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A great country, a good culture is created first and foremost through good parenting.
To this point, Proverbs 28:4 states, Those who forsake the law praise the wicked… This passage relates to God’s moral law in the Torah, but the principle being expressed here by Solomon could be applied in a broader sense to one’s obedience to a nation’s laws (cf. Romans 1:32).
It follows that those in the institution of government should not only prioritize their own parenting responsibilities, but in a professional sense, seek to strengthen policies that help the nuclear family to train up a child. What follows is a study almost exclusively from the book of Proverbs related to helping you, as a Public Servant, become a better parent both personally and professionally; it is doubly powerful when the leaders of a society not only model great parenting, but write laws that help to facilitate this with others.
As a Public Servant you have to fight your scheduler in order to be a good parent because good parenting takes time; you are in a constant battle over your priorities. This means you must be especially knowledgeable and skilled at parenting, simply because you will most likely have less time to achieve this than will your next door neighbor. Accordingly, give special attention to this study and the principles expounded upon herein. The purposes of parenting are:
1:8 Hear, my son, your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching;
6:20 My son, observe the commandment of your father and do not forsake the teaching of your mother;
This first purpose is perhaps the most important. If you get this right and not so much the others to follow, you will probably still end up with good kids. Here’s the big principle that is so often forsaken in today’s American households: Your child needs to clearly observe the commandment(s) of his or her parents and not be allowed to forsake them.
OBEDIENCE TO ONE’S PARENTS IS NOT AN OPTION THAT THE PARENT AFFORDS THE CHILD
Rather, obedience is to be demanded — with immediacy — always. The above passages imply that the parent’s child or children must learn to revere his authority. To allow your children to show disrespect for your authority is akin to teaching them to eventually not fear God; and a healthy fear of God is the basis for your child to one day bow the knee to the Lordship of Christ (hopefully at a young age) which is the ultimate objective and purpose for parenting. There is no need to submit to God later if there is no need to submit to parents now. Such reverence for authority is created in a child at an early age through good parenting.
1:3 To receive instruction in wise behavior, righteousness, justice and equity;
With the parent’s authority established and not in question, this passage contains some of the lofty goals that good parenting can achieve in the child: To instruct a child in wise behavior means that the parents have as their objective to inculcate in the child the ability to eventually govern him or herself by choice. To train in righteousness means the child will eventually self-apply God’s standards when dealing with himself, others, and God. To train in justice connotes the child’s eventual ability to conform to the will and standard of God. And lastly, equity has the idea of living life in a fair and pleasing way. Such children, borne from excellent parenting, not only eventually end up loving the Lord, but make for wonderful citizens!
2:1 My son, if you will receive my words and treasure my commandments within you,
Notice how this passage relates back to 1:8 and the primary point I first made in this study. If you read through chapter two of Proverbs, you will learn of all the things this if leads to. It culminates in verse 5, wherein is the then: Then you will discern the fear of the Lord. Fearing the Lord is wrought via demanding that the child receive my [your] words and treasure my [your] commandments.
3:26 For the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.
As a result of this proper fear of the Lord and the child treasuring His commandments (and yours) there results an ensuing confidence and peace of mind in the child. The child looks to his parents and eventually to God for guidance – and this Proverb indicates that God looks out for, and over him! What a tremendous principle and motivation this is to be a good, instructive parent! Think of the summation of these aforementioned passages in this way:
GOOD PARENTING RESULTS IN GOD HELPING YOUR CHILD!
God will keep your child’s foot from being caught if you teach your child to receive your instruction at a young age! Unfortunately for the parent, child and society, too many parents simply do not instruct their children. In essence they live with them under the same roof, with the child finding his or her own way. Leniency is vogue — as if it is a higher virtue than instruction. It is not! It is bad parenting. Generally, there is too little proactive instruction in today’s American families which result in so many wayward kids and social ills. The following Proverbs underscore this:
4:1-2 Hear, O sons, the instruction of a father, and give attention that you may gain understanding, for I give you sound teaching; do not abandon my instruction.
22:17 Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, and apply your mind to my knowledge;
These passages serve to further illustrate the need of the parent to be proactive — requiring their children to apply [their] mind to the knowledge of the parent.
DON’T BE A WIMPY PARENT WHO ALLOWS HIS KIDS TO CALL THE SHOTS. WIMPY PARENTS ARE TERRIBLE PARENTS. CHILDREN EVENTUALLY DISRESPECT WIMPY PARENTS.
