In this sermon, the preacher discusses the story of bears in Yellowstone Park to illustrate how people can lose sight of their purpose. He questions whether we have lost the reason for our existence and forgotten that we are here for the glory of God. The preacher emphasizes the importance of respectability in daily life and the need for strong families built on relevant discipleship. He urges parents to be mindful of the heroes their children look up to and encourages everyone to turn their hearts towards their family members. The sermon also references Bible verses that highlight the purpose of marriage and the importance of family unity.

Revival will not start in the White House. Revival's got to start in the Church House. 1 Peter 4, verse 17 says, The judgment must begin at the house of God. The Bible doesn't say the judgment must begin in Washington, D.C. It doesn't say the judgment must begin in San Francisco. It doesn't say the judgment's going to begin in New York City. It doesn't say the judgment's going to begin at the national headquarters of Planned Parenthood. It says the judgment must begin at the house of God. I'm of the strong persuasion tonight, brethren, that we're long overdue for judgment to begin at the house of God here in America. Thus saith the Lord, has been replaced with, what will public opinion tolerate? We've got too many question marks in the pulpit and not enough exclamation points, said Vance Adler. We've got too much preaching tonight that strokes, and too little preaching that strikes at the heart of our problem tonight. Preaching today, by and large, is designed to comfort. The only problem is that most churches in America are already so comfortable, you would think they were engaged in a sleeping contest. My brothers and my sisters tonight, I believe the Church of Christ in America is more interested in entertainment than intersection. We're more interested in propaganda than proclamation. They tell us that four out of ten evangelicals tonight don't even believe in absolute truth. We're well into evangelical apostasy. My brethren, we've got a grill cream approach to truth tonight in America. A grill cream approach to truth. A little dab will do you. June 12th, a newscast came on announcing that the Presbyterian Church of USA would not make a written statement condemning homosexuality or of the same-sex couples living together because they did not want to reduce the faith to a list of do's and don'ts. My brethren, tonight, when people that name the name of Christ and some of our strongest leaders in America will not take a moral stand on the perversion and the sin of our society, we're a long ways down the road. It's time for judgment to begin at the house of God. Someone asked one American Christian leader, he said, what's your comment on Christianity in America? And the leader said, well, it's definitely more American than Christian. Now, my brethren, tonight, if we're serious about revival in the land, we're going to have to get serious about revival in the church. And if we're serious about revival in the church, we're going to have to get dead serious tonight about revival in the home. The family is the building block of society. So goes the home, so goes the nation. We must get serious about revival in the home. When marriage collapses in society, so does morality. When marriage collapses in society, so does morality. When the God-ordained institution of marriage goes by the wayside, there's an inevitable breakdown in the social order that is bound to take place. I believe that the breakdown of the family and the breakdown of the home is the mother of evils. And many of us here tonight will never show up in divorce court, but we might as well show up in spiritual divorce court, because long ago did the spirit of the home become broken, and it has not been mended. God said in Malachi 4 and verse 6, He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children. That's what you witnessed right here tonight. And He's going to turn the hearts of the children to the fathers, lest He come and smite the earth with a curse. This unity in the home brings a curse on the earth. Consider the ills that we're facing tonight as an American society. Consider the ills of our society. Child abuse, rampant, malnutrition, incest, runaway welfare, suicide, armed robbery, the playboy philosophy, women's rights, children's rights, sodomy. Do you know what the common denominator in all of these ills really is? Do you know what the common denominator is? It's the breakdown of the home. You see, there's spiritual delinquency in the home long before there's juvenile delinquency in the streets. And my brethren, tonight as one wise professor from Yale University said that the public interest depends on private virtue. I'm here to tell you tonight, we've learned, I think, over the years, government does not have the solution for the problems of America. It's going to have to come back down to the church of God. Let me say this to you tonight as a church. I think that when it's impossible, you know, in the old days, the pilgrims came to America. They braved the unknown and came across the ocean to worship God as their conscience dictated to them. And now we have come to a point in the churches in America where we can't get the deacons of the local church to come to a revival or a prayer meeting. And I'm telling you tonight, my friend, that your church here tonight is in desperate need tonight. I'm here as a friend tonight. I'm pouring my heart out to you tonight. This is a cold place tonight, my brethren. It ought not to be that way. And I'm here to tell you tonight, you're going to reap it in your children tonight if you don't have revival in your home. You're going to reap it tonight. Some of you already have reaped it tonight. But God can restore the year of the locusts have eaten if we will obey God and humble ourselves and come clean. God can bless us again tonight if we will. Turn in your Bible tonight to 1 Peter. I want you to see this. 1 Peter 3 7. I want you to notice what the word of God says about revival in the home. 1 Peter 3 7. Notice what the Scripture says here tonight. 