One Sentence At A Time | Creative Church

and then I'm just going to go through it, if that's okay. Psalms 34, "I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord. The humble shall hear of it and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord and he heard me. He delivered me from all my fears. They looked to him and were radiant and their faces were not a shame. The poor men cried out and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear him and delivers them. O taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who trusts in him. O fear the Lord, you his saints. There is no want to those who fear him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger, but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing. Come you children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Who is the man who desires life and loves many days that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry out and the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart and saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of all of them. Thank you, Jesus, for your word. You know, my talk today is the greatest legacy. I know this this psalm is such a beautiful psalm to live and build your life in Jesus, right? Every day for you personally. But I want to bring it in a different perspective as your family. You know, we are we have a kids if you're new here and and so family is very important to us. And we want our church to have healthy homes. So we're trying to build a home that magnifies Jesus. I've learned something as a wife and a mother. How important it is to bless the Lord and praise him in your home, not just in church on Sundays. It's great that you do it here, but this should be an end, not the only. Your kids just see you doing it every day at home, not just here on Sundays. Not you screaming and yelling and hollering and carrying on and all kinds of crazy foolishness happening during the week, but then on Sundays we got to go serve the Lord. It should be something that's consistently in your home. Our children do not simply inherit what we believe, they inherit what we praise. David did not begin by teaching his children. He began by worshiping. I will bless the Lord at

all times. Long before you said come children, he first said I will. It starts with you. And if you're a young person in here, you don't have a family, it starts with you. This is developing you as a godly man and a godly woman. Revival in a family always begins with one heart that chooses Jesus. Children are looking for someone whose love for God is greater than their love for comfort, greater than success, greater than sports, greater than money, greater than politics, greater than entertainment, although all those things are great, but who is the greatest in your life? They are looking for someone who has found a treasure worth building their entire life around. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Whatever continually fills our mouth will eventually fill our children's hearts. What are you talking about at home? Is God even brought up? Do you talk about Jesus? Do they know who he is or do they just hear it on Sunday mornings? If our homes are filled with complaints, our children learn anxiety. If our homes are filled with criticism, our children learn judgment. If our homes are filled with fear, our children learn insecurity. But if our homes are filled with praise, our children learn that Jesus is enough. feeling your home with is it complaining offense unforgiveness is that filling up your home talking about people gossip complaining or is there joy and peace and laughter happening in your home oh magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together families always magnify something you cannot help what enters your life but you can choose what becomes larger than any of everything else a problem may come into your home but you decide whether the problem becomes bigger than gone a diagnosis man to your family but you decide whether fear or faith will be magnified culture may shout social media may scream politics may divide but inside our homes we choose what is worthy of becoming great David did not say magnify your circumstances he said magnify the Lord what are you magnifying in your home that's a great question guys to sit back and think about what am I magnifying in my home a magnifying glass does not make something bigger it simply helps you see what was already greater all along God never becomes greater he simply becomes greater in our eyes children learn the size of God by watching the size he occupies in our hearts what are we teaching our children who's the most important thing in your

life who can solve all your problems you know I have five-year-old twins and if I complained all the time in our house what do you think they're gonna do I have to create the atmosphere in our home of God can do this and he may not do it how I want him to do it but we got to trust him that it's his will what's happening and what are you teaching us through this Lord it's always a teaching moment we're never too old to not learn you read the scriptures over and over and over again and then one day it's like oh I didn't even see that before because you're constantly learning I sought the Lord and he heard me one praying parent changes generations children should not only hear us talk about God they should hear us talking to him they should wake up to the sound of prayer walk past bedrooms where mom is whispering the name of Jesus seeing dad opening the scriptures because he wants God's voice more than the world's opinion prayers not an event it's a language of of the family it's a language of heaven your pain your kids should see you there's a problem okay what are we gonna let's pray we're gonna pray we're not gonna talk about it because talk abouting is just basically complaining you know when you something happens to you you're like oh I got to call this person and tell him everything that happened how about we just pray about it and teaching them that they're because that teaches them that their faith is gonna be magnified the poor man cried out and the Lord heard him David was teaching his family something beautiful your greatest strength is not pretending to have it all together your greatest strength is knowing where to run when you don't you know like I said we have eight kids we don't have it all together I know some of y'all might think they were perfect we're not perfect my patience is gone by 9 a.m. this morning wasn't I like let's just get out of the house guys that was my response it happens we it's normal we just have to make sure that our focus is on Jesus and if I do say something that is offensive to my children or I yell at them or I do something that I shouldn't have done I'm so sorry I should not have responded like that we have to teach our children this because it's very difficult to walk through life and not have somebody hurt you or say something

about you and you just want to fight right y'all don't leave me out here hanging okay I am a Latin woman okay it's in me to want to say something and the Lord is teaching me because Dean Becker really got me last week he wrecked me I want to be more meek I want to handle the situation with meekness not with just my mouth because my mouth is quick and I have to bring bring it to the cross every day and it It's okay to be like that, right? 'Cause God made me like this, but I just need to have a God filter. So let's pray that we have a God filter. And when we say things, when we deal with people, I don't know who I'm interacting with at the store. When I go to the grocery store, I want the Lord to use me to pray for people, to be there for them. 'Cause who knows that they might be going through something that you are the person that He needs to pray for them, teaching your children to hear the God's voice, to do that as well. Healthy homes are not homes without weakness. Their homes or weakness always runs towards Jesus. The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him. Children sleep differently when they know someone's stronger is watching over them. (congregation chattering) It's not just children, you guys. For all the adults in this room that don't sleep, the Lord is watching over you. It's okay. He's got you.