Exhorting is what the passages that I will list in this section all have in common. Some good synonyms for exhort are: “urge strongly, advise, and warn.” The parent’s responsibilities go beyond instruction (my first point in the purpose of parenting section of the outline): Beyond just instructing, the parent is to press God’s truths into not just the mind, but also the heart of the child by repetition, urgency and reason. One must shepherd the heart of his child. The following Proverbs bear witness to a parent’s urgency in this regard. Notice the demanding, exhortative nature of the passages:
3:1 My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments;
3:21 My son, let them not vanish from your sight; keep sound wisdom and discretion,
8:32 “Now therefore O sons, listen to me, for blessed are they who keep my ways.”
7:1 My son, keep my words and treasure my commandments within you.
Not only does the biblically driven parent instruct and exhort, he also corrects.
3:12 For whom the Lord loves He reproves, even as a father corrects a son in whom he delights.
Hebrews 12:9-10 is the New Testament corollary passage to this Proverb:
Furthermore we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good so that we may share His holiness.
Notice the continuing association between the child’s obedience to an earthly father and his or her later submissive response to God. At the risk of “guilting you out” here:
MANY PEOPLE ARE REBELLIOUS TOWARD GOD TODAY BECAUSE OF BAD PARENTING EARLIER
The child never learned the value and fruit of correction at a young age. No one ever broke his self-will and as a result he carries around a rebellious spirit today. This idea is evidenced in the following Proverb:
9:6 “Forsake your folly and live, and proceed in the way of understanding.”
This is a passage that should be memorized and utilized by every parent when shepherding the heart of a child. Learn to say, “That’s wrong in accordance with God’s Word.” Such language best sets the stage for the child to have a sensitivity and desire to please God tomorrow.
Of course, if one is a humanist, believing that man is basically good, not fallen, then there is no reason for correction. Quite to the contrary, the Christian worldview holds that man is fallen, including one’s cute little boy or girl, and is therefore in dire need of parental instruction, exhortation, and correction. Lastly, your children are in need of direction in their path through life.
Notice the following set of Proverbs that speak to this purpose in parenting:
1:10 My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.
1:15 My son, do not walk in the way with them. Keep your feet from their path,
2:20 So you will walk in the way of good men and keep to the paths of the righteous.
4:21 Do not let them depart from your sight; keep them in the midst of your heart.
The picture of a path is a wonderful metaphor related to the direction one walks in life (i.e., the straight and narrow path). Parents should not be remiss in correcting the direction their child is going as he or she ages. These mid-course corrections are ultra-critical decisions wherein the parent must not prove passive. If one has taught a child submission to authority at a young age, it will not be as difficult for the child to obey at an older age (while still under one’s roof ). In Danielle’s and my parenting, we chose our children’s friends when necessary (if you get my drift).
A specific area of parenting spoken of repeatedly is that of keeping your child from sexual sin.
5:8 Keep your way far from her and do not go near the door of her house,
6:24 To keep you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.
7:5 That they may keep you from an adulteress, from the foreigner who flatters with her words.
A responsible parent will always know who his child is with and where he is — especially at night. Be passionate about making your child accountable in these areas at all times. Teach your child to not pander to his fallen nature, but rather to mortify the flesh, to discipline [his] body and make it [his] slave (1 Corinthians 9:27a). Teach them that sexual desire is to be fulfilled in marriage only. Conversely, sexual involvement before marriage leads to absolutely nothing good for your child, his friends, your family, and our nation! As a governmental leader you know how much sexual sin ends up costing our nation in terms of the welfare roles, medical costs, law enforcement, etc. Such are reduced by good parenting in this one particular area.
Children are called to obey their parents in Ephesians 6:1. Proverbs echoes the same truth per the following. This is important to know when your child resists your authority:
4:4 Then he taught me and said to me, “Let your heart hold fast my words; Keep my commandments and live;”
24:32 When I saw, I reflected upon it; I looked, and received instruction.
A parent must establish authority early on, allowing the child to gain a sense of conditioning as to the normative nature of parental authority in his life. It sets the stage for the future in the home. It follows that at a young age, parents must curtail a child’s natural tendency to rebel; a parent must lovingly prove and enforce his authority at the earliest stages of a child’s life. This is done through spanking. Notice the following Proverb in this regard:
13:24 He who withholds his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently.
22:15 Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of discipline will remove it far from him.
Corporeal punishment for wrong doing is replete throughout Scripture; it is one of the realities and necessities of living in a fallen world. But keep in mind always that spanking must be done in love and not anger.