1 Peter 3 7. Likewise, he husbands dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife as unto the weaker vessel, as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers be not hindered. Notice what he says. Husbands dwell with your wives according to knowledge, as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers be not hindered. You see, when there's disunity in the home, it's a hindrance in your relationship with God. When things are out of kilter in the home, things are out of kilter with God. Tonight, my brethren, we're living in a time, we're living in a day, we're living in an age when even the liberals are admitting that there's a crisis in the family. Consider briefly the statistics tonight concerning the family in crisis. They tell us that 50% of all marriages will end in divorce. 50% of all marriages end in divorce. 60% of all second marriages will end in divorce. If you don't get it straightened out the first time, it's not going to go any better the second time. You see, judgment must begin at the house of God. They tell us that 1.2 million children will be born this year in America into single-parent homes. 22% of all children today are born out of wedlock. That has tripled since 1970. They tell us that every 22nd, a spouse is abused in America. And they tell us tonight, statistically, that two-thirds of all mothers in America are now in the workforce. Consider the statistics concerning the family in crisis tonight. But consider, if you would with me tonight for a moment, the rationalization for the crisis of the family in America tonight. I was listening some time back, not too long ago, when they came out with a report. And now they've discovered, the experts have discovered, that adultery is genetically predisposed. You heard it right. Adultery is genetically predisposed. In other words, immorality is predetermined by your genetic makeup, and it's really not your fault that you're prone to be immoral, or be a homewrecker, or be a fornicator, or any other kind of thing. It's all in your genes. You're a victim. You're a victim of your heredity. I'm here to tell you tonight, we're all a victim of our heredity. Our father Adam sinned, and because of it, we're all in bad shape tonight. You know, they took John Wayne Gacy, when they executed that man, that serial killer, murdered 33 men and boys, and they got permission from him to take his brain out of his body after they executed him, because they wanted to study his brain to see if perhaps there was some abnormal chemistry that would contribute to his violent behavior. And brethren, tonight, let me give it to you the way it is. John Wayne Gacy didn't have a chemical imbalance. He had a spiritual imbalance. And my friend, tonight, your problem is not genetically predispositioned. Your problem tonight is not a chemical imbalance. Our problem tonight as a human race is a spiritual imbalance. We love ourselves more than we love our God. We love our ways more than we love God's ways tonight. Planned Parenthood has just done a new thing out in Leadville, Colorado. I have the article right here called Dollars for Deeds. Listen to this. Now out there in Leadville, Colorado, they're going to pay the teenage girls $1 for every day that they avoid getting pregnant. You know, it used to be that good behavior was its own reward. But now we're going to have to have a government program. I suppose that Dale and Joyful and Elders are going to implement this thing and pay the youth of America not to get pregnant. God help us. What about US News and World Report? I'll give you one more. One more. One more rationalization that we've got in these days, my friend, for the crisis of the family in America. US News and World Report did an article here called The Biological Roots of Good Mothering. The Biological Roots of Good Mothering. And here they're studying gorillas, folks. They're studying gorillas to try to find out how to prevent child abuse. You talk about the Planet of the Apes, my brethren, we are rapidly headed down that road right there. And here we are, the crisis in the family in America. Time Magazine did a special edition on the family. They did an article called Beyond the Year 2000, What You Expect in the New Millennium. Here's what Time Magazine says. The family as we have known it will soon die. Boy, won't some of them really be glad when that happens. Won't Gloria Steinem jump up and down and shout the victory when that happens. The family as we have known it will soon die. Listen to this. The traditional family will be replaced by serial monogamy. Now get this. Serial monogamy or multiple marriages. That's polygamy in any other culture. Some marriage contracts will have sunset clauses to automatically terminate at a given age. Folks are going to get out before they ever get in after the year 2000. Listen to this. The taboo against incest will weaken. How many of you think what we need to do in order to cure these child abusers is not some more therapy? By the way, we