The safest home is not the biggest home. It is the home where the presence of God lives. God's presence becomes an inheritance of families that welcome Him. Let's try to work on that. Let's just try to create an atmosphere for the Lord to dwell. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. Children cannot live forever on their parents' experiences. So bring them next week, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday night. Let them experience God for themselves. Eventually, they must taste Him for themselves. Our responsibility is not merely to tell them about Jesus. It is to create a home where His goodness is experienced. Where forgiveness is normal, where repentance is beautiful, where worship is joyful, where scripture is alive, where grace is stronger than shame, and where Jesus feels at home. Does Jesus feel at home in your house? It shouldn't just be this house, it should be your house. It starts in your home. Come you children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord. This is one of the greatest parenting verses in all scripture. The fear of the Lord is not inherited. It is not taught. I mean, it is taught. Not through scriptures alone, through lives. Children learn what we fear by watching what we obey. They learn what we treasure by watching what we sacrifice.

They learn what we worship by watching where our time, our money, our affections, and attention naturally flow. You don't think about that. Question that though, when you get home. Where does this, oh, where does all these things go in our house? The fear of the Lord is not raising children who are afraid of God. It is raising children who never want to live one day without Him. Teaching the fear of the Lord begins with parents who fear losing His presence more than losing anything else. What is most important to you? Keep your tongue from evil. This is a hard one. David suddenly begins talking about words. The word is so important. What comes out of your mouth should, like I said, have a God filter. They can hurt, they can wound, they can destroy, or they can be life-giving. They can bring joy and peace. So be careful what you say. Because families rise or fall on conversations. Marriage is built one sentence at a time. Children discover their identity one sentence at a time. Homes become alters or battlefields one sentence at a time. Words either reveal heaven or reproduce hell. Depart from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it. Peace never accidentally fills a home. Parents pursue it. Marriage is pursue it.

Families pursue it. Pursuing peace means choosing forgiveness before bitterness. Again, I made a mistake. I'm sorry. Are the hardest two sentences phrases to say in any home? Humility before pride. Listening before defending. That's a hard one. If you don't spend time with Jesus, you gonna be defending before you listen. Jesus before being right. Being right is just your feelings. You guys, you gotta put those under submission. What does the Bible say how I should feel? The righteous cry out in the Lord hears. Parents do not have to know every answer. They simply need to know the one who does. We don't have to have it all together. We don't have to show our children like mom and dad have it all together and they're great and amazing and perfect because then they're gonna live, they're gonna, how do I live up to that standard? Children gain confidence when they discover mom and dad trust God more than themselves. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart. Every family will eventually experience disappointment, failure, loss, prodigals, questions, heartbreak. David reminds us that brokenness is never the end of the story. It often becomes the place where Jesus introduces himself

most deeply. Why is that though? Why is it that we're not at his feet when everything's going great in our lives? Why is it that we're all like some of us go there because something's wrong? It should be always we're at his feet. Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord just livers him out of all of them. Notice that David did not promise an easy family. He promised a faithful God. Our goal is not to raise children who avoid suffering. Our goal is to raise children who know how to find Jesus in the middle of it. And they got to learn this from little. Something's wrong, let's pray about that. Something's wrong, okay, let's pray right now. He's teaching them something. You're raising adults, you're raising parents. You're raising legacy. Do you not want your grandchildren to have this legacy? You have to start it now. When David finished writing this Psalm, he was not simply describing worship. He was describing a life, a way of life, a family culture, a marriage, a home, a generation that decided we will bless the Lord. We will boast in the Lord. We will magnify the Lord. We will seek the Lord.

We will teach our children the fear of the Lord because nothing we can leave our children is greater than the heart that loves Jesus. They're the only things you can take to heaven with you guys. One day our children will not remember every meal we cooked, every vacation we took, every game we attended, all the activities, the hours and hours and hours and hours of sitting there watching these activities. But I pray they will never forget this, that when they looked at our marriage, they saw two people who loved Jesus more than anything else, that when they walked into our home, they felt heaven. And when they remember our family, they remember one thing about it above everything else, that Jesus was the most loved person in our home. And that is what he's calling us to do. Lord, be the number one person in our home. Father shifts our hearts to hunger after you, Jesus. Lord, we need you so desperately in these times. Lord, let our affections not fall on people or the world or social media or all these other things that we watch and see and listen to. But let our affections be set on you. Let our home be a refuge for our family. Father, we thank you for this. Jesus name, amen. [BLANK_AUDIO]