rebellion. And we'll start here in Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 1 and 2. Let's go there, please. And let's pray. Father, thank you so much for your goodness to us. We thank you, Father, for the instruction we receive. And Father, we pray that your will be done in our lives. And Father, help us to Be obedient as parents, where we have small children, young people, teenagers, et cetera. Just help us to be wise in how to respond to rebellion. I pray, Father, you bless our time together. Pray that it be useful and helpful. And I pray, Father, you give us victory in our lives. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. So notice chapter 6 of Ephesians, verse 1. Children, obey your parents and the Lord, for this is right. So God calls us to obey our parents. And then we're talking about children here, that God wants the children to obey. And then he says, in verse 2, honor thy father and thy mother, which is the first commandment with promise, that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. So there's a promise from God if you obey and you honor your parents, God will reward you. So this is essential that we do God's will in this situation. Now, you may say, well, you don't understand, preacher, I got this child, she's just rambunctious, she's this, she's that. Doesn't matter. It matters that children obey and they honor. So I want you to turn in a few verses, and Craig, would you go to Numbers chapter 12 and verse 9, please? Chapter 14, verse 9, I'm sorry. And then Bruce, would you go to 1 Samuel 15 and verse 23? And these two verses here are very important. So let's go to Numbers 14, verse 9. Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their defense is departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Fear them not. Okay, so God is telling us, obey, and we're not to rebel against the Lord. It's so essential. I mean, it's common sense in one way. And Bruce, when you read 1 Samuel 15 verse 23, All right, very good. Thank you, Bruce. So the idea here is that God does not want us to rebel against him. Why? It's not going to be well with thee. He says in verse 3 of Ephesians chapter 6, he said, that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. So what does God tell us here? He wants children to grow up with honor and obedience. That's what God wants. And again, maybe your child's too young to say, this is a sin of witchcraft and so on. I understand that. But when they get a little bit older, you know, and they start understanding these things, you've got to instruct them. So this is the stuff that, you know, devil worship is made of and rebelling against God. So we see some things here that I think are very important. And we point them out. First of all, the child who defies parental authority with his or her actions or attitudes. So again, and children are going to try things. But the idea is that you do the right thing, parents. And so I can't deal with them. You've got to deal with them. If you don't deal with them, the attorney's going to do it, the police officer's going to do it, you know, detective, whatever. Authority's going to do it. Am I correct, Larry? They're going to have to do it. And the problem is you need to control them and say, I like my child being free spirit. Please, you've got to put common sense in this. It's not right. So, nor to the child who asserts his or her will over the will of the parents. That's rebellion. Now, let me explain something here. A child, I'm not interested in their will. Not interested. A child should obey. Period. A teenager, maybe 12, 13 years old and upwards, they may have a different point of view. I respect that. But the thing is this, I told you to do something, do it. And when you come back, I'll discuss it with you. I think that's fair. But first do what I told you to do, take out the garbage. I was using the rule in our house and I was stuck with it. My brother, he was working Who knows what the other one's doing, so. But anyway, I had to take out the garbage, and it was no big deal. I had to walk down four or five steps over the front door and drop it. I didn't have to go down the stairs. The garbage pail was right down below, and if I did it right, I hit it every time. I mean, and I play a game in my head, you know. You got to shoot right, hit the basket. So, the third thing is a child who's not submissive towards his parents' desire to lead or direct his life. So, the idea is that while you're in my home, I demand obedience. And I think it's important that they honor you. So, I would say this. Think of Johnny living at home with George. He probably would obey you. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. But me with Monica, he would push it a little bit. But the idea is that both parents are to expect honor and obedience. And there's nothing less. And you can't compromise with kids. And we're getting into this. So notice the two types of rebellion. There's active rebellion and not only disobedient disobeying willful conscious Disobedient to commands as they want to establish the rules now, you know when you tell them don't touch or hold my hand and They refuse to or come over here and they run away. That's defiance and you may think it's cute and A lot of women say, oh, he's so cute, or she's so cute. They're not cute. They're rebellious. I know I come across like a hard-liner, but it's the truth. You know, you think that's cute then. What are they going to do when they're teenagers? Right? And that's what you got to think of. The Bible says to obey and honor. And that's what they're required to do. And I pray this. that you would receive this tonight. So this verbal defiance, saying no, verbally speak back at authority, expressing refusal to obey. So, you know, cute little kids, no. They may say it once, but they won't say it again. Unless, while they're being spanked, it's, no, no, no! But that's what you should do. And you know what happens? Children obey quickly. I mean, unless there's something wrong with them. Children obey quickly. They just say, no, I just remembered, just came to my head and I said no last time. I don't want to do that again. It may take a couple times, but they'll get the message. And so again, we see number three, refusal to submit, not accepting parental decisions. And again, you've got to reason with the child. The older they get, you can't talk to them when they're toddlers, but when they get older, you gotta reason with them, a young teenager or middle of the teenage years, and let them know. Hey, time out. What are you thinking, man? What's gotten into your head? Now, the boys, they want to spread their wings. And you know who they're spreading them with? Dad? No. Mom. She's the weaker vessel. But the thing is this, don't be weak to them. And don't say, wait until your father comes. Don't do that. You deal with them. And that's very important because, again, you're not allowing them to make decisions for you. And there's gotta be confrontation. I know it's not pleasant. Who likes to discipline their kids? I didn't like it. Sometimes I used to go in my room by myself for a few minutes to calm down. Because otherwise I've been hitting them out of anger. I didn't want to do that. So you've got to be persistent in trying to change, being persistent in trying to change a parent's mind. One reason for this behavior is that the child has succeeded with the parents in the past. And they think they're going to push the envelope. The last time I was allowed to go off the block. Now, you know, I want to go, into town and now I want to do something different. I want to push the envelope. But if your parents say no, don't push and don't let them succeed in that. Again, you have to balance, but the idea is you don't, you know, don't let them throw, number four, throw fits of temper. Being angry because he cannot have his way or her way. You know, you see a child who stomped their feet or, you know, there's a, I saw Andy Griffith one time with, Opie was around a bad kid and the kid told him how to act, get his way and so on and he's, so Opie tries and goes into Andy Taylor's office and he's there and he's throwing stuff on the ground. He started holding his breath and he said, what are you doing? He said, I'm holding my breath. So then he threw himself on the floor and started kicking his legs. Well, now what are you doing? He said, I'm trying to get your attention by throwing myself on the floor and holding my breath and so on. I mean, it didn't work with Andy Taylor. And it shouldn't work with you. You're a child of God. So the idea is that throwing tempers, you know, yelling, stomping, his feet screaming, throwing things, staring, glaring, throw himself to the floor, I'm not gonna tell you who it was, but there was a kid in our school one year, and he was staring me out. You know, he's a junior high kid. Staring me out. You know, I'm thinking, are you crazy? You're staring me out. You know, I'll remove you from the school. You're not gonna stare me out. So I talked to the parents, They got the victory. You don't stare past the ref out. And then we see here that people are having to fit before you. That's unacceptable. It doesn't matter how young they are. Pick them up. Go into a private room. There's plenty of them here. And give them what for and how. Amen? Amen. So then ignoring parental instructions, you have to be instructed the child continue to do what he pleases. He ignores the instruction of his parents by not paying attention, looking away, or acting disinterested. Unacceptable. Mom, your words have got to mean something. You think, I'm not going to be that hard on my children. All right. Well, save up your money because you'll be using for bail, prison, all these different things. That's what's going to happen. Or they become drug addicts and you'll be giving them money, well, just this time and so on. Don't be that way, beloved. Follow the scriptures. Now, we'll look at them in a moment. The Bible clearly teaches that they cannot look away, they've got to pay attention. And mom, I say this to you because you're essential. Most women are at home and the husband goes to work. Well, he can't handle while he's at work, he's got work to do. But you've got to be the backbone of the family. And you know, you say, I don't want to be a drill sergeant. Yeah, I'm not asking you to be a drill sergeant. The Bible tells us to be a parent. Number six, resistance towards parental control, physical resistance, turning away, turning a shoulder, pushing away the parents' hands. Don't accept any of that. That's rebellion. My brother used to walk in front of our family. He wouldn't be with my