Transcript

Welcome to the Hamilton Corner on American Family Radio

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Darkness is not an affirmative force. It simply reoccupies the space vacated by the light.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: This is the, Hamilton Corner on American Family Radio.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: It should be uncomfortable for a believer to live as a hypocrite, delivering people.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Out of the bondage of mainstream media and the philosophies of this world.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: God has called you and me to be his ambassadors even in this dark moment. Let's not miss our moment.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: And now the, Hamilton Corner.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Good evening everybody. Welcome to the Hamilton Corner. My name is Abraham Hamilton iii. I am the host of the program, joined by producer extraordinaire. Often imitated, never duplicated. The real J. Mac, ladies and gentlemen. I know I've said it before. You know, J. Mac is quite a dapper guy. You see him Be careful, you might get cut cause he's so sharp. Well, we ready to rock and roll with today's program.

The American Academy of Pediatrics released a study this week about parenting

one of the major things that's been on my heart is following the conversation we had earlier this week, about the study that was released by the American Academy of Pediatrics is the reality. Oh, look, they're tempting, Jeff. With all kind of morsels of consumption. Don't succumb to it, Jeff. Stay strong. Stay strong. But the thing that's been on my heart this week is the reality of our need to parent intentionally. And I say that not as somebody who is a. I'm a detached expert and I have 45 years in the field and I've written 17 books on the matter. but my children have grown and gone. I say this as a co belligerent, I'm a parent right alongside you all. As I'm, as I'm making this statement and I don't even know if I told you. Yeah, I think I did tell Jeff. But man, not only do I have new two teenagers in my house, but now I got a 15 year old. Man. The boy is driving, man. Learning to drive is the permit is the, what's on that. The learner's permit is what's on deck. I've been teaching them how to drive. and that time just flies by, man. But we have to be, we need to be intentional.

We have to prioritize our families, not just in some mental hierarchy

So we want to talk a little bit about what the scripture says in that regard. At this very moment, many of you, if not most of you, are making your transition from your part time jobs where you generate an income to your full time jobs where you cultivate an outcome. And as you do so, I want to remind you to do it, here's the word again, with intentionality. Recognizing the primacy that God places on family. It is a simple truth that we will not be able to outvote. Out politic, out Supreme Court's opinion, frankly, out church deficiencies that abound in the home. We must. We must, we must execute our king's commission, starting first in our homes, in our families. Refuse to neglect the family, refuse to neglect the home, refuse to elevate other things, other things as being far more important, far more significant. No, because what goes on in your house. What goes on in my house is more important than what's going on in the White House. You know, you got the. You know, the Trump accounts coming on. You got the. The founder of Dell, donating $6 billion, over $6 billion to the Trump accounts for children born between 2020, what, 2025 and 2028. You can have all of the Trump accounts you want. But if we're not making disciples, we're putting ourselves, first and foremost, we're not obeying what the Lord commands us in scripture. And secondarily, we're putting ourselves continuously on the trajectory for our nation to move away from where we should be instead of moving toward it. So as you're making your transitions, be cognizant of that. Don't allow your day, to zap all that you are. And then you only have the leftover remnants from expending yourself elsewhere, for your families. But we have to prioritize our families, not just in some form of mental hierarchy, but. But in terms of presence and investment, substantive investment, to invest ourselves in our family, to give ourselves to our family, because it truly, truly is the first and foundational, I should say, when I say first, I mean it in that sense. The foundational ministerial commitment. If we are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, then there is fruit that should be born in us and produced through us. The most immediate beneficiaries of that fruit that is born in us and produced through us, it must be our family members. We shouldn't step over our homes in order to be effective in the surrounding world. But let us exalt the king of glory, starting first and foremost in our homes. And let us make disciples in our homes. I know we have our, parents, we have grandparents. We have great grandparents who listen, listen, listen to this program. And we need all of you. We need all of you to be a part of what God is calling us to.

