I believe that Hope is a powerful thing.
When kids are filled with Hope, powerful things happen.
People ask why we go all out for our kids?
The reason is the devil is going all out for our kids.
Our kids are our message to a world that we will never see.
Do you sense that the battle for our kids is escalated?
We are in a spiritual battle, and Satan values our kids.
He knows that he has to have them to accomplish his purpose.
The media is targeting children.
They say that the vast majority of school shooters have come from fatherless homes.
In Biblical times, when God began to raise up a savior, the Devil began to attack kids.
When God heard the groaning of His people in Egypt,God sent His deliverer Moses.
Pharaoh began to kill the babies.
Satan was trying to kill a generation when God was raising up a deliverer.
Any time God begins to move. The enemy tries to counter.
The same thing happened at the birth of Jesus.
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Herod killed all the baby boys two years old and younger in Bethlehem.
As a church, we have a great hope for this generation.
As you pastor, I believe in your kids.
I believe in the power of the Holy Spirit to change their lives.
The enemy knows that a child's heart is tender, and when God's word is planted in them,
It shapes their hearts and minds. Let's use this passage to guide our thinking.
Psalm 127:4-5 (NLT) Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior’s hands. How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them! He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates.
God wants to bless us with sons and daughters.
God wants to bless us with spiritual sons and daughters.
It's amazing to me that a spirit of religion tries to push the children away.
The disciples were trying to shew the kids away, but Jesus wouldn't have it.
Jesus said let the kids come! For such is the kingdom of heaven.
I want to talk to two different types of people today. Arrows (children) and Archers (adults).
The Bible says that children are like arrows in the hands of a mighty warrior.
Back in the time of Jesus. The whole spiritual community was involved in raising the kids.
Remember when Jesus got left behind in Jerusalem as a kid in Luke 2?
Mary and Joseph had forgotten about Jesus.
They had gone to Passover in Jerusalem, and Jesus was missing for 3 days!
The reason that this happened is they assumed that Jesus was being looked after by their spiritual community.
Who's raising the kids today?
Their peers!
Peers have become parents!
If it's not the peers, it's video games, movies, and Netflex.
You can't say not me...
All of us in this church have the responsibility for them in this house.
The arrows are our kids and our students. The archers are us.
Their are certain mechanics required in shooting an arrow.
Shooting an arrow starts with positioning and footwork. The feet are the foundation.
Before we ever pull back a bow, we've got to get it right from the beginning.
A job is what your paid for, but a calling is what you're made for. We are called to be parents.
If your footwork is not right, none of this other stuff is going to work.
We've got to make sure that we ourselves are planted on the Word.
Next, you've got to notch the arrow.
That's the piece of the arrow that's touching the bow.
There's got to be a solid connection between the bow and the arrow.
There's got to be a solid connection between us and our kids.
The words that you speak to your children are so important.
We've got to communicate because words shape worlds.
Our words over them have to align with God's Word.
The next thing that we do is draw the bow.
When we draw back the bow, sometimes our children feel like we're holding them back.
We set boundaries.
We say no sometimes.
Parenting is not a popularity contest.
We're not holding them back. We're drawing them back to release them forward.
If we can't draw them back, we can't release them forward.
Next, we've got to take aim. How do we take aim? We set the example.
It's not preaching great sermons. Our kids will not always do what we say. They do what we do.
Whatever you want to grow in your kid's life, make sure it's present in your life.
Whatever you expect in their life, inspect for it to be present in you.
Model what you want Jesus to multiply.
If you want your kids to tell the truth, be a model of honesty.
If you want your kids to be humble, admit to them when you've messed up.
The last thing is the release.
We let go.
We've got to release our kids into their future.
We've got to give them the opportunity.
If our kids are going to hit the target, it requires a lot of preparation up front from us.
What happens when we run out of arrows?
2 Samuel 18:18 (NLT) 18 During his lifetime, Absalom had built a monument to himself in the King’s Valley, for he said, “I have no son to carry on my name.” He named the monument after himself, and it is known as Absalom’s monument to this day.
The verse is sad because Absalom had no legacy.
We've got to give young people a place at the table.
Because if we don't, when we die, this whole ministry dies with us.
We've got to value our arrows (kids).
A lot of our stories that we teach in church are about kids.
David was 16 years old when he was called to be king.
Samuel was called by God at 12 years of age.
Joseph had his dream as a teenager.
Scholars tell us that Jesus' disciples were older teenagers and in their early twenties.
Mary the mother of Jesus was 14 years old when she had Jesus.
God called Jeremiah at 17 years of age.
Daniel was 15 when he went into Babylonian captivity.
Miriam when she saved Moses was 7 or 8 years old.
Solomon was king at age 20.
Josiah became king of Judah at 8 years old.
Esther appeared before the king at 14 years of age.
Spiritual maturity is not an age. It is simply a response in obedience to the Lord.
If God wanted to raise up a deliverer today, where do you thing He'd go.
Why would we overlook where God would directly look at?
Kids, Students, Young People, we need you! Don't apologize for what God has put in you.
Our kids are our message to a world that we will never see.
Parents, we need your wisdom, we need your life experience, we need your stability, we need your perspective, we need your resources.
Paul was almost 60 years old when he took his first missionary journey.
(Your future is not your past).
The arrows are our kids and our students. The archers are us.
Notes taken from Mike Haman, Healing Place Church
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