How To Raise Kid's That ACTUALLY Follow Jesus | #reChurch Ep. 06

Have you ever wondered why so many kids who "grew up" in the Church choose to walk away from it after they turn 18? 

Do you want to raise kids who actually follow Jesus and continue to do so for the rest of their lives?

Do you want to know how to leave a legacy of faith to pass down to your children and grandchildren?

Then this episode of the reChurch Podcast is for you!! Enjoy!

✅ Follow Justin:

https://www.instagram.com/justin.knoop

https://www.youtube.com/@reChurchPodcast

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's your responsibility to plant seeds
and water your children.
It is not your responsibilityto make them grow.
You obey Christ the best thatyou can by His ability to train
them up in the way that theyshould go, and you leave that
spiritual growth in the job ofthe Holy Spirit.
You leave that up to Him.
That's right.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
When you make a mistake.
That's where grace comes in.
Grace is not there so that youcan live in a mistake.
Grace is there so when you makea mistake, you can dust
yourself off and actually dobetter the next time.
And at first I was like notunderstanding.
And then, as he discussed wherehe was coming from and I just
sat and listened, we were silentfor about 30 minutes because I

(00:39):
had to process.
And then I realized like he'sright.
And as soon as I realized hewas right, I had to apologize in
front of my kids because wewere in a car together for an
hour.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
And so I had to apologize.
If you need any motivation orvision, like when I read that
verse, I'm like that's all Iwant to hear from people that
know my future generations orpeople that knew of us are like
you know what, like we've heardof your parents' faith and now
we see that living in you.

(01:13):
Welcome to the ReChurch podcast.
If you are tired of business asusual Christianity and ready to
follow Jesus just like it tellsus to in the Bible, he tells us
to in the Bible, then you foundyourself in the right place.
I'm your host, justin Knoop,and I'm here with my lovely wife
, brooke Noop, again.

Speaker 2 (01:27):
Again.
How are you?
Yes, are you tired of me yet?

Speaker 1 (01:29):
Not, no, no chance.
I mean we're coming up on 16years.
I think, dude, it's gettingpretty serious.

Speaker 2 (01:36):
That's wild Tell them about Facebook.

Speaker 1 (01:45):
Today got a notification that said uh, you
know when you it's yourfriend-iversary, uh-huh, that
was called friend-iversary.
Yeah, we became friends onfacebook 17 years ago today.
That's pretty cool.
That is cool.
Were we ever friends on myspace?
Or did myspace have friendsyeah or is it just like your top
eight?

Speaker 2 (01:58):
no, I think you had friends, but it wasn't called
friends.
Maybe I can't remember.
That's been a minute.

Speaker 1 (02:02):
Yeah, I wasn't on your topic I remember thinking
like how could there be anythingelse like myspace?
Is so cool.
Nothing could take it over andit died it died quick.
Yeah, facebook took over theydid, yeah, but anyway, we had a
pretty amazing episode last week, so if you haven't seen that, I
would highly recommend yeah,going to see episode five,

(02:23):
because we talked about theheart of why we're doing this
podcast and what our, what wefeel like at this point, our
life messages to people and whatwe want to spend our life doing
teaching, preaching, walkingpeople through you know, can you
get people.
Do you think you can givepeople a brief overview, cause
it might be a big task?
Yeah, I don't think I can do it, you're better at that, it
might be a big task.

Speaker 2 (02:41):
Yeah, I don't think I can do it.
You're better at that.
I'll talk too much.

Speaker 1 (02:46):
Yeah, Basically we.
You know.
I felt like the Lord told me togive people the real us in the
story behind why we stepped outof church as an institution.
Right, the title of the episodewas that we believe church

(03:06):
should go out of business.
Oh, my goodness, what did?
you just say, yeah, so offensive.
But I think once we got through, if you watch that episode
through to the end, you wouldagree with us that the business
aspect of church needs to die.
The institution known as churchneeds to die.
The body of Christ known aschurch needs to live and thrive
of christ, known as church,needs to live, yeah, and thrive.

(03:26):
And I think some walls got tocome crashing down so that we
could effectively do that.
So that was the heartbeat.
But, uh, behind the lastepisode, but towards the end of
the episode, you had mentioned afew things and I think that led
us into this, this discussionnow, because there are some
practical things that peopleprobably start asking themselves
when they say, well, if I'mhaving this revelation and
understanding that the systemitself is unbiblical and I need

(03:48):
to get out of it, or step awayfrom it, or whatever that looks
like for you.
It's one thing for you, but whatdoes that look like for my
family?
What does that look like for mychildren?
Are they going to be?
Okay?
They're not going to have youthgroup.

Speaker 2 (03:59):
They're not going to have youth group right.

Speaker 1 (04:01):
What are we going to do?
And I think that becomes ascary question for people that
weren't taught Like well.
My first question is what'dthey do in the first century?

Speaker 2 (04:10):
They didn't have a youth group in the first century
.
This is true.

Speaker 1 (04:13):
Do you know what I'm saying, but I think it becomes a
scary question for a societyand a culture the Western church
that has built a system whereyou don't disciple your kids.
You let an institution discipleyour kids.
We talked a lot in the lastepisode about the institution of
school, like the public schoolsystem, and how that came about,

(04:35):
and it used to be that kidswere educated in the home right.
It was more experientially based, and then it got moved to an
institution, and then wecomplain about how they come out
, but we're not actually willingto school them ourselves or
educate themselves.
I think this, I think it'sliterally the same pattern,
because I think it's the.
It's the enemy If I'm notstepping on any toes, it's the

(04:55):
enemy who builds those systemsin order to counterfeits.
It's a counterfeit system.
It's a.
It's a system built with anagenda to create a product.

Speaker 2 (05:05):
It's kind of like the whole idea of like incubating a
baby outside of a womb but inan incubator.
You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (05:13):
Incubator.
I might've said that wrong withthe Southern twain incubator.
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (05:19):
I'm country.
I'm sorry, this is what it isUm, but yeah, it's kind of like
artificial insemination almostyou know that's kind of what it
has become or what it is.

Speaker 1 (05:29):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I agree, and so that's what we
want to talk about today.
We want to talk about what itlooks like not only to disciple
your children, like reallydisciple them and teach them to
actually live like Jesus, but wealso want to answer question
like how do you do it in such away where you could almost
guarantee that they don't walkaway from their faith or they

(05:50):
don't leave the faith when theyget older and they get out of
the home right, because there'sgonna come a day where your kids
are gonna grow up and they'regonna go start their own
families.
naturally and I think that'smost of us as parents as they
get older, we start to thinkabout that day.
Are they going to follow Jesusbecause of what we've done, the

(06:11):
environment we've created, orare they just going to get on
their own and be like that waswhack, but I'm going to do my
own thing.

Speaker 2 (06:17):
Yeah, I'm saying for sure.

Speaker 1 (06:22):
And so what do you think, first of all?
Why do you think, first of all,why don't you think, that the
biblical prescription, or whatJesus would want, is like stick
your kids in Sunday school orstick them in a youth group.
Why is that not?
Or do you think it's biblical?

Speaker 2 (06:39):
I don't think it's biblical.

Speaker 1 (06:40):
Okay, you don't see it anywhere in scripture.

