Message
Notes
Extreme Makeover
Today: Bringing Out the Best in Your Children
Building a Legacy in Your Children, Part 2
May
16, 2004
Proverbs
29:17 Discipline your son, and he will give you peace; he will bring delight
to your soul.
1. Realize
that discipline is an absolute NECESSITY in your child’s life.
Proverbs
19:18 Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing
party to his death.
2. Accept the UNIQUENESS of your child
Psalm 139:14 I praise you because I am
fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full
well.
Proverbs
22:6 Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn
from it.
Amplified
Version: Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his
individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it.
3.
Understand that the goal of discipline is CHARACTER FORMATION not just a
“simple” submission to your will. It has to be based on relationship.
Proverbs
3:11-12
My
son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke, 12
because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he
delights in.
Hebrews
12:7-11Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son
is not disciplined by his father? 8If you are not disciplined (and
everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true
sons. 9Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us
and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of
our spirits and live! 10Our fathers disciplined us for a little
while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may
share in his holiness. 11No discipline seems pleasant at the time,
but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace
for those who have been trained by it.
Check this out…Proverbs is a
book largely about character formation. A tiny percentage of Proverbs deals
with corporate punishment. A huge portion is a father discussing the issues of
life in the context of his relationship to his son.
4. Be CONSISTENT in your approach
Proverbs
13:24 He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful
to discipline him.
The
Message Version -A refusal to correct is a refusal to love; love your children by disciplining
them.
Especially when: You’re tired, they’re
tired, you’re frustrated, and you’re scared of their
reaction
Isaiah
25:27-28 The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open
country, while Jacob was a quiet man, staying among the tents. 28
Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
5. Don’t FRUSTRATE your children
Ephesians
6:4a Fathers, do not exasperate your children;
Examples
when it happens: They
feel unappreciated, they are disciplined in an inconsistent manner, you are
expecting too much, you are expecting too little, you don’t deal with them as
individuals, you humiliate them, you are too harsh in your discipline, you
don’t let them know your expectations, you have unattainable expectations for
them, and you have changing expectations for them!
6. To be the best you can be, you need to have a real,
growing relationship with Christ!
Romans
6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in
Christ Jesus our Lord.
John
1:12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave
the right to become children of God—
Jesus,
I want You to be in control in every area of my life: my relationships, my
time, my health, and my family. I want to put You first. Today, I humbly ask
for your help. Jesus Christ, I admit to
you that I am messed up. I realize today that I am not living my life for you.
I realize my sin has offended you, so I turn from my sin and ask for the
forgiveness that you freely give. I turn to you, Christ, and ask you to be the
leader of my life. I give you everything I am and everything I will be. Amen.