Raising Champions For Christ

This episode of All In with Pastor Jordan Easley has been made possible by the generous support of viewers like you. Welcome to All In with Pastor Jordan Easley. Today's message is about to begin, and we invite you to prepare your heart and mind to hear an inspiring message from God's Word. We hope and pray for God to speak to you today as you seek to live your life all in for Jesus Christ. And now from First Baptist Church in Cleveland, Tennessee, here's Pastor Jordan Easley. Come on, it's great to see everybody. I hope you have a copy of God's Word. You know, we're continuing this series. It's been a lot of fun. Home builders, because we're all building homes, right? We're building families. And today we're talking about parenting. And so buckle up, everybody. It ought to be a fun time. How many parents, grandparents, or mentor adults in the room? Will you raise your hand? A lot of us, right? Now, I want you to raise your hand if you've got it 100% figured out. Yeah, I didn't think so. All right, we had a couple of people raise their hand over here. You're in sin and lying in church.

Amen, but none of us have this figured out, but God's Word gives us a lot of instruction. And so I just want to encourage all of us to lean in today, to listen today, and hopefully the Lord will encourage your heart like he's encouraged mine already in preparing for this moment, all right? But today ought to be a lot of fun. We're going to continue walking through this, the text, and I want to encourage you to be a note taker. Jot some things down and to write some things down that the Lord speaks to your heart. And open up to Psalm 127. That's our core verse today. And we'll get there in just a second. You know, as I was thinking about this series, I thought about YouTube. Don't ask me why, but I thought, you know, YouTube in many ways has messed us up. It's given us just enough information and just enough education to inflate our egos and make us believe that we can do just about anything. I can't tell you how many DIY home projects I've attempted simply because there was a video telling me how to do it step by step. Anybody else guilty of this? Come on, DIY? Here's what I've discovered in that. Even when there's a video that gives me step-by-step directions,

I still get impatient. Anybody else? I skip to the next part of the video. I don't watch the whole video. I've always got a thing about skipping steps and trying to figure it out on my own, even when it's telling me exactly how to do it. And you know what I've realized about those steps? They really are important. It's important to follow all the steps because nine times out of 10 in my story, when I do a project and it is finished, it's not good. Anybody? Some of you can testify to that because you are living through your own DIY disasters. You have crooked shelves today because of this. You have a leaky faucet. You have a drain that drains slower now that you fixed it than it did before you fixed it. And you're laughing today because I'm describing your home and you get that, and that's the truth. But here's the point I wanna make today. Building something the wrong way always catches up to you. Building something the wrong way always catches up to you. And that's not just true of home projects. It's also true of the home that we are building right now as parents or grandparents or even mentor adults. You know, every person in this room that I just described is in the middle of a building project. And the question we've gotta ask is this,

are we gonna follow God's blueprint or are we gonna skip steps and just hope that everything turns out right in the end? Psalm 127 is our core verse of this whole series. And I want us to read it again today. It says, unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. And here's what that tells us about the truth regarding home building. It's telling me that, you know, you can work overtime and you can follow every parenting hack that you find on the internet. You can do all the things and pour every ounce of energy into your kids or your grandkids. But if God isn't at the center of it, the Bible says you're building on sand. And here's why this matters. Our children aren't just decorations in our house. They're not just accessories to make our family pictures look better on Instagram. God tells us they are the arrows in our quiver and they are the legacies of our lives. If you know anything about archery, you know that arrows aren't meant just to hang on the wall or to decorate your quiver. They're meant to be sharpened and aimed and eventually launched. And that's what God tells us to do as parents. He says, mom and dad, sharpen your kid, aim your children and launch them into the world for the glory of God.