Speaker 2 (06:42):
Yeah, I think it's unhealthy because, again, it's
an artificial situation.
Where in life are you in thesame room with people your same
exact ages, going through thesame exact things, where you
kind of feed off of each other'smaybe negative energy towards
one another Because you're both13 and awkward and don't want to

(07:02):
talk?
I don't think it's a naturalenvironment where children learn
the best, because they're soinsecure around their friends
that they actually can't engagebecause they're too worried
about themselves.
But where are children the mostvulnerable, the most likely to
learn?
If you're a toxic parent,you're not the place.
But if you're actually a godlyparent who loves the Lord and is
creating an atmosphere in yourhome that is safe environment,

(07:26):
to where they can actually bethemselves, they're going to ask
hard questions.
And not only are they going toask hard questions and be
themselves, they're going toreally trust the answers because
they see you walking inrighteousness to the best of
your ability.
So I think that's where they'regoing to learn the most.

Speaker 1 (07:40):
Yeah, you made me think when you kept saying
artificial environment.
And it's not that there's nouse for artificial environments
anywhere in the world.
There's actually a good use forthem.
So you think about theincubator example that's there
for a preterm baby.

Speaker 2 (07:53):
You need them but how much work is a preterm baby?

Speaker 1 (08:08):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (08:08):
Extremely difficult, like I've been with a friend who
had a preterm child and it wasvery hard, and it was even
harder once they went home withthat preterm baby.
There was other issues going on, and so I think when we have
those, yes, it's necessary forcertain situations and it can be
good, but it's not the idealfor anyone.

Speaker 1 (08:29):
But we've made it the norm, that's right.
Right, and so I would agreewith you.
Not only is it not in scripture, obviously it's something that
we've taken as a substitute, orwe've created a substitute, a
replacement, a replacement outof something that should only
exist in certain situations inemergency situations.

Speaker 2 (08:47):
Right For sure.

Speaker 1 (08:48):
So some people would say, well, it's better than
nothing, like it's better for aperson that doesn't have that or
doesn't have that option athome but it's not the ideal, and
we've made it the ideal.
That's right, and so the idealwould be discipling your
children in your home, sure.

Speaker 2 (09:02):
So what does?
That how do you do that?
You first have to become a truedisciple yourself.

Speaker 1 (09:05):
That's true.
So if you give me a snapshot ofwhat, uh, give me.
Let me know the differencebetween a kingdom centered
family and a Christian family.

Speaker 2 (09:22):
Yeah.
So a Christian family is afamily who?
They go to church on Sundays,maybe even Wednesdays, maybe
even Sunday nights Cause I knowsome old school churches do that
and they go to church and maybethey talk about God a little
bit, but when push comes toshove and real life situations
come about, you don't handlethem Christlike.
So you can say, yeah, kids, Ilove Jesus.
But then let's say you own abusiness and some dude screws

(09:45):
you over and you cuss that guyout.
Or let's say you claim Jesusbut you are the coach on a
football team and you lose yourgame and you're over there
pitching a fit, kicking andscreaming and cussing at the
referees or things like that.
Being a Christian family justmeans I go to church on Sunday
but I get to live however I want, any other time I want, and I

(10:08):
can pitch fits when I want toand I can get mad at my wife
when I want to and I can bestingy, or my wife can, your
wife can be a nagger and allthese things.
And your children just see,they see hypocrisy.
I remember when I was 16, that'swhat I said.
I'm like, if Jesus looks likeanything I've been shown like,
he's a fake and I want nothingto do with him because I saw,
you know, people that went tochurch and served and did all

(10:30):
the things.
But when I got home, you know,my stepdad was smoking and
sexually abusing me but he wasthe leader of the Awanas program
and he was abusing me and hewas cheating on my mom and he
was drinking alcohol and allthese things and drunkenness and
I'm just like what is happening.
You cannot expect your childrento follow Jesus if you yourself

(10:51):
are not true sold out disciplesof Christ, where money doesn't
own you, where alcohol doesn'town you, where the culture of
this world doesn't own you,where you actually are truly set
apart.
Because, I'm telling you,children can smell fake from a
mile away more than you realize.

Speaker 1 (11:06):
You know it's interesting.
You said that you talked aboutpeople that abuse and we didn't
get deep into this last time,but in the last episode it could
have.
We could have gone longer andtalked about this but people
that abuse positions of power.
Now, the problem is that we'vecreated those positions in the
church where Jesus did not wantthem.
He did not.
He very specifically disarmedand disabled the hierarchical

(11:31):
system of the Old Testament andthen even in Matthew's gospel,
he tells them specifically, whenspeaking of the Pharisees, he's
talking to his disciples in agroup of people.
He's like don't be like them.
Not only don't be like them,don't use titles.
That's right To put yourselvesin positions of power.
And people will argue be like.

(11:51):
Well, there's all these titleslisted in scripture.
And I would argue well, there'sfunctions listed in scripture,
right, People are empowered bythe Holy spirit to function in a
certain way.
But if you notice, they're allcharacter based, right, and we
still take those and we're likethose are just qualifications
for positions.
No, they're not.
No they're not.
Those are qualifications,character qualifications for a,

(12:15):
for somebody functioning in yourlife that way.
So this is the qualificationsthat you look for when you want
somebody to lead you.
That's right, right, and thenyou'll, as a leader, you follow
their lead, right.
There's nothing about themhaving authority over you or
spiritual authority over you oranything like that.
These are people that arequalified to lead you and so you

(12:37):
don't need the positions, youdon't need any of those things,
because all they do is allowfalse, corrupt people to fill
those positions.
And then people mistakenly thinkthat because a person's in that
position, they have authorityover me.
I've got to do what they say,or I've got to lead their
example, and it and it keepscoming out year after year, that
these people who everybodythought were fantastic are
corrupt, right, and they'reabusing that system of power.

(12:59):
And we're like, well, these arejust bad people, keep the
positions.
And I'm like, yeah, keep thepositions.
And I'm like, yeah, keep thepositions.
If Jesus taught that, but hedidn't.
You know what I'm saying, andso that's what you know.
It just made me think aboutthat whole system of what we
talked about before the systemcoming down, the system coming
out and just allowing people to.
You know, we have functions androles as mother and father, but

(13:20):
we don't fill a position Likethink about how weird that is.

Speaker 2 (13:23):
That is strange.

Speaker 1 (13:24):
Do you know what I'm saying?
If, if we utilize that in thefamily, and I think the reason
Jesus, uh, the reason why wedon't have positions quote
unquote in the family or thingslike that, like Jesus didn't
teach, that is because, ifyou'll notice, relationships
change, your relationship todifferent people change.
So, for example, in a family,uh, the relationship between a

(13:48):
mother and a father and atoddler is very different than a
mother and a father and a 12year old, very different from a
mother and a father and a 16year old, and really different
from a mother and a father and a45 year old.
Right, You're always mom and dadright.
But you don't have the samerelationship and influence.

Speaker 2 (14:06):
Right At each one of those ages.
That's right and it should.

Speaker 1 (14:09):
And I think that's why, ultimately and this isn't a
podcast or this isn't anepisode on authority or
spiritual authority but I thinkthat's why Jesus very
specifically says, he sayshimself this is Jesus talking.
He says all authority has beengiven to me in heaven and on
earth.
That's right, right andtherefore you go.
So the authority, if you walkin any type of authority, it's

(14:32):
because you're walking in Christ.

Speaker 2 (14:34):
That's right and the word yeah.

