Jesus Christ has made Christians stewards of many tasks, many truths, and many people.  It is required of stewards that one be found faithful and trustworthy.  Christians and their children, physical and spiritual, must be continually faithful and always faithful, enduring to the end. How is this possible when our commission, the Great Commission, seems so impossible?  For centuries, the great Gospel doctrine of Perseverance of the Saints has imparted courage to individuals, the family and the church. 

 

If we fail to understand the promises of God and the duties of perseverance, we can fall into discouragement and defeat, and live out lives of vanity.  In this message, Geoffrey Botkin will explore this misunderstood doctrine, and how it can be applied by the youngest believer, and the oldest, for productive and fruitful living in the home and in the church.  Many Christians proclaim their own goodness, but what is a truly faithful Christian?  Discover how God is able to keep us from stumbling, falling and failing to live meaningful lives until the very end. 

The National Center for Family Integrated Churches presents Semper Fi, The Great Doctrine of Perseverance of the Saints, a message given by Jeff Bodkin at the Power of the Gospel Conference. Thank you all for being here this morning, and Ken, thank you. Ken and I have had some very interesting adventures, mainly talking about our families in the future, and that's why we're here today. Victoria and I, how many of you have been able to meet my wife, Victoria, and talk to her? If you haven't, she's here, and I would love, oh, there she is, right over there.

I would love for you to have a chance to meet her. The bulk of our homeschooling experience has really been about this very topic here, in trying to impart to our children how to live and persevere in the faith. Because that really is, isn't it, the real test of our lives and our... And really our Christian testimony. What will we have accomplished in preparing our children to persevere?

That really speaks more about our own perseverance than anything else we could do. So let's let's us if you would get out your Bibles this morning, turn to the book of Jude. We will start by looking into God's Word And let's commit this time now to the Lord. Father in Heaven, we do thank you for this great doctrine, the perseverance of the saints. We thank you for what we can learn from it and what we must learn from it.

And we ask you today to enlarge our understanding, but especially our faith. Without faith, it is impossible to please you. And we want to bring to you hearts of faith. And this morning, Lord, open our minds and our souls to be able to understand and comprehend just just how powerful this is to sustain us in work that's difficult and even work that's truly impossible in Jesus mighty name amen well let's pick up in the book of Jude. I'm going to jump right into this and go as fast as I can, cover as much as I can.

At the conclusion of this, I'll be able to stay around for a little bit. The next session is in the main hall with Jeff Pollard, But we will have up until 1030 to get over there, and I will make myself available to answer any questions you may have at the conclusion of this message. Verse 17, But you, beloved, this is instruction directly to you by Jude, but you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. And so this is the essence of your parenting, is reminding your children about the Apostles' doctrine and the words that were spoken by them about the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 18, that they were saying to you, in the last time there will be mockers following after their own ungodly lusts.

Okay, this is the time we live in. And there will be mockers. You're surrounded by mockers. Your children are surrounded by mockers following after their own ungodly lusts. And even those who purport to be believers and Christians, Many of them who are saying, I'm following my calling, I found my calling, I found my life fulfillment.

They're really only following after their own ungodly lust, and your children need the discernment to know the difference. Verse 19, These are the ones who cause divisions, and many of them will even try to sow division between you, parents, and them. And maybe even your child's nice old white-haired piano teacher will be doing this, sowing into the minds of your children things that are contrary to what you've been teaching and that are contrary to the teaching of Jesus Christ, contrary to the Apostles doctrine. These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, and just look at the at the command and the injunction here to actively believe.

It's an active component. So is disbelief. Disbelief of these who are devoid of the Spirit. It's an active thing that they're pursuing. But the admonition here is, you beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith.

Keep yourselves in the love of God." Verse 21, keep yourselves. And this word in the this command in the Greek is so strong. This means you guard yourselves. It's like building a fortress or full military lines of defense and apparatus. You maintain yourselves.

You guard yourselves. And I think of it this way, Build up an entire fortress around yourself to keep yourself in the love of God because of these other influences. Waiting anxiously, and the word means with confident faith, waiting anxiously with confident faith for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. This is your destiny, isn't it? But you wait anxiously, confidently, building yourselves up.

This is what we're wired for. This is what you're, especially your sons, they're wired to be builders, and they need to learn at young ages to build themselves up on their most holy faith. Verse 22, and have mercy on some who are doubting. So you show mercy. What does the Lord require of you?

To do justice and to love mercy and walk humbly with your God. You show mercy. There are some who are doubting. There's some who may not be as mature as you. Have mercy on some who are doubting.

Help them in their faith. Help them build themselves up in their most holy faith. Disciple them. Verse 23, save others, snatching them out of the fire, and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh. When you have a duty to actually love, build yourself up, keep yourselves, and actually hate things that the Lord hates, even the garment polluted by the flesh.

And then the closing charge in this letter, powerful, important theological message to us, The closing charge here is the greatest summary of this doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. And before I read the verse, let me just summarize it for you. This doctrine, the perseverance of the saints, summarizes two very powerful biblical truths. It states that all those who are chosen by God, redeemed by the work of Christ, and given faith by the Spirit, are eternally saved. Eternally saved.

