The question would be,
Have you ever really recognized your children are a precious gift from the Lord, and they belong ultimately and always to God first—not to you?
BIBLICAL EXAMPLES:
There are many examples of parents in the Bible who brought their children to God and gave them back to Him:
1. There is the classic example of Hannah bringing her son Samuel (the son for whom she had prayed), and presenting him to God, and handing young Samuel over to Eli the priest. (I Sam. 1:27-28).
2. Of course, you remember Joseph and Mary brought the infant child Jesus to the temple following his circumcision at 8 days. They brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; (Lk. 2:22).But the ultimate example of a parent surrendering his child to God is that of Abraham offering Isaac on Mt. Moriah.
TEXT GENESIS 22:1-13Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied.
2 Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."
3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you."
6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?" "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied. "The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"
8 Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.
9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied.
12 "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."
13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram [a] caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.
Abraham literally, totally, irrevocably gave Isaac back to God. Abraham loved Isaac. V.2 God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love, and sacrifice him ...”
Isaac had been a MIRACLE baby. He was born when Sarah was 90 and Abraham was 100 years of age.Do you know—the best thing Abraham ever did for Isaac was to tie him to that altar and to surrender him back to God?
Because Abraham obeyed and gave Isaac back to God, Isaac received the fullness of God’s best plan and promise for his life:· Isaac became a wealthy man.· Isaac became the forefather of God’s own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.· Isaac’s life is still having an impact on and blessing millions of people worldwide through his offspring—Jesus Christ.
And when we entrust our children back to God—we secure for them the covenant of God’s best purpose and plan for their lives.
THREE ELEMENTS OF GIVING YOUR CHILD BACK TO GOD:
What does it mean? It means 3 things:
1) Giving your child to God is a CONFIRMATION of your love for God.· The first thing you are saying when you give that child back to the Lord is simply this...that you love God even more than you love that child. (Your child is a most prized possession…but don’t allow them to take the place of God!)
· This is exactly what Abraham proved by his willingness to offer Isaac. He was demonstrating that his love and fear of God were supreme in his life above all else.· Abraham loved God above the most prized treasure of his life...his son Isaac.Matthew 10:37-38Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
Not only a Confirmation…
2) Giving your children to God is a CLARIFICATION of ownership.
--When you give your child back to God, you are openly declaring that:· This child is a gift from God.· This child does not really belong to you.· This child belongs to God.(You have the privilege to love and train this child.But this child is not yours—but God’s!)·
Was this not what had to be on Abraham’s mind when he lay Isaac on the altar? Was he not saying, “Lord, this young man belongs to you—not me?” He was saying, “You do with him as you please. He’s yours!”· Hey listen! That little boy or girl does not really belong to you—they belong to God! They are a precious gift from God, on loan to you.Becareful how you treat them.
Ps. 127:3 Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him.
Not only a Confirmation, Clarification…
3) Giving Your Children To God Is A COMMITMENT to Raise Your Children God’s Way!
Eph. 6:4 says we are to bring our children up “bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
· LISTEN...To give your child to God is not just a CEREMONY...It is a COMMITMENT. It is a commitment that you are going to:·
Be a Godly parent. (Parent dedication…requires getting right w/ God)·
Teach this child of Christ. (they will need to be saved)·
Keep this child in church.
Love this child. (even if loving them means disciplining them/letting God discipline you!)
Pray for this child.
Make your home a holy place.·
I think some people see baby dedication as a magical ceremony. Let me tell you—this little ceremony means nothing—zero—if you are not making a sincere, life-long commitment to raise this child God’s way!
I like what Joshua told the children of Israel as they settled into their new home, the Promised Land.
Joshua 24:14-15Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
·
Man, that’s the kind of commitment God is looking for in parents today!Confirmation of your love for God,
Clarification of Gods ownership of the child,
Commitment to raising them God’s Way
Pr 22:6 - Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
I believe that with all my heart.
- Baptism.
The act of water baptism (being immersed in water in response to receiving salvation) is a very important first step in the Christian life. In Matthew 3:13-17, we see the Lord Jesus Himself coming to His cousin John to be baptized, in order to "fulfill all righteousness." He then went on to establish baptism as an eternal ordinance for His church, calling every believer to follow in His example.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19.)
In our modernized, "comfort zone Christianity," we do, sad to say, tend to take God’s commandments far too lightly.
As Chuck Colson points out: "Most Westerners take baptism for granted, but for many in the world the act requires immense courage. In countries like Nepal it once meant imprisonment. For Soviet or Chinese or Eastern bloc believers, it was like signing their own death warrant."¹
A wedding ring is an outward sign that a person is married. A military uniform is an outward sign that a person is involved in that particular branch of service. Similarly, water baptism is a symbol designed by God to identify a person as a disciple of Jesus Christ.When we are saved, we are spiritually baptized into Christ (Galatians 3:27,) and into His Body , the church (1 Corinthians 12:13.)
Baptism in water is an outward representation of these inward realities.
In Biblical symbolism, water represents inner cleansing (Ephesians 5:26, Hebrews 10:22,) and spiritual rebirth (John 3:5,) both of which are central themes of baptism. Water baptism is, in essence, a funeral.
It is an act of faith in which we testify, both to God and to the world, that the person we were before is dead and buried, and we are raised as a new creation in Christ. This is beautifully illustrated by these Scriptures:
"Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."
-Romans 6:4"
Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead."-Colossians 2:12
Baptism is a very special way of God communicating His love to us. When we receive God’s saving grace, it is no accident that He calls us to identify with Him in a way that makes it real to us. Are you struggling with guilt over your past? It may be because you haven’t yet given the person you once were a proper burial! Water baptism is a very powerful reminder of God’s wonderful grace. The person we were before is dead forever, and we are raised with Jesus as a totally new creation:"
Therefore, if any person is in Christ he is a new creation; the old has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!- (2 Corinthians 5:17 Amplified Bible)
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