Children, Fathers and Servants instructions

Colossians 3:20-22  (KJV) “Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged. Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:”

Now then the APOSTLE PAUL talks to the CHILDREN, and it might be fitting that I remind all of us that we were at sometime in our life considered “CHILDREN” did we always “OBEY” our parents? Did we always make them feel well LOVED? But now, we can learn from our past mistakes as we are raising our children. CHILDREN, it is a BIG SCAREY WORLD out there but you must be able to get around in it, and live successfully in it. No one can walk your JOURNEY for you, nor live your life for you, but you can have the LORD, walking along beside you to help you FIND your way. HE is your GUIDE, your PROTECTOR, your PROVIDER, HE is your STRENGTH, and HE will be your CLOSEST FRIEND, if you will allow HIM to be. Choose carefully when things, people and opportunities, come into your lives. To obey your parents is paramount or the “most important” rule in your life. The word “PARENT and PARENTS” here mean your Mother and Father, but also means your “GRANDPARENTS and GREAT-GRANDPARENTS” or your ANCESTERS. Let the WORD of GOD RULE in your hearts also, KING DAVID of the BIBLE is a GOOD example to look at, in his ways, but always remembering that HE was HUMAN just like you. He made mistakes, and you will make mistakes. But use the mistakes that you make as a tool, as an example of some things that you shouldn’t have done, use them as lessons to teach you and also learn from others’ mistakes so that you don’t have to repeat them. Always remember, NEVER LIE! Always tell the truth, it is not easy sometimes to tell the TRUTH, and it actually hurts to reveal what you did wrong. But, the TRUTH is easily fixable, but it is very hard to fix a lie, almost impossible, untill you get forgiveness for it and then tell the truth, then GOD can help you make it right. Your PARENTS are there to FORGIVE and COMFORT you. To OBEY your PARENTS you must first “PAY ATTENTION” to what they are saying and LISTEN very closely, and look them right in the eyes. Because how can you OBEY, if you have not even HEARD what they are telling you. Your parents have been right where you are at, and they, most likely, have done what you have done, and are trying to correct you because they love you enough to stop you from doing the WRONG THING. Do you want to be “WELL PLEASING TO THE LORD”, and I am sure you do, SO, OBEY YOUR PARENTS!! When the Apostle Paul wrote to those Christians at Ephesus about the FAMILY structure and responsibilities in Ephesians 6:1-3 (KJV) “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother;(which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.” I want to remind you of this scripture that is of JESUS when he was a young’en, please listen attentively as I read from the book of Luke, in Luke 2:46-52 (KJV) “And it came to pass,” and I want to interject right here that when you hear this phrase, that the BIBLE is fixing to tell you a very important story about an EVENT that happened in the PAST that you really need to pay close attention to. Now, “the rest of the story about this JESUS”, “that after three days they found nim in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business? And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. And he went down with them , and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.” Now, please listen “YOUNG’ENS” I don’t have to explain to you or to tell you what the meaning of the word “OBEY” is, but I’m going to tell you anyway. In the Greek, the word obey is a compound word, and actually means to “HEAR UNDER” as a subordinate, that is to “LISTEN ATTENTIVELY” to. The word demands a response from you, to “HEED” or “CONFORM” to a command, that someone , that has “AUTHORITY” over you, has said. Your parents LOVE you, and you probably won’t realize how much until you get a little older and have some children of your own. This “OLD PASTOR” loves you, and stands up here and preaches and teaches you all, because I LOVE you, but most of all it is because of what you hear me say up here EVERY SUNDAY MORNING, and that is that “GOD LOVES YOU WITH AN EVERLASTING LOVE”. I know that sometimes you think, and I know you think this, because Satan wants you to think it, that you’ve done something wrong and that because of that wrong that GOD doesn’t LOVE you anymore. But listen to your old pastor now! That won’t ever happen, because you can’t do anything or enough of bad things, that will cause GOD to stop LOVING you. Go to GOD when you do something wrong and GOD will FORGIVE YOU, and strengthen you and, if you willl let HIM, HE WILL LOVE YOU ALWAYS.

The next charge in this passage of scripture, is to the FATHERS, I believe I can just hear you young’ens saying, WHEW! Finally, I believe he is going to leave us alone and get on to our daddies. Well I am not going to do exactly that. But what I am going to do is tell us what the Bible says about raising our children. In Colossians 3:21 (KJV) the Bible says: “Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.” and again in Ephesians 6:4 (KJV) Paul says this “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” In the Old Testament in the book of Proverbs, in Proverbs 22:6 the Bible says in the (KJV) “Train up a child in the way he should go: and  when he is old, he will not depart from it.”  Listen FATHERS, it is our duty to TRAIN our children, not to be their FRIEND. It doesn’t hurt or is not wrong to be a friend to your child, because, of course GOD and we all, want HARMONY in our FAMILY, but there also has to be layer of RESPECT from the CHILD to the FATHER, and from the FATHER to the CHILD. They have to know and to understand that you are not only their FRIEND, but also their DISIPLINARIAN, and that you WILL correct him or her if they do wrong, or break the rules that you or your wife have SET for them to follow.

