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Redeemed Peoples Mission Media Yola, 8 Dampa Street, State Lowcost, Jimeta, Yola (2026)

27/08/2026

TOPIC: DANGERS OF LACK OF GODLY WISDOM

ANCHOR SCRIPTURES: PROVERBS 9:10; JAMES 3:13-17

MINISTERING: DEAC. CHRISTOPHER GEORGE IMAN

DATE: 26TH AUGUST ’26

INTRODUCTION

We shall be looking at the topic titled “Dangers of Lack of Godly Wisdom.” Let me start with this simple illustration. We are talking about wisdom. What is this wisdom we have been talking about? Imagine a man driving at night. When you are a driver, you have your car, and you are driving on a road, a highway, with so many potholes on the road. But you refuse to turn on your headlights. What will happen? When the highway is full of potholes and you refuse to turn on your headlights, how will the outcome be positive? He will possibly fall into a pothole or even crash the car. That headlamp represents wisdom.

Without wisdom, a person drives blindly, even when the light is right there, available to him. The man is driving without light, not because the car does not have a light, not because light is unavailable to him, but because of lack of wisdom, he refuses to turn on the light. Hallelujah. This is exactly how life works.

Many people go through life. They have marriages, businesses, careers, ministries, relationships, and decision-making without God's wisdom to guide them. And the result is often disaster.

When you sail through this journey of life without God's wisdom, the end result can be disastrous. Tonight, we will be looking closely at these dangers that lack of godly wisdom brings. A lot of people mistake godly wisdom for worldly wisdom. This godly wisdom we are talking about, you cannot get simply because you have so much experience in life or because you are highly educated.

The godly wisdom we are talking about, or divine wisdom, is wisdom that comes from God. A lot of times, we struggle in life because we apply worldly wisdom where we need godly wisdom.

WHAT IS GODLY WISDOM?

Before we talk about the dangers, we need to understand what godly wisdom is, so we know exactly what we are missing when we lack it. Proverbs 9:10 says,

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”

So, this godly wisdom we are talking about is not simply what we imagine wisdom to be. It begins with the fear of the Lord. When you fear the Lord, you begin to walk in godly wisdom.

The fear of the Lord takes away strife. It takes away unhealthy competition. Sometimes we are in the church as a family, but there is this tendency for us to compete with one another. All these things happen when we lose the fear of the Lord. When I fear the Lord, when you fear the Lord, I will not deliberately hurt you. I will not talk back against you. I will not go and say things that will destroy your reputation. Hallelujah.

The same thing applies in our families. Sometimes, even inside the family, we lead our families in this lack of wisdom, this lack of fear of God. When you fear the Lord, you will not treat your family as an enemy. When you have the means to provide for your family and shoulder your responsibilities, you will not deliberately shy away from them.

So, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Godly wisdom is not the same as book knowledge. It is not the same thing we obtain in universities. Sometimes, one can be very brilliant in the secular world, but when it comes to doing the things of the Lord, you discover that the person lacks wisdom.

Education can make you knowledgeable, experience can make you skilled, but the fear of the Lord teaches you how to live rightly before God. Sometimes, one can be above seventy years and still behave like a child because he lacks godly wisdom. Godly wisdom is the wisdom that comes from God, given to those who reverence Him and walk in His ways.

Sometimes, people fear the Lord, not because they reverence Him, but because of the consequences. In the village, sometimes some people are afraid to steal, not because they reverence God, not because they genuinely fear God, but because they are afraid of the consequences—that they will be caught, taken to the police, and sentenced.

But if you have the fear of God, even when nobody is watching you, you will still do what is right. Even if you are the only person in the community or in the house and you see a huge amount of money, you will not touch it, not because someone is looking at you, but because you have this fear of the Lord.

James 3:13–17 shows us that there are two kinds of wisdom: wisdom from below and wisdom from above.

Earthly or worldly wisdom is characterised by envy, selfish ambition, pride, disorder, and every evil practice. When your brother or neighbour is progressing, instead of being happy with him, you become jealous and angry. It is because you are not allowing godly wisdom to govern your heart.

It is full of selfish ambition. Sometimes, people want everything to happen in their own favour. When it does not happen in their favour, they withdraw, become bitter, or refuse to take responsibility.