Paul writes in Romans chapter eight that the carnal mind is death

All right? To the word of God we go. Romans, chapter eight. Romans, chapter eight. This entire week, I've been talking about the significance of ASCRIBING God's word, the appropriate gravity it requires, because it truly, truly, is God's word. And in Romans, chapter eight, I want to remind you, this is the Apostle Paul, writing a letter to the Christians in Rome, all right, in the first century. And in Romans, chapter eight, we're going to focus on verses five through eight. Romans, chapter eight, verses five through eight. And this is what the scripture says. For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh. But those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the spirit. Notice spirit has a capital S there. It's referring to Holy Spirit, third person in the triune Godhead, verse 6. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace. Because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God, for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so. And those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Now, this is one of the passages of scripture I remember as a young man growing up, my pastor in NewSong Orleans used to always say, we don't want to be carnally minded. You don't want to be carnally minded. And the King James explains in verse seven, the carnal mind is enmity against God. It's enmity against God. But verse seven is an explanatory saying. Because of this reality, it is hostile towards God. But what is being explained. Verse 6 is what is being explained. Verse 6 says, for the mind set on the flesh. Or to say it differently, the carnal mind is death. The carnal mind is death. Let's just pause for a moment and reflect on this. The inspired Word of God, authored by the Spirit of God, penned by God's apostle Paul, is explaining that carnal mindedness to maintain a carnal mind is death. It's not just a lesser life choice. It's not just, you know, you have. There are many ways you can pursue. No, no, the scripture is telling you to telling us the carnal mind is death. Well, why is that? You don't have to ask for my opinion. Verse 7 tells us why the carnal mind is death. Why? Because it is hostile toward God. Because it is against God. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God. That is why it's hostile. I'm, sorry. That is why it is death. Because the carnal mind is hostile against God. That is why it is death. But you know what's sad? We have many professing believers who either one do not know that the scripture says, hey, by the way, the carnal mind is death. But secondarily, there are some who don't believe it. There are some who are comfortable being carnally minded. And we have to always remember. That frequency of occurrence does not establish or define normality for a believer. Because something is a frequent occurrence or because something is popular, it does not normalize that for the believer. What should be normalized for the believer is what the scripture teaches. Carnal mindedness is death. Why is it death? Because it is hostile, it is against. It is enmity against God. That's why it's death. God is life. God is the source of all life. Eternal life doesn't just transpire when our physical bodies transition. No eternal life begins in the here and now. John 17 explains it. To know the true and living God and his Son Jesus Christ is eternal life that begins on this side of eternity. But carnal mindedness is death. Now why am I saying that? This is the same Apostle Paul who writes in this same epistle being, guided by the Spirit of God who explains to the believer. This is why, believer, we must not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by what renewing of our minds. God knows who we are when we are, what we are, where we are when he saves us. But he doesn't save us to keep us where we are, where who we are in the ways that we were when he saved us. He saved us. And he gives us the blessed privilege of being sanctified, being transformed. So that what I was is being renewed day by day. But the unfortunate reality is that carnal mindedness manifests itself in all kinds of ways. Sometimes you have men who go into marriage with a carnal mind concerning marriage. Sometimes you have women who go into marriage with a carnal mind concerning marriage. Sometimes we have people, we have families, we have husbands and wives who are parents, but they parent in a carnal minded manner. Sometimes we have people who are, you know, I've described it this way. Who is not like Acts 2 lays it out. What must I do to be saved? It is, how much can I be like the world? How worldly can I be and still maintain my fire insurance? We need to be honest and welcome the spirit of God to inspect our hearts as to whether or not we have adopted carnal mindedness. The Romans 12 phenomenon do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal m of your mind. Then you will be able. To discern the good, acceptable and perfect will of God. What Romans 12 invites us to do commands of us. Frankly, not invites commands of us that we employ the white hot light of scriptural scrutiny to every aspect of our lives. I'm a friend. Am I, a godly friend? We were talking earlier this week about influencing you. He walks with the wise. Am I a wise companion? Is Jeff benefited. By knowing me, by having a relationship with me? Or am I a detriment to him?

The scripture says the carnal mind is death. I'll read it again

Am I a source of godly. Influence? Am I a source of godly encouragement? Or am I an occasion. To invite carnality to persist? Because here's the not so secret secret. The carnal mind is death. The carnal mind is death. It's not just, you know, a, worse approach. The carnal mind is not just. Well, you know, that's not the best way, but I understand where you're coming from. No, the scripture says the carnal mind is death. I'll read it again. But those according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh. But those who are according to the spirit, the things of the spirit. For the mind set on the flesh, or the carnal mind is death. But the mind set on the spirit is life and peace. Why? Verse 7 tells us. Because the carnal mind, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile towards God. The carnal mind is enmity against God, for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it's not even able to do so. And those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Cannot please God. I say on a regular basis, that as the show comes on as an evening drive time show, that you're transitioning to your full time job. I say that in an effort to recalibrate our thought processes concerning this. I've said on the air before the number of times where I've heard men tell me in particular, and women, but men particularly, who I'm thinking of right now, that man Abe. I wish I had understood this when I was younger. Because now I'm understanding it now. But now I don't have the opportunity to do what I would have. Loved the opportunity to do. Guys, often what happens is these people don't intend to do that. Nobody says, hey, you know what? I want to get married, have children, and. And mess up. Nobody does that. Nobody does that. But what happens is that there's often carnal mindsets that we just placate that we are hospitable toward and don't even recognize it as carnality. That carnal mindset produces death in various iterations. But God came that we might have life and that more abundantly renewing the mind is intrinsic to discernment development.

