TLP 159: Help Your Children Discover God’s Will for Their Lives, Part 2

What exactly does God want your children to do? What’s the best way for them to be in God’s will ten years from now? Join AMBrewster as he points Christian Parents to eight specific life purposes God has for your kids.

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Episode Notes

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Transcript

Introduction

Welcome back to our series on helping your children discover God’s will for their lives. Last time we laid a broad foundation and discovered that God’s greatest purpose for your kids is that they partner in the Gospel.​

But that broad foundation stone has many implications. We looked at four additional purposes for us and our kids, and today we’re going to get even more specific.

We can know exactly what God’s will is for our lives if we simply allow His Word to dictate our actions, words, feelings, thoughts, and choices.

But before we do that, I’d like to ask you to take just a couple moments to rate and review the show. I know how it is — sometimes you’ll receive an email or a pop-up or someone like me will ask you to take few minutes to give a review. Businesses will bribe us with free meals and oil changes. We’re told that our 5-star reviews really matter.

And — generally speaking — we’ll only review when the product or service has REALLY wowed us.

Well, our greatest desire is to wow God, but in so doing we want to be a blessing to you as well. When you take the time to rate and review it tells us what we’re doing well.

And if you have any criticisms, we want to hear those too. Please, never hesitate to email us at [email protected] to share your thoughts and ask your questions. We love accountability. We really do appreciate it when people disagree with us. It keeps us honest and drives us back to God’s Word for confirmation.

And — with that said — that’s how all of us should live our lives. We should center our life choices around the Bible. And when someone tells us that we’re not pleasing the Lord with our lives, we should be able to go back to the Scripture to give an answer to the hope that dwells within us.

And that’s what we want to give you today.

Topic

What is God’s will for your children?

Today were going to look eight things your children absolutely must be doing if they want to be in the center of God’s will for their lives.

1. God wants your children to live opposite of the world.

I John 2:15-17 says, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

The world system says that we should desire that which satisfies our flesh, our eyes, and our pride. Their motivation for all they do can be traced back to one of those three ideas. And all three of those concepts are wrapped up in an addiction to self.

We talked about this in some good detail in episode 114 when we talked about “How to Know if Your Child is Addicted.”

The will of God for your kids is not to seek after self-satisfaction, but to do the will of God.

Though this verse doesn’t specifically tell us what that will is, we can easily tell two things:

A. It doesn’t align with the world’s systems, methods, motivations, and philosophies.

Please, my friends, remember . . . when you send your children to the world for education, they will receive far more training in how to live for the flesh, the eyes, and their pride than they will Math, English, or Science.

I encourage you to listen to our Education series that started in episode 80. We discussed whether or not you should consider sending your child to the public school, Christian school, homeschool, or a boarding school, and we wrapped it up discussing the importance and future of Christian education in America. That series was extra beneficial because we brought on five different guests — each professionals in their fields — to take about the options.

So, we learn from this passage that God’s will is not the world’s will, and . . .

B. God’s will can only be discovered in God’s Word.

I know the verse doesn’t specifically say that, but we know from reading the Scriptures that the will of the Father can only be known through the Word.

We’re not going to discern it through our emotions, tea leaves, the position of the stars, or secular counselors. The Bible is the only source of Special Revelation on the planet. If our children aren’t in the Word, they won’t be in God’s will.

2. God wants your children to live opposite of the flesh. 

God not only doesn’t want us living like others, He doesn’t want us living like ourselves.

I Peter 4:1-6 says, “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.”

The world system lives for the flesh because it’s made up of billions of humans all living for the passions of the flesh. But the will of God stands in contrast to our human passions.

The next few verses then give us more detail about these passions:

“3 For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.”

And then he shows how the world system is confused by people who follow God’s will.

“4 With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; 5 but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.”

The will of God is spiritual, not fleshly.

3. God wants your children to do good so consistently that the world cannot blame them.
I Peter 2:15 reads, “For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.”

This is a really good point to use when talking to you children about their friends. Do their friends know them for their righteousness? 

Do the kids at school not even try to accuse your children because they know the accusations wouldn’t stick?

If the other kids at school accused your kids, would the authorities believe it?

Ans speaking of authorities . . .

4. God wants your children to obey their authorities.

Ephesians 6:5-8: “Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free.”

We could do a whole series of episodes on this passage, but let me sum it up like this: As you teach your children how God created them to obey their authorities, it will be important to point out that God’s ultimate motivation for obedience is His glory. Notice again what He says in verse seven: “rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man,”

Let’s be honest enough with our kids to admit that their highest motivation for obeying us should not be us. When they obey us, they need to be focusing on obeying God. That’s the only way they can do the right things in the right way.