had 100 million therapy sessions last year in America. I want to ask you, are we any mentally healthier than we were before those 100 million therapy sessions? And billions of dollars? My friend, we have now got to the point where we don't believe that God's got the answer. We think that humanistic psychologists have got the answer. And I'm telling you tonight, my friend, I'm telling you tonight, child abusers don't need therapy. They need the electric chair. No apology. Me and Jesse Helms together on this one. Amen? Number four. Number four. The trend towards childlessness will accelerate. Well, you know, Caucasian people don't even reproduce themselves anymore because they're not going to be able to take their careers and vacations and they're more in love with their BMWs and their cats and their poodles than they are the heritage of God. It's skin. Listen to this. Children will be victimized. Many will have no one to care for them. They will roam the streets like they do in Brazil today. You know something here tonight, friend? If you're trusting, if you're trusting somebody else to raise your kid for you, you'd be better off to live on a lower economic scale if possible and try to raise them in the fear and admonition of God. I'm trying here to help you tonight. I'm here to tell you the truth. Number six. Pediatricians will teach children how to use contraceptives when they're vaccinated. How many of you think it's no business of the doctors and the teachers and the public school people? God help us. Listen to this. The school children of tomorrow will have no knowledge of spiritual matters. Why? We can't teach them anything about God in a pluralistic society. It might lend a moral influence. Hallelujah. They need a moral influence in these days. Gideon came to school when I was in grade school. It didn't work for any of us. We already worked to start with. We needed to be turned back to God. Listen to this. Mandatory abortion will be imposed on nations with exploding populations. There's a crisis in the family tonight. There's no doubt about it. You know, we've heard some in recent days about redefining the family. And we've had some talk about reinventing the family. But I suggest tonight, I propose tonight that what we need is a revival in the family. We don't need to redefine. We don't need to reinvent. We just need to have revival homes in the local church. This is what is desperately needed tonight. Now I want you to take your Bible to Malachi chapter 2. I want you to notice some of the hard sayings our Lord had to say here in Malachi chapter 2. God is writing to the priest. Here they're offered lame sacrifices to God. God rebuked him for it. And then he rebuked him in chapter 2. He rebuked him in chapter 3. All kinds of rebukes going on here. Malachi 2 and verse 1. Notice what God says. The last book of the Old Testament before Matthew. Malachi chapter 2 and verse 1. And now, O priest, this commandment is for you. If you will not hear and if you will not lay it to heart to give glory unto my name, saith the Lord of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. Yea, I have cursed them already because you do not lay it to heart. Behold, I will corrupt your seed. I want you to notice here tonight that God said to the priest of his covenant nation Israel that if they did not lay it to heart, if they did not turn back to God, that God would curse their blessings and God said he would corrupt their seed. Hosea 4 and verse 6. God said to Israel, I will forget your children. I will forget your children. My friend, Ephraim was joined to his idols and God said let him alone. And I'm here to tell you tonight, if you love your career, you love your bank account, you love your mutual funds, you love anything more than you love God, my friend. God will corrupt your children, the sins of the parents that pass on to the children to the third and fourth generation. Why was God going to corrupt the seed of these priests? We'll look down in verse 14. He tells us. He said, Yet you say, wherefore, because the Lord hath been witnessed between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously, that is, unfaithfully. Yet she is thy companion and the wife of thy covenant. And did he not make one? Now notice what God says. Did he not make one? Yet had he the residue of the Spirit, and wherefore one? Why did he make you one? That he might seek a godly seed. Notice the purpose of marriage tonight, my brothers and my sisters, that God might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, God says, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. For the Lord, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away. For one covereth violence with his garment, saith the Lord of hosts. Therefore take heed to your spirit, that you deal not treacherously. Now what was the problem in Israel? God said that the priests had dealt treacherously with the wives of their youth, the wife of their covenant. What does that mean? My friend, what had happened in Israel is that these priests, they put away their wives and they married younger, pagan wives, and God said that he hates this putting away, he hates this divorce and all this kind of thing, and my brother, tonight, it says in verse 15 that the purpose of marriage is that God might seek a godly, a godly, a godly seed. God's going to say, he said in chapter four and verse six, he's going to turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and he's going to turn the heart of the children to the fathers. Unless you come and smite the earth with a curse. Young people are