Don't do it.
It's not worth it.
You have to
recognize the darkness
for what it is
and then call it
for what it is.
Expose it
to your family.
The will of God
is that we live
for the Lord
and by doing that
we expose
our family
to what is right.
We expose
them to his care.
We expose
them to his lead.
His will
is also
to stay away
from what is
dark
and ungodly.
Don't bring
that garbage
in your home.
Don't encourage
it.
Don't allow it.
Don't be silent
about it.
Expose
the darkness.
Call it
for what it is.
Please.
Because if you
don't
this world
will get us
in a whirlwind
friend.
We'll lose
our train
of thought.
We'll head
the wrong way.
Lastly,
expose
the truth.
Expose
the truth.
Jesus made
it clear
in Matthew
chapter 5
that we are
to spread
the light
of the love
of God.
That's not
only speaking
of philanthropy
and charity
work.
It speaks
of the gospel.
It don't
do any good
to do a bunch
of nice things
for somebody
and then let
them go to hell
without ever
hearing the gospel.
it speaks
of the gospel
and Jesus
is the only
way to heaven.
John 14
6
he said
I'm the
way the
truth and
life and
no man
comes unto
the father
but by
me.
You need
to talk
about that.
Start
with your
family.
Mix
it in
with the
provisional
talk.
How God
provides.
Keep it
coming.
Think about
the stuff
that you
see on
TV.
Think about
the stuff
you hear
in songs.
See others
do.
Even watch
us do.
Either it
is consistent.
The other
day we were
in the car.
I talked
about my
radio station
last Sunday.
I'm going to
get into that
again but a
song came
on.
We were in
the car and
a song came
on.
It's a
horrible song.
It's horrible.
I said
girls have
y'all ever
paid attention
to that song.
Debbie said
let me tell
you about
that song
daddy.
She said
you gave
me permission
to buy
that song
on Apple
Music
years ago
without
listening to
it.
And then
when you
heard it
you went
what are
you doing
with that
song?
What are
you doing
with that?
Don't you
dare play
that song.
And what
I'm saying
is folks
if we go
to sleep
we don't
pay attention
to what
we're doing.
we expose
others to
things that
they don't
need to be
exposed to.
Think about
the stuff
that you
watch on
TV.
Think about
the stuff
you hear
in songs.
Think about
the stuff
you see
others do.
Think about
the stuff
you even
watch others
do.
And either
it is
consistently
bad
those
things
or it
is
inconsistently
good
because
none of
us are
perfect.
And so
that's
why
your
family
needs
the
gospel
just
washed
over
them
again
and
again.
Combat
the world's
influences
with the
gospel.
You see
a mean
man
somewhere
that man
needs
Jesus.
You see
a mad
woman
somewhere
that woman
needs
Jesus.
You see
somebody
that's
messed up
on the
street.
We saw
a guy
the other
day in
Pickens
was riding
down the
road
he's having
a fight
with himself.
I think
he won
but he's
having a
fight
with himself.
You know
what he
needs?
He needs
Jesus.
That's
what he
needs.
Tell
him
folks
need
Jesus.
Shed
light
on
every
dark
situation
and
let me
remind
you
of where
we
started.
You are
the light
of the
world.
A city
set on
a hill
cannot be
hidden.
Nor do
people light
a lamp
and put
it under
a basket
but on
a stand
and it
gives
light to
all
in the
house.
In the
same way
let your
light shine
before others
so that they
may see
your good
deeds
and give
glory to
your Father
who is in
heaven.
let me
point out
that the
light
of God's
love
is to
give
light
to
all
the
house
not
just
at
supper
with
the
memorized
prayer
not
just
at
bedside
for a
good
night
prayer
let
it
be
the
whole
house
let
it
be
out
in
the
yard
whatever
you're
doing
as
God
gives
you
opportunity
point
your
family
to
the
Lord
shed
light
on
the
greatest
truth
shed
light
through
this
church
and
I
know
I'm
talking
about
family
but
your
family
will
be
drastically
impacted
by
your
church
your
family
will
be
drastically
impacted
by
your
involvement
in the
church
or
your
lack
of
involvement
in the
church
so
make
it
a
priority
in
revelation
the
message
of the
church
is
seen
as
a
golden
lamp
stand
and
John
relays
the
message
of
Christ
to
the
church
of
Ephesus
that
was
not
living
fervently
for the
Lord
they
wasn't
horrible
they
just
wasn't
doing
some
things
right
and
they
were
living
a
compromised
life
they
had
they
had
one
foot
in
the
world
and
one
foot
in
step
with
God
now
think
about
this
for
a
minute
if
I've
got
one
foot
on
the
bank
of
the
river
and
I've
got
the
other
foot
in
the
river
where
am
I
at
am
I
on
the
bank
or
am
I
in
the
river
I'm
already
wet
folks
I'm
in
the
river
and
the
reality
is
you
can't
you
can't
live
for
the
world
and
live
like
the
world
you'll
live
like
the
world
period
you've
got
to
keep
a
balance
there
in
your
life
to
not
be
half
way
not
be
compromised
when
you
live
a
compromised
life
you
are
living
in
and
of
the
world
and
do
you
know
what
the
Lord
told
the
church
of
Ephesus
about
their
compromised
life
in
Revelation
2
verse
5
he
said
remember
therefore
where
and
do
the
works
you
did
at
first
if
not
I
will
come
to
you
and
remove
your
lampstand
from
its
place
unless
you
repent
in
other
words
what
he
was
saying
is
you
will