So the question we've got to consider is this, has God called us as parents to just raise kids who win trophies and collect scholarships and chase applause or has he called us to raise champions for Christ? That's where I want us to go today. I'm gonna give you seven building blocks and we're gonna see these seven building blocks from God's word when. Comes to raising children who don't just survive in this world, but who shine for Jesus and hopefully change the world So hopefully you're ready to go. Okay, cuz building block number one is this we've got to build on a foundation of faith We've got to build on a foundation of faith. Let's start at the very beginning in Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse 6 This is what we read these words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart Repeat them to your children Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you get Up now don't miss this part of the text. Hey, God could have said anything in this verse you realize that right? God could have said mom and dad teach your kids algebra first and foremost, right? He could have said kids teach them how to swing a bat or run a football without fumbling or how to throw a curveball He could have said moms and dads the most important thing you can do is teach your kids how to say for retirement But but he didn't say any of those things the very first priority that came out of the mouth of God to parents right here was regarding faith formation In fact in Deuteronomy 6 Moses right here was giving the Shema say that word with me Shema the Shema these verses that we just read are part of the Shema It's the central confession of Israel's faith even to this day the Shema is recited twice a day by religious Jews But that word Shema in the Hebrew literally means here to here But when you see the word Shema, it doesn't just mean to listen or to hear it actually implies obey To obey so in these verses God wasn't saying just listen to this He was saying to moms and dads live this obey this and pass these things down But I want you to notice the order of the things. He just talked about. I want you to notice that first off He says these words are to be in your heart and then he says

Repeat them to your children. Here's another way of saying that you ready faith must be caught Before it's taught moms and dads. This is for us He's saying you got to catch it before you can give it you can't pass down what you haven't first picked up So what that means is parents this starts with us Before we can pour truth into our kids. We must first be filled ourselves You can't microwave faith. I don't know if you've ever tried that before You can't outsource discipleship to a Sunday school teacher and just hope they do a good job of raising your kids in the Lord The Bible says if the word isn't alive in your life Then it probably won't be alive in their life either And that's why Moses said you got to talk about these things when you sit in your house When you walk along the road when you lie down when you get up, he said talk about these things What he's describing is a 24-7 discipleship model for a parent and their child to have together Faith isn't supposed to be a once a week thing on Sunday morning. It's supposed to saturate your life every single day You say Jordan, how do I do that? Well practically speaking I would start off by saying read the Bible with your kids Even if it's just a few verses a day getting in God's Word as a part of your routine is a great way to start But then I'd say pray with them pray with them when they get up Pray with them before they get out and go to school pray with them before they go to bed make prayer a part of your Pattern the third thing I would say is talk about God Talk about the things of God at the dinner table in the car while you're hanging out talking about God shouldn't be weird Because it should be happening all the time Remember this faith isn't taught in one big lecture It's caught in a thousand little moments and those thousand little moments at the end of the day are going to be what shapes The your child's heart and points them to the Lord now I know some parents hear that and thinking pastor. Listen to me I barely survived breakfast with my kids this morning and I get that right You're you're you're like you're telling me I got to lead a Bible study with my kids I'm not saying that discipleship is only having a 45-minute sermon at the kitchen table. That's not it at all Sometimes discipleship is as simple as saying, you know what before we eat this food We're actually gonna stop and we're gonna thank God for feeding us today

We're not just going to to take this for granted and act like this is no big deal. No God gave us a job He gave us income. He allowed us to buy groceries He's allowing us to sit around this table and we're gonna stop right now and just thank God for being God It's it's hearing your kids talk about a friend at school That's going through a hard time and instead of us just blowing through that We're gonna leverage that opportunity to say, you know what before we just talk about your friend. Let's actually pray for your friend Let's pray for their family Let's ask God to bless their home and to meet them at their point of need because God is way bigger than us and he Can do things that we can't do See discipleship is intentionality And here's the good news. Your kids don't need you to be a Bible scholar. They do need you to be real. And so in order to do what I'm talking about, it has to be real. And if you will really build your life on Jesus Christ, your kids are going to notice and that's going to make a difference. So build on a foundation of faith. I think that's first and foremost. The second one that we're going to see today is that we've also got a model, a life worth following. Model a life. A person that God wants you to be first. You know, in first Corinthians 11, Paul says, imitate me as I also imitate Christ. When you read that, it sounds kind of arrogant, right? But he's not being conceited in this message. Right here. He wasn't saying, look how perfect I am. In fact, Paul was pretty quick to point out his own personal flaws, but what he was saying in this text was this, he's saying, I may not get everything right, but I am constantly pursuing Jesus.