here tonight, I hope that God turns your heart to your fathers and to your mothers tonight. Moms and dads, grandparents, I hope that God will turn your heart to your children tonight. How can we be so pale when some of our loved ones, my friend, are on the broad road that leads to destruction? They tell me that in Yellowstone Park they have these signs that says, Don't feed the bears. I've been out there, I've seen these signs, but in the old days they used to have hundreds and thousands of bears all over the place. People would come into the park, they'd read the sign, Don't feed the bears. You know what they would do? They would feed the bears. And these bears would be sitting on the side of the road waiting for people to come in, and they'd roll the windows down, they thought it was funny, they'd take pictures, and they'd hand them something to eat. Yet the sign said, Don't feed the bears. Well, the rangers had to shoot hundreds of these bears, and somebody asked one of the park rangers one time, Why do these bears just sit around all day long? And the ranger's comment was, They've lost the reason for their existence. They've lost the reason for their existence. I wonder tonight, I wonder tonight, if we're about to church. I wonder tonight, if we're about to church. I wonder tonight, if we've not lost the reason for our existence. I wonder tonight, if we have lost sight of the fact that we are here for the glory and the honor of Almighty God. I wonder tonight, if we have lost sight of the purpose of the local church. It's not to meet the needs of men, it's not to accommodate the culture, it's not to cater to the uncommitted, it's for the glory of Almighty God. You can do more with a handful of people that are totally sold after God than 5,000 half-hearted whirling idolaters, my friend. I want to tell you tonight, we need to turn the heat up, and some of you people here tonight, you're as cold as ice, brother. Sister, you have no tears in your eyes. You have no compassion for the lost. You probably think that's a raving lunatic up there. You might be right, but let me tell you something tonight. Let me tell you something tonight. When nobody gets saved in your church, something's wrong. I'm not here to condemn you tonight. I'm here to plead with you tonight. You need a real catch from God here tonight, folks. Why is it you go to one church, and then the Bible's breaking out? You go to another church, and, buddy, you can't hardly get a grunt? Well, what's the difference here? What's the difference? Oh, my brethren, I wonder if we've lost the reason for our existence. Strong families don't just happen. They must be built. And Cal Thomas said that now's the time to return to repentance, to family, to freedom, and to faith. And I want to give you tonight four foundation stones upon which to build a godly revival church, and four foundation stones tonight on which to build a godly family. Foundation stone number one is the foundation stone of radical dedication. Radical. Radical. Radical. Radical. Radical. strength. Boy, you talk about demanding. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy love, with all thy soul, with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. I'll tell you something tonight, parents. Your children love what you love. Your children get excited what you get excited about. You know, tonight, what are we really excited about? Our job? Our hobbies? Sports? Money? What are we really excited about? You see, this thing of real devotion in the home, it's not taught. It's really just taught. And our children tend to love what we love. My brother and my sister, this evening, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. You know, I believe tonight that the spiritual condition of the home is a direct reflection of the spiritual condition of the parents. By and large, the spiritual condition of the home is a direct reflection of the spiritual condition of the father. I believe that tonight. Isaiah 44. I want you to see this passage. What a promise. This is what the brother preached to us up at the paradise about. Got a hold of all of our hearts. Isaiah 44 in verse three. Look at this right here. Isaiah 44 in verse three. In fact, if you have King James Bible or something close, let's read it out loud together tonight. Isaiah 44 verse three. Notice the promise of God as we read it out loud together tonight. For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground. I will pour my spirit upon thy seed and my blessing upon thine offspring. Notice what God says tonight. He's going to pour water upon those that are, I wonder, are you thirsty for God? Are you thirsty for God? He said he's going to pour floods upon the dry ground. You know, it's okay to be dry if you're thirsty because God said he would meet a crowd like that. You know, tonight I wish that God could somehow just come tonight and give us holy hunger, holy desires, holy thirstiness. Notice what God said. He said, I'm going to pour my spirit upon thy seed. You know, tonight we were praying back there, had a prayer room full of people tonight. Praise God. We're back there praying and we got a testimony tonight for my sister right here. She claimed this verse before her children were even born and now she's seeing God pour his spirit upon her seed and her offspring. Brethren, tonight, this is something that's gotten a hold of my heart lately. I just can't help it. It's just got a hold of me for some reason. And I would to God, it would get ahold to you tonight. God said he's going to pour water upon him that is thirsty. He's going