Speaker 1 (14:37):
So if you speak to somebody and you're speaking
into their life, and it'sscriptural, and it's the word of
God, it holds authority.
It holds authority.

Speaker 2 (14:45):
It holds authority Not because of you and not
because of your voice, your whoyou are, your last name, your
title, your degree.
But you have authority becauseyou're speaking the word of God
and you're speaking from Christ,his words.
That's where the authoritycomes from.
But the authority is in Christbecause it says in the word he's
been given all authority, nothe's been given all authority.

(15:07):
And then you get a little bitof authority.
You get a little bit ofauthority, he's been given all
authority.
So anything you do in the nameof Jesus that lines up with the
word of God and it comes throughthe spirit of God will give you
that authority in that moment.
But as soon as you stop talkingin the word of God or in this,
in the spirit of God, all of asudden you can say something and
it's like because there's noauthority in you, in in of

(15:27):
yourself because of who you are.

Speaker 1 (15:29):
You said that because the proof of that is that you
do it in the name of Jesus.

Speaker 2 (15:32):
You have authority.
In the name of Jesus.

Speaker 1 (15:34):
And so that doesn't mean you have authority, because
you're saying the name of Jesus, like you're like you're like
it's an incantation or somethinglike that.
It means that the authorityrests in him that's right that's
why the the, the seven sons ofskeeva were trying to cast out
demons, but they got theauthority ran out naked right,
exactly, exactly because theydidn't have it so a lot of

(15:56):
people think like, oh, I've gotthis inherent authority, right
has been given to me, like it'smine now and I stick in my
pocket and I'm like bro, likejesus says if you.
If you he even says if you don'teven abide in him like you're,
if you're disconnected from him,you will bear no fruit.
Yeah, you have to.
Everything that you have is inchrist, so if your life is

(16:16):
hidden in him, you have accessto what he has.
That's right.
It is not yours inherently.

Speaker 2 (16:22):
Well, I think I want to go back to what we were
talking about a minute ago, likethe difference between a
Christian family and a kingdomfamily.
We gave that example of aChristian family.
It's like you go to church, youmight have a Bible in your
house but it's got dust on it,or maybe you do read it every
day but you're not actuallyliving and renewing your mind in
it and living that way.
But I think going to thekingdom family is when Jesus

(16:48):
becomes Lord of mom and dad'slife.
He is Lord and he directs everythought, every word, every
decision, every idea, even downto your career, to your life, to
your choices, to your character, to your morals, to your belief
system, so where he literallyinfiltrates every space of your

(17:09):
being.
I've heard this analogy given atchurch, where to put Jesus to
give yourself.
It's kind of like how do youset up your life in a system you
got the top shelf is Jesus andthen everything comes in the
shelf and I'm like, no, thatmeans that the Jesus shelf is
closed because or the Jesusdrawer is closed because I can't
get in the second drawerbecause that door is open like
you gotta shut it off somewhere.

(17:30):
No, it should be.
Jesus is the center andeverything comes out of that
place.
So everything is an offshoot ofJesus career, family, social
group activities, hobbies, life,discipleship all the things is
centered in Christ Jesus.
It's just offshoots of Christ,not Jesus family, because you're

(17:51):
leaving him out somewhere.
He's not in a drawer.
So I think it's actually notreally good analogy, Biblically
speaking.

Speaker 1 (17:57):
that's why Christ is the head of the church.

Speaker 2 (17:59):
He's not the arm.

Speaker 1 (18:01):
Because you can live with an arm cut off.
Cut your head off.
How are you going to be?

Speaker 2 (18:04):
doing, you're done.
You're done for Right.
So I think that a kingdomfamily is somebody who the
parents truly have made JesusLord and they're actually
obeying the word of God and theyhandle every situation as
biblically and asChrist-centered and as
spirit-filled as possiblebiblically and as

(18:25):
Christ-centered and asspirit-filled as possible.
Jesus isn't sprinkled on areas,but he actually infiltrates
every bit of every area in theirlife.
So the way you handle conflictin your home, the way you handle
and speak, the way you don'tgossip about people X, y and Z,
the way you serve one another,the way that the father lays his
life down for his wife and thesons and the children see that

(18:45):
and the daughters see that.
I'll even use a real lifeexample in real time.
Like Justin, I got into anargument yesterday and he was
correcting me on something andat first I was like not
understanding and then, as hediscussed where he was coming
from and I just sat and listened, we were silent for about 30
minutes because I had to processand then I realized, like he's

(19:06):
right, and as soon as I realizedhe was right, I had to
apologize in front of my kidsbecause we were in a car
together for an hour and so Ihad to apologize and I said, hey
, I'm really sorry.
Like I realized where you'recoming from, you're right, and I
apologize, and now I will neverdo that again.
And then we continued on hislife as normal, like Justin had
every right to cold shoulder meall night long.

(19:28):
I had every right to beprideful and not repent and say
I'm sorry, and all of thosethings in our third son, who's
almost 11.
His name's Judah.
We came in after all of that inthe car, we come in, we're
having dinner and he was likeyou know, one thing I love about
you guys, he's like y'all getover things so quick and y'all
just y'all just love each other.
Well, even after like a hardconversation like that, and I

(19:51):
was like thanks, buddy, likethat was really encouraging,
like I still didn't feel good inthe moment, because correction
hurts for a minute, um, but itstill was really, really good
that they see that, mom and dad,there was no screaming, there
was no yelling, there was nocursing, there was no name
calling.
But was it a heavy discussion?
Absolutely Were there someemotions involved?

(20:13):
For sure, but we repentedquickly, we made it right and we
continued on our evening and weactually were good and we woke
up happy, justin's loving on meand all the things.
I would have maybe been still alittle annoyed if it was me,
but I'm growing and he's fartheralong, but I just I looked at
that and when I saw my son saysomething like, I'm like, okay,
we're doing something rightBecause they are watching you

(20:34):
and they can see real from fakein a second.

Speaker 1 (20:38):
You think a lot of parents think that they're like
hiding it from them.
Oh we argue in the other room,or we do that and it's like they
know what's going on.
They can feel it, they see it,they feel it, but it's what is
their response to it?
So, again, what you're sayingis a kingdom, a kingdom family
is not a perfect family.
No, no, no, no.
But I want to break this downreal quick, because kingdom is

(21:00):
it's a compound word, that'sright the king's domain, that's
right.
What's the king's domain?
It means that in the kingdom,the king has rule that's right
over that area.
That's right.
And so that's our life.
So in our home, jesus has fullauthority.
That's right.

Speaker 2 (21:15):
Jesus is the one that we, and he makes our decisions
for us and the way we doeverything um, down to where our
kids play sports and where ourkids go to school, and what we
eat.
Down to how we live and how westeward our bodies, down to how
much sleep we get at night, downto everything we do Like we do
it to glorify God.
So we ask him God, what, whatis this season of my life look

(21:37):
like, and how do you want me todo it?
Down to how long I even pray,like the Lord just challenged
you recently.
I want you to pray for thisspecific thing for 30 minutes
for the next 30 days.

Speaker 1 (21:45):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (21:46):
Did you compromise?
No, Right you made it happen,right, because he's Lord, yeah,
and you do what the Lord says,yeah, so yeah, no, that's good.

Speaker 1 (21:54):
And again, that doesn't mean we in Grace, is not
?