And if you walk in my footsteps, you're going to find yourself walking towards him as well. Man, that's a great model for us as parents. Listen, your kids don't need you to be flawless, but they do need you to be faithful. And when you're faithful, God will use your faithfulness to point them in the right direction. Listen, I promise the greatest sermon your kids will ever hear is not one that's preached on this platform. It's the one that they watch being lived out in your house every single day. Kids are like sponges. Man, they're soaking in a whole lot more than we give them credit for. Someone told me a long time ago, your kids will forget half of what you say, but they will always remember how you lived. So if that's true and my kids are watching that closely, you know what I'm thinking? I need to, I need to let my kids catch me doing some stuff. I need to let them catch me reading God's word. I need to let them catch me on my knees crying out to God. Hey, let your kids see you apologizing when you're wrong. Let them see you ask for forgiveness when you make a mistake. You say, Jordan, why is that important? Let me tell you. It's because children do what you do long before they do what you say. They do what you do long before they do what you say. You know what that means? If they see you pray, they're going to learn to pray. If they see you repent, they're going to learn humility. If they see you serve God, they're going to learn generosity. If they see you worship with reckless abandon, with your hands opened up to the Lord, guess what? They're going to learn how to pursue Jesus on their own. Your kids will eventually catch whatever it is you have. So mom and dad, think of yourself as being contagious.

I am contagious. And whatever I've got, my kids are eventually going to catch. I was thinking about this the other day, scrolling through Facebook, and I came across a post where a mom in our church put a picture on the internet. And this was the picture that I saw. It's her daughter watching a sermon on a Sunday afternoon after they had just been to church. I thought that was strange. I was like, why is she watching the sermon? I saw her at church that morning. I know that she was in the service, but here's what I discovered. She was there watching the sermon one more time because she had missed a couple of things in her sermon notes. And she didn't want to miss a single word that the Lord was saying to her, so she went back and watched it again and took those notes all by herself. And when I saw that, my first reaction is, why in the world would a middle school girl go home from church, grab a notebook, and jot some things down in a sermon that she had already heard once before, but then it hit me. She prioritizes that and she takes notes because she sees her mom and dad make that a priority and take notes as well. She's doing that because she's seen that modeled in her own life. So mom and dad, let me just encourage you with this today. You ready? Do not underestimate the power of your example. Don't underestimate because your kids are paying attention. Let me give you the third one today. We've got to also teach them to honor authority. Teach our kids to honor authority. That goes all the way back to Exodus chapter 20. We read the words, honor your father and your mother so that you may have a long life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

That command, as you probably know, is a part of the Ten Commandments, otherwise known as the Big Ten. But the last four of these commandments, here's the thing, the first four of these commandments honor God. The last six of the commandments honor people. And yet right in the middle, serving as a bridge between God and people is this command. Honor your father and your mother. You ever wonder why? Well listen, because if a child doesn't learn to honor their parents, the very first authority figures in their life, you know what's going to happen? They're going to grow up and have a really hard time honoring their teachers. They're co-workers, they're bosses, they're coaches, and ultimately they're going to have a hard time honoring the Lord. So let's be clear, moms and dads, this doesn't mean that we as parents should demand respect with an iron fist. This command does not give you permission to go home and start barking orders like a drill sergeant and be like, you will honor me, right? Some of you tried that this morning, getting ready for church. Didn't work out so well, right? But see, honor isn't something you demand. Honor is something you develop, and we've got to learn that as a mom and a dad. They're going to learn the good way to do it, or they're going to learn the bad way to do it. I once saw a dad snap at his son at a wrestling tournament many years ago. I'm watching his dad. He's yelling at his kid, and he's saying some things that were pretty demeaning and very embarrassing in front of everybody who was in that tournament that day. And as I sat there watching, I thought, you know what? That kid's learning some things right now. He's learning some things, and he's not just learning disrespect from his father.

He's also learning that his father disrespects him. Man, that hurts. May I teach you something about honor that we've had to learn the hard way? Honor flows both ways. Honor flows both ways. When parents model respect, kids learn respect, but when we don't, they won't. So the question is, how can we actually teach our children to honor authority? Let me give you three ways. First way is to require respect in both speech, but also in tone. We must require that in our households. It's not just what they say. It's also how they say it. I think when we get a little bit loose in that area, we're like, ah, that's just them being them. That's when we are setting them up to not honor their moms and dads according to scripture. The second way is to speak kindly to them, even in discipline. And I know that's tough, because we're like, man, I just, I got veins coming out of my neck right now. I'm not ready to talk to you right now. Here's what we've got to learn. You can correct firmly without crushing their spirit. You can still be a dad that is strong and authoritative without crushing your kids. The third thing is, we've got to teach our kids to obey the first time and not the 10th time. The first time, I'm going to say it again, just in case moms and dads want to say amen. The first time and not the 10th time. Parents, we all know the count to three strategy. We've been there, done that. Right? We're like, Johnny, pick up your clothes.