There are tremendous benefits from taking the time and possessing and practicing the biblical skills necessary to raising your children. The following benefits listed in Proverbs last for a lifetime! That’s to say that investing in your good parenting skills today will come back to you a hundred-fold tomorrow! It is akin to creating an investment portfolio with geometric returns!
4:10 Hear, my son, and accept my sayings and the years of your life will be many.
Ephesians 6:3 quotes this promise also, as recorded first in Deuteronomy 5:16, …that your days may be prolonged on the earth. Wherein a child must first be obedient, to accept my sayings for this principle to take effect, it implies (as we have seen) the discipline and commitment of a parent to be instructive and exhortative. Think about this: your child’s length of life is related to your parenting skills.
How blessed it is to thoroughly look forward to each and every family gathering! There is little in this life to compare to the joys of family…but how many are those, who, for a lack of wisdom in parenting, miss out on these later blessings. Be passionate about your parenting now and it will accrue to a present and future lively and pleasant home for the rest of your life.
7:2 Keep my commandments and live, and my teaching as the apple of your eye.
22:18 For it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, that they may be ready on your lips.
CHILD CENTERED FAMILIES ARE ABUNDANT TODAY, BUT GOD’S WORD CALLS US TO PARENT CENTERED FAMILIES
If a child doesn’t learn obedience in the home, he will most likely be a cost to society, both literally and figuratively. Conversely, those who learn to respect authority in the home will be on the side of helping society by curtailing crime, as this Proverb bears out (and used in the prologue):
28:4 Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law strive with them.
Parenting today relates and is connected to a good society tomorrow; they are intrinsically intertwined in Scripture. It follows that Public Servants not only give attention to their own parenting skills but to lawmaking that helps parents achieve their God-given responsibility.
Proverbs lists the deleterious things that happen to a child when the parent allows rebellion — both passive and aggressive — in the home. What follows should serve as an additional motivation to prioritize your parenting while in office. It is by far more important to displease your scheduler and staff than it is to shirk from your God-given responsibilities at home. Be clear on this:
YOU MUST PRIORITIZE SERVING THE INSTITUTION OF THE FAMILY OVER AND ABOVE SERVING THE INSTITUTION OF THE STATE
Don’t confuse these primacies lest, long after serving in office, you have to live with the following the rest of your life. Herein is what Solomon states to his son in this regard, who, by the way, and in the context of the book of Proverbs, will someday be in charge of running the State:
10:8 The wise of heart will receive commands, but a babbling fool will be ruined.
13:10 Through insolence comes nothing but strife, but wisdom is with those who receive counsel.
19:16 He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, but he who is careless of conduct will die.
28:7 He who keeps the law is a discerning son, but he who is a companion of gluttons humiliates his father.
28:9 He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, even his prayer is an abomination.
29:18 Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law.
Too many bad things can happen to a child whose parents are negligent, whose passion for the privilege of parenting is eclipsed by the limelight of public service. It is too high a price to pay — to neglect your child and abandon your higher calling.
As fallen human beings, we will all stumble at times in our parenting. That is to be expected, but thank God He gives us around 18 or so years to train up a child in the way he should go. Pray that God will help you in this area and read biblically based books on this subject with your spouse. Continue to hone your skills in this area.
This study would contain less than the whole counsel of God on this matter without including mention of 1Timothy 2:15. This passage speaks about the primary role the woman has in raising children. Hers is a high calling of influence, love, and discipline in raising the next generation. Equally standing before God in their worth, God has assigned the role of leading this generation primarily to the man, who is the breadwinner, whereas He has assigned the role of influencing the next generation to the woman. This is a much higher and much more difficult calling. May both husband and wife commit afresh and anew to this God-given responsibility that benefits not only the child, family, and society in the present and the future, but also the Kingdom of God. Parents are to raise their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4). This is not a suggestion; it is a God-ordained responsibility, a privilege to be extremely passionate about.
This article appeared here on June 11, 2018.
Order your copy of Pastor Mike’s new book #MTPGA: 12 Things Christians Can Do Right Now today. Available on Amazon in print or Kindle version here. Contact us on this site, at The Transforming Word website www.thetransformingword.com or at www.soaringeagleradio.com for a signed copy.
Praise for #MTPGA: 12 Things Christians Can Do Right Now
“The Word of God well understood and religiously obeyed is the shortest route to spiritual perfection. Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian.”