to pour floods upon the dry ground. My brethren tonight, radical dedication is a foundation stone for a revival church, for a godly family. General William Booth, founder of Salvation Army, preached all over the place. He was a borough of fire. He had eight children and these eight children served God all over the world. You know why? Because his children loved what their father loved. He'd go out there and preach on the street. Brethren, they'd throw things at him. They'd urinate on him. They would make fun of him. They'd mock him. Rotten vegetables right upside the head. And those children were out there right in the middle of the street, taking the brunt of those rotten tomatoes coming their way. Do you know why they loved that? Do you know why they endured that persecution? You know why? Because they loved what their daddy loved. They loved Jesus Christ. They had 45 grandchildren and all of them went into full-time Christian service. My brethren here tonight, wouldn't it be good tonight if we had a foundation that was so strong that God could raise up generations of godly seed off of us? Some of us here tonight don't come from Christian backgrounds. We didn't grow up in a Christian home, per se. We don't have that privilege. But wouldn't it be something tonight if God could so radically revolutionize our hearts and our homes that there would be a godly foundation? I go to a church in Northern Virginia. It's one of my favorite churches to go to. I'll tell you why. Because right there in the middle, they've got four rows of teenagers, and they're all sitting down front every service. And they're attentive, and they're respectful, and they pay attention, and they're responsive, and their hearts are open to God. So what a blessing. I go to some churches, and man, they're sitting on the back row. The parents have no control over your children. Listen, Danvers, if you don't have any control over your children, you ought to be speaking in the face of God tonight. Do you know where they're going to be five years from now? Do you understand this? Oh, my brethren, God can do it. We had a half-night of prayer at our church not too long ago. Gerard DePoy was there. We had about 35, 45 men. I don't know how many were there. My son Michael was there, 11 years old. I don't want to embarrass him, but let me just say this. He and another young person was there on Friday night. They could have been at the roller rink. They could have been at a concert. They could have been somewhere else. And there they were, supplicating on their face before God. This is the kind of revival we need tonight, to where our children's hearts are drawn after God. You see, now they're drawn after everything, but they're not drawn after God tonight, brethren. You know why? Because the foundation stone of radical dedication is absent so often. I say it again tonight, parents, I think we need to forget, deal with the mistakes and failures and sins of the past, and forget about it, and resolve from now on out, resolve from here on out, to make our families, work at making our families what they ought to be by the grace of God. Radical dedication. Foundation stone number two tonight is that foundation stone of regular devotions, of regular devotions. Gerard DePoy said we need a compass in our hand, and we need a magnet in our heart. We've got the compass in our hand. We need a magnet in our heart, to where our heart is drawn after God. My brethren tonight, men ought always to pray and not to think, Jesus said. Jesus said that God the Father would avenge his own elect who cry out to him day and night. They tell us that ten percent of professing Christians in North America have regular devotions. Ten percent of professing Christians have regular devotions. Now they've got their one-minute Bible. Look, if all you're going to get is a one-minute Bible, chunk it. Go on down to Moose Lodge. Go on down to the liberal church down the road. You stick around here at the Glory to Christ. I mean, just go on down there, you know, if that's all there is to it. My brothers and my sisters tonight, we're biblically illiterate. We've been so humanized, and we've so humanized God, and deified man, and minimized sin, that seldom today can we find people that even have the time to meet with God in regular devotions. DeRogatoy told a story when he was in Africa and he got saved. Theological school, he got saved. You know, it really helps when you get saved. It really helps living a Christian life to be saved. I'm being serious. It really helps to have a heart for Christ. I mean, before I came to the Lord, I had no interest in God. None. But brother, I want to tell you, the zeal of this house is consuming me. I can't get away from it. I can't get away from it. But he told a story. There was this African fellow, these black guys over there, they were prayer warriors. They came in and wanted to talk. He wanted to talk theology. He said they wanted to get involved in neology. They invited this white man, Gerard, out to the night of prayer, and he said they were walking down the road on the way to the mountain of prayer, and he was perplexed. He couldn't understand it. He went up to one of these African guys and said, how in the world are we going to spend a night in prayer? He couldn't conceive of how a human being could spend a night talking with God. And the African said to Gerard DeRogatoy, he said, white man, your problem is you're in a hurry and God is not. Hurry is the depth of prayer, St. Andrew Murray. Steve Fowler is here tonight. Call me up. He calls me up about every week anymore