Speaker 2 (21:56):
there, so that you can live in a mistake.
Grace is there, so when youmake a mistake you can dust
yourself off and actually dobetter the next time.
Oh yeah, For sure.

Speaker 1 (22:11):
Yeah, it's an empowerment, that's right.

Speaker 2 (22:13):
To actually live in what God has called you to do.

Speaker 1 (22:15):
Yeah, this is so misunderstood.
Grace is so misunderstood a lotof times because people abuse
it.

Speaker 2 (22:23):
And.

Speaker 1 (22:23):
God knows that he's not like thrown off, that people
abuse that, but he's like.
He's brokenhearted because heknows, if you would use it how
it's meant to be used, that itwould empower you, not give you
a reason to stay the same.
That's right, and that's whatit is ultimately when you
trample grace is you're using itas a crutch to remain unchanged
.
That's what it is ultimatelywhen you trample grace is you're

(22:44):
you're using it as a crutch toto to remain unchanged.

Speaker 2 (22:48):
That's right.

Speaker 1 (22:49):
And he's like you're not, you're not living to your
fullest extent.
Okay, Not expecting aperfection and no mistakes, I'm
just expecting a person that isquick as quick to turn.
That's right.
Quick to change.

Speaker 2 (23:00):
I even think, too, about raising godly children.
Sorry, I keep going back tothat because little nuggets are
popping in my mind.
But even down to social mediaapps and things like that for
families who have kids that areold enough for those.
I remember for our 13-year-oldhe really wanted to get B-Rail
at 12, but the age was 13.

(23:21):
And he's like, well, mom, Ijust don't have to put my proper
birth date in.
And I'm like, well, mom, I justdon't have to put my proper
birth date in.
And I'm like, dude, like you'renot going to lie, you know what
I'm saying.
You're going to be honest.
Even down to those smalldecisions, like we just choose
to make the right choice andmake the upstanding decision,
because we know God honors goodcharacter and righteousness down
to you know, when the Biblesays, make disciples, we're

(23:42):
making disciples of them andwe're showing them and
demonstrating making discipleswith other people.
When God says, you know, forgivequickly, like they see in our
home, where we have to forgiveone another quickly or others
that have hurt our feelings,they see the process of us
forgiving them.
All of these things are thingsthat create kingdom children to
the point where now, when mykids go out, we have a

(24:05):
16-year-old and a 13-year-old,and my 16-year-old and
13-year-old have the freedom togo out and about and do some
things with friends where theirparents are calling them and
they're like, hey, your kids arethe real deal, they're the real
deal.
I can just tell by the way theytalk about Jesus.
They're the real deal.
And they see the real deal athome.
And so yeah, they're.

(24:29):
They're making good choices anddecisions because they've been
taught the why not?
You just do this because youhave to.
They know why they're doingwhat they're doing.
They know why we follow Jesusand they also know that the
other side's not so pretty, youknow, cause they've seen the
real, the bad and the ugly onthe other side from family
members and just even from ourchoices before we met Jesus
while having younger children.

Speaker 1 (24:43):
So yeah, I see the difference.
I think, being very open withyour kids and involving them in
what you would call ministry andstuff like that, and having
discussions, not giving awaypeople's information, but
teaching them practically likethis is this is what happens
when you make this choice.
This is what happened whenmommy and daddy make this choice

(25:04):
.
And we're real.
If you've made it to this pointin the podcast and don't
realize that we believe in thegifts of the spirit, we believe
in healing and deliverance andcasting out demons and things
like that.
Sorry to surprise you or shockyou, but we do and our kids have
witnessed that and people thinklike, how could you let your
kids see that that?

(25:27):
And people think like, howcould you let your kids see that
?
And I'm thinking right now it'sHalloween season, quote unquote
and I'm walking around myneighborhood seeing the most
demonic crap.

Speaker 2 (25:34):
Scary stuff that makes you have a pit in your
stomach that you involve yourkids in, so you'll let them
watch scary movies Go to thewoods of terror.

Speaker 1 (25:41):
We got people from the church posting on Facebook.
I'm watching them and they'reasking questions about oh, where
is the Hollywood horror festforest?

Speaker 2 (25:49):
whatever.

Speaker 1 (25:50):
And then giving me a hard time because I'm showing my
kids how to cast demons out.

Speaker 2 (25:55):
I'm sending demons to hell.
That's right.

Speaker 1 (25:56):
I'm like you are glorifying the kingdom of
darkness, right?
I have realized that when youhide that from them, kids are
more scared of it.

Speaker 2 (26:05):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (26:05):
Because anything in Hollywood or any of those things
, those celebratory ways ofcelebrating those instances, of
celebrating the kingdom ofdarkness, they actually glorify
darkness.
Talking about casting outdemons doesn't glorify darkness.
It glorifies God by showing hispower over darkness.

Speaker 2 (26:22):
And where did Jesus cast demons out?
In the public square.

Speaker 1 (26:25):
Yeah, was he like hide your kids, hide your wife?

Speaker 2 (26:27):
No, he didn't say oh, we're going to go into the
secret room back here where it'sjust us three elders of the
church and we're going to castout these demons.
No, he was doing it in thestreets and in the cities and in
the gatherings and the churchesand the meetings.
He cast his first demon.
There was some Jewish babies inthere.

Speaker 1 (26:41):
Yeah, so you want to know how to train your child up
in the way that they should go,and when they are older, they
will not depart.
Actions speak louder than words.

Speaker 2 (26:51):
And I'm telling you, if you give your children a
fairy tale Jesus, they will livelike he is a fairy tale Jesus.
They will have him on his backshelf like elf on the shelf at
Christmas.
They'll go to him when theyhave a hard day because it might
bring him a little bit of joyand they get a present under the
tree.
You know, but if you give themthe fairy tale Jesus, who does

(27:11):
not have authority over darkness, who does not set you free from
sin, who does not have anypower and authority in the body
of Christ I mean in the body ofChrist or the world at large to
actually do what he did anddemonstrated you're going to
have children who treat Jesuslike the elf on the shelf he's a
fairy tale or like Santa Claus.
You know, he is a powerful Jesuswho walks in great signs,

(27:33):
wonders and miracles and he doesstill heal today and operate in
those things.
And if you hide that from yourchildren and not give them the
fullness of that, they will walkaway from the faith.
Because what is exciting aboutgoing to church every Sunday and
never seeing God doing onesingle thing in your life or in
the lives of those around you?
They will be lukewarm children.
You will have moral children,but not Holy Spirit led kingdom

(27:57):
children, and that has been myprayer since I met.
Jesus was Lord.
I don't want just good, moralchildren who look like
Christians.
I want children that arewilling to lay their knees on
the sand and die for you and notdeny your name.
Those are the kids I want tohave.

Speaker 1 (28:10):
And that takes true conviction which only comes
through true surrender, and yourkids are not.
I'm sorry.
They're not going to give theirlife for a fairy tale.
They're not.
So if you're teaching a fairytale, jesus, and all they're
getting is Bible storybooks atyouth group and children's
church, that's right.

