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Well, hey, I want to welcome all of our campuses that are joining with us at Apple Valley now. Can you welcome all the campuses, all of our missionaries around the world? We greet you as well. Welcome to church. And a special shout out to Global Team Sweden. My wife is right now helping lead that trip and team. And it's almost midnight, but some of them are up now watching Livestream. Can we welcome Global Team Sweden? Is that okay? Love you, babe. Good to see you or good to have you see me? I don't know. Hey, in just a moment, we're going to Ephesians chapter six. That's where we're gonna spend our time today. The passage of scripture about the armor of God I love. Last week, Pastor Rob taught on the battle for the family. Anybody enjoy that message? It was okay. It's the day and age that we're living in, and it's good to be aware. It's good to be alert. It's good to be equipped as husbands and wives. He really dialed in on a healthy marriage. What does it look like to contend for your marriage as you lead your family in the ways of the Lord? And this week, I want to talk about the battle for the family, but really the battle for your children and the opportunity and the mandate that we have, the call of God that we have as mom and dad to fight for our children. And Pastor Rob mentioned last week, there's this erosion, this diluting of the authority of the parents in the home and the world. And the culture that we're living in is saying, your kids are not yours. And God says to the parents, your kids are yours. And so today's message is more about reestablishing from the word of God that you, mom and dad are mandated, called by God to raise your children in the ways of the Lord. In fact, scripture 60/times says in some way, shape or form that you are to pass on the faith of God, the faith in Jesus Christ, to your children and to their children and to their children that we should pass this on. And that's where we're going today. We're gonna build some foundation of the family from the word of God. We're gonna talk about fighting for your family. And then at the end, we're gonna talk about the future of the family. Everybody okay? All right, let's get into it. Ephesians chapter one through three is really about what we believe. Chapters four through six is how do we live this out? And so Ephesians chapter six is a part of how are we actually gonna live this faith out. Ephesians, chapter six, verse one. We're gonna read through verse four and then we're gonna jump to verse 10. That was for all the people that are taking notes. Okay? It says this. Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother. This is the first commandment, with a promise that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land. Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Verse 10. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand. Stand in the evil day. And having done all to stand firm, stand. Therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace in all circumstances, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. Praying at all times in the spirit, with all prayer and supplication, and to that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints and also for me, that the words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel. I love that. Get the armor so that I can boldly proclaim for which I am an ambassador in chains. Paul was writing while he was in prison that I may declare it boldly as I ought to speak. Anybody love the word of God? Oh, man, I love scripture. Hey. The title of this message this weekend is armor your children. It was gonna be arm your children, but we didn't want people to walk out armor your children. It's biblical. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you that you are here and I believe this. I believe that you are going to do something that is multi generational. In this service across all of our campuses and to every listener, from the great grandparents to the grandparents, to the parents, to the children, to the grandchildren and the great grandchildren, until Jesus returns, there is brokenness in our church that you're going to heal in this Service multi generational brokenness will be healed, restored, set free, made right. Because of your truth and because of your word, Lord, let it be done. I just pray for every mom and dad, every mom and dad that we would understand and recognize. All disciple making is parental in nature. Lord, help us be disciple makers of our children. The best mom, the best dad you've created us to be. In Jesus name everybody said amen. Just praying for that greater boldness. Just like what Paul was praying for. I found it interesting this week getting ready for this message that, you know, I'm preaching about parenting as my wife is on the other side of the world. And let me just say it was a different preparation week. It was out of the normal rhythms. But I also think it's like, it's sovereign. Like God knew beforehand that this was gonna be a unique week. As I'm thinking about family and I'm thinking about children and I'm thinking about God's call for us to be great moms and great dads, that it