This is the doctrine that teaches that once saved, you're always saved. Now the reason there's so much controversy about that in our fallen evangelical world today is that people have been misdefining faith, they've been misdefining salvation, they've been misdefining conversion, and we don't get to define those things. God does. And this doctrine does teach that if you are regenerate, if you are saved, once saved, you're always saved, and there's confidence there. We have to have that confidence.

The doctrine summarizes this truth, that saints, perseverance of the saints, those who are called, called out from the world, sanctified, set apart, made holy by the work of Christ. Saints are kept in faith by the power of Almighty God, and are thus preserved forever. And as for the years lived in the body, and you young people out there, let me just remind you, life is short. These years that we live in the body are so short, and this doctrine teaches us that the years lived in the body are supernaturally preserved by the Lord, and we are helped supernaturally. We get to live a supernatural life.

Our flesh is weak. Our bodies start breaking down in our 20s, right Ken? I mean, they said, I mean, we're moving toward death rather early, but by grace we're preserved physically and spiritually and mentally, You know, and even I'm so excited to see here at this conference some of the older men who look like they're just entering their prime. They're renewed in the inner man. They're full of sap and they're very green.

Men in their 60s who are preaching some of the best things they've ever preached. And so this doctrine teaches us that we are not only preserved to the end, but we're given the power to persevere to the end by the direct aid of the Holy Spirit, maturing and excelling still more and accomplishing the will of God on earth as it is in heaven. In these frail bodies, we are preserved to persevere. And so therefore this doctrine presupposes that there's a future, and that there is a will of God, and there's an ability, because of the Holy Spirit, for very average converts like us to accomplish forever the will of God, to accomplish it forever, to accomplish it forever. And so that raises the theological question, and your children will ask you this again and again and again, okay, if this is true, if this doctrine is true about the perseverance of the Saints, why is it that the recent history of Christianity is represented by infidelity and retreat and immaturity and surrender and even the denial of this doctrine and other powerful doctrines that you're trying to teach them.

And so we have, My son Isaac and his wife Heidi have just produced a map of the spread of the gospel, which is 20 centuries of what's happened from the very beginning, in the first century, and what's happened up until now. And you look at this, and this is available at our table, and I'd like for you to see it. It's just packed with information about how the gospel has spread every century. But you look at it, you stand back and look at it, And you see all this phenomenal progress over the entire earth for 20 centuries, and yet you have been born into a generation right now where there is not one Christian nation on earth. There's not one Christian nation on earth.

And so what your children will say, so what does that say, Mom and Dad, about the doctrine of the perseverance of the Saints? Why are Christians not persevering and succeeding in their priority mission? Why is there not one Christian nation today? And why are all the Western nations that were once pursuing Christianity and trying to build Christian civilization, and even the United States, which was once, well, before they were the states, the colonies had a biblical Commonwealth. Why do we no longer have Christian civilization in this country?

Why are we no longer a Christian nation? Why are Christians not persevering? Let me give you an answer. Too many of the inheritors of the Christian faith are Christian in name only. They're not saints, okay?

So they're not going to be part of this doctrine, the perseverance of the saints. They're Christians in name only. Yesterday, John Snyder really nailed the answer to this question very, very clearly. He said, we in America, the Evangelical Church, have been committing the sins of Jeroboam. That's the answer.

The Sins of Jeroboam mentioned at least 20 times in Scripture as a warning and as an example of apostasy are these. Redefining God, redefining the will of God, redefining faithfulness, redefining obedience into a convenient and comfortable religious tradition that is a lot more pagan than Christian. That's what Jeroboam did. And we're committing and following the sins of Jeroboam in this country. And so are the great Western nations that were once trying to build Christian civilization.

They're committing the sins of Jeroboam. It's real simple. And our flesh wants us to do that. And all around America's Bible Belt there are professing Christians who want an easier Christianity than the one that the Scripture gives us. We are actively disobeying the most basic commands of Jesus Christ.

And that's why we're not persevering in the way that we should. Now back to Jude, verse 20. "'But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God. See that that verb again? Keep yourselves, this command.

Guard yourself. Build a fortress, Full military lines, build a castle. This is the very same word that Jesus Christ uses in our priority mission. And this is what we're disobeying in Matthew 28. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations.

Verse 20, teaching the nations to observe, to keep. This is the very same world. To keep all things whatsoever I have commanded. The nations are supposed to build a fortress around these things so they're not lost. The commands of Jesus Christ that we're teaching them to keep.

This is our job. This is our priority mission, to teach the nations to keep these commandments. And we have not taught, our fathers did not adequately teach this country how to preserve, protect, build a fortress, line up military apparatus to defend these laws. And we've lost them. And now we're sinking and we're committing the sins of Jeroboam.

We are walking in the sins that we're even running in the sins of Jeroboam. Your children are being tempted and being told by the popular Christian media that it's totally natural to do that, to be comfortable and to pursue the sins of Jeroboam. Ligonier's study that came out this week, a survey, says only 18% of Americans believe that sin deserves damnation. We have not preserved the doctrines of the faith and built walls around them, built fortresses around them. This is what our countrymen believe.