Johnny, pick up your clothes, right? I'm going to count to three. One, two, two and a half, two and three quarters. And by the time we get to three, Johnny's in college and it doesn't even matter. He said, Jordan, what's wrong with counting to three? Let me tell you what I really believe. I believe delayed obedience is disobedience. I'm going to say it again. Delayed obedience is disobedience. Therefore, kids need to learn that when mom says something or when dad speaks to you and says something, it matters the first time. Therefore, let's prioritize that. You say, why is that so important? Because it's all about honoring your parents. If your children don't learn to honor the authority in their house now, they're going to struggle to honor the authority of Christ in their life down the road. So let's teach them to honor authority. The fourth building block to building champions for Christ is shape their character through discipline. Shape their character through discipline. Proverbs 13, 24 says, the one who will not use the rod hates his son, but the one who loves him disciplines him diligently. Now I know that's strong language, especially in the world that we live in today. I do want to point out that this does not say the one who disciplines his child hates his child. That's not what it says at all. No, it says the opposite. It says failing to discipline your child is actually a form of neglect. It's a form of neglect. So scripture is clear here.

Discipline isn't rejection. It's redirection. It's redirecting your kids. So if you love your kids, you're going to redirect your kids when they're heading in the wrong direction. Would you agree with that? If they're walking into the street and you've got cars in the street, you're going to redirect them away from the street. Well, in the same way, when we discipline our kids, we do so not because we hate the kid. No, it's because we love the kid. In Hebrews 12, verse six, the writer says, the Lord disciplines the one he loves and punishes every son he receives. Right here, that Greek word for discipline is paideia. It means to train. It means to instruct. It means to shape and to mold. It's a picture of a teacher guiding their student or a parent shaping a child's future. So when God disciplines us, think about it. He's not punishing us for our past. He's preparing us for our future. Does that make sense? Oddly disciplined looks forwards, not backwards. And in the same way, when we discipline our children, it should never be about revenge based off of what they just did. No, it should be about shaping who they're becoming. So how do we discipline in a way that honors God and shapes our children in the right way? Let me give you a framework to work off of today. Four things. Number one, be clear with your kids.

Set boundaries with them. Set expectations before the battle begins. Make sure everybody's on the same page. Everybody understands where we're going together. Be very clear in your communication. Number two, be consistent. Be consistent. Rules that change create confusion. And when rules change, it also ultimately creates rebellion. So be clear and be consistent. Third thing I'd say is be calm. This is when all the dads are like, I don't know if I can do this because I want to kill somebody. You've got to be calm. All right? Don't discipline and rage. Let me tell you why. If you lose control with your kid, you're going to lose credibility with your kid. Therefore we got to be calm. And lastly, we've got to be compassionate. Be compassionate. Always connect the goal to the discipline. Listen, the goal is restoration and redirection. It's not humiliation. So the goal, think about the goal and be compassionate when you discipline your children. When I was a little boy, I got whoopings almost every single day. Anybody else? Listen, my dad sitting right here, he'll tell you he had a paddle. If he didn't have a paddle, he had a belt. If he didn't have a belt, he had switches on every single tree in West Texas.

He was going to whoop me and he did just about every single day. But can I just admit, I deserved every one of them. He said somebody came up to him in the last service and said, did you really spank your kid that often? He said, I sure did, but I didn't spank him enough, amen? Which might be true. But anyways, but I will tell you this, even though I got a lot of whoopings and I deserved every single one of them, my dad never spanked my backside without first looking me in the eye and explaining to me how much he loved me and also explaining that he was doing his job in disciplining me. He would always look at me and say something like, you know what? I could allow this to happen, but I won't allow this to happen because I want you to grow up and become a good godly man that knows the difference between right and wrong. So moms and dads, as we discipline our children, I think it's important to remind them, I love you too much to let you live beneath God's very best for you. Don't just punish wrong behavior. Always connect it to God's bigger story for their life. Verse number four. It's a pretty good one, right? Come on, man. We don't get this right all the time, but we got to work on it. All right, number five. Let's go to number five. We've also got to point them towards their God-given purpose. It kind of connects with number four, but every single kid has a God-given purpose. You know, I love Jeremiah 29, 11. We've read this verse before. It says, for I know the plans I have for you. This is the Lord's declaration. He said plans for your wellbeing, not for disaster, plans to give you a future and a