was also like, how do we do this? Like, how is this gonna happen? And I just wanna shout out like this, it doesn't even matter how you got into that situation, but for every single parent that is trying to raise their kids in the ways of the Lord, I just wanna shout you out for providing, protecting, raising them spiritually, making it happen, trusting that the Holy Spirit is gonna fill every gap. It's amazing. And we do it every year but the first or second weekend of December. I wish I could tell you which weekend. Come both weekends. We always want to give a special Christmas gift. And it's money, by the way, a special Christmas gift to single parents. And so if, you know, single parents invite them to our Christmas series and we want to make sure that we can get that in their hands to make sure that their kids and their whole family is able to have the best Christmas ever. That's just a shout out. I want to talk about this, just the battle that we're in for children. And this is some stats that are from 2022, 2023, 24. I actually believe the Holy Spirit is bringing revival to our nation and revival to our land. I believe these stats are going to be different. 25, 26, 27. That the winds are changing and let's. We can give God praise for that. I think some of these stats, the indictment is some of these stats are a result of poor, ungodly parenting. I do believe though that a part of what God is doing and what the Holy Spirit is doing in families across our nation and around the world is a result of parents waking up and getting a fresh boldness on them to be unashamed to raise children in the ways of the Lord. Just real quick, just to know, why are we even talking about this? Exposure to parental conflict raises risk of anxiety depression for children. 30 to 60% father absence is tied to higher rates of substance abuse, early sexual activity and poor academics. 42% of US teens report persistent sadness and hopelessness, up from 28% in 2011. 1 in 3 teen girls seriously considered ending their life last year. 1 in 5 teens say they are unsure about or exploring gender identity. 25 of high schoolers identify as something other than heterosexual, triple the rate of 2015. 68% of parents are concerned about what schools teach regarding gender and sexuality. Teen overdose death nearly doubled due to fentanyl laced pills. 70% of Gen Z say social media shapes their beliefs about morality and identity. Only 31% of Gen Z believe in absolute truth. 74% say morality changes with culture. Two thirds of young adults raised in church leave for at least a year after high school. Only 4% of Gen Z hold a biblical worldview. Weekly attendance in church among minors has dropped 36% since 2000. That's the battle that's for children. And let's believe in faith that the winds are changing. And by winds I mean wind of the Holy Spirit, that God is saving the next generation. God is saving families. That revival is on the way. Let's talk about first the foundation of the family. And at the foundation, God is our father. You have to start with that. Our Father who art in heaven. The foundation of your family has to be God the father and the cornerstone, Jesus Christ his son. And everything in the atmosphere of your home, in the words that happen in your home, in the decisions that are made in how you lead your children has to be spirit. This is the foundation of the family. And then the parents and dad and mom. You matter. You matter. Oh man, I felt it this week. Mom matters in our family. I saw a post, somebody was asking a question on X saying what's a profession that AI will not be able to replace? And he said, I'll start professional athlete. And I was like, I'm pretty sure these robots are gonna be. They're gonna be, they're gonna be pretty good, you know. And I saw somebody's response said, dad and mom, robots and AI in the world of technology will never be able to replace you dad, you, mom. Being a parent cannot be manufactured. It cannot be stolen. It's the authority and the anointing. At conception of your child, you were anointed to be father or to be mother by God. Parental authority means what you say goes. What I say from the word of God. Fearfully and wonderfully made beautiful in God's image. What you speak over your children. You're capable, smart, strong, brave. You don't have to be afraid. Darkness must flee. Sickness be gone. Attack of the enemy must fail. Nothing comes in my house unless it comes through me. We're rebuilding parental authority. God has given you supernatural and spiritual authority over your children. What you say goes before. God wants to minister to you as a parent. He wants to minister to you as his child. I just think that that's a healthy view. Even how you view your parents. That in the eyes of God, they're his children and you want to be the best parent, become the best follower of Jesus, the best son of Jesus, the best daughter of the living God, the best child of God. We come to him as. As children and our God. This is foundation stuff. God is the father to the fatherless. And I just want to speak to parents that are in the room. Some of you feel inadequate. You still operate out of deficiency insecurity or toxicity. Deficiency is. You didn't get what you needed when you were a child. Insecurity is an example of that. Could be that you're afraid you won't measure up to how well your parents did. Toxicity. You got what you didn't need, and now you're going, I'm totally inadequate to parent my children. How do I do this? And I just want to. I want to take those. The lie of the enemy, that. That you're deficient. You're insecure that the toxicity of your parents is going to be multiplied into your family. We're going to replace that with the word of God. Romans 8:15. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry. Abba, Father. Psalm 68, verse 5. Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. Psalm 27, verse 10. For my Father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in. John 14, verse 18. I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you. I'm talking to you parents right now as God's children. God, you're the good father. I love this video that I'm gonna have you watch in just a moment. Let me set it up. There's a guy named R. Horton, and he's a worship leader. And he goes out into the streets, like on a Friday night, by the way. You want to find out the brokenness of humanity, it still spills out into the streets on Friday night in any major city around the world. And he goes to those places that are at times dark. And he shines the light of Jesus by conversing with people that are far from God and then singing songs of worship over them. It's pretty amazing to see these ministry moments, but. But what you're about to watch is. Is somebody that is broken because of how they were parented or not parented, and he replaces it with God's word from the Holy Spirit over this guy. And it's just an awesome thing. The reason I'm having it played is because we all, as adults, there's brokenness in our life that God wants to heal up and shore up so that you, as you build your family, can be the best mom or dad that you were made to be. Let's watch this together. Tell me, bro, where do you see yourself in like, five years? Hopefully famous. Why do you want to be famous? Oh, if we're getting deep with it, my mom left as a child, and maybe I'm just seeking that attention that I wanted ever since. Yeah, that's probably an honest answer. Do you know any Christian songs? I mean, some people like to say Creed is a Christian band. I mean, higher. I know higher. That's all. Can you take me higher? Yeah. Dave, do you know that one on the piano? I know that's like a guitar joint. Sing a little bit of it. Can you take me higher? To the place where blind man see? I'm gonna sing something to you real quick. You're famous enough, you're famous enough because you're loved, loved by him. You're famous enough, you're famous enough, you're famous enough. You're loved by you. He's sorry that your mama left you. His arms are wrapped around you. Here and at every campus. If you're a parent, can you just stand to your feet? Is that okay? I just want to pray for the parents. In the middle of a message. We're not done. But I just want to pray for the parents that are in the room. There are lies that we believe because of how we were raised. Lies like, I'm not good enough. I am not valuable. I am unlovable and unworthy. I can't change. God doesn't care about me. Or I have to earn God's Love, all of those are lies. And I just want to pray over anybody that has had an experience like what you just watched about that guy. He's trying to get famous, filling the void of his mother leaving him. And there might be pain in this room or at any campus. And I just want to pray God's healing presence over your life so that you can be a healthy child of God and a healthy parent to your children. Lord, I pray for all of these parents right now. I ask that you would fill them with your holy spirit. Lord, I ask that your presence would descend on each and every one of them. And there's brokenness that they've experienced because of whether it may be deficiency. Like mom and dad weren't around, they were too busy and they believed a lie of the enemy. Maybe it was toxicity and they were abused or neglected. They've seen and witnessed and experienced horrible things. Lord, there are things that are broken scars that are still wide open, Lord, that you can heal in this moment. And God, I just pray that you would heal hearts and minds for these children that are also parents. Jesus, we ask that you would move miraculously. Let our church be a place where we are healthy children of God, so we can be healthy moms and dads. This is the foundation of family. God, you're a good father and you can heal every wound. I pray that you'd pour out your oil of gladness over each and every person. Lord, would you move in these lives and these hearts in Jesus name, everybody said, amen. You can find your seat. The second thing, we're just moving forward. The foundation of family now. It's fight for your family. We read the Armor of God, so we're gonna get there. Think about, there's gonna be a day where you pass away unless Jesus comes back first. Can I get an amen? Almost fell out there. Just kidding. There's gonna be a day where you pass away and your children are gonna talk about you. And they're