Speaker 2 (28:27):
That's nothing Well what you'll end up having is
you'll have young men who areriddled with lust but still go
to church and walk in so muchshame and condemnation that they
can't even think straight andthey're so shut down.
Or you'll have young women whoare dealing with identity crises
and have eating disorders andbeing intimate with men and

(28:48):
young boys outside of the home,behind closed doors, because
that's where they're findingtheir validation, but from their
body, because they have no truepurpose and they haven't met a
Jesus that really breaks truebondage of addictions and gives
true purpose of identity, whereyou don't have to have some man
tell you who you are and whatyou look like and how pretty you
are, you know that was good orwhatever you can actually truly

(29:11):
know him, walk in freedom andwalk in true identity.
When you teach your children whothe real Jesus is and it
doesn't mean our kids areperfect and they've never had a
moment of like hey, like I don'tfeel, like I have purpose in my
life we just have to remindthem of their purpose and show
them and point them in the rightdirection and say, hey, right
now maybe you've gottendistracted and football has been

(29:32):
too much of your forefront andyou didn't have a game this week
, it's a bye week and you'refeeling off because you feel
like your identity is infootball but really it's in
Christ, and so we redirect themto that.
You coach them, you teach them,you point them to Jesus, no
matter what, showing them wheretheir true validation comes from
.
It's not from situationalthings and sports and friends,

(29:53):
but it's from Christ.
It's not even from us, it'sfrom Jesus, you know, and
pointing them and training themin those directions.
But if you yourself do not knowJesus and your kids come and
ask you who Jesus is, they'regoing to see right through it.

Speaker 1 (30:06):
I was actually going to ask you that question because
I want to get into talkingabout what discipleship looks
like.
We've already hit it prettygood, but what discipleship
looks like practically inculture when you're raising
kingdom centered kids andthey're also it doesn't mean
that they're immune fromexperiencing the the temptations
of culture and stuff.
We'll talk about that in asecond.
But you had mentioned you can'tdo this Like what we're

(30:31):
explaining we could not do untilwe experienced it first.
That's right Like share moreabout that.

Speaker 2 (30:38):
You mean our experiences.

Speaker 1 (30:40):
Yeah, like, why should parents?
Or maybe some examples abouthow parents brought their kids
to us and they're like pray formy kid, pray for my kid you know
what I'm saying like.

Speaker 2 (30:48):
I just feel like that's a good example, because
parents want help for their kidsyeah, and rightly so.

Speaker 1 (30:52):
They love their children, but they're forgetting
about themselves.
Yeah, they're all jacked up.
That's so good.
They can't help their kids.

Speaker 2 (30:58):
That's a really good point because I think we had.
We do have parents come to usthat have children that have
some demonic things going onbecause of video games or
whatever situation they'reinvolved in.
They'll come to me and say, hey, will you fix my kid?
I first look at them and I'mlike don't bring your kid to the
first meeting.
I need to talk to you becauseit comes from you.
The issue is you.

(31:18):
I have a friend who's apsychiatrist but she's a
born-again believer who just gotradically delivered.
She's like what am I doing withmy life?
Like a lot of the things I'mpsychology and talking about is
actually demonic oppression inpeople's lives.
And she's like and herspecialty is with children, she
works with children and she'slike I never, when the parents
come to me and say fix my kids,I tell the parents your kid's

(31:39):
problem is you.
You need to change and thatwill fix your child.
So anytime parents bring theirchildren to us and they're like,
hey, our kids are in thissituation, I always share the
gospel with the parent first, tomake sure they actually know
Jesus, because the child is thesecondary issue.
You are the first problem.
You must know Jesus and he mustbe Lord before you can do

(32:00):
anything else.
Yeah, so until that happens,like it's not, your child's not
going to change, because they'rejust going to go back into the
same tax environment that you'vecreated in your home to cause
them to have the problems thatthey have.
So this.

Speaker 1 (32:13):
I don't know if this is off topic or not, but this
blew my mind.
When you know, when we ministerto people over the last seven
years or whatever, and we meetsomebody, even if they're a
friend brought them or they'vebeen in church for so long we
always preach the gospel to themmake sure that they have a
understanding of the gospel andthat they've responded.

Speaker 2 (32:33):
And that they're truly born again.

Speaker 1 (32:34):
Yeah, yeah, it blew my mind how many ministries that
we've worked with stuff likethat that they completely skip
over that.

Speaker 2 (32:44):
It's like they start discipling people as if they're
all born again.

Speaker 1 (32:46):
We just expect everybody has already responded
properly to the gospel.
They know what that means we'rein America, everyone's already
a Christian.
Now let's just start from here.

Speaker 2 (32:56):
Phase three, when you skip one, two and three.
You already skipped one and two.
Yeah, the gospel and theresponse.

Speaker 1 (33:03):
And I feel like Paul was like that it's so funny.
He comes across those disciplesof John in Acts, chapter 19.
And the first question is, likePaul's like hey, not hey, how
you doing, how you been Likewhat's that he's like?
Have you received the HolySpirit?
Well, he doesn't even say whatdenomination.

Speaker 2 (33:16):
Are you a part of he's like?
No, have you received the HolyGhost?
Because he knew that meant theywere truly born again.
Yeah, and they're like we don'tknow what you're talking about.
So you know what he did.
He rebaptized them, yep, andthen they received the Holy
Spirit.

Speaker 1 (33:29):
That's right, and so people will see that that's not
Paul validating Pentecostalism.

Speaker 2 (33:33):
No, no, Like that's not saying.
Like you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (33:38):
That's not an excuse for that.

Speaker 2 (33:40):
What that I'm going to check your foundations.

Speaker 1 (33:42):
I'm thinking that is to me one of the telltale signs
of a true apostolic person isthat they're foundation checkers
.
When they're coming up againstan issue, the very first thing
they're saying is have youresponded to the gospel, the
good news?

Speaker 2 (33:57):
Do you know what?

Speaker 1 (33:57):
it is Right Okay now that you know it, tell me about
your-.

Speaker 2 (34:01):
How did you get born again?
Tell me about how you got bornagain, right?

Speaker 1 (34:04):
And we have found that that one question.

Speaker 2 (34:08):
If somebody says to me I'm born again, or I'm a
Christian because my mom took meto church, or my parents went
to church, or my parents have areally strong faith, or, you
know, I prayed the sinner'sprayer at 12.
I know from those statementsimmediately this person is truly
not born again.
They can't tell me about whatit was like when they repented.
They can't tell me about whathappened when they were baptized

(34:30):
.
They can't tell me the lasttime or when they received the
Holy Spirit or when thingschanged drastically in their
life.
All they can say is I've alwaysbeen a.
Christian.

Speaker 1 (34:39):
I've always been a Christian because my mom and dad
I'm like you came out the wombborn again.
No, that's not true.
John the Baptist is the onlyguy I know that got filled with
the Holy Spirit, and so I don'tthink you're number two.
But yeah, and that's not tocondemn people, that's just to
say it's very, very typical.
So ask that question and you'renot challenging people to make
them feel bad or question theirsalvation.

Speaker 2 (35:00):
But even somebody challenged.
Thank God you challenged mebecause I would still be in
deception today.
That's right.
The reason we ask this questionis because we really love
people and we don't want peopleto go to hell or get to get to
judgment day and find out likethey really don't know Jesus.

Speaker 1 (35:15):
Here's the thing too.
If like, can you imagine if youwent to the doctor's office and
they didn't let you talk andjust diagnosed you and told you
what you need?
Right, that's what we do inchurch.

Speaker 2 (35:28):
That people come in by the droves and we just preach
to them.

