The ABCs of Family - Part 3

0:27 So I'm in a series on the ABCs of family is what we've called this, the ABCs of family. And for the time I've been in, this is part three. Today is part three of the ABCs of family. Today's part three. And the first two parts I talked.

0:52 Here's here's how I outlined it. I didn't give it to you all this way, but here's how I outlined it. The first week I talked about singles. That's what the focus was, but it was dealing with and speaking to singles and trying to challenge them to understand that you don't need a person to fulfill you. Thank all 15 of y'all for that rousing affirmation that you don't need a person to make you happy. Some people have made mistakes thinking that another human being would fulfill or satisfy in you what only God can feel and satisfy in you. So I tried to make that the focus.

1:52 And I talked about the ABCs being assignment. The first thing was assignment. I talked about the importance of not connecting with somebody that doesn't know what their assignment in life is. Yeah. So and then the B in the ABC stands for boundaries. have somebody who recognizes there are boundaries and thirdly was companion and I wanted to just focus on letting singles know those matters then in part two I talked about spouses somebody say spouses and I wanted when I talked about spouses I wanted to have clarity that when you get married, stop listening to voices outside of your family, your marriage.

2:47 You get in trouble listening to exterior voices. Y'all remember that? I think I mentioned as well, not only the fact that there are unauthorized voices, but I tried to spend some time and talk a little about not only that Eve was listening to Satan, but I also spent some time talking about the tragedy of Adam failing to stand up and be what he was supposed to be because when he saw Eve talking to Satan, Adam should have stepped in and said, woman, what you doing?

3:23 And he stood there. Has she talked to the enemy? And he also didn't say anything when he saw her eat from the tree. As a matter of fact, he participated with her in it. And I wanted to try to challenge that. I did also, when I talked about spouses, I tried to identify, I wanted to challenge men to learn to appreciate their wives.

3:53 I gave y'all space to clap, but y'all didn't want to. It's okay, don't clap now, it's too late. I thought the women would stand up and say, yeah, pastor. I talked about the fact that my wife brings flavor to our home. You know, my house would be pale, dead, lifeless, without what she brings to the table.

4:21 Yeah. She makes our house a home. She makes the kitchen look good. Yeah.

4:43 She cooks. Thank you Jesus Because I don't I don't know anything about cooking I could probably boil an egg And that's part of it So, single spouses. And today, I want to talk about, in part three of this, I want to talk about our seeds, our children.

5:12 I want to talk about the responsibility and the assignment that God gave us about raising our kids. and I think it's important I'm going to go to Genesis chapter 4 and allow me to read verses 3 through 9 Genesis chapter 4 verses 3 through 9 and here's what it says and in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat and the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but he did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry and his countenance fell. So the Lord said to Cain, why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door and its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.

6:13 now Cain talked with Abel his brother and it came to pass when they were in the field that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him then the Lord said to Cain where is Abel your brother and he said I do not know am I my brother's keeper I want to talk about I want to give you two points this is a two point message just two points so I won't be long I gave you time to say take my time again but y'all I want to talk about two things. Here's the first thing I want to talk about. When I look at this story here in Genesis 4, as a matter of fact, this is the first time we hear about Cain and Abel. The first time they're mentioned is in Genesis chapter 4.

7:13 in verse 3 we see, verse 3 and 4, that both Cain and Abel brought an offering to God, which tells me that somewhere along the journey, they were taught about worship. And I feel from this, because y'all do know offering is a form of worship. Did y'all know that offering is a form of worship? And I think it's important and vitally important that we teach our children. Here's my first point. We teach our children how to worship. Amen. We need to teach them the importance and the value of worshiping God. And we worship God in various ways. When you give an offering, how many of y'all know that your offering is a form of worship?

8:10 Okay, let me ask that again. Y'all didn't hear me. Hello? Is this working? Is this on? Hello? Hello? Your offering is a form of worship. Yeah. Somebody in your section has not worshiped that way in a while. See if you can figure out who it is. Yeah, it's a form of worship. And Cain and Abel somehow got taught about worship. So here we find them bringing an offering to God. Here they're form of worship. Now, I want to spend some time talking about this because this is one of the things we do at our church. We try to train our children the importance of worship. That's why we dedicate a Sunday a month for children to participate in worship. Churches die.