Only 18% believe that sin deserves damnation. It's a pretty basic truth, isn't it? Only 41% believe hell is a real place. This is the fault of Christian disciple makers. We've failed to teach what we're supposed to be teaching in a way that they would understand it, grasp it, hold on to it, teach it to their children.

Only 88% of evangelical Protestants believe that God has authority over people because he created them. We don't even respect the law of God or the authority of God in the ways that we should. Ran into Kevin Swanson yesterday, and he gave us some information on his Generation 2 survey. I won't spill all the exact details because I don't want to steal his thunder, but in terms of home educators and their children who've been educated at home. Too many of the second-generation children are carelessly uncommitted to setting their own children apart unto holiness.

Will they persevere in the things that they've been given by their parents. The Generation 2 survey says, we are not doing well as parents, and our children, they don't get it. They don't want to persevere in this doctrine of the perseverance of the Saints. They're not living sanctified lives. They're not interested in raising up their children to be set apart.

They're toying with the world. They're toying with the sins of Jeroboam. America's professing Christians have statistically little interest in working for the glory and the majesty and the dominion and the power of Jesus Christ and his kingly authority. And so you're living at a time of great decline and rapid decline. Never has a Christian civilization fallen so far into a condition of ignorance, faithlessness, and barrenness.

So what will you do for your children? What will you teach them so that this can be turned around and that they, again, can experience the blessings of this doctrine of the perseverance of the saints? So even though we're living in this time, and my family and I have made a great study of this. We've done our own research on this particular topic, and in fact we've, my children have produced a documentary on this called Homeschool Dropouts, and this is available at our table free for any purchase that you might make. They've interviewed their friends, they've talked to their friends, and over the years we've seen this trend intensifying, they're just dropping out, being ungrateful for the things that they've picked up from their parents.

And so the decline continues. But I am not discouraged, even though these things are true, I'm not discouraged because of this doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. It's powerfully true. Let's keep moving in Jude, verse 24. Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling.

And the Greek here is, now to him who is able to guard you from failing. He can guard you from failing with the same kind of strength that we've been talking about. He can guard you. This is the word that the Lord Jesus Christ said when he says when a strong man who's fully armed protects everything that's in his house, His goods are unmolested. He's able to guard you from failing.

It's possible to fail. Scripture teaches that it's possible to fail. And yet the doctrine, the perseverance of the saints can keep you fruitful and productive. And to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy. We're talking about Him who is able to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy.

Once saved, you're always saved. Once forgiven, you're standing blameless. It's the work of Christ, not your work that does this with great joy. Verse 25, to the only God our Savior, Through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority. We don't deny the authority of God in our family.

And in fact, this is a really good summary of the curriculum that parents need to be teaching children. This is what the Levites taught to everyone to give them a common faith. Glory, majesty, dominion, and authority of the triune God. People ask us about our curriculum. This really is it.

Glory, majesty, dominion, and authority. We teach the authority of God in our family. We teach the fact that dominion is part of the Christian faith and that we have a duty to make disciples of all the nations. The reign of Jesus Christ needs to have dominion. It must have dominion.

We're not succeeding or persevering if there's no dominion. And this is why It can be so chilling to look at a map and see and ask where does the King of Kings and Lord of Lords have dominion on earth today? Where is his authority respected as king? What kings respect him in the world? What courts?

What magistrates? And what parents respect him? What Bible belts respect him? You know there's a Bible belt in Holland and they're fighting the same battles as we are. Children of the Reformation fighting the very same battles about majesty, dominion, authority, and power.

Well this is the Word of God and this is the will of God, that there be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority before all time and forever, before all time and now and forever, before all time and now and forever. And so this is our agenda. We have to see these things advanced now and forever, now and into the next generation, Now and into the next two generations. What are you teaching your children so that they'll be able to do this, they and their grandchildren? And so I'm encouraged by this.

I'm encouraged by what we've seen in our own family. I've been encouraged by seeing the power of the Word of God in the hearts of our children. When we teach it, the promises are true. The promises come true. And so I'm encouraged that really, and I'm encouraged by this too, there are Christians around the world who are willing to go to death for Jesus Christ even today.

Right now during this talk there are Christians who are being martyred in the world, in the world, for their faith and their stand. And so perseverance, what does it look like in the lives, what's it supposed to look like in the lives of God's people? Psalm 92 verse 12, The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree. He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. This is this is what this is the will of God.

This is what it's supposed to look like. This is what perseverance looks like in the blessing of God. Verse 13. The righteous man is planted in the house of the Lord. They will flourish in the courts of our God.

Okay, this is where you flourish is in the courts of our God. And mommies, you're administrating the courts and the justice of God in your home. That's one of the courts of God. That's an institution the Lord has created, the family. And you're an authority.

You serve with your father, with your husband and under his authority, You dads have an authority that's a limited authority given you by God. Is your family a court? Are you flourishing in the courts of God? So is the church. How many of you churchmen are making sure that that the courts and the jurisdictional authority and the jurisprudence of the Lord is honored in your churches.