>> Jeff Chamblee: HGTV has changed over the years, and not necessarily for the better. The seemingly wholesome home and garden television has decided it would be clever and funny to hint at an expletive in the title of one of its newest shows. The alternative spelling is so poor that children can still read it and repeat it. Obviously I won't say it here, but you can go to OneMillion Moms. Com to find out more and urge HGTV to rename the show One Million Moms. Com.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Shining light into the darkness.

American Family Radio welcomes back Mrs. Maria Hamilton for the Hamilton Corner

This is the Hamilton corner on American Family Radio.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Welcome back to the Hamilton Corner. Abraham Hamilton iii here with you. And I have in studio with me my favorite guest. Y' all already know who it is. She does not require introduction. It is none other than my lovely wife, Mrs. Y' all heard that everybody watching the show understand. Mrs. Maria Hamilton, thank you for joining me here on the program.

>> Maria Hamilton: Thank you for having me again, babe.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: You're very welcome.

Parenting biblically requires intentionality, says Christian author

So before you came in studio, I was talking, about Romans 8 and, specifically verses 5 through 8 and explaining how the scripture talks about the carnal mind is death. And, sometimes we can miss, not, miss not recognize the different ways that we might have, might have embraced or might currently embrace carnal mindedness, not recognizing certain things. this week I shared a study that was just published earlier this week, actually just published Monday by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Ah. Titled Smartphone Ownership, Age of Smartphone Acquisition and Health Outcomes in Early Adolescence. Where the bottom line of the study was, if you give children before the age of 12 what they call smartphones, which I've, explained extensively this week, they're not phones, they're computers. They're high capacity computers that keep the children plugged into the world. They result, the study show not just an opinion. The study shows, greater problems with depression and obesity and all kinds of things. And the reality is sometimes you have parents. Nobody said, hey, you know what? I want to make a decision that could lead to my child being more depressed. I'm going to make a decision so my child can be obese. Nobody does that, does that. But things occur and we don't often understand why. And some of the parents of the children who were a part of the study said, you know what? We, we gave our children the, the devices because, you know, all their friend, all their friends had them. And that pricked my heart because God has designed us in such a way, I mean, the world is going to world. But we as believers, we have an obligation to make sure that we submit the whole of who we are and what we are engaged in to the authority of Christ and the, the lordship of Christ and the authority of his holy word. And that includes parenting. Yeah, parenting biblically requires intentionality. But we have many who think we'll get godly results even though we don't have a godly intention, let alone a godly mythology of methodology, Godly methodology of implementation. What do you see and what have you encountered in terms of Christianity? couples, spouses, husbands and wives being unified in their vision for the children that God has entrusted to their care.

>> Maria Hamilton: Yeah. So if we're not intentional, I mean, if we don't pray about what we want to see in our children later in their lives, where we are heading as a family unit, what God has placed on our hearts, not only missionally, like, like doing right, not only, like, okay, maybe we're a missionary family or maybe we are, you know, whatever in any, every other way that it can manifest itself. But I'm talking more so in the sense of raising a generation of believers and passing down the faith. So when we are not intentional about seeking God for, to help us, how to apply that method, right, Give us strategy and understanding on how to do that day to day, then we are, we don't do it. And then when we don't do it, then we just live and we shift to neutral. So the shift into neutral really looks like doing what everybody else is doing. Right. But it's. So it is such an antithesis to this, to the scriptures, to biblical Christianity, because the Lord called us to be sons of light, sons and daughters of light. So we are supposed to be, a peculiar people. So we as fathers and mothers, right, As a couple, you and I, we, we are called to be, leaders in the faith. Like we as believers. Every believer is called to be a leader in the sense that we are the ones that are ambassadors. We are advocating for the truth in the way, in what we say and how we live. And so if we don't, are, if we're not intentional about, how we are going to raise our children, then they're going to be raised, they're going to be influenced. And if we're not the main influencers, and I'm not talking about like some, you know, nobody can say nothing. My child is only us. No, I'm talking about if we have the heart and the conviction and the intentionality and the in the desire to honor God, in the way that we train up our children, the way we form them and we raise them and we influence them and we indoctrinate them because we're teaching them doctrine, right? If we are not intentional, there something else or someone else is going to infiltrate their hearts. Right. And train them. And so as Christian parents, we usually, not usually, we unfortunately too often shift to neutral in our, in, in our, in our jobs, really in our. We are. God called us to influence our children. And even you see it all throughout the Old Testament, right, like in Psalm 78. And all throughout every account that God recorded, of his faithfulness to the people of God. He said, tell your children, remember, remember, remember what I have done for you. Not because, not because he just thinks, oh, they just need to know, generally, you know what it means to be an Israelite? No, it is so they can know my character, so they can know who I am. God's faithfulness. God's character was evident in every account recorded for us in scripture. And he said, tell the next generation, pass down who I am to them. And if we're not intentional in doing that, then the world is going to tell them. The parents that say, I'm going to buy a cell phone, an iPhone or whatever to my child because the other kids have them, they're being followers. Like, that's so like the anti Christianity, right? Who says that we are supposed to do what everybody else does? The Bible actually says the opposite. We are the ones that have the truth. We lead with the truth. What does the Bible say?