gonna ask, what kind of mom or what kind of dad were you? And really, when we're talking about fighting for the family, you know, like on the airplane, they're like, put, put the oxygen mask on you first. Before we talk about armoring your children, covering your children, you need to make sure that you're waking up every single day putting on the armor of God, what we read. But at the celebration of life, when people ask your children what kind of mom, what kind of dad, what do you want them to say about you? I guarantee you it will not be about how smart you were, how much money you made, how successful in business, how entrepreneurial, how big your house was, how many things you were able to accumulate. It's not gonna be those things. As a Christ follower, it will all be tied to who you were in Christ and how you raised them in the ways of the Lord. This is how it should be. This is God's design. So as you fight for your family on the foundation that God's a good father, and the cornerstone is Jesus Christ, you need to first put on every single day, because this shapes who you are. Every day, shapes how your kids will answer that question at your funeral. Every single day. I'm putting this on, and a lot of it is. Is what? What. What did dad love most? What did mom love most? What were they about? What are you about as a parent? And I just wrote down 10 things, and I'm not even going to be able to read all of the scripture, but. But each one of these statements of what we should love as mom and dad is grounded in scripture. I want it to be said of me, and I hope it's true for you that. That I love Jesus and I love living for Jesus. 2nd Corinthians 5, 14, 15. For the love of Christ controls us because we have colluded this. That one has died for all. Jesus died for all. Therefore we've all died. And he died for all that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him, who, for their sake, died and was raised again. I want it to be said of me. I loved talking about Jesus and talking like Jesus. Mark 6, 16, 15. And he said to them, go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Ephesians 4, 29. Let no corrupting talk come out of the mouths, but only such as is good for building up and as fits the occasion that it may give grace to those who hear. I'll go faster because there's seven more, eight more. I want it to be said of me that I love God. I love that God's got more. Sorry, read that wrong. I love that God's got more. That he's the provider, that there's more where that came from. That when it feels like, dude, is his goodness is gonna run, is it gonna run out? No, God's got more. God's gonna give greater strength. God's gonna give greater boldness. God's gonna provide for every single one of your needs. I. I wanted to be said that, Dad. I love that we have enough in Jesus. We always had. He is enough. Colossians 2, 9, 10. For in him the whole fullness of Deity dwells bodily. And you have been filled in him who is the head of all rule and authority. Second Corinthians 12, 9. But he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Jesus is enough. I want it to be said that I love telling my children who they are. I love that before we talked about the armor of God, Paul said in the first couple verses, children, obey your parents. You want to know what that says to me as a dad? That I can tell my kids what's up? I'm going to tell them what their identity is. I'm going to tell them and I'm going to believe that they're going to live out in obedience, the reception, grabbing onto, fastening, putting on themselves that I believe my identity is in Christ as a son or as a daughter. I get to tell them we're living in a world that doesn't like. You can't tell your kid. Let them figure it out. No. You speak the word of God over their lives, who they are rebuilding, the authority. We're not doing this for claps either. It's like it's in here and it sense makes matters. It matters. I'm running out of time. Oh, Lord, I want it to be said of me that I love salvation. I love water baptism. I love baptism in the Holy Spirit. There's scriptures read, the Book of Acts. Can't read it out of time. I want it to be said of me. I love the Bible, the word of God. Come on, think about your funeral. What was your dad like? What was your mom like? Wouldn't it be awesome if, like, dad was in the Word every day? Mom was in the Word every day. They loved the Word more than, like, more than anything. Like, well, what Netflix shows. Who cares? Who cares? They love the word of God. I wanted you said to me. I love praying, praying in the Spirit. We already read Ephesians 6:18 in this message. Praying at all times in the Spirit. I want it to be said of me. I love having faith for miracles, faith for healing. This is the parental authority you bring into the home over your children. We've got faith for a miracle. I want it to be said of me that I love God's house. I love the church of Jesus Christ. Oh, man. I was convicted this week, convicted this week. Reading Psalm 84 because there's times where it's like I don't like. I want to live up to this. How lovely is your dwelling place, oh Lord of hosts. My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord. My heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. I can't see through my tears. Behold our shield, O God. Look on the face of your anointed. For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of witness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield and the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold to those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you. Wouldn't it be awesome that if your children at your funeral they say mom or dad, they love the house of God. We were raised in the house of God. We didn't miss a weekend. Not for legalism, Satan sake, but because of love. My soul yearn. My soul long to be in community of believers. It's not about the boat or the cabin. And those things are not bad things. But it's not for the sake of losing this yearning and longing for the house of God. I want that to be said of me. First, put on your own mask. Live that out. And the second thing is armor your children. And I'm not going to read every single one again From. From Ephesians 6. The armor of God. But I will say my help comes from the Lord. This is what you teach your children. Our help comes from the Lord, the maker of the heaven and earth. We will not stand in our own strength. There is an enemy and he's out to steal, kill and destroy. No amount of kindness or empathy towards the enemy will change his mind. He wants to kill. The armor. The armor of God is. Is our protection. We will not be afraid. We have nothing to fear. We only do what we have the faith and conviction to do. Otherwise we open a door for the enemy to attack. I'll just pause here and I know we're out of time. Kaylee and I made a different decision this year than we have in raising our children. We're not going to trick or treat this year. Listen, I understand the legalism argument. I understand the church history argument. I also understand Romans, chapter 14. This is not to put something heavy on any parent. We're just. We feel convicted by the Holy Spirit. How can we love our neighbors? Like my former neighbor Tony Adolfson. What a legend. Cooks hot dogs for the whole neighborhood. Takes care of. Takes care of everybody. Everybody knows his house, the house to be at. So we wanna do that. We wanna be a great house where kids can come not to celebrate Halloween, but to be in community with believers and look different than the world. It's not shame on anybody. I'm just telling you what the grand family is doing different this year. We're only going to do what we have faith and freedom from the Holy Spirit to do. I'm letting you know that. Sorry, that was just personal transparency. We will need to be ready. Our readiness comes from the gospel of peace and the Prince of peace, who is Jesus. We will be attacked. But there is a shield. There is a fortress. There is a strong tower. There is a guard. There is a hedge of protection. There are angels. There is the strong arm of the Lord. And it's not our gifts and our talents or our knowledge that is our weapon, but our weapon is the word of God. And we love the word. God is always here. And we can talk to him at any time. And he will, will answer and will be bold for the Lord. That's what we teach our children from Ephesians, chapter six. And if you believe it, mom and dad, grandparents, can we give God a shout of praise in this place and at every campus? And can we stand to our feet right now? We're gonna get out of here. Foundation. Fight for your family and the future of family. I'm just gonna declare prophetically the future of the family of God. It is mandated by God to pass on your faith to the next generation. It is mandated by God that your children obey mom and dad while they're in your home. It is mandated by God that we honor our father and mother. Psalm 102, verse 18. Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord. Psalm 145, verse 4. One generation shall commend your works to another generation and shall declare your mighty works. Psalm 78. 4. We will not hide them from our children, but we will tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord and his might and the wonders that he has done. Psalm 100, verse 5. For the Lord is good. His steadfast love endures forever. And his faithfulness is to all generation. And there's 60 more of those where that came from, prophetically speaking, to our church and to the family of Jesus Christ. Until Jesus returns, our children will follow the Lord. This faith will be passed down from generation to generation. Our children will be saved. Our children will be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Our children will stand for truth. Our children will accomplish what the Lord set them out to accomplish. Our children will advance the kingdom. Our children will be bold. Our children will will see the faithfulness of our God. Our children will stand on our shoulders with increased faith, increased security, increased readiness, increased gifts. Come on. If you believe it, give God a shout of praise. Jesus, we love you. We worship you. Help us to be the sons and the daughters of the living God that we were made to be. And help us be the mom and the dad that you made us to be. In Jesus name, everybody said, amen.