and gives me a new report about what God's doing there in his heart and in his home and in his church. He called me up one day. I was sitting there at my desk, and I had a busy day, and the first thing he got on the phone, he said, Brother Harold, have you met God today? Well, yes, I read my Bible this morning. No, no. Did you meet God today? I said, well, I prayed and tried to get off that subject, you know, and trying to move on to the next thing. And then we talked about some other things, and then we got ready to close. And then he said, Brother Harold, Brother Harold, I'm serious. Did you meet God today? And I said, Brother, to be honest with you, I went through the motions of reading my Bible. I did. I went through the motions of praying. I did. But I hadn't met God. He said, when you get off the phone, are you going to get on your knees over there and meet God? I said, yes, Brother, when I get off the phone, I'm going to get over here and meet God. And I got off the phone, and you know what I did? I went over there and got on my knees and met with God. Radical, a regular devotion. I ask you tonight, I ask you tonight, have you met with God today? Have you met with God today, brethren? You know, Abraham pitched his tent. He built his altar. I said, it's Sunday morning. Our tendency is, and temptation is, to spend all of our time building our tent and merely pitching our altar. Do you have an altar tonight? You know, Jesus said, when you pray, enter into your closet, and when you go in, shut the door. You know why I told you to go in the closet, in the private place? To save you from hypocrisy, because there's nobody to impress when you're alone with God. Do you have a closet? Have you met with him today? Has God met with you today, brother? That's what we're just talking about. Spiritual reality, regular devotion. I want to ask you tonight, do you have a family altar? You know, all of us are intimidated by this, and we don't know exactly what to do, and we've been through all the books and all this kind of stuff. Friends, it's not so much having a formula or a plan. It's basically having a heart and opening a Bible and praying, and it can be spontaneous. It can be varied. It doesn't have to be an academic exercise, you know. And God will help you with it. God can help you with it tonight. You know, at our church, we have two weeks of prayer, around-the-clock prayer. The associate pastor, he's a neurologist who quit being a neurologist to go on staff and serve God. He's 42 years old. You know, I kind of like it when these kind of things happen, you know. I'm kind of prone to think that when God's on the move, you're liable to see some of this stuff. This is different. And he was starting a prayer movement in the church, and he said, Harold, we're going to have two weeks of around-the-clock prayer. And you know what I said to him? I felt like saying to him, why don't you just try maybe one 24-hour period around-the-clock in prayer? He said, no, no, we're going to have two weeks around-the-clock in prayer. The OU is a little fake. Well, families signed up. They encouraged families to spend an hour in prayer, and we filled up about 80% of the slots. We didn't fill them up all, but we filled about 80% of them, which was pretty good for a two-week around-the-clock prayer measure, you know. And you know, my family and I, we drew aside one afternoon at spirit clock. You can ask my boys. We got together, and there we opened the Word. We began to pray. It's like the Spirit of God was breathing on our family, and every family we talked to that participated in this kind of thing noted an extraordinary measure of God's presence and God's blessing in the home. You know, wouldn't it be a good thing to just call a whole night of prayer or a day of prayer and fasting before we came into a crisis in the local church? Wouldn't it be a blessing to just have a day of prayer and fasting when you didn't need to raise $500,000? I mean, wouldn't that be a blessing? Regular devotions. Regular devotions. One elderly Christian said to Augustine's mother, the child of many prayers will never perish. I'm telling you, the world's strong. The world's spirit is strong. I believe tonight with all my heart, if we don't get on the watchtower and God doesn't break our hearts for our children and our grandchildren, they'll go straight to hell. God didn't give you grandchildren to populate hell. God didn't give you children to populate hell. Brethren, tonight we need a broken heart. God knows we need a broken heart. Regular devotion. Foundation stone number three, respectability in daily life. Respectability in daily life. You know, in Proverbs 31, the virtuous woman's children, her children rose up and called her blessed. Do you know why? She'd earned their respect. She'd earned their respect. Wouldn't it be good? Wouldn't it be good if Jesus carries and God's grace sustains us and by His mercy we're not consumed, that in 20 years from now our children would come home. They wouldn't even be in there by the fireplace somewhere. Our children would come in, walking with God. Grandchildren would come in. Here they come in. Granddaddy? God saved this week. Grandma? God called me to the mission field yesterday. Wouldn't it be something? I believe respectability in daily life, brethren. Andrew Murray was going to preach in a church in South Africa and they said he was a godly man and when he entered the pulpit of the church and he entered up on the platform, they said there was a holy hush that descended on the whole congregation like the presence of God came