Speaker 1 (35:32):
Yeah, we don't know what they need.
No.

Speaker 2 (35:34):
We don't know where anyone's at.

Speaker 1 (35:36):
So why would it, jesus?
People came up to Jesus andthey could have like they're
blind, and he would still saywhat do you need from me?
That's right, let that sink in,that's right.
Everyone around him wasprobably like, seriously, jesus,
the guy's blind, he needs tosee, right?
That's right.
But he wanted to make sure thatthey understood, yeah, and he

(35:57):
didn't just speculate.
That's right, what do you need?
Where are you at?
There's a portion of scripturewhere the disciples are trying
to cast a demon out of a boywho's epileptic and the father
brings him to Jesus because thedisciples cannot cast the demon
out.
Do you know what Jesus askedhim?

(36:18):
How long has this beenhappening?
Do?

Speaker 2 (36:21):
you miss what Jesus asked him.

Speaker 1 (36:21):
How long has this been happening?
Do you miss like?
Do you miss things like that?
I?
Feel like we miss things likethat in scripture, those details
.

Speaker 2 (36:27):
He inquired.

Speaker 1 (36:28):
Why was he inquiring?
Do you think he just threw thatin there?
Because he didn't?
You know, and people just skipover stuff like that, but there
are so many times that Jesus wasasking very intentional
questions because, um, becausehe wanted the person to
understand what they actuallyneeded.
And I have found that in thosequestions and these are this can
correlate to with kids andthings like that, to where you

(36:50):
could get.
you could get down to really,really and I think this is what
would grab their attention morethan anything is, instead of
just preaching at them orteaching them Bible stories,
communicating with them andfiguring out where they're at
and what they're struggling withand then handling that.
That's right.
Let's talk about how the gospelapplies to that.

(37:11):
Let's talk about how the gospelsets you free from your
identity issues and yourinsecurities.
That's right, that's how youstart.
Jesus personalized the gospelwith people and I think that's
what really drew kids in.

Speaker 2 (37:24):
Now I think yeah, go ahead.

Speaker 1 (37:27):
So what I wanted to say is in relation to that there
is that is a lot easier to doone-on-one.
Yeah for sure, okay.
So that's why discipleship inthe home is important.
Now, every kid doesn't get that, so maybe there are times where
they're taught in a large group.
Now, having a large group ofpeople is very beneficial for
dispelling information.

Speaker 2 (37:46):
That's right.

Speaker 1 (37:47):
Okay, it's not to say that there's never a time for
somebody to preach a message orteach a message from a stage for
to a large group of people.

Speaker 2 (37:56):
Okay, that's not the best way to to pass on
information.

Speaker 1 (37:59):
It's the best way to pass on information, but I heard
this recently Christianity isnot about spiritual information,
it's about spiritual formation,right, and so there's a certain
way.
There's certain things you cando that are going to help one of
those things versus the other.
That's right, so we can't justbe dispellers of spiritual

(38:20):
information Listening to thispodcast it's okay.

Speaker 2 (38:24):
So we can't just be dispellers of spiritual
information Listening to thispodcast.
It's okay, we're dispellinginformation right, this is not
discipleship, and there's aplace and a time Right right, it
has a purpose.

Speaker 1 (38:32):
But if I were to tell you hey, church, is you
listening to this podcast?
There is literally people thatdo online church and they just
listen to sermons and thinkthey've think that they're
actually doing what jesus hascalled them to do by listening
to an online sermon.
Listen, if you are onlylistening to this podcast and
that is your version, you haveno relationship with other

(38:53):
people.
You're not reading your bible,you're not actually doing what
jesus commanded you to do, thenI'm highly sorry, that's not's
not what you're you're, you'recompletely missing it.
Um, but by and large, that'swhat we're teaching people is
normal.
And then we wonder why they,why they don't obey or they do
that or whatever that's so good.
But um, so, going into oursecond we'll, we'll talk about

(39:15):
two.
I've got two main things that Iwant to talk about left in this
pot.
This episode, well, I want toget into.
Like, what does it look like?
Practically, say, you'reraising your kids in faith and
in a kingdom centered family andyou're also dealing with the
pressures of culture.
What's how do you practicallynavigate those things without
making them, without the fear ofof them feeling like they're

(39:39):
boxed in, restricted, and thefear that they're going to rebel
once they get out of the homeRight?

Speaker 2 (39:43):
Well, you first need to make sure you're praying for
them every single day.
I pray for my kids every singleday.
I have specific things that Icover every single day, and so
it starts with prayer andintercession for your children
on a daily basis.
And then I think going fromthat place is teaching them why
they look different and why theycan't always do what's going on

(40:04):
, and teaching them the why.
Like as a child I was told likehere's this purity ring don't
have sex till marriage.

Speaker 1 (40:10):
And.

Speaker 2 (40:10):
I was like but why?
So I didn't get the why.
So you know what I did?
I went to a friend at schooland I asked them why.
And they're like, oh yeah, sexis for when you really love
someone and you feel reallyconnected to them.
And I'm like well, the firstboyfriend I met, I loved him,
you know.
And so all of a sudden, likeI'm giving myself away to this

(40:31):
man because, or this boy because, I don't know any reason why,
you know.
So we talk about the why.
We not just talk about the why,but we also talk about the
consequences that come.
God talked about consequences.
If you look at the proverbs, hesays a wise person receives an
inheritance, the foolish personwill not.
So we talk about the, therewards and the consequences of

(40:52):
living in culture and livinglike the culture, or being set
apart and being different fromthe culture.
We also display that in ourhome, like we don't do things
that as adults I have everyright that I want to do.
We've chosen not to drink, wedo not watch certain shows and
movies and things like that weshow our kids even the standard
is for me and if I wouldn't letyou do it, I'm not going to do

(41:13):
it as well.
So we live it out that way aswell.
And I think, too, showing themthat which the cool thing is is,
every time my kids have to sayno to something, god rewards
them in such a beautiful way andI'm always so thankful for that
because he shows them God'srighteousness is worth it, you
know.
So trusting that God's going toactually show them how good

(41:36):
this is and the blessing of Godis going to come upon their
lives and they've received thatblessing.
They see the blessing of God isgoing to come upon their lives
and they've received thatblessing.
They see the blessing.
So they're almost like, why isit worth it to go live like the
culture, when I'm really blessedon this side of things?
So I think, teaching them thatand showing them that because
they've had to say no to a lotof things that they thought was
going to be a good decision andit turned out not being such a

(41:57):
good decision, and so not thatthey chose the decision and it
turned out not being such a gooddecision, and so not that they
chose the decision, but they sawa situation go a certain way,
but they chose the rightdirection and they actually,
like are really thankful in theend.
Like moving to Texas,necessarily not.
My three older kids were likeI'm not going and I'm like we
will follow Jesus, you know.
And I had to wrestle with thefact that, like I could lose my

(42:19):
children by doing this, had towrestle with the fact that, like
I could lose my children bydoing this, they could think I'm
flipping crazy, be angry at meand rebel and resentful and
unforgiving.
They could do all of thosethings.
But y'all, we covered our kidsin prayer, we taught them the
why, we told them that we'regoing to obey Jesus and trust
that because of our obedience,it's going to be so good.
And y'all, when we got to Texastwo weeks in, we were sitting
down in a restaurant and my kidswere like mom, this was the

(42:40):
Lord, this is God.
And now they're saying I likeTexas more than where I was
because the favor of God andobedience to resting upon him.
Now, it wasn't easy, like we hada few hiccups along the way to
get here and they saw us gothrough that and they went
through us with it.
They went through it with usand they've experienced some
losses, like my oldest son wantsto play football for a high
school so bad for a public highschool.