Another characteristic of worldly wisdom is pride. When one is full of pride, he finds it difficult to accept correction. Sometimes we misbehave in the church, and when the church leadership calls our attention to it, instead of humbly accepting our mistake, we begin to defend ourselves. Is there any human being that is too big to be corrected?

Pride makes people reject correction. It makes people think they are clever when, in reality, they are walking without the fear of God. Sometimes, when you take advantage of someone less privileged, you may think you have succeeded. You think you are clever, but you are lacking the wisdom that matters—the fear of God.

But James tells us that the wisdom from above is pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy (James 3:17). When you have this godly wisdom, you become a lover of peace. Even when it is your right, you may choose peace. Abraham demonstrated this when he allowed Lot to choose first rather than fighting over the land (Genesis 13:8–9).

When you have this wisdom in your family, as a husband or as a wife, your family will progress. When there is misunderstanding, you do not make the situation worse. You seek peace. This godly wisdom is genuine. It is open to reason. It is open to correction. When you are being corrected, even if you are seventy years old, and a younger person calls your attention to something you have done wrongly, you should be humble enough to listen.

It is full of mercy and good fruits. When you see your brother in a difficult situation, you share what you have with him. You show mercy to those who deserve it and even to those who may not appear deserving of it.

So, the danger we are discussing tonight is what happens when we live our lives, our marriages, our work, our businesses, and our ministry without this wisdom from above.

THE DANGERS OF LACKING GODLY WISDOM

1. It Leads to Destruction — Hosea 4:6

When we lack godly wisdom, destruction is bound to happen. Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” Notice that God was speaking about His own people, not unbelievers. Even a believer can walk into destruction when he refuses to apply godly wisdom.

This is not simply about failing to know Bible verses. You can know many Bible verses and still make destructive decisions. The issue is whether you apply godly wisdom to real-life decisions.

For any decision we want to make in life, we should seek the grace of God. We should apply godly wisdom. A person can have talent, opportunity, education, and connections, but without wisdom to direct them, those things can be wasted. We see this sometimes in the world: people are highly talented, but instead of using their talent to glorify God, they use it for things that eventually destroy them.

Talent without wisdom can become a wasted opportunity. Opportunity without wisdom can become a trap. May the Lord help us to embrace godly wisdom and divine knowledge in Jesus' name. Amen.

2. It Leads to Costly, Lifelong Mistakes — 1 Kings 3; 1 Kings 11-12

When you lack godly wisdom, sometimes the mistake you make is not one that can be corrected within a short period. Sometimes, the mistake can be lifelong. Sometimes you will regret it for the whole of your life.

Consider Solomon. In 1 Kings 3, Solomon asked God for wisdom, and God gave him extraordinary wisdom. But later in life, Solomon allowed his foreign wives to turn his heart away from God (1 Kings 11:1–8). The wisdom God gave him did not continue to guide his choices to the end, and the consequences were serious: the kingdom was torn apart after his death (1 Kings 11:11–13; 12:1–20).

Then there is Rehoboam, Solomon's son. In 1 Kings 12, the older and wiser men advised him to treat the people gently. But he rejected their counsel and listened to the young men he had grown up with. That single decision contributed to the permanent division of the kingdom.

Sometimes, because we feel educated, because we feel we are seeing small, small money, or because we believe we understand the world better, we tend to do away with the counsel of the elderly. Sometimes, even when our biological parents are calling our attention or giving us advice, we reject them—particularly when we are educated and our parents are not.

The new generation sometimes sees the wisdom of the elderly as old school. But not everything that is old is outdated, and not everything that is new is wise.

The issue is not whether the counsel comes from an old person or a young person. The issue is whether it agrees with godly wisdom.

Beloved, one decision made without godly wisdom can affect a ministry, a marriage, or a business for years to come. One single decision that we make without godly wisdom can affect our ministry, our marriage, our business, our children, and even the people coming after us.

May the Lord help us not to make costly, lifelong mistakes as a result of lack of godly wisdom in Jesus' name.