We have to make sure it's honored in the civil realm. Even in the local, the smallest county government, that's one of the courts of our God. He has to be exalted there. Psalm 92, verse 14, They will still yield fruit in old age. This is talking about the righteous man.

They will still yield fruit in old age. They shall be full of sap and very green to declare that the Lord is upright, that he is my rock. There's no unrighteousness in him. This is how we need to be speaking in our homes about the sovereignty and the grace and the power and the dominion and the authority of our God. There's no unrighteousness in him.

That's what characterizes so much of what is coming out on the popular Christian media and the bookstores and the music. We're actually declaring that there is unrighteousness in God, and there are things that we need to do to create sort of a different, easier, more gentle, more politically correct version of Christianity. These are the sins of Jeroboam. Jeroboam attributed unrighteousness to God Almighty, But those who persevere in the faith do not. Our active faith and our active work should, must, and must bring glory and majesty and dominion and authority to the earth.

Now here's Paul's confidence in admonition for Christians, Philippians 2.12. So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence. These Christians are obeying. Then he says, as a command from the Holy Spirit, Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Now the doctrine of the perseverance of the Saints teaches that once you're saved, you're always saved.

You don't need to work for your salvation, but we do have to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Verse 13, for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.'" So it's God that's at work in us. This is how old men and young men can persevere. It's God who's at work in us, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. That means he actually inspires us with his will so that we can see it.

His will is for glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, to be exalted in the earth. I agree with that. I want that. I desperately want that. That's the work of God in my life, that I'm motivated by that.

And then he works through me. I'm his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works that I should walk in. And He's working in me to accomplish those things, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. So what is His good pleasure? Parents, you've got to be telling your children all the time what pleases the Lord.

So let's just stand back and get very real and talk about what pleases the Lord in a way that is not talked about in places where the sins of Jeroboam are triumphant. God Almighty wants every nation to honor the authority of His Son. How many churches preach this, that every nation should honor the authority of His Son and keep every ethical and moral law in Scripture? God wants nations to guard these biblical laws as though a fortress was built around them. It is God's good pleasure that every person, every family, every church, and every civil government must be self-governing and in compliance with the laws of Jesus Christ.

This is well pleasing to God. Are we teaching our children this? God expects Christians to be Christ's ambassadors. This is how we honor his son. We're Christ's ambassadors.

We disciple people. We disciple nations until Christ's reign is global. We extend the reign of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Now this, yeah, now you, we do hear periodically, even on Christian radio, little songs and verses and so forth, so so forth. For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." This is the will of the Lord.

This is well pleasing to him. But we just, when we hear things like that, well yeah, that's just sort of, that's just poetry. That can't possibly be real. That the knowledge of the glory of the Lord would cover the earth as the water cover the sea? I mean, aren't we supposed to be pluralistic nations and, you know, give all the other religions equal time and everything?

No, we're not. And so our task is impossible, but Christians are commanded to persevere in the faith confidently. Here's a command in Galatians 6-9, let us not lose heart in doing good. Okay? We're commanded to persevere.

It's not just an option. We're commanded to build ourselves up on our most holy faith. We're commanded to keep ourselves in the love of God. We're commanded not to lose heart in doing good. Why?

Well, we can lose heart in doing good. When we look at this map, We can lose heart. I mean, why after 20 centuries are we in decline? Well, let us not lose heart in doing good. Okay, this is how we don't lose heart.

If you do good in your families, and if I do good, it's so invigorating to me, I don't lose heart. Even when I know with knowledge that things are falling apart all around me, and that my children are being tempted on every side to compromise and to betray the Lord and to deny the faith and to betray their upbringing from their families. I don't lose heart, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. Well, do I get tired? Yeah, I'm tired.

But I don't lose heart because I know in due time I will reap if I do not grow weary." Okay, so doing good, doing good. How do we define that scripturally? Do not lose heart in doing good. Are you doing good? What does that mean?

Scripturally it means cultivating, sowing, and reaping fruit. This is the analogy that the Lord Jesus gives us. Cultivating. Cultivating the soil. This is how we build culture.

Sowing, sowing, speaking, teaching, reaping fruit. We're reaping fruit. Disciples bear much fruit. And this is how the Christian life will be measured. How will I know if I have lived a good life as I enter my 70s and my 80s by God's grace, and I evaluate my life?

Now, you men who are in your 20s need to be evaluating your lives right now, and the way you do it is to is by fruit. Are you bearing for any fruit? Are you bearing a little fruit? Are you bearing much fruit? The Christian life is measured by fruitfulness.

It's not measured by the things that are in the Christian bookstore. Quality of life, finding fulfillment, being respected by religious leaders, having fun. It's measured by fruitfulness. John 15 verse 1. Jesus Christ, hear the words of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I am the true vine. My Father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away. He takes away. Build yourselves up in your most holy faith to bear fruit.

Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away. And every branch that bears fruit he prunes it so that it may bear more fruit, so that we may persevere in bearing more fruit. And the pruning process is hard, it's painful, it hurts. But it's so that we may bear more fruit. Verse 8, my father is glorified by this that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

If we claim to be disciples, if we're training our children to be disciples, they need to bear much fruit. That's the only way they can prove to be his disciples and glorify God. Just as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love.

Just as I have kept my Father's commandments. This is why teaching our children the law of God and the commandments that must be preserved and guarded in your families, in your churches, in your governments, must be taught and must be preserved and guarded. Discipleship and fidelity to the Great Commission is measured by becoming a disciple and making disciples. So this is our homeschooling program. Children, we need to teach you how to learn as a disciple, and then how to make disciples, how to learn and how to teach.

This is the Christian life, always learning and always teaching, Always growing, becoming more mature, learning more about the law of God. Our dinner table conversations when our children were little, as they grew older, it was digging deeper and more deeply, all the time progressively into the law of God. And the questions the children would ask were so penetrating about the law of God. And when they were little, there were more times than not I had to say, well, I don't know the answer to that. I don't know what's lawful in Scripture.

Let's study it out. And the more we studied it out together, the wiser we all became together as we looked into the law of God. Daddy, why is President Bush, why is he going to war against Saddam Hussein in this Gulf War? Why? Is it lawful?

Is that a good war? Is that a just war? Daddy, should we be involved in that war? What does the Bible say about that? Well, let's study it out.

This was Bush 1. My sons Isaac and David, you know, were saying, how do we apply the law of God to real life situations? Let's explore together. Here's a letter that I received from my daughter Anna about the perseverance of the Saints, and I want to read it to you. If you'll turn now in your Bibles to Matthew 13, She's writing to me about this parable.

And she says, the parable of the sower gives a pretty complete list of all the enemies of perseverance. And my daughters have been corresponding with other young girls who are home educated and have been quite a bit since they released that book so much more in 2005. And they've seen some spectacular, arrogant, disgraceful failures of young ladies who once claimed to be on fire for the Lord, whatever phrase that they might have wanted to use, and then quit, stop, bail out. She says, In the cases of every homeschooling family or individual we've known that has fallen away, the cause has been one of these things. They never really understood the word of the kingdom.

This is the phrase used in this parable. It made them vulnerable to overwhelming evil. They couldn't take tribulation and persecution on account of God's Word. And the cares of the world, literally the cares of the age and the deceitfulness of riches, which mean fullness, affluence, and material comfort, choked out their devotion to God's Word. This whole passage, she says, is all about the Word which is seed, and how it is received or stolen or choked out and doesn't take root in a person's life.

A person's growth and perseverance starts or ends with their attitude toward the word, with their attitude toward the word. And so that's what my girls have seen, is they've taught, and they've seen girls who have really persevered, and they've seen girls who have not. And they understand this. Let's dive into this passage in Matthew chapter 13, beginning in verse 19, and just look at it very quickly. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, there's so much confusion about this one doctrine, the word of the kingdom.

When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, this is why it's so important that we understand the word of the kingdom. The evangelical generation that your children are growing up in do not understand the kingdom of God, and on Christian radio you'll get conflicting false teaching all the time on the kingdom. Oh, well, the kingdom's for later. It's not for now. I've been criticized by teaching what some Christians say, oh, he's preaching that kingdom now stuff.

The kingdom doesn't happen till much later according to the eschatology we've been brought up in, they say. And Mr. Botkin is grossly mistaken. Well, they're not understanding the word of the kingdom and how are they living. What is the kingdom?

Well, Jesus Christ is the King of Kings, and the Messiah has come, was prophesied in Isaiah, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The government will rest upon his shoulders. Of the increase of his government, there will be no end. He's the king of every mayor, every police chief, every president, every prime minister, right now, today. And he's king, whether these people accept it or not.

They're either good subjects of the king, or they're worthless treasonous subjects of the King. That's the teaching of the kingdom. That's the word of the kingdom. If we don't get this right, look what happens. The evil, or the evil one, comes and snatches away what's been sown in his heart.

If we don't understand this very basic truth about Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Word will be snatched down to the hearts of your children and your family or your pastor or the radio host or the disc jockey who's playing the Christian music. Evil. The word is poneros. This evil will come and snatch away what's been sown in his heart. And just very quickly, let me just say, it's just the, the Greek is any form of evil, the contaminating, the degenerating influence that's around you.

What's atrocious, what's atrociously evil. It will come snatch the word out of your heart, what is sown in the heart. And that could be bad company. Parents, please protect your children from bad company. Bad churches, bad gospel, bad music, any other competing idea, or other Kingdom idea.

I mean, there are Christians who actually pray to Satan because they think he's in charge. You know, Satan be gone, Satan be, you know, we're going to, let's get together and have a prayer meeting about casting demons out of Christians and breaking the back of Satan. They've learned a new theology and they pray to a different Lord. I'd like to talk to you a little bit about contemporary Christian music of many different genres. This has been a very destructive influence to the Christians of my generation.

We don't have time to get into it, but that is a very bad influence, okay? So the word of the kingdom. Let me just say, this is so important. People ask us again, I've said, about our curriculum. How do you know?