>> Maria Hamilton: Children need, do they need to follow their peers? Do they need to be like everybody else? Or do they need to be set apart? Or are we a holy nation, a royal priesthood? Like what are we, how are we looking at this? And first, are we being intentional? And then are we seeking the voice of God, the leadership of the Holy Spirit to do what he's called us to do with our kids?

>> Abraham Hamilton III: So would you say, well, I know you, so I knew what you would say. So I can't even present that question as if it's a hypothetical because I know you. isn't it an extreme assertion for one to say. That the primary purpose for which God allows Christian families to have children is so that the parents evangelize their own children and invest in them in such a way that by God's sovereign grace, the result is that the child comes to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior personally? Yeah, they become Christians first and Then secondarily, that the child dedicates the entirety of their lives to serving God's purpose.

>> Maria Hamilton: God is looking for godly seed. He's looking for a people after his heart. A, people that are going to be his hands and feet on this earth and who advocate for the truth and advance it, and who, who obey him, you know, and honor him and worship Him. That's what he's looking for and that's what he desires. That's why, that's why we as humans are his, his greatest creation, if you will. He could have done that with the animals, but he did it with us. He desires a people that know him intimately. And so such were some of us, like we were once children who were either raised to know Christ or were not right. And so now we are the adults. Are we going to do what the previous generations have done or not done right, if they didn't do it, like in our scenario? Or are we going to now say, okay, we see clearly what the Lord desires? Are we going to be the ones that not only pass off a baton as if, like, I've had it, I'm done with mine, here you go. No, are we going to raise a generation of warriors to stand shoulder to shoulder with us, to advance the gospel in this nation and in this world? And so it is a great calling. It is a great calling.

Christian parents are called to evangelize and make disciples of their children

Which is why we say it is not something that is small to evangelize and make disciples of people. Yes, we start in our home. If the Lord has, you know, called us by allowing us to have children, to be parents, but also anybody that comes along that the Lord desires that we pour into. And so we don't. If we fail to do that, we are weakening the body of Christ. And we are seeing that generation to generation. God is a generational God. He wants a people for himself, young.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: And old, you know, weakening the body of Christ, but also. Is disobedience by us. And so again, I'm asking the question specifically, because as I say, you're making your transition from your part time job to your full time job to do so with intentionality. If the scripture explains that it is a primary function of Christian parents to evangelize and make disciples of our children. Then the lack of that being the priority for the parents is a feature of disobedience to God and what he requires for children in the parent child relationship. And it shows that we've allowed other things to, to become priority that are foreign to what the scripture says and oftentimes our lives reflect what truly is priority. In times of monetary investment, in times of time investment, in times of priority in heart, mind and thought life investment, it often reflects that.

Do we understand what discipleship means and what it looks like practically

>> Maria Hamilton: Question number one, do we, do we understand what it means to make a disciple? Like, do we understand evangelism? Do we understand discipleship? Do we understand what God means when he says, you know, share the Gospel, proclaim it, make disciples of all nations and baptize them? Like, do we understand what that truly all means and what it looks like practically to do that? And yes, we can do that with people outside of our home. But man, how horrible it is to do it outside of our home and then neglect our own seed, our own offspring, who then will grow up resenting the body of Christ, resenting the church, abandoning the faith. And so we. Do we understand what discipleship means? If we do understand what discipleship means, we understand that everyone is going to. Become, if you will, like their teacher. Right? Like everybody is going to be a disciplined learner of something.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: That's not your opinion. Jesus said it.

>> Maria Hamilton: Right? Christ said it.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: The student, fully trained, will be like his teacher.