3. It Makes You an Easy Target for Deception — Ephesians 5:15-17

When you lack godly wisdom, you become an easy target for deception. Sometimes people become victims of fraud because they refuse to apply wisdom. They want things to happen quickly. They want to become rich without discipline, without patience, without proper process, and then they become victims. Ephesians 5:15-17 says,

“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise... Therefore, do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

Before you make any decision, seek the grace of the Lord. Understand what the will of the Lord is. That is why God has given us spiritual leaders and mature believers. Sometimes, when you cannot discern something alone, seek godly counsel.

Without wisdom, a person becomes easy to deceive. Wisdom helps us discern between what is from God and what is not from God. Divine wisdom gives you a discerning spirit. It teaches you to ask questions, examine things carefully, compare what you hear with the Word of God, and refuse to be carried away by every attractive promise.

Not everything that glitters is gold, and not everything that sounds spiritual is from God. When you study your Bible very well and apply godly wisdom, you become more discerning.

4. It Brings Confusion and Disorder — James 3:16

The fourth danger of lack of godly wisdom is that it brings confusion and disorder. James 3:16 says,

“For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.”

When we lack godly wisdom, the end is confusion. Sometimes you see people fighting within themselves—within families, between siblings, among church members, and even among friends. Sometimes there is confusion in decision-making, in businesses, in academics, and even in ordinary daily choices.

When there is jealousy, selfish ambition, anger, and unhealthy competition, disorder follows. Any family, church, or community that lacks godly wisdom in its leadership will eventually show it through confusion, division, and disorder.

Look at the kind of division we see around us today—division around ethnicity, tribalism, religion, politics, and social differences. Wisdom from above brings peace. Without peace, chaos follows. That is what is happening in many places today because of the lack of godly wisdom and the lack of the fear of the Lord. May the Lord help us in Jesus' name.

HOW DO WE OBTAIN GODLY WISDOM? — JAMES 1:5

The good news is that this godly wisdom we are talking about can be obtained. It is accessible to us all. It is not something God wants to hide from us. James 1:5 says,

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”

It is as simple as that. If you lack wisdom, go back to God, the giver of godly wisdom. He gives it freely. He is always willing to give it to those who sincerely seek Him. Hallelujah.

First, ask God for wisdom. We simply need to ask in faith, believing in Him and surrendering ourselves to Him. But beyond asking, we must remain in the Lord and walk faithfully with Him.

Second, stay in the Word of God. Study the Word of God and apply it to your life. Wisdom grows as we read and meditate on Scripture daily. It is just like a seed. The only way it can grow is when we read the Word of God and meditate on it daily. That is how the wisdom in you will grow.

Third, walk in the fear of God. Remember, Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” If you want godly wisdom, you must reverence God and allow His Word to govern your decisions.

Fourth, receive godly counsel. Remain humble enough to accept correction from mature believers. When we are corrected, we should not immediately become defensive. We should listen, examine ourselves, and correct our ways. Rehoboam rejected the counsel of the elders, and the consequences were costly. May the Lord help us in Jesus' name.

Fifth, seek discernment before you act. Ask God to show you the right path before you make decisions. Do not rush into things simply because they look attractive or because everybody else is doing them. Ask: Is this the will of God? Is this consistent with the Word of God? What are the consequences? Have I sought godly counsel?

CLOSING CHARGE

You know, as I said earlier, people like us will do everything because we are judges. But, beloved, life does not give us room to simply guess our way through it.

In this life, you don't just go where you want to go or make decisions the way you want to make them. Every day, we face decisions in our marriages, businesses, ministries, careers, academics, relationships, and our walk with God. Without godly wisdom to guide us, we become like the man who was driving on a dark road without light.

Remember the illustration we gave at the beginning of our talk. The car had a headlamp, but the driver refused to turn it on. The problem was not that the light was unavailable. The problem was that he failed to use the light available to him. That is how many people live. God has made wisdom available, but we refuse to ask for it, seek it, receive it, and apply it.

So, this evening, let us not simply hear this message and go home unchanged. Let us decide from today: We will ask God for wisdom. We will remain in His Word. We will walk in the fear of the Lord. We will stay humble enough to receive correction and counsel. Let us remember that:

“Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding” (Proverbs 4:7)

23/08/2026

TOPIC: WISDOM TO RAISE THE DESTINIES OF GODLY CHAMPIONS

ANCHOR SCRIPTURE(S): PROVERBS 22:6

MINISTERING: DEAC. ROSE SOLOMON

DATE: 23RD AUGUST ’26

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it (Prov 22:6, KJV).

