★ MY SERMON NOTES
@ Family Worship Centre (FWC)
Wuye, Abuja
2nd Sunday Service
12th June, 2016
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| Pastor Sarah Omakwu Picture Credit: FWC Media |
☆ SERMON
* Speaker: Pastor Sarah Omakwu
* Topic: The Early Years of Jesus
* Theme: Our Jesus
* Text: Luke 2:21-52
★ Proverbs 22:6 →"Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it."
* Jesus came from Bethlehem, one of the towns of Judah
* He came from a humble 'human' background.
→ Joseph and Mary were just ordinary people looking forward to an ordinary marriage, but Jesus' birth into their family and changed their lives because He was not an ordinary child
→ Jesus charged the trajectory of his parents
☆ Question: What have you changed in the lives of your parents? Have you made their lives better or worse?
* NOTE: Your children are not ordinary and you must diligently train them up to fulfill the purpose of God in their lives
* Jesus came [to the earth] by prophesy
→ You also came by prophesy and you are not ordinary. Your birth Was not merely happenstance
→ You must stop living life as if you are ordinary
* The most noblest thing for every woman to do is to take care of her husband and raise great giants for God
→ No amount of professional, social or business achievement can compare with that!
→ We live in a world where parents abandon their family at the expense of career - especially mothers
* As a child, you must do something to lift up your parents and change their trajectory for the better
* Jesus is God, yet He was born into a humble human family and lived a humble life
→ He did not make a big deal out of the fact that He came from a 'Royal' background
→ Regardless of your present circumstances, you will breakthrough and become great someday. Remain humble.
* Nazareth was a small despised town that Philip (a would-be disciple of Jesus) thought that nothing good or valuable could ever come out of it
* You must not allow people's pessimistic comments to discourage you from becoming what God wants you to be
☆ Challenge: You must be that good thing that proceeds out of your clan!
→ You were created to break the bounds of ordinary and show forth the [extraordinary] praise of God
* Many parents today are consumed in the endless quest for acquiring material things, while the lives of their children are falling apart
* NOTE: Joseph really took care of Jesus and was 'hands on' with respect to the godly upbringing of Jesus
→ He was intensely involved in the life of Jesus at every step of the way
* The purpose of your birthing children is to craft them to become what God wanted them to be
→ Don't just give them things
→ Ensure that you spend quality time with them, mentoring them in God's precepts
* Young boys (especially children of single mothers) need godly men who will mentor them, not those who will come around and want to take advantage of their sisters or mothers
* Do not relegate your responsibility of raising your kids to the television [or the maids]!
→ what the television spews out, that is what they will consume
* Mary was a woman of the Word
★ Luke 1:46-55 (she quoted scriptures)
→ Mary directed Jesus when he was growing up.
→ She taught Him the Torah (The 5 books of Moses)
* Jesus had a strict Jewish upbringing
→ He was taken to the Passover, to the Synagogue etc. till it became His way of life when He started ministry at the age of 30
→ Your children must also be brought up and instructed in the way of the Lord
* By age 13 Jesus must have become a 'Bar Mitzvah' (son of the commandment)
→ Jesus did that so that He will never be termed a lawless person
→ He fulfilled all righteousness
* Your children can achieve all they can (academically, socially and materially), but if they do not have Jesus, they are nothing!
→ The outcome of your children is the report card of your parenting
* NOTE: A good foundation is important
* Training is more than telling.
→ It involves teaching, mentoring and modelling
* Do not just tell them about God, 'show' them God
→ Be a godly example
→ You must be willing to 'travel down the road' yourself with your children
* You must remove anything that introduces demonic influence in the the lives of your children:
→ pornographic materials
→ Indecent clothes
→ alcoholic drinks in the fridge
etc
* To train a child in the way he/she should go, you must be in the way yourself!
* NOTE: Children do not do what you say; they do what you do!
→ Question: Are you doing the right thing?
* The goal of training is to make the trainee proficient
★ Verse 51:
→ Jesus was subject and obedient to His parents
→ Parents must be proactive and diligent in disciplining their children to do the right thing at all times
* Do not go to Church and leave your children at home
→ Teach them the importance of fellowship and the discipline of praying and studying God's word right from an early age
★ Proverbs 22:15 →"Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of correction will drive it far from him."
* NOTE: discipline must be done in love
→ Do not carry out your frustration on your children
* NOTE: After the age of 12, nothing was recorded about Jesus until He was 30
→ He was busy learning subjection (to His earthy parents) in silence and humility, before His manifestation in Ministry
→ You must not be in a hurry to be 'seen' by the world. Take time to prepare yourself in your closet before going public
☆ Lessons to learn:
* Your background is important as a springboard to worship God
→ You background has happened, your future has not happened. Therefore, your background must not be used to deprive you of a glorious future
* Do not allow what people say about you to discourage you
→ You can make it
→ Your greater days are ahead of you
→ There is hope for you
* You must refuse to be small and ordinary
☆ Challenge: Prove somebody wrong!
→ There are always pessimists that try to pull you down but you must not fall into their trap
→ Believe what God says about you in His Word and step out in faith
* NOTE: Family is important
→ Pay attention to raising godly kids
→ Women: Your scorecard is your children
→ Do not ignore your children's upbringing in the process of building a career or business
* Godliness is the greatest legacy you can give your children
⇒ Not money in the account
→ Not even a good education!
* Come with your child to Church
→ Dedicate them to God's service, especially your first born
* Name your children well
→ Names have a prophetic significance that influences the children's destiny
→ A child's name is what he/will do
* NOTE: Jesus was learning submission for 18 years before He started public ministry at age 30!
* Through submission, you will get blessings and favor
→ Never leave a place of employment without a blessing from your employee
→ When you are getting married, ensure you get the blessings of your parents and pastors. Ensure you fulfill all cultural rites (pay her dowry!)
★ Proverbs 28:20 →"A faithful man will abound with blessings, But he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished."
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
☆ Closing:
☆ Pastor Wilson Akubo
★ Judges 13:12 →''Manoah said, “Now let Your words come to pass! What will be the boy's rule of life, and his work?”
→ You must ask the Lord for the rule of God concerning the life of every child God gives you
☆ QUOTE:
"In your business, you cannot outsource seed."
→ Mr. Boss Mustapha