parents or the other kids, and he'd always walk ahead. He didn't want to be around the family. He was embarrassed. I don't know what he was. But when my kids try to do it, they may do it one time. And then I say, you're going to sit and stand right next to me. You're going to sit right next to me. I'm not living this way. The rules of my house. This is not your house. It's my house. It's not your family. It's my family. And you got to follow the rules. That's the way it is. So you say, well, you know, my husband doesn't line up with this and he's not doing it my way or the Bible way. So what do I do? I would do what I can do. Follow the word of God. Again, if the child runs from the parent or he refused to hold his hand, he doesn't want the the parent to control them. And that's rebellion. So then there's passive rebellion. There's selective memory. Everyone forgets occasionally, that's true. But passive rebellion is when a child regularly forgets the parent's command. They have selective amnesia. You know, it just happens. The child remembers what he wants to, but he forgets what the parent's told him to do. That's a problem. And don't accept that. He remembers movies. He remembers sports teams when they're playing. You know, what they're doing. The averages. They remember all these different things, but when it comes down to the parents' commands, I don't remember that. You said that? Don't be bowled over. Selective memory. Obedience with an attitude, so they can obey. They're gonna do what they're told to do, but they'll do it with an attitude. Whatever it is, washing dishes, with a, you know, an attitude on the face. What they're saying, I don't wanna do this, but they're doing it. Obeying outwardly when pouting, crying, silent, treating, glaring, unacceptable. I think most people are reasonable. And who wants to do dishes, right? But sometimes you have to. The dishwasher breaks, big problems, but you have to. And sometimes it's good for the child to do it. I'm not talking about a little kid, I'm talking about teenagers. But don't accept this, you know, it's not fair issue. Or they come across, they say, I'm gonna do this first. No, no, no, you do what I told you to, first. Don't take, these are passive rebellion. And then the outward compliance without fulfilling responsibilities, obeying outwardly. but does a poor job sloppy. They don't finish the dishes. The dishes are not clean like they should be. Or they're gonna take out the garbage and they drop some of it on the way to the pal. Unacceptable. Who do you think's gonna pick that up? You drop it, you pick it up, right? Do you feel you're being scolded tonight? I don't mean to do that. I'm trying to give you some good advice. When a child is told to do something, he obeys, but on his own terms. For example, you tell him to sit, and he squats. You tell him to come to you, and he starts running away. It's not acceptable. And they're not cute. They're rebellious. It's so important, beloved, to understand rebellion. God says that we're without strength, we're ungodly, we're enemies, we're sinners, we're enemies. It's what God says about mankind. So not Gabe. Who are you kidding? He's got his father, his father's in nature, not yours. Amen? Of course they are. And then when speaking to a child, he starts to walk away. When they become teenagers and they pull that stunt, You know, I always told my boys, not the girls, but the boys, I said, you know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna change your life. You're gonna be able to breathe and you'll eat food. I'm gonna determine what you're gonna eat. If you don't like it, then better next time, obey. This is your fault, not my fault, your fault. And make sure you turn it on them. Unless you have an outrageous, you know, tell them what to do, it can't be outrageous. But if it's regular commands, if it's regular obedience, regular honor, and they refuse to do it, then restrict them greatly. And restrict them is not allowed to play all the, I don't even know what they have, but Game Boy and videos and all that stuff. That's not restricting them. You're allowed to have water, maybe ice water, and food. That's it. Forget about dessert. Forget about snacking. So the child's gonna die. Are you kidding me? Jesus fasted for 48 and 40 nights. He didn't die. You gotta reign them in, man. And, Again, we see violating unspoken yet understood rules. So disregarding that which he knows will please you, this is proven by behavior manifesting a guilty conscience. And then talking, taking dad's tools and things that do not belong to him, which he does not have permission to use. For some reason, we were all trapped in dad's tools. And we had fields right behind us, woods around us. It was really undeveloped in our neighborhood. So we took hammers and saws and what do we do? We didn't bring them home. Where's my hammer? And they always ask you what you're trying to eat. When they asked me, I wanna have a good meal, I wanna digest this, I don't wanna be, you know, but man alive. My dad would ask me, where's my hammers? Where's the saws? And we'd go and build a fort, let him on the ground and went home. So that's a problem. And you gotta make sure your kids are responsible. You can borrow some, that's fine. But as long as you have permission. and you're responsible with it. And