(43:01):
But he doesn't have thatopportunity because the Lord
said no like he has to play fora smaller league.
He's not ready for thatenvironment yet and we told him
the why.
He didn't like it at first butnow he's like I love where I'm
at.
I'm so thankful.
You know so it's.
It's actually in real time,following the Holy Spirit and
that the voice of the Spiritinside of you and he'll lead you

(43:24):
and direct you and guide youand he'll bless your obedience
and he'll bless your childrenand they'll see the blessing.

Speaker 1 (43:29):
Yeah, so there's times you have to trust God.

Speaker 2 (43:32):
You have to trust the .

Speaker 1 (43:33):
Holy Spirit in making decisions, even when you're
scared.

Speaker 2 (43:36):
That's right.

Speaker 1 (43:37):
That your kids are going to be mad at you or
resentful for you know for doingit, or they're going to see
that their friends get get moreprivileges or whatever as they
see them, but it's like.
It's kind of like that idea ofthe guardrails on the side of
the road.

Speaker 2 (43:52):
That's right, they're not there to restrict you.

Speaker 1 (43:54):
They're there to protect you.

Speaker 2 (43:55):
And, I think, our kid we've done a really good job.
And it's not because we'rereally good parents, it's really
just like we depend on the Holyspirit for everything and like
I'm like.
Sometimes I'm like Lord help me, I don't know what I'm doing
here, and he gives us thesetools.
Cause when we first moved here,my oldest son came to me.

(44:16):
He's like hey, I have a friendwho wants me to go do something.
We don't know this kid, we'venever met him.
He's driving to another town,like we just moved here, you
know.
And Justin's like Brooke, it'sgoing to be okay.
And I'm like you're right, andso he goes.
It was a great time.
He came home safe, all thethings.
The kid's a really cool kid.
Now that we're finding for mychildren and I hear the Holy

(44:37):
Spirit say to me they've shownthemselves to be trustworthy.
It's time to give them moreresponsibility and show them
that you trust them, becausethey have been trustworthy for
16 years.
They've never given you anyreason to doubt or mistrust them
.
So give them a little bit offreedom and just know that I'll
go with them wherever they go,because you've asked that of me.
Oh, makes me want to cry.
So pray for them and then letthe Spirit lead.

(44:59):
Like if I would have done thatthree years ago, I might would
have led them into a pickle if Igave them too much freedom.
But I'm listening to the Lord,he's teaching me as I'm teaching
them, and we let our kids knowvery quickly to mommy and daddy
are not perfect, we don't knowit all.
Like if we restrict, like withthat situation, like I kind of
got upset with Ty cause he waseven asking to go somewhere,
because I wasn't emotionallyready for it and I got a little

(45:22):
short with him and I had to goback to him and be like hey, I'm
sorry, buddy, I got reallyprotective over you for a moment
.
But you're right, you haveshown me to be trustworthy.
You can go be with your friendand he really respected that.

Speaker 1 (45:40):
What you're explaining to me sounds more
like training.

Speaker 2 (45:44):
It is.

Speaker 1 (45:45):
Then quote unquote just like raising or parenting
or whatever.
The Bible is very specific inthe in the, in the language that
it uses, says train them.
Training involves very hands onactive things and what you're
explaining.
I hope people are listening andunderstanding that it's not.
You can't read this in a book.

(46:06):
Yes, you can get the principlesfrom scripture on how to raise
your children, but there's notgoing to be a black and white
answer for every situation.
You're going to have to bedependent on the Holy spirit and
listen to his guidance.
And that's where, that's whyit's called a kingdom family,
because your family, your homeis under the King's domain.

Speaker 2 (46:24):
Well, the thing with raising younger children to
older children too is youdiscipline young children, you
train older children.
But a lot of parents do itdifferent.
They try to like have fun withyoung children and not
discipline them, because thediscipline leads to training.
It's the same for the military.

(46:44):
You come into hell week for fourweeks and everything in you,
your will is broken, your, yourcomforts are broken, all these
things.
And then they give you a gunand teach you how to use it.
They train you Right.
So a lot of times with parentsis they just try to have fun in
the beginning and they don'tactually discipline their
children so that the trainingcan actually take place.

(47:06):
So for us I feel like you know,in the beginning we weren't
doing the best of it and we kindof had to like do it a little
different with our older two,but with our younger two we were
doing it the proper way.

Speaker 1 (47:16):
Welcome to hell week.

Speaker 2 (47:17):
No, we didn't do that .
But we really stood firm withwhat righteousness was and the
expectation in love, like wedidn't have to scream and yell,
we just stayed firm to theexpectation, like, hey, this is
what we expect of you.
We're not going to budge fromthis place, but now, when they
get into situations, we canactually train them through the
situation and they reallyrespect us because they see us

(47:41):
live it.
First of all, you don't respectsomebody who just talks and
doesn't live what they talk.
Like I look at people all thetime Like I have zero respect
for you because I know whatyou're doing behind closed doors
.

Speaker 1 (47:50):
Don't smoke, it's bad for you.

Speaker 2 (47:52):
Yeah, like you have zero respect for your parents in
that place.
So they've actually seen uslive it so and they and they've
actually seen us discipline inthem, them in love again, not
all the time.
There's been times, I mean, Iliterally was told by the Lord I
could not spank my older twochildren anymore because I had
overly spanked them before I metJesus.
So he's like don't touch themever again.
You use your words and don'tspank.

(48:12):
And then with my younger two hewas like, hey, now that you
know my heart and you're not inanger, you can spank them now
because you're not doing it tomake yourself feel better,
you're actually doing it tocorrect them.
So I have been very disciplinedby the Lord in that and again,
we haven't done it perfect butbecause we're trying the best we
can and the Holy Spirit isaiding us, he redeems those

(48:34):
mistakes.
You know what I'm saying.
It actually says God redeemsthings Like if you lost a year
with a situation, he'll redeemit tenfold.
Or a financial set, whatever.
He'll redeem those things.
So he's redeemed our crappyparenting from the beginning and
the times we miss it here andthere.
He redeems those moments.
But our kids see consistency.
So the one mistake.
It's not even a memory in theirmind, because they've just seen

(48:56):
consistency for so long.

Speaker 1 (48:59):
That's good.
I want to wrap up by maybe thathopefully I don't stump you
with this question, but I thinkthe final thing that's important
.
We talked about discipling ourkids.
We talked about kingdomfamilies.
We talked about the environment.
That is helpful.
We talked about specificsituations and how to handle

(49:19):
those by being led by the spirit.
But our ultimate goal one daywe're going to be gone right and
our kids are going to be hereand there.
I believe there are manygenerations to come after us in
our family line.
What, how, how do we make surethat the values and what we are

(49:40):
instilling in our kids are leavea legacy for generations to
come and don't just die out withour family Like?
They heard us, they listened tous, they did what we said.
But how do we actually buildlegacy?
And I want to read a scripture.
This is 2 Timothy 1.5.
It says Paul says I am remindedof your sincere faith, which

(50:03):
first lived in your grandmother,lois, and in your mother,
eunice, and I am persuaded, nowlives in you also.

