Warring For Our Children
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Turn with me to Exodus 1
As we continue this series, “Family Reunion,” a refocusing on the Biblical model of the family unit, we’re going to shift our focus on parenting and children over the next couple of weeks.
Satan has launched a full scale war against our children
It’s not a new war
Today I want to show you through the Word of God that his strategies have not changed over the centuries.
God is a generational God and we are a generational church.
Exodus is a book about Israel’s birth as a nation.
During Joseph’s time as a ruler in Egypt, his family and their families come to live in the land
Exodus 1:5 tells us that they started with about 70 family members in all - the descendants of Jacob
After Joseph died and his brothers died and everyone from that generation died, the children of Israel were fruitful and multiplied exponentially
Egypt served as a mother’s womb for Israel, a place where they rapidly grew from a large family clan into a mighty nation.
While Joseph was alive and the people who had seen the mighty, miraculous hand of God on Egypt that saved them from starvation during famine, the children of Israel were protected and flourished
But after that generation was gone, things changed.
As Exodus opens up, Exodus 1:8 tells us this:
8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.
9 And he said to his people, “Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we;
10 come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land.”
11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Raamses.
12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were in dread of the children of Israel.
13 So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor.
14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage—in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor.
15 Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah;
16 and he said, “When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstools, if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.”
17 But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive.
18 So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and saved the male children alive?”
19 And the midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them.”
20 Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very mighty.
21 And so it was, because the midwives feared God, that He provided households for them.
22 So Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “Every son who is born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.”
1 And a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi.
2 So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months.
3 But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank.
4 And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him.
5 Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. And her maidens walked along the riverside; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it.
6 And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”
7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?”
8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the maiden went and called the child’s mother.
9 Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him.
10 And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. So she called his name Moses, saying, “Because I drew him out of the water.”
Joseph, in Scripture, is an Old Testament representation of The Church and how we are to influence and lead in society.
He was a great blessing to the world in his day
He was a channel of God’s blessing and His prophetic voice to the people of that day.
When the world didn’t know what to do during a time of famine, they turned to the one who had the answers: Joseph
The world doesn’t have answers in today’s culture, but the church does.
Joseph died and the king did not know about the Lord and what He had done through his servant Joseph. The Lord was about to raise up someone else, but in the meantime, Satan was on the advance.
When the voice of the Lord goes silent, evil will always try to move in.
That’s what happened in Egypt
That’s why we can’t remain silent as God’s children.
Satan hates Israel. Satan hates the church.
If he can stop the church from becoming a powerhouse on this earth, his evil agenda prevails.
That’s why he’s after our children.
Our children turn into the next generation of influencers
The will either influence according to the Lord or they will influence according to the ways of the world.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth.
We’re raising arrows in this generation!
The next Moses, the next Joseph, the next Elijah, the next John the Baptist are being raised up in these days to combat the plan of the enemy to take out the people of God and stop his wicked plans to steal, kill, and destroy!
We’re raising powerful weapons that will take down evil strongholds and demonic strategies. Remember that next time they are tearing your house apart after you just spent half the day cleaning it. Remember that when they complain about dinner and talk back to you…they are ARROWS in the hands of a warrior!
Make no mistake about it, we are at war. War has been declared upon families by Satan, and part of his strategy is to take out our children.
What we talk about today is not POLITICAL.
What we’re talking about is the strategy of Satan - how it’s been the same strategy since ancient Biblical times - and how we have to combat it as God’s victorious church.
Satan has launched a war on our kids
We can either fight back, or we can sit back
If Satan is going to war, then we must go to war against him!
This morning, I want to talk about three things we must fight for our children for:
1. We must war for the lives of our children
1. We must war for the lives of our children
God hates the shedding of innocent blood
16 These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
17 A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood,
18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil,
19 A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.
He doesn’t hate the person who has an abortion, but He hates injustice
He hates the hurt and pain and after effects that abortion brings to people
Since Roe v. Wade, the case that legalized abortion in 1973, 63.5 million babies have been killed. That’s over 10 and half holocausts - and make no mistake about it, abortion has been the United States’ holocaust
That is more people than live in the entire state of California and a number greater than 23 of our least populous states
63.5 million people would rank about 23rd on the list of the world’s most populous countries, ahead of countries like Italy, Spain, Kenya, Columbia, Venezuela, South Korea, or Canada.
Nearly 900,000 babies are killed each year - those totals have seen an uptick the past two years in the Covid pandemic.
Abortion is the real pandemic in the United States.