that's a good way of teaching responsibility. So taking dad's tools and things that do not belong to him and which he does not have permission to use, children grant themselves permission to change a known house rule because at the time they saw dad or mom and break the rule. So the idea is you know what the rules are, but don't go against them. Rules are there for a reason. So when you go to the stop sign, you know, maybe Union and Williams, there's a four-way stop. You do when you get there, you stop. I see people go right through the stop signs, which, you know, could be dangerous, especially if I was in the middle of that four-way stop sign. So you don't wanna do that, and you don't wanna have your children change the rules. That's why it's important to listen to your children, and again, don't accept that, change the rules, but to show them that it's important to follow the rules. You know, we have rules for a reason. And then last of all, a typical punishment for the principles of discipline. So first of all, we see letter A, rescind privileges. Now, most of what our children do is not a right, but a privilege. That's important to understand. This is a privilege. You know, this is not a right. This is not, you know, a constitutional right that you have as an American citizen. This is instead a privilege. And so we've got to make sure they understand that rebellion caused one to lose their privileges. And if they are lazy or irresponsible, they let things, you know, go to the dogs. In other words, they're not responsible or what they should be, then you lose privileges. And there's nothing wrong with that. Like I said before, I'm gonna give you the opportunity, you're allowed to drink water and eat food, but that's it. I'm not giving you any snacks, we're not gonna have ice cream at night. These are things that are important, and if they don't obey. So I think it's important that we act on these things. Don't overlook them. When children see that there's a, well look, if you're a criminal in the jail, and you see there's a way to get out of the jail, what do you think you'd do as a criminal? Get out. So, but the idea is that you don't wanna give them any outs. You broke the rules, you pay the price. Right? I think that's very important in child rearing. And then we see the second thing, rectifying the damage done. Now, let's just say we see restitution, paying the cost of replacing something that was lost or broken, you know, so on. So it's different because the age groups that you have. And so you gotta be careful. You can't expect a two-year-old broke something to pay back. Doesn't work that way. So, you know, you've got to be careful. But if they're old enough and they have money, you know, there's nothing wrong paying it back. I remember one time, Liz, I had bought her a beautiful shelf. We brought it from Grand Forks to New York. And John was messing around, bless his heart, He wound up. Oh, I'm sorry. That's not true. It was Tim and Ashley. They're bouncing on the sofa and One of them hit the the shelf and a thing went lit right in front of Liz's eyes as all these pieces Gone, they all cracked and so on and then there was another time John was messing around in the kitchen and And we had these cheap cabinets, and he hit something or slammed the door, and the whole shelf went down and broke the dishes and so on. I mean, bad stuff. And they were all too young to pay back. But anyway, the idea is that, you know, they break things. It happens. So they were punished for jumping around on the couch. and they're punished for, you know, breaking things. So the second of all, you see repair and the idea of the item that was broken must be repaired. If the child is too young to repair the item, they should have, you know, watched the parent, you know, be very serious over this and let them see that it was something special to you. And so on. But don't just dismiss it. Say, well, what are you doing to kids? No, kids should have empathy. They should have feelings. And let them feel bad about what they did. Nothing wrong with that. That's part of life. Someone's telling me that, you know, they don't want to put that on a child. I said, are you kidding me? Children should have feelings, and feel guilt. There's nothing wrong with feeling guilt. It's abnormal not to feel guilt. What happens when they sin? What kicks in? Guilt. So, and the Holy Spirit's dealing with them concerning salvation. What's going to be there? Guilt. So there's nothing wrong with that. I would say that, you know, when things are broken, They need repair, let them see your concern over it, that bothered you, that this thing was broken by them. And then the third thing we see is restoration. And cleaning up any mess they made, regardless of the length of time, it takes restore. So if they make a mess in their room, don't say, all right, everyone out, I'm gonna clean the room. Don't do that, unless it's impossible to clean it. Let them clean it. They made the mess. And I have to tell you, you want a neat house? You know, you say, well, you know, we got kids. So what? I don't expect the house to be perfect. I expect it to be lived in, but it shouldn't be a constant mess. If they're the ones making it, have them clean it. And just observe, be conscientious that they go around cleaning. Make sure they do