Speaker 2 (50:10):
Moving on the ground so good.
That's like the greatest,that's the biggest desire for my
children.

Speaker 1 (50:18):
Yeah, I just thought I'm like, if you need any
motivation or vision, like whenI read that verse, I'm like
that's all I want to hear frompeople that know my future
generations or people that knewof us are like you know what,

(50:38):
Like we've heard of yourparents' faith and now we see
that living in you.
And so I guess a two-partquestion how do you, what is the
best way to make sure thathappens?
And number two, lastly, we'llend with how do you, how do you,
guide your children in makingtheir faith their own and not
just living off of theirparents' faith?

Speaker 2 (51:00):
Yeah, I think I'm still wrecked just from that
verse.
I'm sorry it's not superprofound, but it is powerful, I
think.
Honestly.
I think some of this we'restill learning because we have
our oldest is 16, you know.
So he's still got a couple ofyears until he really kind of
has permission to take offwhatever that looks like, until

(51:20):
he really kind of has permissionto take off whatever that looks
like.
But I think what I kept hearingin my spirit when you said that
is like unless a seed falls tothe ground and dies, it cannot
reproduce.
And so unless you truly die toself as parents and just be
really humble and just give yourlives to Jesus and and truly

(51:42):
walk with him, like becausetruly walking with Jesus means
you've died to yourself If youtruly died to yourself, like
it's going to reproduce in yourchildren.
Um, and I think to giving themthe real Jesus, like if you
haven't given them the realJesus, it's going to fizzle out,
because anything that'sartificial is going to die
eventually.
So I think, giving them thereal Jesus and making sure it's
going to fizzle out, becauseanything that's artificial is
going to die eventually.
So I think, giving them thereal Jesus and making sure it's

(52:03):
the real seat of Christ that hasgone into their heart, cause I
think of Timothy, like, and ifyou read the Proverbs, there's
so many instructions to parentson how to raise their children.
It says don't provoke them toanger.
All these different things, um,really, following those things

(52:24):
like the scriptures on what itsays about child rearing and how
to handle that and how tohandle and conduct yourself,
it's actually going to bearfruit in their life and it's
going to.
They're going to have to makeit their own.
They're going to have to makeit their own because when they
get out in the real worldbecause our kids aren't quite
there yet, like we're seeingglimpses of it.

Speaker 1 (52:39):
We're seeing them take on their faith.

Speaker 2 (52:44):
We're getting into a little bit of theory.
Yes, yeah, we're seeing themtake on their faith.
We're seeing them.
Like my 13 year old.
Since we moved to Texas we'vebeen here what almost four
months now.
He's read the entire NewTestament and neither one of us
have asked him to do it.
He came down the other day.
He's like mom, I'm inRevelation.
He's like it's a littleconfusing, but I've read through
the whole New Testament sincewe've been here.
I'm like oh really, I didn'tknow you were doing that.
And so he's like interested.
So he's learning more aboutRevelation right now because it

(53:06):
just piqued his interest.
But you know I didn't make himdo that.
You know I've displayed it andI've told him it's beneficial.
And my children are my olderthree children are born again.
Children Like they have theHoly Spirit.
I've been there for their theirum experiences with the Lord
and so I do hold themaccountable Like hey, are you
seeking God?
But I don't make them readtheir Bibles.

Speaker 1 (53:27):
Like every night at 7 PM, you have to do.
It's not a task, but we doremind them the importance, Like
you said before you weretalking about that.
Let them know why that's right,Let them understand why and the
consequences of not doing thatand then set the example.

Speaker 2 (53:41):
Well, I tell them, like, dude, if you don't read
your Bible, you're going tospiritually be anorexic, you
know, and the Lord can't use youin a way to fulfill his mission
if the word of God is not inyou.
You know so, if you want thisoutcome and result in life, you
got to put in the work.
You know same with sports orwhatever they do.
Outcome and result in life.
You got to put in the work.

(54:01):
You know, same with sports orwhatever they do.
So, yeah, I think that tocreate kingdom children which
again, we're kind of still inthe process of doing it, but
we're seeing it actually happenbecause they're we're watching
them make good decisions.
We're watching them how they'repicking their friends right now
and the options they're makingand like they come home and they
obey us, they honor us, theyrespect us.
You know we're watching them dothat.
People always told me like, oh,wait till you have, you know,
teenagers.
It's the worst.

(54:21):
And I'm like, honestly, it'sbeen amazing, like I don't feel
that way, like I've enjoyedteenage life more than I've
enjoyed any other stage of lifewith my kids, because they're
actually doing well and it's ablessing.
They're blessing us by the waythey're living, um, and it's
encouraging to see.
But, yeah, creating that legacyis, I think, first giving them
the real Jesus.
But, yeah, creating that legacyis, I think, first giving them
the real Jesus.
Second of all, have you fullydied?

(54:42):
And the seeds that, when youhave gone into the ground and
died, like it produces grainaround you, and then I keep
pointing them back to Christ,keep pointing them back to the
living God, you know, because hespeaks and he's real and he
wants to lead your family.
So I think that's kind of howit works.

Speaker 1 (54:59):
No, that's good.
Yeah, it's discipleship.
Yeah, it's discipleship, truediscipleship.
You're teaching them how toobey Jesus and making sure that
they're not dependent on you.

Speaker 2 (55:07):
So just communicating that that's right.
You can't live off mom anddad's faith.
No, we tell that to our kidsall the time.

Speaker 1 (55:12):
That's a funny answer , because I was deceived by that
for a long time you know theirexperience with Christianity or
whatever, and they're like well,my grandma went to church and
my grandma was the strongestpatriarch in our family.

Speaker 2 (55:27):
You know she held the glue together and I'm like.
Well, everybody needs to stopdepending on grandma's faith.

Speaker 1 (55:30):
Because you all going to hell.
Grandma ain't here, no more.

Speaker 2 (55:32):
Grandma died 10 years ago.

Speaker 1 (55:34):
Yeah, Let me read this verse here, Psalm 78, 4.
We will not hide them fromtheir children.
We will tell the nextgeneration the praiseworthy
deeds of the Lord, his power andthe wonders he has done.
So I think that's to mescripturally like that's.
All we can do is live byexample, by the power of the

(56:00):
Holy Spirit and the grace of theLord, Point them to Jesus,
Teach them, encourage them andtrain them to obey him, and
declare his mighty works to thenext generation.
And then guess what?
It's God that makes it grow.
That's right.
Who is Paul?
Who is Apollos?
Those that plant seeds in water.
So it's your responsibility toplant seeds and water your

(56:22):
children.
It is not your responsibilityto make them grow.
You obey Christ the best thatyou can by his ability to train
them up in the way that theyshould go, and you leave that
spiritual growth in the wholethe job of the Holy Spirit.
You leave that up to him.

Speaker 2 (56:38):
That's right, that's so good.

Speaker 1 (56:41):
So I hope this episode was helpful for you.
You've pulled some nuggets fromit.

Speaker 2 (56:45):
You got my snotting over here and everything.
I'm like I don't even touch it.

Speaker 1 (56:50):
Yeah, I feel like I just need to sit and marinate on
that.
But yeah, thank you guys somuch and we look forward to
hanging with you in the nextepisode.
See you next time.