>> Maria Hamilton: That's right. So you have this phenomenon amongst humanity that God instituted. That will happen. So then who is going to, who is your child going to be modeled after, if you will? Is it going to be the YouTube influencers? Is it going to be their peers? Is it going to be society and culture as a whole? Or is it going to be Christ likeness in them? Right. And that's why it's a full time job. So, I think a lot of times in the church we fail to understand what discipleship is and also we fail to understand what it looks like practically daily and why we are saying it takes so much time.

What is priority in the parent child relationship? You refer to scripture

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Yeah, now I want to get to the practical daily thing, but I want to go back to the priority thing because you mentioned this and I want to have this conversation. I want to anchor the conversation of truth of God's word. And so what is priority in the parent child relationship? You refer to the scripture, it's in Malachi 2:15, when God is describing what he pursues, what is it that the one God sought in blessing mankind with the privilege of the one flesh, the conjugal, one flesh union between the husband and wife? Well, the one God sought godly seed. This is one portion of scripture where you have the all encompassing, infinitely complete in itself. The God that has a satiety that, that allows himself to be described in his word as seeking something, as if he's. He's pursuing something that it doesn't. That doesn't exist presently.

>> Maria Hamilton: Right.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: He does that intentionally. And he said he's seeking godly seed, godly offspring. He knows they're not godly upon conception. He knows they're not godly upon delivery, but he has the anticip anticipation that parents will be invested there. But practically speaking, many parents is including Christian parents in terms of life priority. The truth is, things are at the top. The top rung, if we can be honest, the top rung is often, well, we. We want them to go to Harvard. Or the top rung is, well, we want them to enjoy a wonderful social life. Or the top rung is we want them to play, travel, to be happy. We want them to be happy. we want. We want them to be popular. We want them to have a good time when, in terms of the practical investment. And let me be clear, nobody's saying that evangelizing the disciple your children means they can't be happy, can't have a good time. But what is priority? This is what I'm saying. And the way that it often unfolds is just like the parents in this study say, well, we gave our children smartphones because everybody else had them. If we don't have clarity in what should be and must be priority in turning to script in terms of what the scripture says, we will inevitably miss the mark because we have not aimed at a target. It's like you said. You said this before. God uses a simile that children are like arrows in the quiver of a mighty warrior, but you have arrows that you just tossed in the sky, and, hopefully one day they'll hit the target that God made them for. There's no way they will hit the target that God made them for if the warriors who they've been entrusted to are just tossing them in the sky.

>> Maria Hamilton: Negligent. Negligent. You know, when you said anchoring in scripture, if we read Psalm 78, can I read a couple verses really quickly so it says, oh, my people, Scripture.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Is always welcome in the answer.

>> Maria Hamilton: Yes, I know, I know. You never should know that. I just don't know about time. O my people, to my instruction. Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable. I will utter dark sayings of old which we have heard and known. And our fathers have told us. We will not conceal them from their children, but tell to the generations to come the praises of the Lord and his strength and his wondrous works that he has done for he established a, testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers that they should teach them to their children, that the generation to come might know even the children yet to be born, that they may arise and tell them to their children that they should put their confidence in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments. So what is God desiring? That we know him intimately. A disciple is a disciplined follower of Christ. So we are wanting to raise a generation. Not only that they are aware of who God is, just kind of like up there in the sky, but they have an intimate knowledge of his works and his character and who he is and what he's called them to, so.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: That they might know. And the Scripture unfolds there. We've talked about this on the show. That's four or five generations.

>> Maria Hamilton: Yes.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Starting view in view there. And that that's not going to occur accidentally. It's not going to occur coincidentally. It's not going to even occur by osmosis. Because we have to be honest with ourselves about what is the reality of the sinful nature. Yeah. And what is the reality of the tone and tenor of the world around us? There is. There are forces that are pressing against that generational heritage being established in Yahweh worship.

>> Maria Hamilton: Yeah.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: And so having the understanding of that reality should. Should. Punctuate for us the necessity of being intentional.

The primary reason God gave children to you is to pour Christ into them

Here it is. For many, some of you listening right now, it's a radical thing to come to a conclusion. When you hear someone say, hear me say, you realize the primary reason why God gave children to you so that you would invest your life into pouring Christ into them. That's the primary reason why he entrusted them to you. Not so that they can have the newest genes. Not so that they can have wonderful Christmas presents. Not so that they can be the most popular. Not so that they can be, you know, admitted into the most prestigious school. Not so that they have the most successful career. The primary purpose he's entrusted them to you is so that you would be a vessel through which your children come to know Him. That is your primary. That is the primary purpose that God has entrusted into your care. But oftentimes our investments don't reflect that primacy because we've Romans 12 and the opposite. We've allowed the world to set the tone for us. That we're given smartphones because everybody else has smartphones, and we don't want them to be the only ones that are without it. Guys, that is actually rebellion against what God requires. Requires of us as Christian parents. The God who speaks.