INTRODUCTION

God has entrusted into our hands, parents, one of the greatest ministries in our lives, and what is that ministry? It is our children. That ministry is our children. God has called you and I, or would I say, God has called you out from your family for a purpose. He called you out so that you will raise godly children, and He called you out and then taught you His way so that you will raise these children according to His purpose. God has called you to raise disciples for His kingdom work. The Bible says in Proverbs 22:6:

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

Before we go into the message, we want to look at who is a champion.

WHO IS A CHAMPION?

We want to look at the word champion. In an ordinary sense, a champion is a person who achieves victory, overcomes challenges, demonstrates courage, and pursues excellence.

But now, let’s look at it from the spiritual sense:

A godly champion is someone who overcomes challenges through faith. He/she is someone who trusts God and also walks in victory. A champion is a person who is raised above difficulty; whenever there is difficulty, he rises above it. A champion is also a person who fulfils his or her God-given purpose. A champion is a person who achieves greater things through God's strength—not through any man's strength or through any other effort, but through God's strength. That is a champion, a godly champion.

Now let’s look at how to raise these godly champions.

HOW TO RAISE THESE GODLY CHAMPIONS

I have three things to discuss:

1. Be a Watchman and Also a Teacher.
2. Display Christ Before Them to See.
3. Discipline with Love.

Then, we will consider two important questions:

What is wisdom? And
What does it mean to train a child – a champion – in the way he or she should go?

1. BE A WATCHMAN AND ALSO A TEACHER (HEBREWS 4:12)

On Friday night we said a godly champion is a person who knows his God; he stands strong; and he also does exploits. We got that in Daniel 11.

After you have taught your child to know God, you also need to watch your child and know where to teach him, where to teach or what to teach him. Because if you do not watch, you will not see the goodness in the child, and you will not know the errors in that child, unless you take time to watch. There are some things that are hidden also by the child. Though some are displayed, and some are also hidden that you may not know. They do it in secret. You can go to the overall Watchman, who does not sleep or slumber, who has asked us, who has told us in His Word that except He watches, if not so, we watch in vain. You can go to Him to also reveal those hidden things. Because there are things that children do in hiding, in secret, and they know that it is bad. If they do it before you, you will correct them, and so they do it in secret. And it is only the overall Boss, God in heaven, who can reveal that to you, as you are the watchman here on earth.

So, you watch your children so that you will know the area to teach them, or where they are lacking, so that you know where to come in teaching them. What are you going to teach them? That is another question.

What are you going to teach them? In everything that you will teach them, it is good to teach them from the Word of God. You teach them from the Word of God because that is where your strength is coming from. The Bible says:

“For the word of God is living and powerful.”

King James says, “...it is quick.”

If the Word of God is quick, then you can imagine: if there is a kind of problem in the life of your child that you are finding too difficult to change, introduce the Word of God and get it to eliminate that quickly. Is the problem so strong, so powerful that you think that nothing can take it away? You can trust the Word of God because He says it is powerful. So, it is powerful. It can take away every dead thing.

Sometimes, children seem to have this: there is no willingness to do the things of God. So, when you introduce the Word of God, because it is powerful, it can raise; it can awaken that heart from that dead place. It can also wake the zeal of God in that child. Sometimes we do tell children, “Do you have deaf ears?” No matter how deaf the child is, when you introduce the Word of God, because it is powerful, it can open those ears. Is the child blind so that he cannot understand, even when you are correcting him? Since he cannot understand, you can introduce the Word of God. You can trust the Word of God because it is powerful to open those eyes that are blind to seeing the reality.

Is it that the head is strong? Sometimes they tell us, “You strong head. Blockhead.” You don't need to do that. You have the key in your hand, and it is the Word of God. You can use it to open up that mind, that engine room inside the child, so that he can do according to the Word of God.

And His Word is sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Sometimes in children there is confusion. They have their own thoughts. And I will give an example.