hope. And parents, when you read a verse like that, it reminds us that God has a very good plan for every single one of your kids, a unique God-given purpose that only they can fulfill. So use your imagination real quick. Think about every single child that's in your home. Think about every single grandchild in your family tree and give them all their own individual box. Here's what I want you to imagine. Every single one of them as an individual is created by God, loved by God, and God has a good plan for their life. And some of you need to hear that today. Some of you are like, you sure about that? Listen, do you know the kids in my house? Right? I don't know. I don't know if we're on the same page here. And yet the Lord says, yes, even them. Hey, perhaps you've already written off one of those kids. Perhaps in your mind, they're too far gone and they're not even a thought anymore in your prayer life. Hey, before you just write them off, may I just remind you of the story of David? David was the youngest in his entire family. He was overlooked by his father. He was dismissed by his brothers. He was ignored by everybody else. In fact, when Samuel came to anoint the next king, Jesse didn't even bring him out and put him in the lineup with the other boys. He just left him back. And yet everybody said, David's not going to be the guy. You know what we read in 1 Samuel 16, seven says, humans do not see what the Lord sees

for humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart. Hey, I may be talking to a parent today that's looking at a boy in their house thinking, you know what? He's just a shepherd boy. But may I just remind you, God may look at, look at him and say, he's not a shepherd boy. He's a king. You may see weakness. God may see a warrior. You may see immaturity in their life. God may see future influence in their life. So don't measure your child by what they are today. See them through the lens of what God can make them tomorrow. And then do your job as a mom or a dad or a mentor or a friend that allows them to become the person God created them to be. I think about Michelangelo, the great sculptor. He's the artist that was charged with creating the David statue out of a piece of marble. And yet after the creation was created, someone asked him, how did you make David look so much like David? And this is what he said. He said, I just chiseled away everything that didn't look like David. You know what that is? That's parenting. Our job isn't to sculpt our kids into our own image. It's to help chisel away everything that doesn't look like the person

that God created them to be. So moms and dads, let's point our kids to their God-given purpose, because God's got a plan for every single one of them. Let's go to number six. Number six, we've got to guard their hearts and we've got to guard their minds. That's Proverbs 4.23. Guard your heart above all else. Why? For it is the source of life. Notice the word guard here in that text. That word guard is a military word in the original language. It means to stand watch and to protect. Another definition is it's to keep something precious from being stolen. Listen, I think that's my job as a father. Anybody else? That's all right. That's your job as a mother. It's to guard the heart and guard the mind of your kids. Why? Let me tell you, because whatever consumes your child's heart will eventually control your child's life. I want you to read that again. Whatever consumes your child's heart will eventually control your child's life. That's why this is so important.

It's important because we live in a culture that's fighting for the attention of your child. We live in a world that's fighting for the affection of your child. Every single day, there is a war that's taking place. Would you agree with that? Listen, media bombards our kids with images and lies every single day. Schools and peers are shaping their worldview and very few of them are pointing our kids to Jesus. And let's be honest, TikTok and Instagram are discipling way more kids today than churches are across the nation. And that's a scary thing. The scary thing is if we don't disciple our kids, the world will. The world would love to disciple your kids. As I thought about that this week, I thought back to Nehemiah's story. And you probably know this story, but Nehemiah is the one who rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. And he built those walls and rebuilt those walls not to trap people inside. He built those walls to guard them from the destruction on the outside. Parents, you are the gatekeeper of your child's heart. You don't build walls to keep them from living physically. You build walls to keep them from dying spiritually, right? Listen, boundaries don't trap people. They protect people.