—A. W. Tozer
In an age of information overload and the ability to conduct deep research into the Word of God with a push of a button, the modern Church is suffering from spiritual malnutrition. This spiritual phenomenon was not created by an absence of preaching. Rather, it has manifested in our generation through the preaching of another gospel and the pseudo-spiritual cotton candy of the Laodicean Church. In Dr. Michael Spaulding’s new book, he releases a clarion call for those engaged in the holy task of ministering the Word to return to biblicity. For the Church to thrive in the days ahead, it must be continually fed with both the milk and meat of the Word. It is time for all of us to throw off our sugar addiction to the pablum of Babylon and make the preaching great again!
Dr. Michael K. Lake, author of The Shinar Directive: Preparing the Way for the Son of Perdition, and The Sheeriyth Imperative: Empowering the Remnant to Overcome the Gates of Hell.
“America is in a Code Blue Moral and Spiritual Crisis. Christians and conservatives can point their fingers at the liberal left all they want. But ultimately, our crisis is a crisis of faith and obedience to God that only the Remnant Body of Christ can reverse. Pastor Mike Spaulding has provided not only an urgent call to action but, more importantly, a clear and concise template to make the pulpit great again! This book should be required reading for every pastor in America!”
Gregg Jackson, national bestselling author of 40 Rules to Help Boys Become Men, 40 Things to Teach Your Children Before You Die, & Conservative Comebacks to Liberal Lies.
“My brother in Christ Dr. Mike Spaulding is quite simply a brilliant good man and a man of God. He has a heart and vision to see significant changes happen in these last days within the modern church to help guide her out of the ditch and back onto the narrow path of holiness. He wants to see the church experience the presence of God speaking through his under shepherds from the pulpits, instead of hearing from those popular type motivational speakers disguised as pastors who today can give an entire sermon without even mentioning the Lord Jesus/Yeshua and the Holy Scriptures.
Let’s face it friends, you can draw a large crowd if you simply keep them entertained and tell them what they want to hear today instead of what they really need to hear. As a former recording artist for a Major secular label believe me when I tell you I know how the entertainment industry is able to use witchcraft and manipulation to create and sell you a “star” with all its smoke, lights and mirrors. Seriously we don’t need any stars in the pulpits to build a bigger church building and go after those tithes and offerings. The God we serve is not short on cash; rather it appears He is short on obedient spirit-filled true believers. The harvest is plenty and the workers few. Today there are actually organizations that for a nominal fee shall help you grow a big church, much like the GMO’s, genetically modified organism. It is extremely dangerous and harmful to eat anything that is a genetically modified organism just as it is to dine on any genetically modified Words of God.”
Caspar McCloud, Pastor of the Upper Room Fellowship, author of Nothing is Impossible, What Was I Thinking, and Spiritual Encounter With the Shroud: Caspar McCloud Interviews with L.A. Marzulli.
I was told recently that during the American War of Independence there was a Regiment that the British feared the most. They regularly made an appearance particularly on a Sunday and they were the preachers who preached from the bible who stood on the word of God to encourage the members of their congregations, in their fight against King George – no Taxation without representation.
The echoes of the past ring loudly in our ears on both sides of the pond, Brexit in the UK and the election of President Donald J Trump has revealed division within the Church. As my dear Brother in Christ Mike Spaulding, hastens to remind us that in Hebrews it talks about not moving on to solid food and still being on milk, milk signifying the fact that people wish to be entertained on a Sunday and not do real business with the living GOD.
It’s not about making America or the UK great again it’s about bringing people to salvation through repentance and forgiveness of sins not a side door of fuzzy-wuzzie feelings.
Dr. Mike Spaulding takes his best working boots and lends its full force to the back side of the Church of Laodicea and tells it to get its act together.
I’m Mark Sutherland Producer of Between Lambs and Lions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hMQbvJP6HM and I fully endorse this message – Make American Pulpits Great Again and while you’re at it the UK’s too!
In Make the Pulpit Great Again, Dr. Mike Spaulding has addressed some of the gravest ills plaguing the American pulpit. Only through a policy of complacency and compromise adopted by the nation’s pastors has the once-great United States ceded the moral high ground and set the standard for the rest of the world in pornography, addiction, perversion, and the murder of untold millions killed in state-sponsored, taxpayer-funded abortion mills. The words in Dr. Spaulding’s book contain the secret to restoring this country to her former glory. For if we are ever to make America great again, we must first have a national call to repentance by our church leaders; we must make the pulpit great again.
Mark Goodwin Best Selling Author of The Economic Collapse Chronicles, The Days of Noah, The Days of Elijah, Seven Cows Ugly and Gaunt, and Ava’s Crucible.