If you haven’t taken your kids through the “Teach Your Children to Obey” series, be sure to listen to that one soon. 

It’s God will that our children obey, but they have to know how to truly obey, and I think we parents too often accept partial obedience even though it’s not true obedience.

Okay, so God wants your children to live opposite of the world and opposite of their natural instincts. He also wills for them to be righteous so consistently that the world cannot blame them. And he wants them to obey their authorities.

5. God wants your children to give to people in need.

II Corinthians 8:1-5 tells us, “We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— 5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.”

This is point I think we don’t focus on enough with our children . . . especially the young ones.

The churches in Macedonia — even in their poverty — gave to the Lord and then gave to Paul because they knew that was God’s will.

So, does this mean tithing? Is it referring to special missionary offerings?

I encourage you to listen to our episode about family chores. We touch on how our chores should be an act of service to the family. But you also need to stay tuned for my upcoming interview with Jessica Mair when we discuss rearing a servant.

The point is, it’s God’s will that we all give to people in need — and being humans, we’re always in need. That means we must have a spirit of service — always looking for ways to give of ourselves for others.

6. God wants your children to abstain from fornication. 

This is a huge concept in our society. Deviant sexuality of every sort is paraded and promoted, but I Thessalonians 4:3 says, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality.”

We’ve discussed sexuality a whole lot on this show, and we’ve even seen how important it is to teach our very young children the introductory concepts of Christ-honoring sexuality.

I encourage you to listen to episode 147 for a deeper understanding of this topic and list of our other episodes that deal with sexuality.

But please realize that this is a gigantic concept. We cannot afford to neglect this topic. It’s God will for your children to refrain from all sinful sexuality.

But the world system and their flesh want the exact opposite.

Now, I was going to mention this later, and I may still do so, but the best way to be in the center of God’s will ten years form now is to be in the center of His will today, tomorrow, and every day in-between.

My point is, we have to help our children learn these truths now. Yes, it’s true God can revolutionize a life over night, but why risk it?

Okay, moving on, this next one is equally huge.

7. God wants your children to always be thankful.

I Thessalonians 5:18, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Once again, we could take a whole episode for this, and maybe we will one day.

This is so important, so dynamic, and so incredibly difficult.

“Give thanks in all circumstances.” That leaves no wiggle-room.

This verse needs to be added to our Parenting Bibles ASAP. Of course, if we want them to be successful in this, we’re going to need to explain to them how they can be thankful in all circumstances.

But we’ll save that for another show.

Okay, so God’s will for our children is that they live opposite of the world and opposite of the flesh. He also wants them being so consistently spiritual that the world is unable to legitimately blame them. He wants them to obey their authorities. He wants them to give to those in need. He wants them to stay away from sinful sexuality, and He wants them to be thankful in all situations.

And lastly . . .

8. God wants your children to do everything the Bible commands.

Mark 3:35: “For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

As we acknowledged last time, from cover to cover, the Bible is God’s revelation of His will.

Conclusion

Now, again, I understand that some of you may have been hoping for more specific guidance. All of us are supposed to the do the eight things we just discussed. But we can’t all marry the same person. We shouldn’t all major in the same fields of study, and we likely won’t all work the same jobs or drive the same cars.​

But remember, how can we expect to know God’s will for our marriages or our educations or our occupations if we’re not interested in His will for today?

But — never fear — we’re going to discuss how to help your child discover God’s will for their occupation next time, and we’re going to talk about the rest of those questions as well at the end of the series.

Now, this may be a little bit of a stretch, but I think it may possibly be the will of God for you to follow Truth.Love.Parent. on Facebook and Twitter, and then share this share episode with your friends! We are the number one iTunes podcast for Christian parents, and I praise the Lord for how He’s daily introducing us to new parents. And we have many of you to thank for that.

And don’t forget about the episode notes at TruthLoveParent.com. Hopefully they will benefit you as you teach your children about God’s will for their lives.

And I’d like to thank just a moment to thank one of you in particular. One of our newest Patrons, Johanna is super passionate about what we do, and she shows it by supporting TLP with her prayers, finances, and by telling people about our mission to glorify God by equipping moms and dads to be intentional, premeditated parents.

She’d love for you to join her. You can learn more by clicking on the “5 Ways to Support TLP” link in the description.

God’s will really isn’t as confusing as we make it, and I hope that as we continue this study, you’ll be excited about helping your kids discover it.

See you next time.