when the man stood up and they said that a little kid on the front row chucked his mother inside and said, Mommy, is that the Lord Jesus Christ? Mommy, brother, I'm about as unlike Jesus as anybody you ever met in your life, but I'd like by the grace of God, by the sheer grace and mercy of God, to have respectability in daily life. We ran a meeting one time in West Virginia and a whole godly woman, wife of a president of a Bible college, stood up and she said, You know, I've been more concerned about having a clean house than a clean heart, and God has convicted me. An 80-year-old woman was just weeping. A very balanced woman, by the way. She was just weeping and broken before God. You know, our children were small. One day we'd have one of those rough days. I know you all don't have those down here, but we have them up our way quite often. It was a rough day. Voices were raised. Things were said that should have been said in a different way. Probably some things were said that shouldn't have been said at all. It had been one of those days. It came time for devotions, and you know when there's a distinct spirit of alienation, it's kind of tough to have a meaningful devotional time. You know, we earn the respect of our children by living an exemplary life and then also by admitting when we've been wrong. I'll give you 10 words that'll help you in your home tonight. Here they are. I was wrong. I'm sorry. Will you forgive me? Try them out with me tonight, and let's see if we can get the hang of it. All right. I was wrong. I am sorry. Will you forgive me? Let's try that one more time. I was wrong. I am sorry. Will you forgive me? I wonder tonight, do you need to say that to anybody tonight? Do you need to say that to your mate? Do you need to say that to your mom and dad? Do you need to say that to your children? Do you need to say that to your pastor? Do you need to say that to your local church? Do you need to say that to your employer or employee? I mean, do you need to say that tonight? Respectability in daily life. A young blooded pastor came to prayer advance. I never met the brother, but he got home and called me back. He told me when he got home, first thing he did, he got his teenagers and his wife and squared it with them. He said he went to church Sunday and revival came after revival had come to his home. I really think this is the way it's supposed to work, you know. Respectability in daily life. Brethren, the way we conduct ourselves, the way we communicate and the way we live must be worthy of respect. Foundation stone number four for a revival church and a godly home. Foundation stone number four is the foundation stone of relevant discipleship. Relevant discipleship. I asked the question the other night, who are your children's heroes? Whose posters are hanging on their walls? Whose music are they listening to? You know, parents, God called us to shepherd our families. And in Deuteronomy 6, God said, These words which I command thee this day shall be in thy heart, and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and thou shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, when thou walkest by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. Now, you're supposed to talk of these commandments of God when you're sitting, when you're walking, when you rise up, and when you're lying down. That pretty well got it covered there. That discipleship is not some canned package you got from some organization. It's a way of life. Relevant discipleship. Let me tell you something tonight. If you're trusting your Christian school to make your kid turn out right, you're going to be sadly disappointed. If you're looking to the local church to see to it that your kids are, you're going to be sadly disappointed. If you're looking to the average youth group in America, my friend, you are going to be terribly, terribly disappointed. We talk a lot of it in these days about Satan's attack on the home. Now, friend, no doubt about it, Satan's attack on the home, but let me tell you something. I believe that most of that right there could be summed up with this phrase right here. We have rebelled against God's design for the home. We have rebelled against God's design for the home. God has got an order for the home. And my brethren, tonight there are not only benefits, there are responsibilities connected to the Christian life. And you see, we'll never advance on our knees while we're retreating from the truth. One man said one time, he said, I'm the boss in my home, but I'm not the leader. I'm the boss, but I'm not the leader. The godly woman, her name is Mrs. Palmer. She and her husband have four children. They all love the Lord. They're serving God. Whenever I find somebody like that, I always get curious and go up and ask them a few questions. I said, tell me, tell me, how can you attribute this here? Your kids are walking with God. They did get better. You know, they were in the ministry or it's a secret here. And you know what this dear old woman said to me, Mrs. Palmer, she said, what the hell? I really don't know. But, but, but she said, one thing I can tell you is that I never down talked my husband in front of my children. She said, even when he was a bit grouchy, good to know that other guys get like that, you know, and a bit irritable. He said, I always made excuses for him. And she said, I never down talked my husband in front of my children. She had proper respect. And you see, the kids grew up with a sense of authority structure that God had ordained. You see what I'm saying? God's got an order in the