So if you love your kids, and I know you do, then you've got to create boundaries that will guard their heart and guard their mind. If you don't build the boundaries, no one will. Say, Jordan, what boundaries are you talking about? Well, think about the greatest threats today. What would they be? What are the greatest threats facing your children today? I'm saying if you don't have boundaries when it comes to the cell phone that they're carrying, you need to get with it. Because there is a whole lot on that internet that the devil would love to pollute the mind and heart of your child today. And you know what? By the time they're 10 years old, they already know how to use it better than you. So if you need IT help, ask a child. But also, as the adult, set some boundaries. That TV, that YouTube, that internet, those friends that they're hanging out with that you don't know if they're the right people or not, the places they're spending the night, the things they're doing on the weekends. Man, if we as parents don't make it a priority to set the boundaries, we're already behind. The devil's at work. The devil would love to disciple your kids and he's gonna use the circumstances and friends that they're surrounded with to lead them off a cliff

that's hard to bounce back from. Think about a bank vault today. Nobody complains that a bank locks up money. Nobody's ever been to the bank and been like, why are you doing that? But you're like, why? Because what's valuable must be protected, right? If it's valuable, it's gotta be protected. And in the same way, what you guard reveals what you value. Parents, I can't think of anything more valuable than the heart of your kid. I can't think of anything more valuable than the mind. of your kid. So that tells us we've gotta be intentional to guard the hearts and guard the minds of the children that God has blessed us with. Let me give you one more, you ready? Number seven, we've gotta launch them with love and faith. You wanna raise a champion for Christ, here it is. We've gotta launch them with love and faith. Psalm 127, four, like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the sons born in one's youth. That verse gives us a powerful picture. The psalmist compares our children to arrows and he reminds us that children aren't meant to stay in the quiver forever. Children aren't supposed to remain under our roof forever. Can I at least get a hallelujah from somebody on that one? Come on now, I'm saying amen and hallelujah to that big time right now.

But that's not the point, it's not God's design. He said arrows are designed to be sharpened and aimed but then released. They're meant to be launched into the world to make a difference for the kingdom of God. Think about this imagery. Parents, I know this is the scary part because launching requires letting go and that's hard. Now I know some of you, you keep your kids in the quiver forever if you could. You keep them in your basement until they're in their 40s and never even hesitate, you'd never even blink. You would bubble wrap your kids if it was legal. Some of you would put a GPS tracker on their forehead and you'd chip them like a dog if you could, right? You've already called the vet, you would love to do that. But here's what the Bible reminds us today. Arrows weren't designed to decorate the quiver, they were designed to fly, man. They were designed to fly. Think about Hannah's story in 1 Samuel. She prayed for a son, she pleaded with God, God give me a son and finally God gave her Samuel. And what did she do? Scripture said she dedicated him back to the Lord. He was born, she dedicated him back to him. Now she raised him, she loved him but then she released him to serve God. And that's the model that we've been given. Listen, we shouldn't cling to our children

as if they were ours. We should release our children being reminded that they're his. Here's what God reminds us today. The measure of successful parenting isn't how tightly you hold on but how faithfully you launch out. Plan with the end in mind and think, am I preparing my kids to be launched into the world? Parents, that's how we raise, not just good kids. That's how we raise champions for Christ. Hey, I'm reminded of the words of Jesus in Matthew 7. We've read them before and I wanna read them over you again. But he said, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. Check this out. The rains fell, the rivers rose and the winds blew and pounded that house. And yet it didn't collapse because its foundation was on the rock. Hey, that's what I want for my kids. And I know that's what you want for your kids. So parents, grandparents, mentors, let's commit ourselves to building champions for Christ. And if you feel a lot of pressure and you're nervous about that, I just wanna remind you of something today.

You don't have to do this in your own strength. God hasn't called you to be the perfect parent, but he has called you to be a faithful one. So if God is a part of your life, if your foundation is on him, you gotta be reminded, he is the perfect father. And he says, my spirit will guide you and equip you and strengthen you every single step of the journey that you're on. So today let's surrender our families to him. Let's build homes on the rock. Let's raise kids who don't just succeed in life, but who are champions for Christ. And I think that starts with us right here, right now. You know, in a room like this, I can't help but wonder how many parents are sitting here today with a heavy heart. How many grandparents are sitting here with a heavy heart? Because you know, right now you have a child in your life. You have a grandchild in your family tree. That's far from God. And I don't wanna just run past that and act like that's not a big deal. I want us to do what the Lord tells us to do in moments like this. We're thinking about champions for Christ. And some of us are like, man, I just hope my child stays out of prison, right? Or I just hope my child doesn't do something to hurt somebody else or themselves.

