Leaving a Legacy of Faith (Part 1 of 2)

Family yield and Mr. Gill the right nuclear mother leaves the rest of the place to family law and we see all many of us are just so very hurried today is bring your Bible to school day here in the US to focus on the importance of passing the baton of faith to her children. Thanks for joining us your hostess focus president Dr. Jim Daly and I John four. Our speaker John is Dan Seymour and and as we heard from that clip got a lot of energy and a lot of insights to share with fact hear the message from Dan and his wife Jane recently describing the differences between men and women and how that impacts a marriage that message was very well received.

So we decided to bring you more of his energetic team. Go Dan is an author, former pastor and the founder and president of winning at home. He and Jane have four adult children. They have six grandchildren live in West Michigan and here now is Dan Seymour on Focus on the Family that if I can have on my that would like and cover the hole below and got until you turn it on, say, okay, Seymour Elliott, is there one message with the world. I feel this is the message he is Leo.

My heart that I love the opportunity to do just that with and I'm honored tonight to share with you is a little message call the family circle. It's basically asking yourself the question, how I make sure that the spiritual life cycle of my family carries on and on and on and on. Just like you know growing up, he saw the tadpoles lifecycle and all that stuff make sure my family that this knowledge of God continues on in my home house. We have this little thing called the meat of the seaborne meter. We measure how tall our children every year on their birthday are close to it. If that we line our children up on the stick and we measure them as kids in your house like a stick on the wall that was like line me up.

You know that certain spot on the wall.

The market and then the next year would go back and do it again will we moved a lot like six times. Note one step ahead of the logon thing and so we have this traveling stick that we keep in our sunshine room and we measure our children. You can see like Chrissy is coming up and Josh is getting up to here now. Now he's on up and we even our dogs name is Air Jordan. We stretch them out. We mark him to get bigger grandpa here. My dad was up.

He's been coming down the last two we do a good job in our society of measuring the growth of our children. I would do a good job of measuring the growth of ourselves.

We watch it we look at ourselves. You know, I'm concerned about in our society that we have failed to observe the spiritual growth of ourselves and our children the same as we measure maturation and growth. Dream that the Lord tarries and there are seaborne children.

50 years now I have a dream that they will still say I'm thankful for grandpa Dan who passed on this day to his family to be said about me were all nine you know you my love of so when we die usually lead to our children.

The things that really matter. There's a Psalm Psalm 78. That's my favorite song when it comes to talking about passing on your face to your family. Psalm 78 is a masculine face at the Masco means oh words of instruction, words of wisdom ASAP was the chief musician of David so that would've sung this song turned it into a song like you know we sing the court. He is exalted key you guys know that the next right thing exalted on high.

Why do you know that song we sing our churches.

We sing, we listen to the choruses and we learnmusic inspires us to learn and remember things so ASAP. Thinking this is incredible piece of wisdom that God's given me the King David song like will see David's absolutely and so ASAP would've turned this into a musical song that would've gone something like this. All my know all my people cheer my teaching.

Listen to the words of my mouth. I will my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden from of old things we have heard and known about God. Learning those things in teaching things are father's word things our fathers have told us we will not hide them from their children. We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord's power and the wonders he has done for decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children so the next generation would know even the children yet to be more and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands to ask right now as I begin to look intimately at the Scripture that you would inspire our hearts and our minds to look at how we as a family can make sure the heritage of faith that is been passed on to us will be passed on to our children know God, please speak to us in these moments and allow your spirit to work and to move Christ's name. Now imagine with me if you get this in your mind.

Not good on the stage with a case like this huge clock clock. Imagine and I want you to in your mind. Visualize four points with Miguel Goodpaster got you before I will you imagine a point being put at 12 o'clock and a point being put at 3 o'clock appointment and put it 6 o'clock and one at 9 o'clock.

You see their businesses around circular lifecycle. If you 12 o'clock position put in these words we know K NOW we know first thing what we know now we know we know that God Almighty is the creator of this world.

We know that Jesus Christ is the author and finisher of our faith, the one who came to give us salvation that we celebrate his resurrection on Easter. We know this, that somebody told us that and that's why we believe that we are Christians because somebody has told us the good news of Jesus Christ. Do you get prompt on this point. Do you understand and I will not know that Jesus Christ is our site and doesn't know Christ as Savior and Lord, you know this good news the gospel of Jesus Christ is phenomenal that he has given me that piece of truth we know something will people we know something beautiful celebrated hang on to this says to his father because you see when we know 12 o'clock we must have a little arrow that draws and sent down to 3 o'clock and we must what I call .2. We teach we know that we must because it we know my family into our neighborhood. Knowledge of we never apply his knowledge and we never use it is only good when it is used and when we teach what we know. That's why this passage says to us in the second section, we will not hide this truth from our children. We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds. Lord you know your children to know that you love Jesus Christ, when you tell when they wanted in your life. I got a couple little simple go simple, practical principles on apply to you on this and let me tell you some of the best way I think you'll teach if we know when we teach. Let me take two simple ways to teach number one exist.

