Bring Them Up - Pastor Stacey Shiflett
- Pastor Shiflett
- Jun 15
- 5 min read
Bring Them Up
Ephesians 6:1-4
Intro: This passage speaks to both the children and the parent.
Let’s begin with the command to the children in verses 1-3:
A. The Purity of the Command – for this right.
· Proverbs 20:11 Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.
B. The Priority of the Command – first commandment with promise
· Exodus 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
C. The Promise of the Command
· 3 “…that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.”
Now notice the command to the Fathers.
I would like to expound this verse in depth this morning.
· 4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
I. The Inadvisable Provoking – “…provoke not your children to wrath…”
The Bible is clear that we are to provoke one another to love and good works.
· Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
Provoking them to wrath is the wrong kind of provocation.
It is so important that God says it twice in Scripture.
· Colossians 3:21 Fathers, provoke not your children [to anger], lest they be discouraged.
How does a man provoke his children to wrath?
· With Unprincipled double standards.
· With Ungodly behavior while pretending to be the spiritual leader.
· With Unfair enforcement of the rules in the home.
· With Unequal treatment of the children.
· With Unbiblical treatment of their mother.
II. The Irreplaceable Parenting – “…bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”
NURTURE:
1. That which nourishes; food; diet.
2. That which promotes growth; education; instruction.
Just like a gardener takes care of the plants in the greenhouse, there’s a technique that is necessary.
Just like a nurse nurtures a baby in the ICU unit, there’s a certain way that it has to be done.
Nurturing involves…
· Love – not just duty.
· Compassion – not just a responsibility.
· Purpose and structure – not haphazardly
· Passion – not just obligation.
Parenting is an obligation, but it is also an opportunity.
Parenting is hard, but it also requires heart.
Parenting is difficult, but it is also delightful.
Your children will be passionate about what you are passionate about.
They will grow in the direction you point them.
ADMONISH:
1. To warn or notify of a fault; to reprove with mildness.
2. To counsel against wrong practices; to caution or advise.
3. To instruct or direct.
Paul’s analogy as a pastor/missionary/church planter/mentor:
I Thessalonians 2
· 10 Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe:
· 11 As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children,
· 12 That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.
III. The Intentional Positioning – “…bring them up…”
I want to expound on that word “up” for a little bit.
· The word UP is a direction.
It is a specific direction; not open to interpretation.
Up is up; if you say you’re going up but you’re really going down, you are mistaken; not me!
· It is also an elevation.
“up the mountain; that spider is crawling up the wall.”
· It also reflects an ambition and an intention.
“Moving up in the world; moving up the ranks…”
· It also means an improvement.
“Clean this room up; fix this house up; this truck needs a tune-up; put on some make-up…”
God said for us as fathers to BRING THEM UP.
There are three things I want you to notice about this word UP in this verse:
A. The Acceptance of the Position
This is so simple, yet so many dads completely miss it.
There must be an understanding and acceptance of “the admonition of the Lord.”
This is simply teaching your children what God said.
The admonition and instruction from God must be taught to our children.
As fathers, we must accept God’s Word as Final Authority and teach our children!
Deuteronomy 4
· 8 And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?
· 9 Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons;
You can’t teach what you don’t know.
You won’t teach what you don’t believe.
You can’t be an example of something you don’t understand.
You can’t model what you’re not living.
You cannot introduce your children to a lifestyle that is foreign to you.
The spiritual duty of every father is to pass along the faith once delivered unto the saints.
God has nurtured and admonished us; now we must reciprocate that with our children!
B. The Attaining of the Position
You can’t take someone somewhere you’ve never been.
If you want your children to have integrity, then show them!
If you want your children to walk with God, then model that!
If you want your children to work hard and be honest, upright people, you’ve got to demonstrate that.
You can’t bring your children UP if you are living BELOW God’s intended place.
You can’t bring your children UP if you are living BENEATH the level that God wants you to live
Don’t have a “do as I say and not as I do” style of parenting.
· Model it.
· Demonstrate it.
· Teach it.
· Show it.
· Explain it.
C. The Assisting to the Position
It doesn’t say push them up.
It doesn’t say shove them up.
It doesn’t say find someone else to do it.
It says to the fathers – BRING THEM UP.
Meaning – precede them, and then help them achieve the same level.
Do it with them.
Take the journey together.
· Initiate the process.
· Supervise the process.
· Encourage the process.
Fathers – Dads - you’ve got the responsibility to bring them up to greater heights.
Don’t bring them down; bring them up.
Help them achieve…
· higher aspirations.
· higher accomplishments.
· higher aims.
· higher walk with God.
· higher prayer life.
· higher morals
· higher integrity and character
· higher standards
· higher everything!
Conclusion: In order to be the Father God would have you to be, you must be saved, walking with God and have a desire to do it God's way!