Do you test your children? Do you take your test? Sometimes I like to say, look, if you only had one point of curriculum, if you only had one point on an exam, you know, kind of like a graduating exam for your children, this is the question I'd put on it. What is the kingdom of God and how are you seeking it? If our children can answer that biblically, you've trained them and taught them well.

This is so pivotal and foundational. What is the kingdom, and how are you seeking it? Daddies, this is so important for you to get a handle on so that you're teaching your children well. And young ladies, if a suitor comes around, this is a really good question to start off with, with a suitor. Young man, what are you...

Do you know what the kingdom is, And how are you seeking it? I mean, this is so important. This is more important than anything about his job, his career, his earning potential. Because if you seek first the kingdom of God, all these things that you'll ever need as a wife will be met. If your husband is seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

All these things that the Gentiles eagerly seek after will be added to you. This is vital doctrine. Let's keep moving in verse 20, Matthew 13 verse 20. The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places." This is the man who hears the Word and immediately receives it with joy. Yet he has no firm root in himself, which means he has no good hermeneutic.

I want you all to listen carefully to the men at this conference who are trying to teach you a good hermeneutic in understanding Scripture. Without that, you'll spend time in the Word and you'll be led astray because you're not getting the right hermeneutic. Character is root. You know, there's this new agricultural research that's come out recently that says, You know, we could do away with all our fertilizers for our plants and in agriculture, pesticides and herbicides, if we could just figure out how to make the roots stronger for the plants. Because if the roots are stronger, the plant gets to do what the plant is supposed to do.

It pulls up all the nutrition it needs to from the soil that God made. God made the dirt and He made the plant. He made the genetic code of the plant and the research shows you strengthen the root And the plant is healthy enough to fight off any bug, any mold, any mildew. Doesn't need fertilizer. It thrives.

It does well if the root is strong. Same with a Christian. Yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary. And when affliction or persecution arises because of the word immediately he falls away. I...

Some men from New Zealand who are here, two pastors from New Zealand told me two days ago, I said, yeah, we've got a lot of people who get started off to try to homeschool their children, and then persecution comes, and affliction comes, and it's usually in this form. It's either the wife who's afflicting the husband, or the in-laws, or somebody else in the culture, and it's just the criticism. It's just too hard for them, and they fall away. And they fall away. In the last year we've had leaders, Christian leaders, fall away.

Is that enough to make you fall, to make you temporary, or will you persevere? Here's some encouragement in the book of Hebrews that this is reminding Christians to hang on. Hebrews 10 verse 32, but remember the former days when after being enlightened you endured a great conflict of sufferings. I mean Christians who've got a lot of youthful enthusiasm, the persecution can tend to just roll right off of them. You endured a great conflict of sufferings.

Remember when you were young you endured a great conflict of sufferings? 33. Partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property. They weren't so materialistic that they were wrapped up in their vocations, in their investment portfolio.

They could accept joyfully the seizure of their stuff as Christians. Knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one. These were people who were persevering under persecution. Therefore do not throw away your confidence which has a great reward. This is a command given to us in Scripture.

Don't throw away your confidence. Why? You will be tempted to throw away your confidence. You will be tempted. Don't stop persevering.

Verse 36, you have need of endurance so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what was promised. For yet in a very little while he who is coming will come and not delay, but my righteous one shall live by faith." Kevin Swanson has said the thing that is making his church strong is the faith of the men in the church. If they have faith, the church is strong. If they have faith to get through a problem, the church is strong. It comes down to the faith.

You have to live by faith. And if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. What's pleasing to the Lord? You need to have faith. Without faith, it's not possible to please the Lord.

The persevering ambassador of Christ has faith. This is pleasing to the Lord. Proverbs 12 12 says, The root of the righteous yields fruit. Do you have faith? Do you have root in yourself?

Or are you temporary? Matthew 13 verse 22, running through the passage. And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world, the deceitfulness of wealth, choked the word, and it becomes unfruitful. The distractions of the age are all over your children. And it's been true forever.

This is what can choke the word. Calvin said each of us ought to endeavor to tear the thorns out of his heart if we don't want the word to be choked. For there's not one of us whose heart is not filled with a vast quantity. As I say, a thick forest of thorns. We have thorns in our heart, and Calvin said, there's not one in ten who goes about the business of rooting the thorns out of his heart, and labors to do it.

The Christian life will require work, even though we've got this great doctrine, the perseverance of the saints. It requires us to build ourselves up on our most holy faith. To endure, to not throw away our confidence, to tear the thorns out of our heart. And Calvin says that they really need to be uprooted rather than just cut down, to uproot them, uproot them. Verse 23 says, And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it, And who indeed bears fruit and brings forth some 100, some 60, and some 30.

So the Christian life is about bearing fruit. And how will it be for us if the Christian life is evaluated by fruitfulness? Are we bearing any fruit? Are we bearing 30? Are we bearing 60?

I want to bear a hundred. I want you all to bear a hundred. We're so outnumbered. I want us to bear a hundredfold. And you know, there are plenty of Christians out there who say they're on fire for Christ, they're doing well, they have their phrases on their t-shirts and their coffee mugs, and there's a difference between real fidelity and lip service.