>> Jeff Chamblee: And of course, he went beyond even.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: The Old Testament law in the Sermon on the Mount, saying, you've heard it.

>> Jeff Chamblee: Said, you shall not commit adultery. I will tell you that if you've.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Lusted in your heart, you have already committed adultery.

>> Jeff Chamblee: And then I realized something. I can't believe less than Jesus believed. And he had absolute confidence in the Old Testament. The God who [email protected].

>> Abraham Hamilton III: The Hamilton Corner podcast and one minute click commentaries are available at afr.net back to the Hamilton Corner on American Family Radio.

Abraham Hamilton: Does your parenting guarantee your child will be a Christian

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Welcome back to the Hamilton Corner, Abraham Hamilton iii, here with my lovely wife, Maria Hamilton. The first and only get it right and keep it right. We're talking about the necessity of having clarity concerning what is primary in parenting. I understand it may be radical for some people to hear, but the primary purpose to which for which God has blessed Christian parents with children is so that the parents would be invested in pouring Christ into their children. I want to ask this question. I know this. You get this a lot, too. does your parenting guarantee that your child will be a Christian?

>> Maria Hamilton: Yes. My goal is to make perfect children who will be perfect when they are older. No. No. no. Does it guarantee it? No, definitely not. Are we imperfect? Yes. are there flaws? Do we allow things in that we were like, oh, we shouldn't have allowed that in our home, you know, and it came in and all that, man. Yes. Like, we are trying our very best to obey Christ and to follow what he has revealed to us imperfectly, as, you know, as reality allows. It's true. We all are trying. does it guarantee it? It does not guarantee it. But, you know, God's ways work, right? Like, it's not like 100% guarantee because it ain't based on our efforts.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: That's right.

>> Maria Hamilton: It's based on the Spirit of God and his power. That's right. It is a supernatural transformation that takes place. It did in us and it does in them, in our children. And so we trust the power of God, that the word of God is real and it is true. And it penetrates and it divides and it. And the Holy Spirit convicts. So we know that that is happening. So are we expecting quote, unquote, success in the way that we define success, which means that we want them to know Christ? I expect it. I expect it. Now, I remember earlier in our marriage, I was like, can we.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: You can share the question. Share the question. That's a real question.

>> Maria Hamilton: I would ask what conversation we had yeah. What I would ask you because you grew up in church and I didn't. Right. So I would. All I came from was the world. As far as, like, formative years were just very worldly. Not only in my life, but just, you know, people that I knew. And so you grew up in the church and I know you had all kinds of worldly influences, but my question to you was, can we raise children that know Christ? Like, can we raise? And I'm not talking about perfection. Please remember when I say this and that.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Know Christ as children.

>> Maria Hamilton: As children. Can we raise, children who worship the Lord, who are. Have the heart of God, like have a heart softened toward the Lord, who receive correction, who desire conviction, who want to shed sin, who understand who God is. Can we raise children 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, all formative years in that way where we can see them closing their eyes in worship? When we can see. Oh, it makes me cry. When we see them, you know, truly feeling convicted, when the Holy Spirit penetrates their hearts, is that real? Can we do that? I had never met a child that around me before, you know, earlier on in our marriage. And so now am I confident about the power of God? Yes, because I've seen it in my life personally and I've seen it in my children. And we don't have perfect children. And our oldest is only quote, unquote, 15. And I say only quote, unquote because, you know, yes, other people have raised children who are adults and praise God for that. And we also have friends who've raised them and they know Christ and they're living for the Lord.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Now the children have known the Lord from their youth up.

>> Maria Hamilton: Correct. And Timothy, it's in the scriptures that they can know Christ from their youth up. And so our 15 year old, our 13 year old, our 11 year old, they know Jesus, know him, you know, intimately know him, you know, when we say the word know, not just like aware of him, but like intimately know him and desire to glorify him with all of the, the, what's it called, the influences from the outside, because they're not in a bubble. You know, we live in this world and we experience things, but they know Christ and they are growing and they sin, but they repent and they're growing. And so, man, it's possible because God, God's arms have not walked short. He's not impotent. And so we have to submit to what he says and see him work.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Amen. So practically. And we even we had a We had a guest that stumbled upon us where we were in the midst of our. Our. Our day. You actually teaching the children the Bible yesterday? Brother Brad, Shout out, Brad. Brad came over. it just happened to come at that time. Practically, what would you say if someone says, okay, so, Maria, I hear what you're saying, but practically, how do I. How do I go about accomplishing, or should I say, I'm going to say a statement, then I'm going to go back to my question.

