Thank You, Lord, for the truth of Your word. Thank You for the way that it speaks right into the places where we live. May we be that learning community. In Jesus name, Amen. SESSION 3 So what is the target you're aiming for? What is parenting all about anyway? I would like you to turn in your Bibles to Luke 6. Luke 6 and I'm going to be reading 43-45. This is, I think, one of the more important physical illustrations that Christ gives. In fact, I think what Jesus says in this passage is so important, so radical, so significant that if you get it, it will forever change what you think about parenting. How's that for an introduction? It really is that kind of passage. 43 For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of [his] heart his mouth speaks. Here's what Jesus says: is that the heart is the source of everything you think, say, desire and do; that human beings – look up here – live out of the heart. Now what this means is the actions, reactions, responses, behavior, words of your children are more caused by what's inside of them than what's outside of them. So the Bible assigns all of these significant functions to the heart. Maybe this picture helps, that all the things that you say and do are really the result of the heart overflowing. Now, before we go any further, I want to define the language for you, so you make sure you understand what the Bible is talking about. The Bible essentially divides the human being into two pieces: your outer man and your inner man. Your outer man is your physical self. It's your body. Your body is the house that God has designed for your heart while you're here on earth. You could literally, properly, biblically call your body your earth suit. Just like an astronaut wears a spacesuit, this is our earth suit. Someday, we're going to get a new suit. Some of us are excited about that. And then there's a second piece that the Bible calls the inner man and the Bible uses many words for the inner man. Mind, emotion, spirit, soul, will. And they're all collected in one big basket term: the term, "heart". That term is used in 960 passages of scripture. It's one of the most well developed themes in all of the Bible. Now when you read the word, "heart" – get ready for this – this is the definition you should have in your brain. When you come across that word in scripture, here's your definition: the causal core of your personhood. The heart is the causal core of your personhood. The heart is the direction system. The heart is the steering wheel. The heart is the ruler of words and behavior. That means what controls the heart will shape the behavior. Now Jesus ends with an interesting application. He says it's out of the heart that the mouth speaks. Have you ever said to someone, "Ooh, I didn't mean to say that"? What would be more biblical to say is, "Please forgive me for saying what I meant,” because if it hadn't been in your heart, it wouldn't have come out of your sweet lips. Your words always reveal your heart because your words come out of your heart. Now, we don't want to believe that. I would imagine if somebody says to you, "Why are you so angry," I would imagine that next, you don't talk about yourself. You talk about what's outside of you because you don't actually believe that your anger comes from within you because you think your behavior is more caused by what's outside of you than what's inside of you. Heresy, heresy, heresy. If you have a husband and wife and they're in a marriage counseling, and you ask the wife what's wrong with their marriage, what do you think she's going talk about? She's going talk about her husband and the
Transcript: Session 3
GETTING TO THE HEART OF PARENTING
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