home and brethren tonight latch hold of this God's promise to pour water upon those that are thirsty. And God has promised to pour his spirit upon our offspring. Well, if you're dry and you're willing to admit it and you're willing to do something about it, God can meet you tonight. And then brother, God can pour his spirit upon our seed. You say, how do we get in on it? Well, I'll tell you how we get in on it. Isaiah 57, let's say it's a high and lofty one that inhabited the eternity. He said, I dwell in the high and holy place with him. Also, this great God said, I dwell with him. Also, that is of a contract and humble spirit to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the hearts of the contract was, you know, the ones that the great high God of heaven camps out with. It's not what they're arrogant or the self-righteous or the self-satisfied. It's not their crowd. It's the crowd that's willing to get low enough, low enough to where God can bless them. Would you be willing to humble yourself tonight? Would you be willing to develop a broken and a contract heart before God? That's the one God will meet. God can do it for you. God can do it for you. You know, tonight, brethren, if what is being said in these days holds no interest at all, you probably need to make your calling and elections. We had the prayer events. Then it gets to get up there to speak. You talk about an odd looking fellow. It looks like an Amish guy. Got a long beard. Dress is funny. Don't make the difference what he's got on, brothers. What's in him that makes a difference. And he got up there and ministered our hearts. He had a 12 year old boy and a 17 year old boy here at the prayer event. You know, he called me ahead of time, said, well, Harold would be okay with me and my boys fasted for three days. 12 year old kid fasting for three days. You see your children love what you love. I said, yeah, it'd be all right with me, brother. If you want to fast for three days, we didn't plan on inviting him to speak, but he got up and gave a testimony and then we just felt spontaneously prompted. Hey, maybe this guy's got a word for us about the family, you know? So he got up on Wednesday morning and you know what he got there and spoke. And he spoke on some of these, this text right here out of Isaiah that I just mentioned to you. And you know what he got up there and spoke. God came and nearly 300 men were, I mean, there wasn't any manipulation. The whole crowd was just laid out for about 30 to 45 minutes and God broke our hearts. God, this is a lot of people, you know, did a lot of guys. I mean, there's still some things going on consequently about it. I'm telling you, but my brethren, we're talking, we're talking tonight about strong families. They don't just happen. They must be built for foundation stones for godly families tonight. Number one, relevant discipleship. Now I want to ask you a question tonight. Are you growing as a child of God? Are you growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord? You know, if you're running on the fumes you picked up 20 years ago, you're far from God. You know, every school field note brother, and some of you ought to forget anyway, but I'm telling you here tonight, you can know it all. But if you're not growing, there's no way in the world you can be growing others. If you're not growing yourself. And one of the tragedies in the churches today is when people reach a certain plateau, it seems that they become comfortable and nobody ever gets past them. So they never get found out. So they're able to stagnate at a certain plane without going on with God foundation stone. Number two, listen to this respectability in daily life. I want to ask you tonight. I'll ask my, I'm asking myself these questions tonight. Are we examples? Are we examples? Question number three or foundation stone? Number three, regular devotions. I want to ask you this evening. Have you met God today? Have you met God today? I didn't ask you if you had your devote. Have you met God today? Are we meeting God on a regular basis? If you meet with us, he'll draw near to us. If we're drawn near to him and then foundation store, number one, number one, radical, radical dedication. I want to ask you tonight, are you surrendered to God? You know, the best definition I've ever heard of total surrender is you take a blank sheet of paper, sign your name on the bottom, tell God, this is your life history and hand it over to the Lord. So God, you can write it any way you want to. Here it is. So there it is. Are you surrendered tonight? Are you surrendered to Jesus Christ? If there's going to be revival in the land, there's going to have to be revival in the church. And there's going to be revival in the church. There's got to be revival in the home. Disunity in the home brings a curse on the earth. Have we not witnessed that in our lifetime and disunity in the home is a hindrance to prayer. Peter said, dwell with your wives, according to knowledge, giving honor to your wife, that your prayers be not hindered. Revival in my home. Please revival in your home. Yes, God can do it. I want to tonight. How many of you really, really would like to freshly surrender to God and to become radically dedicated to Jesus Christ and by the grace of God, by the grace of God, fulfill God's design for your life and your home and your family. We've got a prayer room right back there in the back tonight. And I'm wondering this evening, if some of you men, some of you dear women here tonight, and I know, I know some situations are difficult. I understand all that.