Maria says it's important to open up the Bible with your children

because I asked the question about can we guarantee it? The call of the believer is not to guarantee that your children become saved. The requirement from Jesus is that we are obedient to what he requires of us.

>> Maria Hamilton: Amen.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: M. What is foremost required of a servant is that he is found faithful.

>> Maria Hamilton: Amen.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: So the Lord doesn't want us to pursue this course because. Yes. And by doing this, we guarantee this outcome. No, The Lord wants our hearts to be so captured by him that it is mortifying to us to consider the possibility that we would be disobedient to what our King requires of us.

>> Maria Hamilton: That's right.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Now, a person has heard you, is hearing you talk about this, Maria, and they would say, okay, I'm with you. I agree with what you've said. How do I practically go about doing this? What, would you say?

>> Maria Hamilton: So first, I can't do that alone. Right. I was called to be a single parent, so I don't do this alone. So both of us set the tone in our home for Christ to be center.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Amen.

>> Maria Hamilton: We have fun and we have experiences and we clown and all the things and we dance and everything, but Christ is the center and that is non negotiable and it is understood. what I do is different from what you do practically because of our schedules and the different roles that we have in our home. Right. And so one thing that I always say to parents that is extremely important, and I know that you've always advocated for this, and you helped me even embrace it early on when the children were little, is that if you don't do anything else in the day, you open up the scriptures. And so, opening the Word of God, because the Word of God is not only sounds so silly, the word of God, but it is potent. it is alive, it is potent, it penetrates and it opens eyes. And so we have to open up the Word of God with them every day. can we be accused of preaching at them or holding service at home? I don't care what we're accused of. I know what we're doing. And I know that I need to be obedient to the King of Kings. And he says that everything that pertains to life and godliness is found in his Word. And so my children need life and they need Godliness. I'm going to the Word with them every day. And so we open it up every day. We're going through. We've. My children and guys, this is not to brag. I'm just talking about practically how we've done this. God convicted us of this years ago. My older two for sure have read the Bible through from Genesis to Revelation. Not because they have been forced to, not because they have been, you know, trained to be like these super soldier Christians that they have to read the Bible like a robot. No, but because every day we open up the scriptures personally for them in the mornings or at nighttime, depending on if a morning child or, you know, you adjust based on the child. but we read the Scriptures, so we have read through the entire, every book of the Bible together. And I know they have independently. And so that's not to brag. I'm just talking about a practical understanding of how incredibly important it is to open up the word of God with your children. And what do we do? Practically every morning we open up the Bible and we are in right now, we're in first, just finished yesterday. First Thessalonians, we're starting today. Second Thessalonians, chapter one. And so we read a chapter a day and we ask questions and we, and we figure out what God is saying and what is what. What does the original author intended to write? What does the, the original audience receive? What is it that it applies to us? Which, you know, it does apply to us today because we're Christians. Paul wrote to Christians in Thessalonica. We are Christians. We receive the word of God and we live it and we apply it. And so we break it down as best as possible to the. My three year old, my four year old, almost four year old, to my eight year old, to our, our nine, year old and ten year old. We, they can understand. Guys, y' all know children, if they can recite songs like verbatim Movie scripts. Movie scripts, they can learn the word of God. It is not too much for them. Do we have to sometimes go into topics that we may be concerned about? Because, you know, mommy, what is sexual immorality? Well, we gotta talk about what sexual immorality is, you know, and we do it to a level with wisdom that they can Receive without. Yes, without completely, you know, ruining them. The word of God is not going to ruin them. One thing that is incredibly important that we understand practically when we read the Bible, is that we have to trust that the author of the Bible, who is God, cares for the heart of the child. So he's not going to ruin them or damage them when we talk about difficult issues. So practically, first would be reading the word of God. Go ahead.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Yeah, no, absolutely right. These are, conversations that we've had to engage in ourselves to know our footing, people listening to show, you know, we're discipleship in the home family. Some people call it homeschooling, but really it's an investment in discipleship. But what some people may not know, I wasn't homeschooled. Maria wasn't homeschooled. We didn't have anybody around us who did it. So we didn't have, like, oh, we can do what that family does. We didn't have that. We didn't have that at all. And so I remember we had to have a conversation one time and, you know, you were feeling the weight of the responsibility of that because we responded to this as a call from God, not like some, oh, this is how, ah, we prefer to educate our children. No, this is like, this is God summoning us to this. And I said, babe, just to be real practical, if you got a load of laundry, dishes, and five subjects on the table that you want to delve into, I don't care if I come home and the laundry is not folded open. The word of God with the children, the priority in this home is God's word. Now, it doesn't mean be lazy and have a, sloppy house.