You or WE as a FATHER, should not, and must not provoke our children to anger! Now, that does not mean that your children are not ever going to get mad at you. For they surely will, but they will respect you if your disicipline is fair. But if you treat them unfairly, or have one that you don’t treat the same, you either are more lenient or more harsh than you are to any of the others. They will not only become ANGRY but will also become so discouraged, they will give up on trying to please you or your wife, and will become unmangeable. Let’s look at a couple of words that we have used here. First off let’s look at the word PROVOKE: There are several different Greek words that are translated “PROVOKE”. The Greek word that the Apostle Paul used here was (er-eth-id’-zo), the word was only used twice in the whole New Testament and the other place, it was use, was when Paul wrote to other Christians in Corinth. Where he said in 2 Corinthians 9:2 (KJV) “For I know the forwardness of your mind, for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal hath provoked very many.”

Paul was just trying to get those a Colossae, to TAKE their Christian belief into their home lives, and their new found teaching’s into their families. To train up their children in the nurture and the admonition of the LORD but not to the point of continuely proding them, if you continually keep proding a bull, he is going to get mad and then he won’t be controllable at all. You keep proding, or poking at your children they are going to become discouraged, and begin to think “what the heck”, and lose respect for you, so train them, as the Bible says, but not to the point of provoking them. Explain to them, what you want them to be and how you won’t them to become that way. There are times for “not sparing the rod” but there are also times to show RESTRAINT and teach and coach your children by words and other actions. You have to show the same kind of teaching and training in your life; or it won’t mean anything to them, we FATHERS have to lead with our lives, by the way we conduct our life, which by the way ain’t easy, but we need to show them what we mean when we are teaching them by living it in front of them. Sometimes we think our children are grown, when in real life they are not grown. Just because the “GOVERNMENT” says that they are grown at 18 does not mean that they are. I have found, that you will be teaching and training your children all of your lives, and you that have adult children have already found that out also, and even when they are in their 50’s and 60’s they still need your support and directions, they need you to continue to lead them, continue to correct them and continue to give them directions in their lives. Don’t cause your children to become discouraged while trying to live a life that will be pleasing unto you, FORGIVE them, when they fail, and continue to explain and point your children in the right way, even though that they are trying to rebel against the way you are trying to show them. I know that when I was in my 50’s I needed my dads LOVE and UNDERSTANDING, even more then, than when I was 5 or 6, and when I became older, I still needed my dads gentle guiding, and also his frank, and honest opinion.

Now, let’s look, very quickly at verse 22 of our text: Colossians 3:22 And still in the (KJV) “Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh: not with eye service, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:” Some Christian teachers and preachers think that this part of these instructions are not REVELANT in our day and time, but I beg to differ with them. So, let’s look at the word SERVANT to help us better understand. The Greek word Paul uses here is the same Greek word that we get our English word “DEACON” from. Even though it is an OFFICE of our present day churches, Paul is not talking to JUST DEACONS, but to all who are “born again” believers in CHRIST who work under other bosses in their place of employment or they are bosses themselves, or those who are their own boss and serve CUSTOMERS of their own. ALWAYS remember that if we are “BORN AGAIN” that we always, represent CHRIST whereever we are at and whatever we are doing. SO! Let’s look at a few words quickly:

Obey: Same word we looked at when we were talking about CHILDREN. We have “BEEN THERE, DONE THAT”. The next word is:

Eye-service as menpleasers: Which simply means, only doing what we have been told to do when the boss or JESUS is physically watching. Enough said, because JESUS is always watching!

Out of Singleness of heart, fearing GOD: The word here simply means with sincerity, or doing the right thing since we know GOD is watching and we always want to please GOD. Let me read this scripture and I will close

 1 John 5:3-5 (KJV) “For this is the love of GOD, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God OVERCOMETH the world: and this is the victory that OVERCOMETH the world, even our FAITH. Who is he that OVERCOMETH the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?”

I will ask us all this simple question ,

ARE WE, OR AM I, AN OVERCOMER OF THE WORLD; OR ARE WE OR AM I A CONFORMER TO THE WORLD?