There's people in here that have a heavy heart right now. And I just wanna remind us that God is not surprised by your circumstance. And he knows the posture of your heart today, but he longs to see your posture change. and become even more humble knowing that we cannot do what God can do. And so I think about this house, and we've got a lot of people in this house every single Sunday. There's a lot of people in this room right now. But there's a lot of us who we put on a good facade and we act like we've got it all under control. And behind the scenes of our heart, we know that, man, things are a mess. I think God gives us opportunities like right now where we get to choose what our next step is going to be. And for some of us, it's been a long time since we've prayed for those kids. For some of us, it's been a long time since we've taken a posture of humility or maybe gotten on our knees or opened our hands or shed a tear because we do not have control and we need God to do something supernatural. So I think about this house, and this isn't just a house of worship or a house of teaching or a house of fellowship. Jesus calls his church. This is a house of prayer, right? And there's power in prayer. So I want to just ask you, if you would just enter into these next few minutes with a posture of humility that says, Jesus, I need your hand. I need your guidance.

I need your blessing as a parent, as a grandparent, as a mentor. Because they need you, but I need you. You know, these seven things remind me, I've got a long way to go as a parent. And maybe you feel the exact same. You're convicted by what the word is teaching today. You're like, I need Jesus. I need the Holy Spirit. I need to do some things differently or think some different thoughts. Listen, that's a spirit of humility. But that doesn't happen if we stand in confidence like it's all good. I think Jesus honors that posture that says, no, we need you, Lord. We need you. We're not just going to write that kid off and wish the very best. We're going to plead with you to do something only you can do. So would you do me a favor? I know this sounds weird. Would you just enter into a time of prayer with me? And I want some of you to look at this altar. This is more than just steps. I believe this is symbolic of the altar of God. And you know, there's an opportunity for us to get on a knee every once in a while and to have kind of a stone of remembrance that said, in that spot, I handed my child to God

and I said, God, they're yours. In that spot, I decided to be the dad that God called me to be and not just a man who's walking through things, hoping for the best. In that spot. So I want to open the altar. Some of you say, I'm not walking up there. There's nothing in the world that would bring me to the altar. Maybe you make your chair an altar today. Maybe you hold the hand of your spouse and say, let's just, let's pray right now that God would do something. Let's believe God for a miracle. But I do want to say, don't run past this moment because I believe God could use this moment. In a powerful way. Would you stand all across this room as I pray over you? Father, today, I pray for every person in this room, every family, every child, every grandchild. And I pray in the next three minutes, the posture and position of our heart would be pleasing to you, oh God. Lord, you say, come to me, those who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Lord, I pray that you would meet people at their point of need

and that you would give them rest, that you would give them peace, that you would perform miracles in the lives of kids and grandkids. God, you be God and help us to be reminded of who you are and what you're capable of today. It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen. Hey friends, I'm Pastor Jordan Easley. You know, faith was never meant to be something we just talk about on Sundays. It's a journey, an adventure. And in a world that feels more anxious, more divided and more confused than ever, a lot of families are searching for direction. That's why I wrote my new book, Kingdom Culture. In this book, we climb the mountain together and we sit at the feet of Jesus as he teaches the most powerful message ever preached, the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew's Gospel. This book is designed to help you build a strong foundation for your home, to understand God's heart and to trust him with the things that worry you the most. Whether you're wrestling with big questions or just wanting to grow in your spiritual walk, this book will help you live out a faith that transforms everything. So I want to invite you to climb the mountain, to embrace the kingdom

and to live the life God designed for you. Pick up a copy of Kingdom Culture on our website by following the instructions on the screen. Let's take this journey of faith together and know that I'm praying for you as you grow in your faith and live the adventure in following Jesus. Hey, we never want to end our. broadcast without giving you the opportunity to know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. If you'd like to make the decision to trust Jesus and want to know more about what it looks like to follow Jesus, get in touch with me right now. Follow the instructions at the bottom of the screen so that we can pray for you and also put information in your hands right away. Today we celebrate your decision and look forward to being a part of your personal journey of going all in with Jesus Christ. This episode of All In with Pastor Jordan Easley has been made possible by the generous support of viewers like you. We hope today's message encourages you as you strive to live your life fully committed to Jesus Christ.