Many a man will proclaim his own loyalty." This is Proverbs 20 verse 6. Many a man will proclaim his own goodness, but a faithful man who can find. A faithful man who can find. Semper Fi is short for always faithful, always full of faith. And there are people who like to throw this around in other phrases.

Semper reformanda. Hey, our families, we're great reformers. We're always faithful. And of course we're supposed to be. And I love the phrase in this.

I love these phrases. Semper Fi, Semper Fidelis, always faithful. This is how we should live and think, but are we truly faithful? There's a fiduciary responsibility to being part of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 4 1, Paul says this, Let a man regard us in this matter as servants, as subordinates of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.

Moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy." How trustworthy are we as parents at teaching these things? Trustworthy. Can the Lord Jesus trust us to teach these things that will give them the foundations to move forward and be faithful? Are we letting them toy and play with the sins of Jeroboam? It's a shame in our society that the teaching of the kingdom, the word of the kingdom is like a mystery to people.

And it's so simple. And the word fruitfulness is like a mystery. How we bear fruit is like a mystery. These are largely misunderstood or willfully misunderstood or conveniently forgotten truths that you parents need to uncover. Here's a mystery I want to tell you.

You need to tell your children. Fruitfulness is about building a civilization that honors Christ the King. That's my definition of fruitfulness in my family. Fruitfulness is about building civilization. What has my family contributed to building civilization that honors Christ the King?

Or to undermining it. What have we contributed to undermining it? By the way that we live and think and act and the jokes that we laugh at and the things that we do and the way we spend our time and the way that we entertain ourselves. Are we building a civilization Or are we getting comfortable with the sins of Jeroboam and the civilization he's building? We build on whatever we inherit, and we use whatever we inherit.

We can all be building civilization no matter who we are. If we're the Brewster family who's just landed in Plymouth and it's wintertime. We may have to devote a lot of our time to digging graves for our friends because they're dying. And we've got to just start from scratch cutting firewood. Imagine all the time that these men spent, But yet they're still able to speak to their children about the truth, the things of God and teach them.

We can build civilization no matter where we are. The people of South Sudan can build it from the dirt up if they're armed with the truths of scripture. David asks in Psalm 11, if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? Well, Christians would answer, well, we can persevere. If all the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?

Well, we build new foundations. That's what we have to be doing in the United States of America. They are destroyed. They're forgotten. They're trampled on.

We have to rebuild, and we have to start with self-governance, and then we have to build the family, and then we have to build the church in all righteousness and justice, then we have to build silver governance. And now, okay, I have 10 minutes left and it's time to start my sermon on the perseverance of the saints, okay? What's practical? What do we learn? What can I tell you?

The only sermons on the perseverance of the saints that have true integrity and power are the lives of the preacher's adult biological children and the lives of their adult spiritual children. Okay? I have some theological things that I can tell you about the perseverance of the saints. But the only thing that really has integrity and power will be the lives of my children. My biological children and the lives of my spiritual children.

That's where you need to look to get a sermon from Jeffrey Botkin on the perseverance of the saints. What have I done? And so what do I dare tell you today? If we don't succeed in imparting perseverance to our children, we've not truly persevered in the Christian life. Now I'm never giving up, no matter what my children do, I'm never giving up.

And I will persevere to the best of my ability, no matter what my infirmities might be. But the Christian life requires, If I'm true to this doctrine and true to my Savior and true to seeing glory and majesty and dominion and power for the Lord, built and achieved for all time, both now and forever, I need to teach my children to persevere. Okay, let me just tell you now in closing, five priorities that Victoria and I have tried to impart to our children. So our homeschooling adventure, our homeschooling experience really is, as I said at the beginning, teaching our children how to persevere, giving them charges on what's important and how they will teach their children. So really, our teaching is, children, We're training you to be married and have children and go on and serve the Lord and be as ambassadors.

That's what we're training you to do. We're training you to persevere in the faith and build Christian civilization and keep the priorities and teach the nations how to build fortresses around the laws of God so that there's no more decay and destruction. Here are the five things that we've tried to impart to our children. And history will tell you whether we succeeded or not as you look at their lives. As you look at their lives.

Number one, children, you need to master the gospel of the kingdom. You need to master the gospel of the kingdom. And when the Lord Jesus Christ talked about the gospel of the kingdom, he was using a word that was used very prominently in that time. The gospel of Caesar Augustus meant all the laws, edicts, statues, proclamations of Caesar, the divine Savior King. And so when Jesus Christ is using that term, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the gospel of the kingdom, he's talking about a kingdom that he has which has laws, edicts, proclamations, and statutes that must be obeyed because he's the authority.

And so we teach this to our children. The gospel of the kingdom is about the authority of Christ, how he indicts sinners, How justice is served when sinners are covered by the blood of the Lamb. How civilizations are changed as they embrace the laws of Jesus Christ and are blessed by God because of it. And so this is what we do. Point number two.