9:02 Here's why a lot of churches die. They don't train or allow or teach their children or even give them the opportunity to worship God. There's a lot of churches where it's always just the parents. It's just the adults doing it. But I don't feel that the children are the church of tomorrow. They're the church of right now. They're the church of today. Matter of fact, I love to see our children worship God. Y'all see them up here giving God the praise. Y'all see them up here reading scripture. Y'all see them up here leading us in prayer. They're presiding. I want them to understand the importance of prayer. Matter of fact, if they can play sports, if they can go to a football game and be on the court, if they can be on the basketball court and playing, if they can be cheerleaders, if they can do dance, if they can do all of those things in school, I feel they ought to be allowed to have the opportunity to worship the almighty God and lead in worship. we're training them we're giving them opportunity I started preaching at 15 at 15 years of age Pastor Johnson gave me a license to preach at 15 and you know what the local pastors criticized him they said he down there licensing kids so they talked about him when he licensed me and then the next Sunday they invited me to come and preach at their churches Thank you.

10:36 I preach that a lot of churches has a teenager. And we want our young people to know, we're the young people that stand up. Where y'all at? We're the young people that stand up, young people. All right, y'all can sit down.

11:03 We got them singing in the choir. Look at that. They're in the choir singing. They're leading praise and worship. Did y'all see them leading praise and worship? Are y'all paying attention? We got the young people. We're training them up. Look at this young man right here. Stand up. He has a camera. He's taking pictures. I'm proud of you.

11:27 Do y'all see that? They do the dance ministry. Did y'all see them out here dancing and doing all this stuff? Here's a young man on the camera. He's doing the camera work on the camera. Who are you talking to? You doing a good job? Is he good? He's good? All right. I'm proud of you. that's the number one thing that we teach our children how to worship i get a little frustrated with parents who have the time to take their kids to sports activities but don't have time to bring them to church to worship god that's where you get off track you get off track when sports and school activities become more important than the worship of the almighty god that's a problem and a lot of parents are doing that a lot of parents are running here and running across the country and taking their kids there taking their kids here and doing this and doing that i'm proud of you for doing all of that but when you do all that you do what you ought to do is say there's some things we cannot compromise on And one of them is we cannot compromise that our kids are missing Sunday after Sunday and week after week and month after month and they don't go to church.

12:52 That is a problem. As a matter of fact, we devote a lot of resources of this church to teaching children how to worship God. What's up?

13:17 Our children and youth department is sitting right here. This is the leaders of our children and youth department. devote a lot of time and energy and resources and money. And a lot of adults participate in supporting and helping us raise kids. It takes a village. It takes everybody to raise kids. Because, you know, kids won't listen to their parents sometimes. and then somebody next door can come and tell them the same thing mom and daddy been telling and all of a sudden, boop, the light comes on and they hear it.

13:59 And it's okay. It's okay. But in this pattern, let me get back to the text. I'm running like I ain't got nowhere to go. I do have some place to go. Cain and Abel were taught how to worship and they were taught to worship God. One of the ways they were taught was through their giving. when I raised my kids, they got allowances. They had chores and allowances. I didn't give them money to give in the offering that I just gave them and told them to take it down. They had chores. And then in exchange for the chores, they got allowances. And then they're taught to give to God from their allowance.

14:44 When you give kids money just to put them in church, but don't teach them to give from what they control and own, you are unfortunately raising them to feel entitled. Can y'all tell that the claps are getting lower and lower and lower? Yeah. But Cain and Abel somehow learned. This is one thing they did learn. They learned. But here's what I want you to see in this passage right here. I want to spend a little bit of time in this point right here. Verse 3, it says, In the process of time he came to pass. in the process of time. During that time, they were taught about offering and worship. It says that they brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Cain did, verse three.

15:37 And Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord, here's what verse four says, and the Lord respected Abel and his offering. Put that up on the screen for just a second, verse four. And the Lord respected the latter part of that. The Lord respected Abel and his offering. Now, this is an important point right here. Now, I used to preach when I handled this passage, I used to say that God accepted Abel's and didn't accept Cain's, but that's not true. I've learned now later that's not true. God accepted both of them, but he respected. Here's the term. He respected. Now, what does that mean? That word respected is a key word because it says in verse number four that the Lord respected Abel in his offering. In verse five it says, but he did not respect Cain and his offering. So he respected Abel, but he didn't respect Cain. What was the difference? It's the word respect. What does that mean? The word respected, somebody say respected. Speak that out loud. Say respected. Look at your neighbor. Say he respected.

16:52 Respected. Here's what that word means. It means God gazed at it. It means that God looked at it. God considered it. Here's what it means. It means that God looked at it in amazement. He was amazed. Here's what God did. What? Abel bought me. What? God respects. He stood in awe. Maybe that's a better way. God stood in awe. You got to ask yourself, does God look at awe at your offerings? I feel tension in the room. God looked at all. Here's what I believe. I believe when you bring an offering to God or worship, even your worship, you give your worship, any kind of worship that you give to God, do you want God to stand in awe of it?

17:49 How do you know the difference? If you don't feel it, neither will God. Woo! Woo! Y'all getting quiet on me right now. Don't get quiet. Yeah. That's what it means. It means that I want God to look at all. I want to give to God that I, here's what God wants. Here's what I'm suggesting that you do. That when it comes time for you to give anything, any kind of offering to God, ask yourself, do I want to give that much to God? that's when you know you felt it.

18:28 Oh, y'all getting quiet on me now. I'm not taking up another offering today. Look at your neighbor and say, I'm not taking up another offering today. I'm trying to drive home a point that if you don't feel it, if it don't have meaning to you, it won't have meaning to God. And that's true. That's true of any kind of worship that you give God. Any kind of expression, any kind of thanks, any kind of worship, Even if you are sitting and singing a song to God, do you open your mouth loud enough or do you just stand there and watch everybody else participate in worship? When you give a dance to God, do you dance enough for God to say, look at her, look at her dance, look at him. Do you feel it?

19:14 Is it an expression of your heart before God? And that's what happened with Cain and Abel. Abel bought something that God took a step back and said, what in the world is he doing? But Cain just gave, what Cain gave, he didn't feel it. How do you know that, Pastor? Here's how I know it. Because when it tells us what Abel gave, it says he brought the firstborn of his flock. that means off the top the first thing that he got it means the most important it means the firstborn is the firstborn go ahead pastor you deep right here today that's what it means see Cain gave something that didn't have much meat he gave leftovers he gave from what the pennies that remained and that's what some of y'all are doing.

20:18 You're giving to God from leftovers after you done paid everybody else, after you done paid your mortgage, after you done paid your car note, after you done bought groceries, you done done everything else. Now, what I got left to give to God and then you wonder why God's not moving on your behalf. Y'all ain't got to say amen. I feel tension in the room. Y'all ain't got to say nothing. It's okay, y'all. Be quiet. Don't clap now. Don't come along trying to clap now. Y'all sitting at me, looking at me, all cross-eyed and I see y'all, I'm full arms folded and attitude. It's okay. I'm just preaching my convictions and my truth. You ain't got to say nothing. You ain't got to do anything. I'm just trying to make a deposit and tell you what made the difference. Cain and Abel both brought something to God, but God respected one but didn't respect the other. Oh, that's good. Oh, my God. I'm preaching and teaching today, girl.

21:13 I'm preaching and teaching. And they ain't saying nothing to me. They looking at me like I'm crazy. But it's okay. That was the difference. So we got to, I guess I'm talking to the adults. But I'm also talking to you about how you train your kids. I want to teach my children how to worship God, how to praise him, how to give to God, how to give him praise and glory. Somebody say amen. I want to teach God how to do that. And this is the key word. The key word is that what Abel gave, God respected it. He gazed at it. He looked at it at amazement. But he didn't do the same for Cain. And unfortunately, what Cain brought to God didn't have meaning to him. It was leftovers. What Abel bought cost him something. What Abel bought was significant that he brought it to God and God respected it.

22:11 Cain brought a token. I notice when men come up here and drop money, they drop five, ten. The women be bringing hundreds. Come on, ladies. I'm trying to give y'all a little space here. I'm trying to give you a little shout. The brothers, I feel tension in the room. The brothers are mad. It's okay. It's just a fact. It's just the reality. But I watch it. That's what I see.

22:48 The brothers are tight. He's a tight one. And I wonder, brothers, do you give as much money when you come up here to God as you gave the sister at the strip club when you dropped money at the strip club? Can y'all handle the truth? Can y'all? Y'all don't want the truth. You don't want the truth. You can't handle the truth. Feeling something over in this section right here. with all of the doors that God has opened for you and the miracles and the prayers that he's answered.

23:43 you should have died you should have been in prison you should have had a lot of things but he gave you another chance and you dropping a five Thank you. By the way, in this section of scripture of chapter 4 we don't see Adam mentioned in this discussion or dialogue matter of fact we only we only see his name mentioned twice in this fourth chapter the first verse and the last verse verse 1 and verse 25 this is the only time and both times he's having sex bro god holds you responsible for more than than just dropping the seed you got to raise the seed that you drop let me stick a pin right there somebody say stick a pin right there let me spend a moment and talk right here that is important that you raise your seeds you invest in your seeds you teach your seed you love your seed and while I'm on that and another thing ladies don't use the seed has don't use your children as a weapon against their fathers That's wrong.

25:20 That's wicked. That's sinful. Kids need their fathers in their life. Their fathers might be jacked up. Their fathers might be tore up. Their fathers might have a lot of issues and problems, but they need their fathers in their life. my father my father was what did my what am I saying I'm not supposed to say he's a drunken what was he what did she say oh alcoholic she had another she had another word my sister she rebuked me don't call him a drunken but she gave me something else to say he was a huh She said to drink like alcohol. No, but she had a term I was supposed to say of what he... I don't remember.

26:14 She told me to call him... Oh, a functioning alcoholic. That's what she told me to call him. A functioning alcoholic. That's what he... That's what he was... Them security guys, they on their job. Go ahead. Make sure we find out what that is. It might be a bomb or something. I don't know what it might be. He was a functioning alcoholic. And I saw my father at seasons of his life. Thank the Lord that he got out of that and God delivered him from that and God freed him from that. But I saw him at points when he was drunk. I saw him at points and seasons of his life where he was inebriated. Yeah, that word right there, inebriated. And you know what it taught me? It taught me I don't want to drink. Amen.

27:13 And I don't drink. did y'all notice how the claps got a little bit softer and lower yeah i don't drink i've never i've never tasted alcohol i've never tried alcohol i never wanted alcohol because i saw what it did to my daddy and i saw what it did to my mother and father's marriage relationship and so even if he i'm saying all to say that even if your baby daddy is a jacked up joker. He still needs to be involved in his children's life. You know what? He might be jacked up now, but he wasn't jacked up when you lay down in the bed with him. Y'all cannot handle the truth up in... Let me go over here and preach to these people over here because I feel they got me over here.

28:13 Y'all hear what I'm saying? Yeah, thank y'all. This is always the crowd I can depend on. This side right here. They always say amen. They always encourage me. They always give support. They always are with me. That's why I like this crowd. Always. Always. I love y'all. Jokers over there, don't never say amen. Always quiet. Looking at me like I'm speaking in a foreign language when I go over there. Y'all hear what I'm saying to you today? Don't use your children as a weapon against their fathers.

29:02 Okay, I gotta hurry up. I got five minutes. Man, I keep letting this thing run over. Here's number two. Y'all got number one? What was number one? Did I get it right? Did I? You was in the elevator trying to come to me. This is my sister right here. This is my sister right here. I said a functioning alcoholic. That's what I said. He was not a drunk, even though he got drunk at times. But it's a difference. He wasn't on a curb. Yeah. Yeah. He was a functioning alcoholic. Yes, thank you. Yeah. women always try to straighten you out all the time go on back downstairs go on back and do what you're doing Here's verse 8.

29:58 verse 8 says that he killed his brother Cain talked with Abel his brother and it came to pass when they were in the field that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. He killed his brother. Verse nine, then the Lord said to Cain, where is Abel your brother? He said, I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?

30:29 Here's the second thing. It's just two points. Teach your kids to worship and teach them number two, not to lie. Teach your children not to lie. Now that's an important point because I've learned that you don't have to I probably should reword this point because you don't have to teach children to lie. It just comes with the territory. They just I think they're born with a capacity to lie. Yeah.

31:08 But you do have to teach them to tell the truth. You have to teach children to tell the truth. if you tell if you teach them these two things how to worship god how to recognize the presence of god how to give god praise how to give to god teach him how to worship and number two teach them to always tell the truth even if it means it's going to hurt them teach them to tell the truth now the problem is some of y'all are teaching your kids how to lie because they watch you lie they watch you tell somebody who calls the house looking for you when you tell somebody tell them I'm not here they saw you watched you and they pick up line from you Y'all got quiet on me right there.

32:01 Teach somebody to tell your neighbor. Teach them to tell the truth. By the way, when God asks you a question, it's not that he don't know the answer. He already know the answer when he asks you a question. It's not that when he asks Cain, where's your brother? It's not that God didn't know where he was. And then there's a problem that he thought he could lie to God. He thought he could lie to God, but the truth always comes out.