There was this child who would go to the pot and pick meat. I will not call it stealing. He used to go and pick meat in the pot anytime soup was being cooked. And I was involved in that case. They said they had beaten and beaten and beaten, and then the child refused to change. They didn't know what to do. So, I said, let them allow me to talk with the child one-on-one. I asked him, “Why? What happened that you went to the pot and picked meat? Can you tell me?” He said, “Ma, the reason why I don't want to talk, I'm scared because my daddy and my mommy will beat me. But it's from them I learn.”

I said, “How?”

He said, “My daddy, anytime they cook soup, he will go. Even in the absence of mommy, he will go and pick meat and then eat. And the way he's picking it, he will pick it in the hand and then follow it to the back of the kitchen and then eat the meat. And sometimes, if anyone sees him, he will bite a little and give the person. So, when I started picking my own, they started beating me.”

When he was talking, inside my mind I said, “Holy Spirit, help me. How do I address this?” I said, “Help me. Help me.” So, when the child finished, I said, “Is that the only reason?” He said, “Yes.”

I said, “If you are the father of the house. You are the overall boss of the house.”

He said, “Yes.”

I said, “And I suppose you'll be the one buying food, buying the soup, buying the meat and bringing everything.”

He said, “Yes.”

I said, “If you are the one buying the meat, anytime you choose to go and eat the meat, do you need to take permission from anybody?”

He said, “No.”

I said, “That is what your father is doing. He's the one who bought the meat. He has the right to pick the meat anytime he wants to pick. But what of you? Are you the owner of the meat?

He said, “No.”

“How much are you contributing?”

He said, “Not.”

I said, “Even your school fees, he's the one paying. He's the one buying clothes for you. He's the one caring for everything. So why will you take a position that does not belong to you? You are running faster than your shadow.”

And that is how that child came to the understanding. I read some portion of Scripture. I told him, “If you are doing that, you are stealing. So, from today, stop it.”

He said, “Okay.” He promised me he would try to stop it.

And I also want us to learn something here: if you are training, please, you have to train with patience. Because as we are seated here, if I ask you, is it the day you gave your life to Christ that you stopped doing everything wrong in your life? So, you have to be patient with them. You repeat it again and again until the child changes—in the repeating, not only with your mouth, but also on your knees. When you go to God on your knees, the child can come out of it. You do the physical and see if the child is changing. If it is not changing, go back again to the Owner of that child. Because, as far as I am concerned, what God has given to you is not your own. He only gave you as a caretaker here on earth to take care of that child. You go back to Him again and report the case, report the matter, and see what He will do about that child.

You can go to the Lord God who has been with that child to call the life of that child to order. So, as I say, the Word of God is very powerful to help raise champions. Why? Because the Word of God is His Spirit.

And how do you do these things? How do you do that? You do it by speaking it. You declare it to them.

I want us to look at the word mouth. In Greek, the word mouth is called “The front or edge of a thing, of a weapon.” So, you can see, your mouth is a weapon. You can use your mouth to declare the Word of God. Say what you want to say. Use it to cut down those unwanted things that you don't want to see in the life of your child, in the life of your sons and your daughters. You can also read Ephesians 6:17 and Revelation 1:16.

Yes, we can see that the Word of God is strong, even up to the pulling down of strongholds; what can the Word of God not do in the life of your child? Those things, you can bring them out. The Word of God is capable of separating their soul. Because there is what we call a soul tie. Sometimes even the child will tell you, “I don't know why I'm doing it. I want to stop it, but I don't know how to stop it. When the thing comes, I cannot resist it. I have to do it.” That is a soul tie. You can introduce the Word of God to separate your child from that soul tie, to separate your child from the works of darkness.

2. DISPLAY CHRIST BEFORE THEM TO SEE

I believe “a godly character speaks louder than a thousand or thousands of someone's preaching.” Children watch how you treat people. They watch how you behave. Don't be a parent who will tell them, “Do as I say, but don't do as I do.” Why did I say so?

We need to spell out s*x education to our children. If not, AI, the media, and their friends out there will do that for you. When they do that, they will do it the wrong way.

I know so many parents are shy about doing that, but do it, please, because the generation we are in has gone to another level. Some of our parents were not here yesterday. We talked about handsets. Sometimes a child may ask you for your phone to do assignments, but at the same time, as he is doing that assignment, he is doing extra things, maybe hundreds of them at once. Because they can operate this thing much more than you. They can enter places. When they see you coming, they quickly come out of there and even delete it quickly. When you are away, they go back again, and you think the child is doing the assignment. No. So, take time to teach your children s*x education.