Children maintain an attitude to the Word of God that is holy and reverent. And so I have to do my part in modeling that to them, family worship, an attitude toward the Word of God that is holy and reverent. They have to be reverent. They must be reverent toward the Word. Their attitude toward the Word, like my daughter Anna said, that will determine everything about whether your children make it or don't.

Do they have a reverent, humble attitude? And the way you read the Word to your children, and this is all you do, men, daddies, mommies. Sit down with your children and read the Word of God humbly to them. It will do so much to set them up to persevere in the faith. And then learn on their own as they read the Bible on their own.

You cultivate the hearts of your children. I mean, how will I ever cultivate civilization and culture if I don't cultivate the hearts of my children so that the seed that's sown into their heart grows and takes big big root, deep root. Point number three, you need to model a consistent strategy of engagement with the world. I teach this to my children. A consistent strategy of engagement, that means, are you friendly with the world?

And an enemy of God? Or do you realize the world is a battleground, not a playground. America will teach you every day of your life, children. America is the greatest playground in the world. That's why everybody wants to move to America.

But the world's a battleground. It's a spiritual battle zone. In our family, we seek and destroy the idols of our time. We do not play with idols. We do not play with the idols of our time.

And if you model that in your family and you teach your children, Let's see if they can persevere in that. Point number four. We study to stand in the gates and not be ashamed. Children, can you stand in the gates and not be ashamed? Can you stand in any gate?

The gates of law, the gates of media, the gates of military service, the gates of agriculture, the gates of science, the gates of journalism. Can you stand in the gates, teach them, instruct them, disciple them, and not be ashamed? Can you stand up and make a case for scriptural truth? And so our education of course would take that form of preparing them for that. That they be well read, that they understand, like John Adams said, you know, the mark of a good education is that you prepare your children to be able to serve in any office, both public and private, and know how to do it.

Could your son stand on the helm of a ship and be a good captain of a ship, giving orders and manage well? Fight in a battle, engage an enemy. That's what standing in the gates is. And if your quiver is full of children who can do that, You're blessed. Psalm 127.

In point number five, we talk a lot about covenant succession, covenantal continuity, from family to family to family. We have family legacies. We have a family inheritance. Every day of my life I'm giving my children their inheritance in spiritual wisdom and instruction. This is so important.

Marriage is important. Prepare your children for marriage. Good marriage. Careful marriages. When we look at the perseverance of God's people as we study the kings, how many kings were righteous, how many were wicked?

It's pretty, it's not the best legacy, But that's our legacy. Eight were wicked and five were not. And here's something interesting. Every one of the wicked ones had either a wicked mother or a wicked wife or both. Have you ever seen that in Scripture?

Your children need to be very... You need to marry... They need to marry very carefully. Everything that you invested in them could be sunk by the bad marriages they make contract. And so what does faithful Christian living look like?

It's just, it's work. It's work to do this on a regular basis, to think that we will not be persevering unless we can impart perseverance to our children. 1 Corinthians 15 58. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Steadfast, immovable.

This is, this is, these are your marching orders in the charge that I'm leaving with you today. Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work. It's work. Always abounding when you're tired. Don't grow weary.

In the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. You're living by faith to know that. Faithful work looks like cultivating and sowing and reaping. Cultivating the hearts of your children, sowing the word into them, reaping from that. And I close with this verse, 1 Thessalonians 4-1, Finally then brethren, We request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God, just as you actually do walk, that you excel still more.

And so this is my charge to you. I'm speaking to a group of families here who've been doing good. You've been doing good. You've been walking in a way that's been pleasing to the Lord to rip your children out of the hands of the pagans who would educate them in a false theology. Thank you for doing that.

You children honor your parents for their work in doing that. But I request and exhort you in the Lord that you excel still more. This is how you persevere more. I exhort you that you continue to work as hard as you can for the glory, the majesty, and the dominion, and the authority of our great God and Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord before all time and now and forever. Amen.

And this is where we'll close. And what I always want to do is stop and take any questions that I can. Now, you all are dismissed at this point. We're a few minutes over time here, but I will be here. And if there are any who have any questions at all you can ask now, you can ask in a few minutes privately.

Are there any now that I should address by way of clarification or correction? Anything you'd like to ask at this point? Anybody? Okay, well let's close in prayer and then you can head on to the main hall, but anyone who would like to stay and talk to me, I will be available. Our Father in Heaven, we do thank you for this instruction.

We thank you that you are able to keep us from failing and stumbling and leaving our post. We're thankful for the work of Jesus Christ, Your Son, who has enabled us to stand in the presence of Your glory, blameless with great joy. And Lord, we are happy. We're happy for that. We're happy that our names are written in the book of life.

We rejoice in that. And Lord, we pray that now that we are your servants, that we would be set apart, that you would sustain us, that we would be able to achieve glory and majesty and dominion and authority for your son Jesus Christ. Lord help us to extend his reign I pray every place that we have any influence at all and that our children can go beyond us in that. Help us to do it right in our homes. Help us to do it faithfully in our churches.

Help us to do it in our local counties. Glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, I pray, before all time and now and forever. Amen. Information about the National Center for Family Integrated Churches where you