Let your everyday life be a wonderful I use the Bible to teach for a living as I do religiously use God's word and I share about God's word but you know the best teaching I do in my home is not what I said children gather around her holy father. I'm going to read some more incredible words for you just lay there in my omnipotence I like his because I don't teach them in my all by reading only read God's word when I want to tell you the way I teach is by living it in front than just reading getting getting there.

Get all mucky. Do one of my favorite teaching times having my little daughter is that I think history is one of my favorite teaching. Sometimes I drive home from work and I pull up in the car.

It's kind of a little rule of thumb during the summer that I blow the horn and usually are out in the yard with a Argo come running out of they like to drive the car in the garage or into the driveway with me is let them get in the car we drive up together and on this one particular day I drove home from the office dress you know mom sounds in. I got dry when I pulled up in my little daughter Isaac and I said I'm rolling now. I need to I need to get in the drying part.

Why is he said does not wanted to twice that's her word trace okay. Tracy had sidewalk chalk in her hand and she wanted me to come up in the driveway and lay down so she could twice me hi somebody car parking is now so I gotta turn it off when you want it is a computer later while revenue my driveway like a murder scene. She been trying to see had been tracing people all day. I could tell I was mama because it was a nice trace and it was other people all around the gun getting the subsidies I come over here and lay down so I lay down I go down on my back just just like this in my nice glove as you start to try since he got around arms. You gotta piercing my my head bigger than it is but she got a homicide and I see a monarch butterfly fluttering through a trio and I said maybe she should get you on down. So I went back down to looking at Terry Boehm. She said what is said is a monarch butterfly look up there. She said I see it Danny. She was about four or five. I said to her, who made that butterfly she said without specular hesitation she said God made it day so that I would go here. There was a squirrel.

For some reason Lord is giving animals. You know I'd be there as well enjoy the creation so I followed our I said to Scarborough Lane as far she said that maybe God is as significant because in the public high schools across America, people are being told.

You know the school rules available but once he mostly did it with the old muskrat mold and then slowly the mall collecting molecules begin to change formation about anyone on the water so know this molecular Milwaukee or Maluku. Much of a lot how the line became the monkey became another great word stupidity.

That's what it is our my mind that in the snow was very tall and I will know the story with all of my oh my children that we got to meet you know your parents are down so you know, God did this talk your live TV. Secondly, you gotta be willing to teach that every age and stage of life. You know I'm in what they supposedly call the prime Bentonville were prime.

Let me just for like a piece of prime rib on the grill some. My grandfather supposedly is in his twilight years.

I say using this most significant teaching years of his life.

About two years ago we went to visit him. I keep his little hat in my office you are going to my office you would see his name is Jay. He wrote a rod in his hand so he would forget to get up. I I gave this will have on the first shelf. When you walk into my office, you will see it along with his Bible. Several other men in my mother's Bible. My father's Bible. Several great mementos but this Jim was the main teach and went to visit him with my family. Few summers back winters nursing home room get my point. Teach at all ages and stages of life is in a nursing home room in South Carolina make that transition. We went into the nursing home room. It was my wife Jane and our four children walking to the nursing home room again. You know what that's like.

We walked in yeah grandpa can't hearing my real name Dan well he's laying in his nursing home bed and the first thing he does is set up all downside you can do that is like legal people think it's cool if you think your freight but it's cool so my said, family hears Jane all the goes upon my children.

He said no, no, I said yes it is bye-bye do you think it gives me everyone remained very then he offers them the always offer some candy, but it's like you know those peppermint stick to get a Christmas he always pull those down and offers it to the kids.

But what he can't see see. He's already set one and all, so yes, I got a nice candy stripe, then why the rest of the way and you know your children and course the know.

Okay I said is that all I can. You could see that stuff you any job for a little while at a good time and all of a sudden he said always call 1 is there grandpa always said yesterday he said getting what you know grandpa about my wife and I live in Oliva's. I don't know maybe going to give me the early will I don't I just get the get the room so they got out of the room sitting on the edge of his bed bought walked over to grab anything that will cause he said bought a CSR grandpa boy, have you told your kids about Jesus.