I asked one of the parents, “How do you teach your child s*x education?” He said, “I leave them to hear what we are doing so that they will learn also.” I said, “That is a very bad way of teaching, and that is a very wrong way of doing that.” I said, “That is not the way.”

But in school, this is what I used to tell the students. I called them and said, “You see s*x, eh?” Yes. Because so many of them say, “It is written in the Bible.” And why is it that you are telling us not to do it? If you allow those children to be outspoken, they can speak their minds. And when they speak their minds, you need to spell it out for them.

So, they say, “Why are they stopping us from....”

I say, “Yes, s*x is good, and it's ordained by God, but...,” I say, “you know, when there is a but in something, you know that thing, you are not allowed to go that way anyhow.” I now read a Scripture. I say, “The Bible said s*x is for a man [a married man], s*x is for a woman [a married woman]. Are you a man [a married man]?” They say, “No.” “What are you called?” “A boy.” I say, “Can a boy jump to become a man?” “No.” “What are you called?” “A girl.” I say, “Can a girl jump to become a woman?” “No.” I say, “The Bible says there is a time for everything under the surface of this earth. You have to wait.”

It's not even for a teenager; it's not even for the person who calls himself a youth. You have to wait until your time—the time that you have become a man [a married man] or the time that you have become a woman [a married woman]. Then you are allowed. In the allowing, there are processes you need to go through before you do that. You don't just jump into it.

And I also tell them, anytime you are in a place, whether it's your brother, your uncle, your auntie, your whoever, and somebody is touching you in places where you know that they are not supposed to touch, run for your life or look for help.

We must teach our children what is right, what is wrong, what is safe, what is dangerous, and whom they can trust. We must not leave them to learn the most important things of life from the internet, from strangers, from friends, or from people who may mislead them. We must sit with them, listen to them, answer their questions, and guide them with the truth of God's Word.

So, teach your children. Display Christ before your children to see Him—not telling them that, “You should do as I say, but don't do as I do.” If you want them to do as you do, what do you do? Use the pattern that Christ has taught us in the Word of God. And God will help us.

3. DISCIPLINE WITH LOVE

Correction without love pushes a child away, and love without truth leads a child astray; it leaves them without proper guidance. Why? Because in loving them, you do not show them the truth. And we say champions are those who speak the truth with their mouth. The Bible says, in Deuteronomy 6:6-7:

“And these words which I command you this day shall be in your heart, and you shall teach them diligently unto your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”

How many of us take time to sit with our children? Or are you always running for business? The day before yesterday, one of the parents in our children’s playlet was saying, “I am late for business. I am late for the office.” Do you sit with your children? Take time to sit with them.

And when you sit with them, maybe when they are watching cartoons, you can explain that cartoon in a godly way. You can check the character there and then turn it to explain it in a godly way. Do you sit with them? Do you read bedtime stories to your children? I know so many will say no.

For a godly champion, I use a children's Bible to read bedtime stories to them. And after doing that, we pray, and they go to bed. Do you teach them? This is instruction not from me, but from God Himself. This is another way of displaying Christ to your children. The Bible says in Ephesians 6:4:

“And you fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”

Some of us provoke our children in the name of correction, but it is not good. These are some of the mistakes we used to make as parents. You are at home, and you tell your child, “When anybody comes, tell the person I am not around.” What are you teaching that child? As simple as you think, that is very simple, but the child is learning. You are teaching that child to lie. And one day, the child also knows that he has committed something; what will he do? He will quickly remember what you did that day, and you are the one who instructed him to do that. He will also do the same to you. He will also lie.

And after that, we will not look at our own fault. We beat the child and say, “You are lying.” It is not the habit of a godly child, while you are the one who caused it.

I pray that God will help us parents to correct these simple, simple mistakes. Or when a child does something. Instead of correcting a child, what you do is that you place a curse on that child. It is very, very wrong. Anything you say, it will work on your child. And when it begins to work, don't complain because you are the one who caused it. I pray that God will help us to learn if we are making those mistakes and change in Jesus' name.

WHAT IS THE WISDOM?

The wisdom for raising our children is found in the Word of God. And we go back to the first Scripture we read: Proverbs 22:6. He said, “Train up a child.”