In terms of priority, what is priority

Nobody need to be nasty. That's dirty.

>> Maria Hamilton: Right?

>> Abraham Hamilton III: But in terms of priority, what is priority? And to say, if you have spent time in the Word with our children, it has been a successful day. Yes, it has been a successful day. This other stuff we can get to after that. Yeah, but that is priority.

What do you do with younger children before they become Christians?

And one other thing, and this is specifically to parents with younger children. And this is just something that God helped us to understand that, well, what do you do with younger children before they become Christians? They adore. They so cute children, but boy, them jokers are sinners. Yes, they sinners. You don't have to ever teach a child how to say mine. They get that by default, factory settings. So what do you do in that scenario? The Lord helped us to see we still use the word of God to train godly character so that not if. When there is misbehavior. The child is not merely confronted with not meeting daddy's and mommy's expectations. The child is confronted with their own sinfulness. You didn't take your brother's toy because you just liked it better. You didn't take your brother's toy just because you're a bad boy or a bad girl. No, no. You took your brother's toy because there is sin in your heart.

>> Maria Hamilton: That's right.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: And this is evidence of your need for a Savior. And so the Lord helped us to see that we use God's word to train godly character even before they're saved.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: By so, by doing so, we introduced them to the fact that God has a standard of expectation and you are not meeting his expectations because there is a heart problem. And that it will continue to be a heart problem until you come to Christ. And using the word of God to train godly character as an on ramp for gospel presentation.

>> Maria Hamilton: Yeah, yeah. And we have, you know, ample anecdotes. I know that when our kids, when our kids sin against one another because that's the most common, you know, ways that their sin manifests with one another. we can, correct them and we can even punish or you know, discipline them. and we can just say don't do that, it is wrong. We don't do that in this home. Or we can say it is wrong, don't do that. And this is why we don't do that. This is why the why is always connected to the heart of God. Why is it that we do not take our siblings toy without asking? Why is it that we don't throw rice, at our sibling when daddy said don't throw rice, you know, that is a real adding dude.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: That really happens.

>> Maria Hamilton: And so why is it that we say, go to your room and do not come out until the queen come talk to you. Right. Why is it that we pull out a belt when, when it needs physical discipline, when the child needs that? Why do we do that? It's because we need to communicate to them the severity of sin and how it destroys them. Because sin destroys us. And so our kids need to know that at 4. I need you to grow to understand. Because when the Holy Spirit captures their heart, oh God. They can get to the place where they realize mommy and daddy were right the whole time. Sin will kill me. And so we have to hate sin. God hates sin. We hate sin.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Amen.

>> Maria Hamilton: God is loving, we are loving. God is kind, we are kind. We are like Christ, we Are going to be like Christ when they come to know Christ. Ah, at the age where they understand, you know, what God has done for them on the cross and they repent from their sins and turn to him. At that point they can realize these things are real sin, will destroy me. I am to be like Christ. God calls me to obey him. His ways are best. And I can now understand that I can live that, that I can live that. So I think practically, it's incredibly important for us to identify the sin and expose it to the child.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Yes.

>> Maria Hamilton: It is not enough to make models of ourselves. We don't do that because. Because I don't like it. I don't like that behavior. So don't do it.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Because it embarrassed me in public. Yes.

>> Maria Hamilton: Or it embarrassed me in public. No. This is the reality is that we are making disciples of our children. So then they are disciples of Christ, not disciples of us.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Not clones of us.

>> Maria Hamilton: Yes, exactly. They are. We are all disciples of Christ. Us and them. And we're not equal. Right? Let's. Let's say that. Let's make sure we understand that we're daddy and I to our kids are not equal to the children in. In regards of, like, you know, we're all Christians. So then therefore, we're all, on the same plane. We literally have authority over you because God places an authority in. And we love you. So you are going to obey us. But we are also walking for the Lord and living for the Lord. And so are you.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: M. That music is so disrespectful Because I was about to ask you a question about behavioral confirmation. Behavioral conformity versus heart transformation. But the music is so disrespectful. I don't have time to ask you.

>> Maria Hamilton: That question next time.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: So I guess you have to come back again.

>> Jeff Chamblee: Again.

 Behavioral modification versus heart transformation. If we don't get this right, it doesn't matter what tax policy

>> Abraham Hamilton III: All right, now I think I like you a little bit, so maybe we'll do it. Behavioral modification versus heart transformation. Guys, guys. It's real in the field. If we don't get this right, it doesn't matter what tax policy, immigration policy. Those things true. Are reducing significance if we don't understand how to exalt Christ in our homes. The views and opinions expressed in this.

>> Maria Hamilton: Broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.