lose
your
witness
if
you're
to
shed
light
on
things
I'll
take
your
lampstand
you'll
lose
your
witness
now
listen
he
might
have
been
talking
about
the
preacher
they'd
lose
a
preacher
but
bigger
than
the loss
of
the
preacher
is
the
loss
of
the
witness
don't
lose
your
witness
do
not
burn
out
the
Olympics
of
trials
have
started
and
we
were
in
Indianapolis
a week
ago
and
man
they were
talking
about
how
we
were
there
one
week
there was
11,000
messengers
and their
families
and so
we were
there
one
week
the
next
week
was
going
to
be
the
Olympic
swim
trials
and
then
Taylor
Swift
was
coming
and so
man
all up
and up
were
about
all
of
it
and
now
that
they've
been
swimming
this
week
I've
seen
it
on
TV
and
they're
right
down
the
street
from
where
we
were
and
all
that
stuff
the
Greeks
had
a race
in their
ancient
Olympic
games
that was
unique
the
winner
was not
the
runner
who
finished
first
the
winner
was
the
runner
who
finished
with
his
torch
still
lit
and that's
what our
job
is
we
will
light
our
world
when we
expose
his
care
shed light
on the
provision
and promise
of the
Lord
talk about
it
tell them
about the
days
before they
were born
tell them
about the
hard times
tell them
how you
had to rely
upon the
Lord
how God
provided for
you when
you relied
upon the
Lord
expose
them to
his
lead
follow
his
lead
and shed
light
on his
path
and talk
about that
talk about
how you're
going to
trust the
Lord
with this
talk about
how you're
going to
trust God
to provide
for that
expose
them to
the
darkness
shed
some light
on what
in the
world's
going on
call an
ace
an ace
call a
spade
a
spade
expose
the
truth
and let
me be
clear about
something
the truth
is a
person
when
somebody
says
well my
truth
is this
that's
hogwash
my
truth
there is
the
truth
period
your
marginalized
relative
thinking
is not
real
truth
it's
compromised
truth
is a
person
and his
name is
Jesus
and you
need to
share
the
truth
you
need to
share
Jesus
with your
children
and then
just live
it
before
them
with every
head bowed
and every
eye closed
I want
you to know
something
it ain't
too late
it's not
too late
some of
you may
have
listened
today
and looked
back
and see
mistakes
that you
made
along the
way
I want
you to
know
you still
got
influence
you still
got
influence
you
got
influence
on the
kids
in your
home
you got
influence
on the
grandkids
that see
you from
time to
time
or maybe
a lot
you've got
influence
on the
kids in
this
church
just a
couple
of weeks
ago
we had
dozens
of kids
in here
for
vacation
Bible
school
learning
of the
truths
of God's
word
several
of them
wrote
down
they want
to know
more
what it
means
to give
their
heart
and
life
to
the
Lord
Jesus
we have
a job
to do
folks
and
the
most
basic
thing
we can
do
and
the
best
thing
we can
do
is
just
live
our
faith
out
before
folks
live
it
out
live
it
privately
and
then
live
it
publicly
and
you
can't
have
one
without
the
other
it's
not
real
if
you
try
to
do
it
public
and
don't
do
it
private
and
if
you
do
it
private
and
it's
real
it's
going
to
come
out
it's
going
to
be
seen
so
tell
folks
about
it
don't
have
them
wonder
what
the world
is
different
about
him
what's
different
about
her
don't
make
them
ask
that
question
tell
them
the
difference
that
Christ
has
made
in
your
life
so
this
day
I'm
telling
you
today
let's
just
say
Lord
Jesus
I
want
to
live
from
you
from
this
day
forward
there
are
patterns
in
my
life
there
are
habits
in
my
life
maybe
even
strongholds
in
my
life
that
I
need
to
change
and
today
dear
God
I
commit
to
change
them
and
I
ask
that
you
help
me
to
influence
others
but
God
do
a
work
in
me
maybe
you're
here
this
morning
and
you've
never
accepted
the
Lord
Jesus
Christ
you've
never
asked
him
into
your
heart
you've
never
confessed
your
sins
to
God
you've
never
come
into
relationship
with
Christ
and
I
want
you
to
know
that
opportunity
is
here
for
you
today
is
the
day
of
salvation
there's
any
yearning
in
you
at
all
to
come
to
the
Lord
you
didn't
come
up
with
that
on
your
own
that's
God
doing
that
he's
working
in
you
he's
drawing
him
to
himself
to
himself
so
you
respond
to
that
in
obedience
we'd
love
to
guide
you
in
what
it
means
to
give
your
heart
and
life
to
the
Lord
Jesus
maybe
you're
here
and
you
are
a
Christian
and
you
know
that
but
you've
never
publicly
acknowledged
that
through
baptism
I
or
a
pastor
pray
with
you
however
you
feel
led
to
do
that
maybe
God's
drawing
you
to
this
church
maybe
this
is
the
place
that
God
would
have
you
to
plant
your
life
we'd
love
to
guide
you
in
what
that
means
I
don't
know
what
God
said
to
you
I
know
what
he
told
me
to
do
and
I've
tried
to
be
faithful
to
do
that
I
just
ask
the
same
of
you
be
faithful
just
do
what
God
tells
you
to
trust
him
you
can
trust
him
do
what
God
would
have
you
to
do
Lord
Jesus
I
love
you
I
thank
you
Lord
for
your
love
for
us
and
I
ask
your
God
that
you'll
help
us
to
be
obedient
to
walk
in
a way
that
pleases
you
dear
father
and
I
pray
right
now
we'll
be
obedient
to
obey
you
in
these
next
few
moments
dear
God
and
let
that
begin
a
life
of
obedience
from
this
day
forward
in
Jesus
precious
name
amen