Ex. The California Assembly Bill 2223, sponsored by an Oakland assemblywoman, is passing through California legislature right now and it’s a radical bill that would legalize infanticide, potentially allowing for babies to be aborted up to 28 days after birth. How many of you know that is the taking of a life? The panel voted for the measure with an 11-3 vote. The bill would prohibit authorities from charging a mother for “actions or omissions” related to her pregnancy, “including miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion, or perinatal death.” Anyone who “aids or assists a pregnant person” also would be exempt from prosecution. It would also potentially allow the woman to sue police and other authorities who arrest or charge her in those cases. The ambiguously worded bill might excuse infanticide if a child survives an abortion or a mother feels her emotional health suffered as a result of giving birth to a child.
Susan Arnall, the vice president of legal affairs for the Right to Life League, said this: “A mother, her boyfriend, or, for that matter, the babysitter, can starve or beat or shake a three-week-old baby to death and no one can investigate because under the bill it is a ‘perinatal death.’”
This isn’t something that’s happening with some radical group in a far away nation - this is a bill that lawmakers are pushing for in our own country.
What will the church do?
Will we sit by idly - as we have done in the past - chalk it up to politics, maybe?
Or do will we use our voices in this hour to stand against injustice and the shedding of innocent blood which God hates?
Satan’s initial goal is to stop the next generation from ever exiting their mother’s womb.
In Egypt, when the government was calling for the elimination of the Hebrew baby boys, the midwives would do it.
17 But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive.
20 Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very mighty.
21 And so it was, because the midwives feared God, that He provided households for them.
God will deal well with those who take a stand for life!
We need people like Pharaoh’s daughter to have compassion for the lives of our babies!
5 Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. And her maidens walked along the riverside; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it.
6 And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”
The God-fearing midwives and people of compassion PAVED THE WAY FOR THE MAN TO BE BORN WHO WOULD, BY GOD’S HAND, HELP BRING DELIVERANCE TO GOD’S PEOPLE FROM THE BONDAGE OF SLAVERY!
QUESTION: WHO CAN WE PAVE THE WAY FOR BY STANDING FOR AND PROMOTING LIFE?
This is not an issue for young parents having babies - this is an issue that all the church must stand for. We MUST STAND FOR LIFE!
If Satan cannot kill them, then his next goal is to indoctrinate them.
2. We must war for the minds of our children
2. We must war for the minds of our children
3 Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king’s descendants and some of the nobles,
4 young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans.
5 And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king.
6 Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
7 To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego.
Who was the king after? The YOUNG men. He wanted to indoctrinate the YOUNG men.
The tool used to indoctrinate was through EDUCATION (the language and the literature of the Chaldeans).
I’m saying today that we need to be AWARE and we need to be INVOLVED in what our children learn.
Satan is after their minds
Ex. The governor of Florida passed the Parental Rights in Education Act this year. Critics of the bill have called it the “Don’t Say Gay Bill,” but it actually has nothing to do with not saying the word gay. The main thing it does is prohibit classroom discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity from Kindergarten through third grade in Florida public schools, while also prohibiting instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in any grade. Sounds pretty reasonable, right? Yet people in Hollywood and even the Walt Disney company and other influential people have demonized the bill.
Ask yourself, why are they fighting so hard to talk to Kindergarten through third graders about sexuality?
Why does Disney care if our children are taught about sexuality in Kindergarten?
It is evil, it is wrong, and believers must continue to use our voices and stand against such atrocities.
Critical Race Theory
You are either born a victim or an oppressor based on an immutable characteristic in the color of your skin
Practical Advice for Parents of School Age Children:
Go to school board meetings. Not that you have to go to all of them or say anything while you’re there, but every once in a while go so you know what’s happening in our schools.
Ask questions about what your child is learning (ask your kids lots of questions!)
Be actively involved in their school work (read over what they learn in social studies and civics classes; read over what they’re learning in science and in literature)
The days of being able to assume that every educator has your child’s best interests in mind are over. It stinks. It didn’t use to be that way. I’m convinced that we have some very, very good teachers in our public school here locally. Please understand what I’m saying - they don’t pick the curriculum. JUST BE INVOLVED - SHOW INTEREST.
Even if we can say, “Well, that mess hasn’t made its way into our schools in Oklahoma yet,” THIS IS THE TIME to make sure it NEVER DOES!
The reason is that Satan has an agenda to indoctrinate and education - a good thing - is something he manipulates to carry out his work.
If the devil can change our children’s minds and the way they view themselves and the world around them through the eyes of darkness, he can change their identity!
We have an identity crisis happening right now in our younger generations
When we were saved, Jesus changed our identity.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,
4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
He changed our identity from slave to sin to son or daughter of God, our old, sinful nature died and he raised us up as His righteousness
He also gave us HIS divine nature - His characteristics are now our DNA
My self-worth is now in JESUS!