their work. And no meal until that's done. You know, it's like the carrot before the horse. You want to eat the carrot? That's fine. You got to run after it. Sooner or later, you're going to catch an eater or whatever. But the idea is that you make them be responsible, you know, and take care of things. And then the next thing we see is biblical research. And we see in Ephesians 6, 4, Bible's clearly teaching the importance of raising our children in the admonition and nurture of the Lord. So look at chapter 6, verse 4. The Bible says that you need fathers, provoke not your children to wrath. And men can do that. They can cause a child to be angry at their father. Now, how do they do it? Lots of ways. But I'll talk about that in a moment. But notice he says, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. So the idea is bring them up. Bring them up, how? In the nurture, admonition of the Lord. Don't be always squishing them down and beating verbally with their words and so on. Bring them up. Compliment them. You know, as Scott preached the other day in that mess on missions, That was the greatest message I've ever heard on missions. I've been alive for, say, 48 years. That was the greatest message. I heard Rick Cass, I heard Joe Pellicone, all these guys. Al Lacey. But, Scott, that was a great message, and we're going to see that enacted in our church this Sunday. I'll tell you more about that when we get there. But the Bible tells us, you know, you want to bring them up. And encourage your children. Speak good things to them. Encourage them in the Lord. So we see, you know, as the Bible says, biblical research, or the notes say biblical research, the word, God's word is so important. Instruct them in it. I think it's great when parents have devotion with their children. you know, and to read the Word of God together, or sit down and talk about what the Bible says. I mean, we come here Sunday, we're all excited to hear the message, but we need to bring the message home on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and let it be regular in your home. Let it be real in your home. And then, last of all, we see the word retribution. And we'll look at some verses here. And, Scott, would you go to Hebrews 12, verse 5 to 9? Read that for us, please. And, John, would you go to Proverbs 3, verse 11 to 12? Proverbs 3, 11, 12. And then, Nick, would you go to Proverbs 23, verse 13 to 14? And Bernie, would you go to chapter 22 of Proverbs and verse 15? All right, whenever you guys are ready. Hebrews 12, 5 through 9. Yeah. And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children. My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked with him. For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons. For what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye masters, and not sons. Furthermore, We have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence. Shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the father of spirits and live? All right, so the Bible teaches that God will chasten us if we belong to him, right? So we don't go around spanking the kids. You know, you know, if Elena was over here, we wouldn't put her over, you know, and give it to her. But the thing is, is we spank our own kids and we deal with them. We're going to chase them. And the Bible clearly teaches that. Proverbs chapter three, verse 11, 12. Thank you, John. And then Proverbs 23, verse 13, 14. Withhold not correction from the child, for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell. All right. So discipline works. God says you'll deliver their soul from hell. And then notice Proverbs 22, verse 15. Bliss is found in the heart of the child, but the right correction is on track with the Father. All right, thank you. So again, I love my children too much to discipline them. Well, that's wrong thinking. That's wrong thinking. Really, the Bible tells us that you don't love your child if you don't discipline them. How important that is. So again, I trust this was a help. It's identifying rebellion. And I would suggest you read these notes over and over again until they become real to you. Because there's too much rebellion that goes on at home. And, you know, we excuse some things, we let our kids get away with it. Let me tell you, you don't raise a child and with discipline, you know, there's all sorts of things they get involved with. And again, one last thing, a discipline brings security to a child. It really does. A child's going to feel very secure. You know, that song comes to mind, I need thee, oh, I need thee. Every hour I need thee. Discipline, so. Anyway, well, thank you so much for listening. Let's pray and we'll be dismissed. Father, thank you so much for your goodness to us, and thank you, Father, for the instructions that you give to parents in their lives. And Father, help us to make sure, whether they're young children or they're adolescents or teenagers, that they will not rebel against us. And Father, we pray that you give victories to the moms and dads and help them raise children who can be disciplined in their life. And I'm not going to, you know, go wandering off, but rather fear God. and are respectful towards the Lord. I pray your blessing upon the invitation. I pray it will be done. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen.