In this sermon, the preacher discusses the importance of sculpturing the souls of our children. He uses the analogy of a sculptor chiseling away at a rock to emphasize the need for parents to shape and mold their children's lives. The preacher highlights the significance of having a vision for our children and the dangers of neglecting this responsibility. He also shares a story about three women doing their weekly washing, with only one of them understanding the importance of her role as a mother. The sermon concludes with a reminder from Haggai 2:19 about the necessity of having a vision in order to accomplish anything.

Hello, this is Brother Denny. Welcome to Charity Ministries. Our desire is that your life would be blessed and changed by this message. This message is not copyrighted and is not to be bought or sold. You are welcome to make copies for your friends and neighbors. If you would like additional messages, please go to our website for a complete listing at www.charityministries.org. If you would like a catalog of other sermons, please call 1-800-227-7902 or write to Charity Ministries, 400 West Main Street, Suite 1, EFRA PA 17522. These messages are offered to all without charge by the free will offerings of God's people. A special thank you to all who support this ministry. We bow our heads to pray. As our Father, we thank you for that wonderful Savior. It makes our heart glad to meditate upon our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. It reminds us of His power and His might, deliverance from sin, and how that when we were yet in sin, you loved us, and you brought us out of darkness into your marvelous light. Hallelujah, what a Savior. Fathers, we gather in Jesus' name here today. We acknowledge our need of the Savior, not just that salvation, but every day, every moment of time. Oh, Father, I need Thee every hour. I need that Savior continually to keep me by His grace. Fathers, with joy that we are here, with thanksgiving we praise you. In Jesus Christ's name, I pray, Father, fill my lips with your words. Lord, may I just be a vessel in your hand this morning, that you may speak into our hearts. May you give us joy and hope. Father, have your way this morning, in Jesus Christ's name. Amen. You may be seated. I hope that each one of you, as you sang those songs, that your heart welled up with joy and adoration for the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. That's the purpose of gathering together in worship, is that we, in our hearts, might open ourselves and express ourselves to God, that He might receive glory and honor. We're changing the order of the service a little bit this morning. We have a baptism planned as part of the service, so we'll have the main message first. And I'm not sure how Aaron is going to order it all, but that's how much I know about it. I would like to share this morning on child training, or maybe on parent training. The old Greek philosopher, who maybe had some things pretty straight, that even our juvenile detention centers could learn something from. When he saw a small boy or a child, when he saw a small boy in mischief, or in doing something wrong, he would go to the father, punish the father. Maybe he had some things right that we miss. You might ask why another message on child training, is this not the godly home church, which is very strong on child training, and is not this the church where Brother Denny has his godly family, you might say. But, it's good to lift up the vision of godly homes at all times. And we certainly should not leave this one only to Brother Denny. But, I want to preach on child training too, Brother. Amen. So, that's what's on my heart this morning. I'd like to title the message, Sculpturing the Souls of Our Children. And I have a little object here that I brought this morning. The picture is that of a sculptor, one who takes maybe a marble or granite rock, sets it there before him, and he begins to take a hammer and a chisel, and begins to chisel away on that rock. Because he wants to make something out of it. I've not done much sculpturing on rock, but I want that to be a lesson. Maybe another way of looking at it that can help us to keep the vision that we have, or maybe lift up the vision, if we don't have one. Sculpturing the souls of our children. Three masons were cutting up rock. And a man passing by asked them, he said, what are you doing? The first one answered and said, I'm cutting these stones into the sizes wanted. And he asked the second one, answered and said, I'm earning eight dollars an hour. And the third one answered and said, I'm helping to build a great cathedral. Their vision was different, you see. This message is going to be quite a bit to the sisters, the mothers this morning. Those three women were doing their weekly washing. Another lady passed by and she said, what are you doing? First one said, I'm doing the weekly washing. The second one said, I'm doing a bit of household drudgery. The third one said, I'm mothering three young children who someday will fill important and useful spheres in life. And wash day is a part of the grand task in caring for these souls who shall live forever. Only the third one had caught the vision of the great work that she was doing. I saw the verse in Haggai, chapter 2, verse 19. It begins this way, it says, Is the seed still in the barn? Everyone that plans to get something done needs to have a vision of some kind. And a proper incentive is a completed task. The farmer, if he's going to have a crop at the end, he must put the seed in the ground. And I would say that if I would come to your farm in the middle of the summer and I'd see the seed bags are still sitting on that old bench or out in your garage somewhere, still laying there on a pile, and there's no seeds in your soil, in your ground, I would say you've lost the vision. Somehow you've not taken part in planting those seeds in the soil because you didn't have a vision of the end result of what it's going to be. The student who wants to excel in business, he must go to school, must learn. Likewise, the mechanic. Mechanics nowadays, they need to go to school continually to learn how to keep our cars on the road. Likewise, the artist. He must have in his imagination, when he begins the finished work. Proverbs 28, 18 says, where there is no vision, the people perish. And there is no sphere in which this is more true than in that of parenting. The parent who has impressed upon his own soul the vision of the finished creation of that little one entrusted in his care will not begrudge the seemingly many wasted hours of loving toil. One mother who had a vision whose numerous children turned out to be evangelists and missionaries and reformers and so forth, when she put them to bed in the evening, she would whisper in their ears, the world is waiting for you. Oh, yes, someday, God has work for me to do. Such constant chiseling could not fail but to fulfill that heavenly vision. No heart but that of a parent can know the strange conflict of emotions, the joy and the awe as a new mother takes into her arms for the first time that little bundle of joy in life. As she gazes into the eyes of her babe, she must, if she is at all serious minded, feel a sense of great responsibility in that she has been entrusted with the greatest of tasks. Along with the father, she is to shape that immortal soul into a thing of beauty or of baseness. Into a force for good or for evil and towards a destiny of either heaven or hell. Every act of her life from that moment on is a chiseling influence upon that piece of living marble. She is the sculptress of a living soul. Every act, deed and word has an impression, will make an impression on that little child. Chisel in hand sat the sculptor mother with a marble block before her and her face lit up with a smile of joy as a heavenly dream passed over her. She carved that dream into that shapeless stone with many a sharp incision. With heaven's own light the sculpture shone. She succeeded in carving that vision. Sculptors of children are we with their souls uncarved before us chiseling each day at God's command with that heavenly dream before us. If we carve it now on yielding stone with many a sharp incision its heavenly beauty shall be their own realized at last the reward in heaven. I wonder, first of all there must be a vision. Any sculptor who takes a block of marble or granite stone and sets it there before him he must have a vision of the finished product before he begins. I've watched the man who takes a chainsaw and he cuts those big tree stumps into eagles or bears or deer or whatever you want in your front yard. He takes a chainsaw and just cuts around and chisels it out and when he's done it's beautiful. That man has to have a vision of what he wants at the end before he begins. Do I have a vision like that? The impressions that you put up upon the soul of your child are going to last for eternity. You could chisel something into a granite stone that will pass away. Chiseling wood is nice and easy but that would just burn up. You can chisel into a granite stone but when the world passes away that also will pass away. But when you put something into the heart of a child that will remain. If I were to give you a diamond and tell you to inscribe on the face of that diamond something that will speak for you at the last day what would you put on? Will not our children speak at the last day of who I have been and of who I am? The heart is immortal. There is no other work no orator or singer, no other artist or to be compared with the work of the mother who is carving the image of God in the soul of her little child. How many mothers here would take or let me ask you this question. How many sculptors do you think would take a marble or granite block and would begin chiseling away on that thing and making it into that which he wants it to be? How many of those sculptors do you think would allow someone else to take the hammer and the chisel and work at that marble block? Do you think they had Do you think they could bring about what he wants? What about daycare centers for toddlers, two year olds, three year olds? Mothers take that little child so full of impressions so impressionable and put that child in the hands of someone else for days eight hours a day sometimes much longer. Someone is going to put impressions on that little one. What a grief in my heart to hear of how some mothers take their little ones strap them into the baby seat and put them in front of the television for hours and hours and hours of the day. They're so young, they're so impressionable. The first things they see and hear those are impressions of their lifetime. And why set them in front of an ungodly television? Why let them see all those funnies and ungodly characters? Why? Why? Why? Every gift Every child is a gift straight from God. James tells us every good and every perfect gift is from above. And cometh down from the Father of lights with whom there is no valueless neither shadow of turning. God graciously gives us children. Esau asked Jacob and he said, Whose are these with thee? And Jacob said, These are the ones that God has given me. Psalms we read that children are inherited from the Lord. A newborn baby is a fresh act of God. A fresh miracle of God. He is the revelation of God's created handiwork. Oh! The value of a little baby. He is God's last messenger to the earth. The last one he sent to be a messenger on the earth, right? Until the next baby is born. Every birth is a miraculous event. So many children are born unwanted more bothered and worse by the worldly standards. Yet in the eyes of God whosoever accepts this little one accepts God and whosoever rejects it rejects God. Let's turn to Matthew 18 for a few scriptures. Matthew 18 verse 1 The same time came the disciples unto Jesus saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child to him, set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. We do believe in Jesus teaching. Do we not? But have you ever seen someone being taken out a millstone tied around his neck and drowned in the depth of the sea? Have you ever seen that? Have you ever heard of it? Jesus is teaching that it is very, very serious to offend one of these little ones. But also if we receive one such little one we receive him. Verse 10. Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones for I say unto you that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. God sending a gift to a young mother. What a grief it must be to see that gift be neglected, misused uncared for, unloved and so forth. Let's look at the mother a little bit. There is no more noble career than that of motherhood. There is none that has more far-reaching drastic results. There is none that has so much weight in the scales as motherhood. There are no possibilities greater and no sphere where failure brings more serious penalties. With what diligence then should the mother prepare herself for such a task? If the mechanic must study if the doctor must study whom we give our bodies to be operated on if the teacher needs a degree how much more should the mother who is fashioning the souls of men and women learn at the highest of all schools and from the master sculptor himself God our Father. To attempt this task unprepared and untrained is tragic and its results affect generations to come. On the other hand no higher height to which humanity can attain is that than that occupied by a converted heaven-inspired praying mother. Such a vast difference. We know the power that says an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Another problem like that says an ounce of a godly mother is worth more than a pound of preacher. In other words a mother has ten times more weight to her instruction to her guidance than the preacher does. It's natural for a mother to prepare for the baby praise God gives them nine months to get ready for the baby. That's wonderful. It's wonderful. And I remember very well our first one of course was probably the most memorable one but we bought some clothing we bought some diapers we bought some blankets we bought all these things to prepare for the arrival of our first born child. Oh we were so excited. How much more should she prepare herself in her home for the coming of a soul. A soul that is going to live forever. Oh young ladies young sisters prepare. Even if you're not married prepare. Prepare. You may someday have the opportunity to make impressions on an eternal soul. The Creator puts into your hands a newborn baby mothers babies are born without any clothing. They're unclothed. They have no clothing. They're born naked. Don't you prepare clothing for them? Don't you have something ready to put on that body as soon as it's born? Usually they have a little blanket there and they have a little cap to put on the head or something and as soon as it's born they want to put something on it. Is not the soul, does not the soul come unclothed? Naked. Waiting for someone to stamp eternal impressions on it. That's that little baby. Should you not prepare mothers to clothe that spirit an eternal spirit of that baby with godly holy influences all the day. Don't leave that immortal soul to pick up it on its own along life's pathway impressions. It surely will pick up something. Our children will put on our ways and our habits in spite of us. Our very character will stream into that little baby from day one. Entering in through the eyes and the ears our words and our actions. That little one is so impressionable. What they see us do, they will do. What they hear from us, it lodges in their memory. And like seeds dropped in the ground from the parent's stock, they will surely come to fruit. Fathers, mothers, don't try to fool yourself. They will come to fruit. Let's look at a few mothers in the Bible this morning. When God wished for a mighty deliverer for His people, He would begin with a mother. Numerous occasions in the Bible, He would come to a woman and put an impression upon her heart of the value and the greatness of the child that she was going to have. Turn with me to Judges 13. Samson. We know the story of Samson, but let's look at his mother and his father. God would sometimes give early indication of the coming greatness of the child, so much so to impress the sculptress of the importance of her task even before the child was conceived. Hence, with a sense of mission, the mother prepared herself and then her child for the great task which lay ahead of her. Chapter 13 of Judges. The story of Manoah and his wife. Verse 2. There was a certain man of Zorah of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah, and his wife was Beren and Berenot. There's many times, let me say numerous times in the Bible where God came to a woman, or God used when God wanted a great man. What did He begin with? He began with a woman who was Beren. Why is that? One of the thoughts of my heart is that you compare a mother with ten children, which they come very rapidly, and she's maybe overwhelmed with the many, to a mother who's Beren, or to a woman who's Beren. Think of the longing, maybe some of you know that, the longing in her heart for a son, year after year after year. Beren. All the longing, if only God would give me a son, I would raise him for the Lord. I would bring that son up for the Lord. That's the longing heart. And maybe that's why God uses Beren women. Abraham's wife Sarah was Beren. Can you imagine their joy and delight? They held that little baby for the first time. The awesome impressions that they were going to make on that little one. They had looked forward to it. They had waited. It's what they thought about. It was what they dreamed about for years. Here it is. Wouldn't they take care of that little one? Wouldn't they be careful how they would impress that little child? His wife was Beren, and Beren not. Verse 2. Verse 3. The angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, Behold now, thou art Beren, and Beres not. But thou shalt conceive, and Beres son. Good news. Now therefore beware. I pray thee. Here's some instruction for the mother. Drink not wine, nor strong drink. Eat not any unclean thing. For lo, thou shalt conceive, and Beres son, and no razors shall come on his head. For the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb. He shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. Oh. My son is going to begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of our enemies. God's giving me a son. And my son is going to be a partaker of the deliverance of Israel. Now, don't you think that made an impression on her? I think it did. Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came to me in his countenance like the countenance of an angel of God. Very terrible, but I asked him not at once. He was, and then told me his name. But he said to me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and Beres son. Now drink no wine, nor strong drink. Neither eat any unclean thing. For the child shall be called a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death. Manoah. He entreated the Lord. He wanted instruction. If this is going to be such an important child, I must hear from God myself how to raise this son. Oh, that we have that kind of a heart. When we realize that our wives are pregnant, that my wife is pregnant again. Oh, God. Give me instructions. Teach me that I might know how to raise this son of the Lord. Manoah entreated the Lord and said, O my Lord, let the man of God, which thou didst send, come again unto us and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born. And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field, but Manoah her husband was not with her. And the woman made haste and ran and showed her husband and said to him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me that came unto me the other day. Manoah arose and went after his wife and came to the man and said to him, Art thou the man that spake unto the woman? He said, I am. And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him? And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman, let her beware. She may not eat of anything that cometh out of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing. All that I command her, let her observe. And they made an offering there, and the angel disappeared in the fire. And Manoah fell on his face, and his wife, and Manoah said, Verse 22, We shall surely die because we've seen God. But his wife said to him, If the Lord were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering in our hands. Neither would he have showed us all these things, nor would he at this time have told us such things as these. And the woman bare a son, called his name Samson, and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him. And the Spirit of the Lord began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshdorah. She raised him for the Lord. 1 Samuel 1 Let's look at another one. Another instance of a barren woman. Elkana had two wives. The one was named Hannah, the other one was Penina. Penina. Penina had children, but Hannah did not. And he loved Hannah more than Penina. Verse 4. And when the time was that Elkana offered, he came to Penina, his wife, and to her sons and her daughters, portions he gave them. But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion, for he loved Hannah, but the Lord had shut up her womb. And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the Lord had shut up her womb. And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the Lord, so she provoked her, therefore she wept and did not eat. It seemed like every year, specifically at this time, that Penina provoked Hannah and made it very clear to her that she's barren, and this was such a grief and reminder to Hannah. You can see the heart of this woman, her longing for a son, and what that did in her heart as far as preparation, and how she became, and how she prepared herself to be the sculptress of the soul of a child. Look at her longing. Hannah, why weepest thou? Verse 8. And why eatest thou not? And why ist thou heart grieved? Am not I better to thee than ten sons? Hannah rose up after they had eaten at Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post in the temple of the Lord, and she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed on the Lord, and wept sore. And she vowed and vowed, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man-child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life. There shall no razor come upon his head. Look at her commitment. God, if you give me a man-child, I'm going to dedicate that child back to you, and give it back to you. As much as she longed for a son, she said, I'll give him back to you. Isn't that where every one of us needs to come to? And she did. Eli saw her praying, and thought she's drunk. Later on, Eli told her that that petition is granted to thee. Verse 18, she said, Let thy handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went out. When her countenance was no more sad, she heard from the priest, and she believed his word, that his word would come to pass. She's going to have a son. It came to pass. When the time was come, about after Hannah had conceived, that she'd bear a son, called his name Samuel, saying, Because I've asked him of the Lord. And the man, Okina, and all his house went up to offer unto the Lord the yearly sacrifice and his vow. But Hannah went not up, for she said to her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned. Then I will bring him, that he may appear before the Lord, and there abide forever. And Okina, her husband, said to her, Do what seemeth good to thee. Tired I have weaned him, only the Lord establish his word. So the woman abode, and gave her son Succum, till she weaned him. And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, one ephah of flour, a bottle of wine, and brought him into the house of the Lord, in Shiloh, when the child was young. They slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli. She said, O my Lord, as thy soul liveth, my Lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the Lord. For this child I prayed, and the Lord hath given me my petition, which I ask of him. Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord, as long as he liveth, he shall be lent to the Lord, and he worship the Lord there. And she left that child there at the temple. I wonder what kind of a vision that mother had. Can't we see some of it? Her vision was that she would have a son that would be a minister to the Lord all his days. Mary, the mother of Jesus. Let's turn to Luke. Two more examples in Luke, chapter one. We have Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. Let's look at that a little bit. Here we have Zacharias executing his office as a priest. There before the Lord, the multitude was out praying. Verse eleven, there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, Fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard, and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son that shall call his name John. Now look at what he did. You see, God is looking for a man. God is looking for a man who will begin to deliver his people. What does he start with? He starts with a woman who was barren. Again. And now look at what he says to Zacharias. He lays it on the father this time. The vision of what this man is supposed to be. And I'm sure that Elizabeth picked that up. Elizabeth shall bear thee a son that shall call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He shall be filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. He shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. That's quite a load. Now if God spoke that to your heart so vividly mothers and fathers, what would you do with your son, your child? How would you sculpture that soul? How would you put impressions on it? Verse 26. The sixth month that angel Gabriel came and was sent from God unto the city of Galilee named Nazareth to a virgin and a spouse to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel came in unto her and said, Hail, thou art highly favored. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women. When she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. The angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Mary said, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? The vision. When God speaks those kind of words, they stay. They stick. And that leaves such an impression on our hearts. Mary, how carefully she must have cared for herself. How carefully she prepared herself physically, mentally, and spiritually for the birth of this son, who is to take the throne of his father David. He's going to rule forever. How can I care for that little one? The mother with such a task before her surely spent time preparing herself spiritually and emotionally for this enormous task taking this son, sculpturing daily, chiseling into the life of that son. First of all, preparation. The benefits of mother fold, or two-fold, in this sense, if she's a true mother. Not only does she shape the soul and the character of her child, but the process does much to change her. Amen? The process does much to change the mother. A striking analogy of this principle is to be found in the experience of the great sculptor Michelangelo. Taking a marble stone, spending years at it, when Michelangelo had finished his famous colossal statue of David, which was named the Giant, his finished work was named the Giant, and I pondered and I thought, now I wonder what impressions he left on that stone. It must take years and years to take that stone and chisel it out, chisel every detail into that stone. The picture I get is that of David on his way to kill Goliath. Imagine the face of that young boy, rooty and strong and quick and confident as God, there looking with anticipation to slay the Giant. I don't know what for picture he put on that stone, but it was there. His many friends who had not seen him during the years when he was working upon it in Florence declared with great surprise that he was changed. His face was changed. And as they looked at the statue and then at the skillful sculpture, it was seen that he had carved his conception of David not only into the beautiful white stone, but all unconsciously had carved it too into the lines of his own beautiful and noble face. As godly mothers catch a vision of what they want the babe to be, the call is first of all to them to become a partaker of the same. And the grace of God enables them through faith to be continually changed more and more into the image of Christ. And as godly mothers are conformed into the image of Christ, their children will be conformed. And as they conform their children into the image of Christ, they themselves will also be conformed into his image. There's a little poem by a mother. Had I no feet to guide along life's tall some way, my own more frequently might slide, more often go astray. But when I meet my baby's eyes at God's own bar I stand. When I look into my baby's eyes, it's like standing at the judgment bar of God. And angels draw me toward the skies while baby holds my hand. The father and ye fathers, provoke not your children but bring them up in the nurture provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Yes, the fathers have much to do with the children. Like father, like son, and like family. Whether it's good or bad, it will follow. Solomon, it says, he loved the Lord and he walked in the statutes of David his father. Many kings, they followed after their father. Let me tell you a few. It says of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, he walked in all the sins of his father which he had done before him. Likewise, Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, began to reign in Israel and he did evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin. Amri wrought evil in the eyes of the Lord and did worse than all that were before him. Ahab, the son of Amri, did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him. He saw and he did. Fathers, a farmer's son, he needs a little toy to play with. A horse, maybe. A sailor's son needs a boat. Roofers' sons, they like to climb. Even their daughters do. A little girl, almost a year old, daughter Janelle, she loves to climb. She'll climb up a ladder if we let her. I wonder why. Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it. It doesn't say educate. The meaning for the word educate is to instruct, to impart knowledge, or to give instruction. But the word train is making sure they do it. And that's the difference. We don't just want to educate. We want to train. We must train. It is concerning this actually chiseling that the greatest difficulties abound. Parents, if you want to train your children, you must practice what you teach. You must show him how to do it. And show him how to practice it. And you must at all costs see that he does it. We can say it. We can teach it. We can tell him. We can even show them how to do it. But unless we make sure that they do it, we're not really training. Amen? Training a child is the highest and holiest and most fascinating of all occupations. The way to train a child is to train yourself first of all. How many undisciplined parents have disciplined children? How many undisciplined parents have disciplined children? Doesn't happen, does it? Not at all. How many disciplined parents have disciplined children? That happens, doesn't it? But there's also some disciplined parents who don't have whose children might be undisciplined. Probably simply because they don't train. They don't see to it that the child does it. What you are is what the child will be. If your hands are morally dirty, if your hands are morally unclean, one of the impressions your child will pick up, his life will be dirtied by the handling of your hands. Take your little son or daughter, rub your hands in the mud puddle, and then try to handle that little one without getting it dirty. It's impossible. It's impossible. But if you are morally unclean, you will surely leave the same stains on your little one. Likewise, it's not possible either to teach a child something you don't believe. While your tongue says one thing, your mind clings to another, and the child hears your mind and follows its thoughts. Don't fool yourself and think you can train them one thing while you believe another. If you really believe it, they'll follow through. But if you say things and don't really believe it, and this is so important for parents, don't... An example just came to my mind. Go home from church this afternoon, father, mother, and tell your children, that was a real good message. I like what was preached. But in your heart and mind, you're saying, that ain't what it's talking about. Which will your child believe? Can you fool that little one who's looking up into your face, watching your every move, listening to your words, but also watching your actions, and receiving from you. Teaching is not only a matter of routine words alone, it is a communication between two minds. And much is unspoken, much is unseen, but all is very clearly felt. They will feel your feelings. You cannot hide your doubt. You cannot hide your frustration. You cannot hide your anger. You can't hide the thoughts of your mind from the listening, watchful eyes of that little one. What you feel, they will feel. Many fathers don't have time. Many fathers don't have time. They think they don't have time. How many hours are in a week? 168? 168 hours in a week. How many hours does the average father work? 40? Let's say 44. Let's say out of those 5 days he goes to work, he spends maybe let's give it 3 hours for travel time and lunch breaks. Right? Another 15 hours per week. That's 109 hours left. How many hours does a man need to sleep each night? 7? Let's give him 8. 8 times 7 is 56. 53 hours left over to do as he pleases. Let's divide that into 7 days. You come up with about 7.5 hours per day to do that which he pleases. What does he do? 7.5 hours every day. What does he do? That's a good question. A little bit on the Christian home. The Christian home should be the happiest place on earth not only to the grown-ups but to every member of the family. Are any of your children a bother to you as you pursue your worldly interests? Are they in your way as you try to get your work done? Never allow siblings to make fun or belittle others. I wonder what the message your home shouts. I come to visit your home and then I go leave on the way home, I look at my wife and she looks at me and I say what for message does that home give? Is it a home of peace? Is it a home of joy? Is it a home where there's love? Or do you sense tension? Do you sense unhappiness, anger, frustration, bitterness? Maybe you see maybe just a look at their furniture will tell you what's important. Or what's not important. We just last week took an old dresser out of our bedroom. One that we had ever since we're married. You know I've taken it out in the shop several times and I patched it up and tried to make it work and it always goes so hard you know and it's hard to open the thing up and push one side and get it closed again. I finally bought my wife something a little bit better. But does it really matter? You walk into our home, does it matter? Is it nice furniture? Is it the best? All those things speak. Is there lacy curtains all over the place? What really matters? And what is the message that your home has? Do those things really matter when you come down to the bottom? They don't. What really matters is the heart and the soul of my children. That's really what matters. You can be sure that the children are catching your life message. Is it materialism? Is it business? Is it money? Your children will be sure to play it out. You might be able to hide covetousness. You might be able to hide some of those things but the children will manifest it for sure. Too busy to pay attention to little Johnny. Happy is the parent who makes the discovery that the most precious thing in his child's estimation is a little of his own time and attention. I'll say it again. Happy is the parent who discovers that the most precious thing in his child's estimation is a little of his own time and attention. Most of the happiest memories of childhood cluster around times when parents and children worked or played together. Pent up resentment and a great sense of loss build up in the mind of a child who has no such memories. Probably some of the best times is in the evening in a child's mind. Each day to a child is a miniature lifetime. In his mind, at the end of the day, there needs to be a closure. You and I can lay down in our bed and go to sleep, wake up the next day and go on. But a child's mind needs to be a closure in the evening. The approach of darkness brings to the mind the sense of the ending of a chapter and no child truly wants it to end wrongly. A little one that can open his heart on the wrongs or perplexities of the day will sleep with a sense of well-being. That child will also begin a new day with a better chance of going right because wrong has not been accumulating and the sense of guilt has been lost with the childish confessions to the mother or the father. Fear of the dark, nightmares, all can be overcome by taking that little one and spending time with it. How much time do you have, Dad? Seven and a half hours every day. There's no way to calculate the value of a well-ordered, sunny, godly, influential home. You can't calculate it. One man in counting up his blessings about his home, he said this. Three things, he remembers, three things that stick out in his mind as he meditated over his home where he was brought up. There was peace. He never heard his father or his mother raise their voice in a dispute or anger. Number two, there was obedience. He obeyed a word or the lifting of a finger of his father or his mother without any thought of resistance. And three, faith. Nothing was ever promised him that was not given. And nothing was ever threatened him that was not inflicted. And nothing ever told him that wasn't true. What did that have to do with faith? He saw by that example that Dad's word is true. Mother's word is true. I can depend on it. It will not fail. If Dad says it, it will come to pass. If Mom says it, if she says, you're about to have a spanking, you're going to have a spanking, it was carried out. And that had to do, that had something to do with that man's faith towards God in due time. What is my vision? What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his child? What will a man give in exchange for the souls of his children? When I thought about a vision, before I start cutting on this rock, I must have a vision. When I thought about that, I thought, well, what is my vision? Do I have a vision of a preacher? Evangelist? Do I have a vision of a missionary lady going way back in the jungle somewhere like Amy Carmichael or some of the others? We have visions. Maybe we have visions of our children doing those things. And I think that's okay. But I believe the greatest vision that we can have is a vision of our children growing up in godliness and holiness. Visions of children who love God. And visions of children who will walk the narrow way. Whether they end up as mothers and fathers in the local church supporting missionaries. Whether they end up on the field as missionaries. Whether they die out there or die here. The vision is godliness and holiness. And I will not be able to impart that unless I myself first am godly and am holy. Unless I first am clear and clean. Unless I am morally clean in every way. Can we kneel for prayer? O Father, impress upon our hearts You are the eternal Father. Now open up my heart, Father, for You to make impressions on my own heart here this morning. Impressions that I won't forget. Visions that I won't let go. Visions of sons and daughters holy, pure, godly, upright. O God, stamp on our hearts this morning the impressions of Your holiness, of Your godliness, of Your perfection, of Your beauty, Your joy, Your peace, Your love. And stamp these in our hearts so that we, likewise, will be able to stamp the impressions, chisel them into the hearts of our children, the eternal souls that You have given us, trusted us with, our children. Thank You, Father. May You receive glory and honor through all that is said and done in Jesus Christ's name. Thank God this morning that I can be here, have my vision strengthened, renewed, be convicted, challenged. I want to give honor to my parents because I do know and often think of how blessed that I am to have grown up in a home where there was peace and there was love and care. And certainly my mother made a great impression on my life as did my father. She's not here today to thank her. She went to be with the Lord 13 years ago. But I do thank God that He opened my eyes to see the valuable gift from God that my mother has been to me and to be able to share that with her and thank her. I also just want to thank my wife for her heart and vision for our children. Thank you, Janice. God bless you. We men, we couldn't do it by ourselves. But yet, if God puts us in such a place through His Divine Providence, He will give grace. But how we need to bless and support our wife. I thought, Brother Emmanuel, as you were sharing, that, you know, even if we don't have a vision, we are sculpturing. And that's really sad. When we have no vision, yet we are sculpturing our children. And they are affected by our frustrations and by our anger and by our bitterness or unforgiveness and all of the things that are going on in our heart. They also flow out to our children. I remember years ago, Brother Wayne Johnson met my dad. He said, Brother Aaron, I couldn't believe it. He was just like you. You know, our children just can't help it. They have our genetic makeup, but they are in our school for 21 years. What we are is what they become, largely. But thanks be to God, there is Christ and the cross of Christ. And if we've had a bad experience, the Lord can change our lives and He can deliver us. And He can turn it around. But oh, for us today who love God and who love our children, may we take this message to heart. I believe we heard from the Lord's heart this morning. Thank you, Brother Emmanuel. I'd like to open it up this morning. Maybe someone has a testimony to share. Maybe a confession. I want God to stamp deep upon my heart His word, His purposes. Is there someone who would like to share this morning? Brother or sister, raise your hand. I'll get a microphone to you. The hand up front here on the brother's side, on my left. Others, raise your hand high so the usher can get a microphone to you. Brother Jerry. I want to say Amen to the message. It really was a challenge to my heart. I also want to read verses here that really spoke to me this week as I was pondering them and how God spoke to my heart. In Mark chapter 8, it says Whosoever will come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. And I just this word, this phrase, deny himself really spoke to my heart. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it. But whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospels, the same shall save it. And this also what Emmanuel preached on. He said, For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? I thank God for these words and they really spoke to my heart. Thank you Jerry. Just remind the Lord to share. Is there anyone else? Hand in the back on the brother's side. And also over here. Go ahead with the microphone over here. Brother Merle, we'll have you next. Yes, I thank God for the message this morning. I find often after children's lesson, when there's a object or something, it's just something for me that for my simple mind to understand I can take with me the rest of the week. It's that picture. And so I bless you brother Emmanuel for a simple picture. And the fact that each chisel is going somewhere, it counts and it's not done in a day. Recently my wife and I were discussing about something that brother Emmanuel shared during his message about keeping our children clear and I take that as a challenge each evening. I think there's room we have to grow as a family even there but we're talking about, I guess it was prompted by some families we passed on the road at different times in our communities here and maybe we didn't even know but there were those little children and those flat eyes or even hurting eyes the eyes sometimes are said to be the gateway to the soul. And you didn't know the story, we didn't know the family, we didn't know what was written behind closed doors but it was told in the countenances and the eyes of those children. And it makes your heart hurt as you see those little souls as you go into town in the grocery store. But then I thought about my own children, it's easy to see the end of that road and faces that aren't clear but I thought about how that comes so close home when I don't clear a child when it ought to be done. And the eyes are cloudy because they're asking to be cleared. But maybe I'm busy or I think well I'll let it stack up till it gets to a certain level or something. I just thank God for the challenge this morning of always chiseling according to the vision. If you have the vision but then kind of forget about it and a few chisel marks in the wrong place could be it just marred the vision. You might still have a finished product but there would be these ugly scars on the face or whatever. And I don't want that. I want to chisel in such a way that when it's finished God through His grace doesn't there doesn't have to be a lot of scarred and bad chisel marks. Amen. All right. The other microphone. I was very blessed and challenged myself with just looking over my life I can see a lot of my own mistakes being too busy and not taking time when I should have. And I have over the period of time I have I have watched some of these homes and we can learn from past experience from other people and we had the opportunity some years ago when the children were quite younger to meet a man that had impressions from his home. It reminded me this morning of how where the people where there's no vision the people perish. And there was four brothers that I knew of that had one of them was still living. The others had died already. And just to give a little example. The one was with a church as far as I know he was saved. But the others grew up in a home where they had gone to church. The parent wanted him to go to church. There was a lot of religion there. But there was something wrong in the home. In recent years we found out I don't know how many years before it was the one passed away when he was 26 and about four or five years ago it was discovered that his wife had poisoned him. And then the other one there was another one that had divorced his first wife and took another one. And he was not with a group of believers. He didn't believe as far as I know. And it just I hesitated to share this but it just grieved my heart. And here his brother was giving us this story how things went in his home and there was no vision. According to what he said and a couple times he just put his hands up to his face and cried. We don't like to hear those stories necessarily but they do happen. And it just reminded me this morning I was very grateful for the teaching here. It just reminded me this morning how where the people have where there's no vision people perish. Praise God for the godly example. He leaves a picture in my mind and I certainly gives me renewed vision renewed focus for my vision for my children. Because I know if I'm not busy on the vision that I have for my children and making those impressions I know that that not chiseling it seems their lives never stand still. It seems other people or more correctly the world is standing by ready to do the chiseling for us. And I don't, just a little like brother Lester shared there, I believe if we are not chiseling and not doing the shaping it becomes a free-for-all for whoever comes along. And many hurting, damaged lives come out of that. I'm so thankful for our church that we're in. Brotherhood that we're around. We have an opportunity here that very few people have. But we still need to take personal responsibility to ourselves. And be making sure that the way brother Merle said that what are we doing when we're being by ourselves, what are we doing behind closed doors, what are we doing on the day by day, minute by minute as far as making those impressions. The fine detail work so to speak. Just shared different times here already how earlier in my life raising children as a father, I was possibly relying too much on the church. But the Lord's impressed on me in the last few years here. And just the vulnerability that I've felt that that's not enough to reach through something that is a great asset. But really I need to be I need to be right there and be leading the way and relying on the church as a support but not relying on the church to be doing it for me. So with God's grace I also want to keep on going. I also want to take this time to just publicly thank my wife for everything that she does for the impressions that she makes in the home and I couldn't do it without her. I just feel so blessed with what God has given me there. I just feel so blessed with what God has given me as a family and for what God's doing and believing Him for what He will yet do. God bless you Emmanuel. We have one here on the brother's side and one on the sister's side. Okay, Craig? Yes, I'd like to thank everybody in the church body for prayers for my family and my wife. She was at my hospital this last week. They thought it was a stroke and they've done all the tests and they've come back clear, thank God. And they think it was just a TIA. She needs to get plenty of rest. And I thank everyone for the prayers. They got us through. I just want to bless my husband this morning. I'm just so thankful for him. I know we as wives do so much in the home, so many of the details. It makes it so much easier when my husband imparts vision. And I'm just so thankful for his vision. It's stretching to me at times but I'd much rather have that. And I'm thankful for his example of I'm blessed by the stories that sound so perfect. The parents have just never raised a voice. But I know that we're all finding our way and I'm thankful for my husband who is a good example of being a child of God. Of blessing, obeying his father. And also being very communicating clearly when he's receiving a discipline. It gives security to the children. Communicating why and reconciling with his father. I just think our home is an example of one that we're pressing on. But our children can't say I've never heard my mother raise her voice. I've never heard my father raise his voice. As we have come from our background, we've had to find our way in those things. I just thank the Lord for reconciliation. That we can truly be justified with our children. And we can truly go on and start new habits and new ways. That is our testimony. And I just praise God for that. That we can connect with a child and truly reconcile and say, Mommy's finding her way. I'm a child. Something I say often to them, I've never had children before. I'm being raised by my father as I'm raising you. Thank you for your patience. Thank you for your love. They are so forgiving. They are so patient. They just pray for Mama when I need prayer. They see me go to the Lord. I think it's important that as wise we don't communicate we have arrived. Because our children don't grow up and know how to reconcile. They think they have to have arrived. The truth is we're all children. We're all finding our way. So I thank the Lord for reconciliation and communication with such sacrifices. God is pleased. Thank you for sharing. With our God, there's new beginnings. Hallelujah. I just want to take this opportunity to bless my parents for the areas that they've grown in. And I just appreciate the vision that they have for us as children. And just want to say keep pressing on. Praise God. I just wanted to be a witness to God's dominion over everyone. I wasn't raised in a godly family. There was no peace and there definitely wasn't obedience. But I just wanted to be a witness to God's grace because He took me out of that. And I'm not marked with the ungodly characteristics that I was raised in. And God was able to save me from that. And I just wanted to publicly thank God for His grace. Amen. I love that scripture in Corinthians where it says, a whole list of sinful deeds and character. Then it says, Such were some of you, but ye are washed, ye are sanctified, ye are cleansed, ye are justified. Oh, that's so beautiful. Amen. It's good to hear from you sisters. If someone else would like to share yet before we move on in the service, feel free. Raise your hand. There's a hand over in the back on the brother's side that I see. If I don't see you, just keep your hand up. It's good to be back here. It's been a while. In fact, the last time I was here I was crying because my daughter had lost her baby. I don't know if you remember that. And she just delivered her fourth girl probably three weeks ago. And it's just relocated to Georgia. Charity is a special family to us, although distant. I brought one of my friends here just to see the people and the way you live and the way you serve the Lord. It's a joy. And I thank you for sharing God's blessing in my life through your ministry. Thank you. By the grace of God, I am what I am. And we're all in the molding and shaping process, aren't we? God isn't finished with me yet. Well, we've certainly had a very practical message this morning. Very rich in instruction and doctrine. Let not be forgetful hearers, but doers of the word. I thought of it this way. My wife and I were discussing this just recently. You know, how can we get wisdom as young parents in chiseling? It seems like we can look back and see so many mistakes. But I would just encourage you young fathers and mothers. One way to get wisdom is to ask those that are older. Because it's true. We haven't had children before. It's new to us. But I believe there's a beautiful avenue open to us that we can communicate and share together in the body of Christ for those that are older, those who have gone on before, and those whose testimony and examples we can follow as they follow Christ.