Satan attacks my mind to take my focus off that fact, get me to slip back into my sinful ways, and get me to identify myself not according to my new nature in Jesus, but according to the evil ways of the world.
He knows that if we realize our true potential in Christ, he can’t bring defeat to us.
With that in mind...
3. We must war for the identity of our children
3. We must war for the identity of our children
Gender Identity
Sexual confusion
The idea that young children can choose their gender
Do you ever see anyone older in years who struggles with their identity?
It’s a spiritual attack on our young people.
This is why church is so important for your children. They need to know who they are in Jesus Christ BEFORE they are bombarded by a culture that tells them they can identify any way they want to.
Satan wants us confused about who we are
He knows that when we realize who are and what we’ve got in Christ, HE DOESN’T STAND A CHANCE!
Those kinds of confident people are the ones who DRIVE OUT DARKNESS WITH LIGHT!
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth.
The enemy knows when we train our children and raise them up in the house of God, we send them out as weapons. That’s why he’s out for them. He would like to scoop them up when they are young, indoctrinate them, keep them from becoming warriors
Joseph and Mary raised Jesus in the House of God.
Jesus’ family feared God and faithfully followed God’s instructions
They helped set the foundation for the ministry He would do as an adult
41 His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.
42 And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast.
43 When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it;
44 but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day’s journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances.
45 So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him.
46 Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.
47 And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers.
48 So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.”
49 And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”
50 But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.
51 Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart.
52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
If the Son of God needed to be raised in the house of God, how much more do OUR children need to be raised in the house of God?
Do you think Jesus knew exactly who He was at very young age?
How else will they learn about who they are and what they’ve got in their identity in Jesus?
HOW DO WE COMBAT THE STRATEGIES OF SATAN AGAINST OUR CHILDREN? HOW DO WE KEEP THEIR MINDS STRONG AND THEIR IDENTITY FIMRLY SECURED IN JESUS CHRIST?
Raise them in a household of faith! That’s your house, that’s God’s house.
Make sure they have a Biblical foundation at a young age to shape their worldview around
Train them up in faith and the Word of God!
That’s why we are focusing on children right now by upgrading our kids facilities into a place where children can grow in the knowledge and understanding of Jesus Christ in functional, appealing setting. Our kids deserve the very best we can give them!
Parents, we’re coming alongside you in this fight for our children. We declare that Satan cannot touch what God has ordained for His work!
So in conlcusion today, understand that Satan has had an agenda to take us out since the beginning of time!
With Moses’ generation, Satan knew if he could take them out young and kill them he could stop God’s plan from coming about through their elimination
With Daniel’s generation, Satan knew if he could indoctrinate the young people through education and identity, THEN he could eliminate God’s people as they transitioned into pagan people like the rest of the world
In Esther’s generation, he tried genocide again
During World War II, he tried genocide AGAIN on the Jewish people
GOD ALWAYS HAS AN ANSWER: God always raises up advocates and warriors to combat Satan’s dark agenda
It might be a band of midwives who won’t cave to the pressure of a tyrant king and save a generation of young boys
It might be a pretty girl whose beauty gets the king’s attention, but whose bravery saves a nation of people
It might be a young prophet who purposes in his heart that he would not defile God and eat the portion of the king’s delicacies
It might be a wild, ruddy, overlooked shepherd boy who leads God’s people in victory, worship, and triumph
TODAY, IT IS A CHURCH THAT HAS BEEN GIVEN UNLIMITED POWER BY THE HOLY SPIRIT TO DRIVE OUT EVIL AND DARKNESS FROM THIS EARTH AND ENFORCE THE VICTORY OF JESUS CHRIST WON AT CALVARY!
Satan has an agenda, but his agenda CANNOT STOP GOD’S AGENDA!
What we’ve got to make sure of is that when our generation is gone, we leave such an imprint of the power of God on this earth that the future generations still grow and thrive in God’s blessing and continue powerful kingdom work!
When Joseph and his generation died:
7 But the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them.
Increase continued
Multiplication was happening at astounding rates
People were strong
The land was filled with them!
Try as he did, there was NOTHING SATAN COULD DO TO STOP THEM FROM INCREASING!
MAY THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST CONTINUE TO INCREASE MORE AND MORE THROUGHOUT THE GENERATIONS THAT FOLLOW US, AS LONG AS THE LORD TARRIES BEFORE THE CHURCH IS RAPTURED!
May our children increase in wisdom, and stature, and in favor with God and men!
Now is the time to WAR FOR OUR CHILDREN!