Pastor Mike Spaulding, my great friend and brother in Christ, has delivered a timely message for American Christians directly from the Word of God. In a time of undeniably great division and monumental historical significance, when so many can without much effort identify dozens of major problems that our society faces, we find ourselves long on complaints but short on solutions. Pastor Mike pulls no punches in his matter of fact analysis and encourages believers of all stations to press in to God, to stand up, and to be counted for the glory of the name of Jesus. My prayer is that this would serve as a signpost to believers and unbelievers alike, pointing them back to the one true God and to the path of life that He desires us to walk in this generation. May God speak to you, strengthen you, and give you the faith to grow in Christ and attain spiritual maturity through these pages and the scriptures they draw upon!
Steven Menking, Host and Senior Editor, On the Objective
MAKE YOUR PLANS NOW TO JOIN US IN LIMA, OHIO, JUNE 8-10 FOR THE “GO THEREFORE 2018” CONFERENCE.
This year’s speakers are Dr. Mike Lake, Russ Dizdar, and Preston and Kelly Condra as well as Pastor Mike Spaulding. Our theme this year is “Equipping the Saints for Ministry.” We will cover such topics as:
There is no cost for this conference. You may register for the conference or ask any questions through the contact form below. An offering will be received in support of the speakers and their ministries.
Go Therefore 2018 Conference Schedule
I hope to see you at this year’s “Go Therefore” conference at Calvary Chapel in Lima, Ohio.
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The prophetic scenario for the last days is generally built around several key issues. Certainly, one of those issues is whether Bible prophecy comprises predictions concerning future events or simply proclamations illustrating spiritual truths.
In some cases, the former sends us into unwarranted speculation while the latter may drive us into contemplative introspection, sometimes bordering on being self-absorbed. We must find a balance. The passionate inwardness that Kierkegaard identified as true faith must be balanced with the doing of social good as an expression of works of faith extolled by James. (James 2:20)
Allow me at this point to say that an authentic Christianity demands we heed both admonitions. If we deny future fulfillment of events portrayed in the Bible, our attentiveness to holy living could be curtailed. “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as He is pure.” (1 John 3:3) However, if we commit to extensive conversations about future events and what the Bible has to say about them, our spiritual experience could suffer just as much when it comes to living out the commandments of Christ – daily – by failing to model the Kingdom of God through conducting our lives as if we did not know Christ.
No doubt: devotion to Christ should translate to a sincere contemplative piety. But it should also guard against overly self-indulgent spiritual disciplines in order that we do not forsake the local community of brethren and, more broadly, the needs of others. We must love God and love one another. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 13:34) Jesus never taught that He would judge our commitment to Him based upon how well we have worked out the sequence of future events. Moreover, He instructed his followers to care for others not just prepare (i.e., “prep”) for cataclysmic events. Indeed, I have often wondered whether “prepping” could actually be justified given it betrays anxiety about tomorrow. “So, do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34).
Still, as with any theological topic, we best, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15) Hence, in the final analysis, understanding Bible Prophecy is a worthy endeavor for several reasons: first, that we may be inspired by witnessing the fulfillment of prophecy – judging that the Word of God has been made surer;[secondly, encourage others in the faith; and thirdly, guard against false teachings that might lead less knowledgeable brothers and sisters astray.
The late Dave Hunt, in his book, The Woman Rides the Beast, offered this confirmation of the importance of Bible Prophecy to solidify beliefs and in some cases lead to saving faith:
There are many important reasons for Bible prophecy. First of all, prophecy fulfilled provides irrefutable proof for the existence of the very God who inspired the prophets. By foretelling major events of world history centuries and even thousands of years before they happen, the God of the Bible proves that He is the only true God, the Creator of the universe and mankind, the Lord of history and that the Bible is His infallible Word given to communicate His purposes and way of salvation to all who will believe. Here is a proof so simple that a child can understand it, yet so profound that the greatest genius cannot refute it.[1]
Peter testifies succinctly, “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.” (2 Peter 1:19)
Of course, that “day star” (the “bright and morning star”) is Christ Jesus Himself: “I, Jesus, have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.” (Revelation 22:16)
The Spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus. If our study of prophetic themes does not lead us into a closer walk with Him, we must question why we are study prophecy in the first place. At this, I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.” (Revelation 19:10)
[1] Dave Hunt. A Woman Rides the Beast: The Roman Catholic Church and the Last Days (Kindle Locations 147-149). Kindle Edition.