Yes or boy, did you tell me love them and serve grandpa. I told Mark I told you this or group. This he lay back on his bed. He fell back on his bed, crying and saying any rings back and he grabbed me and pulled me over all the bad thing I'm laying on top of him with his arms around me thinking. Don't let a nurse will my grandpa on his chest, crying like a love neither one of us could speak as you crimes are and I said no good and I said right now the man I love you grandpa will see and I went out to his door bullet where there was just a slight crack and I could see him laying in bed and on this particular day, God gave me a family moment because out the window of the exit door. I could see my children already in the van with Jane playing. I'm sitting here looking at my grandfather's little crack in the door and I glance over and see my kids jumping all around.

In this vein and waiting for that 13 I have our trip back and I said to the Lord, Lord, when I'm laying in the nursing home bed someday. Of time. Last, would you let one of my kids stayed here and look for the slot and safe oil grandpa taught me about God grandpa. I want to go deep them about God grandpa was 80s that are you supposed to teach would like 30s and 40s, he got me thinking right here on one guy I want to know good looking hero marriage words that want to be like. There want to make sure that no matter the age or stage. I get to I keep teaching about Jesus Christ what you think. I like the ones in while in office rollover become the sole member. Not long ago I was going through a tough situation rolled off his chair over his head up. I don't always do this, but on this particular day I said Lord grandfather. What would Jesus do well him and what were grandfather, they were really close Bardwell would grandpa do grandpa's past. All now I remember the first Sunday I preached used his Bible first Sunday after he passed away. I did it not only to honor him but it was the first time. Grandpa never heard me preach because he's in heaven looking down and he taught me a lot if they day. Don't you ever stop teaching seat when we know all something for grandpa go well. I know he opened his mouth and said and I think I'll teach you see when we know and we teach. Let me go to 6 o'clock ready when we know and we teach that you know there is there is a transition then seaborne is standing on this date. Sharing this misery to the right now because grandpa said I know I and now I see your insight on.

I know Jesus Christ as my Savior.

Not because my grandpa don't. My mom told if they had, I would leave Dan seaborne right there on today's focus on family and will hear the rest of this inspirational message.

Next time John and I teared up listening to them talk about his grandfather and that wonderful faith that they shared, and as you know, I really didn't have any extended family.

I think our family tree was really family Bush. When I lost my mom and dad.

There were just there are no grandparents, no aunts and uncles cousins no one. It was just me and the four siblings. And yet we did have neighbors. We called them grandma and grandpa hope they would take us to church at Christmas and Easter, and they stood alongside my mom's bedside as she was dying from cancer and sender Jan you know who Jesus Christ is that my mom knew the basics of the faith she taught us the golden rule but she here she had no real relationship with Jesus and that wonderful little family.

The hope family got sense of humor right the hopes letter to the Lord and that started a domino effect in all five of us at different times have come to know who Jesus is and committed our lives to him.

It doesn't mean were perfect people just means we have made that fundamental decision to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and that legacy has started for us and that's how the family of God can work. He connects people that might not be biologically related. Like our family with the hopes, so let me encourage you to ask out if there's someone you could reach out to perhaps a single mom in your neighborhood and create a friendship that could lead to sharing the gospel in starting that legacy of faith. For the next generation not appreciate that Jim and I figured probably begins with just the posture of Lord who you have in my spirit today that I can talk to and develop a relationship with a great way to start every morning asking the question of the Lord. If Focus on the Family can help you in any way please get in touch with us. We are here to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and support marriages and help build strong families and protect pre-born life. Those with disabilities and the elderly. We are a nonprofit ministry and we welcome your financial support as well and when you make a donation of any amount will send you Dan seaborne's latest book called winning at home tackling the topics that confuse kids and scare parents.

It offers a faith-based perspective on the complex topics were seeing in our culture today, so get your copy from focus, and when you do their proceeds go right back into ministry and will also include a free audio download of Dan's entire presentation, so you can listen to it again, maybe with a friend or family member of the link is in the show notes or call 800 K in the word family this reminder that when you're online with us. We will link to our livid challenge, which is a great way for you to learn more about incorporating biblical values into the daily life and rhythms of your family letter practical details about doing that again. Look for the link to livid challenge on our website will next time more encouragement from Nancy for last year so all you and you and you will Jesus Christ know have Jim Daly and the entire team. Thanks for listening to this Focus on the Family podcast if you would please take a moment reading in your podcast that sure about this content with a friend, I'm John Fuller running back next time. Help your family. Now $20 Jason Chase.all everyone wants to know what's going on is going on jampacked $28 in problem three pages and now on the cloud and download anything.

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