Train up a child in the way he should go. That is to say, godly children have ways they are supposed to go. And I give an example with Daniel. When Daniel was young, before they went to Babylon, Jeremiah was there preaching, and preaching. And those children kept those words inside of them. When they were in the land of Babylon, they were asked to eat from the king's food. They remembered that, no, that is not the way it is supposed to be. Out of thousands who were there eating from that delicious food, they refused to eat. Why? Because they remembered that there is a way that the godly champion is supposed to go.

And one of the days again, when King Nebuchadnezzar said they should bow down to worship his image, these three stood. Out of the thousands that were there, everybody was bowing down. Only the three of them stood strong. They refused to bow down. Why? Because they remembered that there is a way that they are taught to follow, not this one.

So godly champions have a way that they follow. You, as a parent, are given that responsibility to teach your child the way that he should follow, so that even when you are not there, they will remember that, “No, this is not the way I am supposed to follow. This is not the way my parents taught me. This is not the way they showed me in the Word of God. I will not do that.”

And I have given this story before. I will still tell the story.

One of the days, a child who cannot speak very well in the market came to the market with my neighbour. So, when they reached the shop, when it was time for Sallah, this girl called the Auntie who brought her, “Auntie Jessica, give me water.”

Jessica said, “What do you want to do with water?”

“I want to pray,” the girl said.

Why? Because her parents taught her that this is the way she will go even if they are not there. You, as Christians who know the right thing to do, how many of you have taught your child the way that she will go even if you are not around, even if you are not there?

And we were looking at her. She washed her legs. She cannot even do the Sallah very well, but she went and did it. After she finished, she said, “Now, I have finished.”

How many of us sit down to teach our children the Bible? How many of us tell them that there is a time for everything? There is time for you to read your Bible, there is time for you to pray, there is time for you to do your house chores and the rest of that. How many of us?

So, God is depending on us to teach these children so that we will be able to raise them as godly champions. You have the responsibility to train them the way they should go. Train them in such a way that even if the whole of Nigeria is going the wrong way, let them stand strong to go the right way. The Lord help us in Jesus' name.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO TRAIN A CHILD?

We see that to train means to teach, guide, and prepare. When you are preparing a person, it is not a day’s job. It is not a day's work. So, you should prepare that child. Be patient in preparing that child.

How will you prepare? You prepare through discipline. You prepare through instruction from the Word of God. You prepare also by practising it yourself and asking the person to practise it. And also, you lay godly examples for them to see.

So, if we are the type that do that, we train them in such a way that when they grow old, they will never, never forget what you have taught them. There are some things that my father taught me up to today; I cannot forget them.

Number one, you don't insult in our house. Yesterday I was asking my stepsister in the hospital. She said, “I don't know how to insult.” You dare not say “waka.” When you are a small child, they will flog you, flog you, as if they will kill you. They continue doing that until the child grows to stop that insult.

And there are things again I don't know how to steal money. I don't know how to do that. Why? Because I have been trained by my father.

So, what is that good thing that you know that your parents have taught you and it has helped you, and you withhold it and refuse to teach your child? God is depending on you to teach the children the way they should go so that when they grow old, they will not depart from it.

Because for me, up to now, I still practise those things. It is very hard for me to swear and say “Allah kuwa,” or say, “waka” or “shege,” no, or see your money and have long throat for your money,” no.

So, we should train them to grow in faith, good character, obedience, divine wisdom, and also love of God. Also teach them to serve God. We should teach them to serve God. When we teach them to serve God, they will grow in it and will not regret.

I used to tell people that if you train your child well, whether they go to anywhere, or even to the ends of the earth, you can sleep well because you know what you have put into that child. You can sleep well.

I also have a word for my children. When you are being guided, trained, corrected, don't be stubborn. If there is anything you do not understand, ask your parents. If you are scared of your parents, you can ask your Sunday school teachers. If you are scared to ask your Sunday school teacher, our daddy is here, our mother is here. You can ask them, and they will answer you.

If you are being stubborn, you have held on to any character that you know is not God's. Today, the Bible is telling you that that is not the way you should go. Follow the way of God.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, I want to have this final word for our parents. Parents, your children are not raised just to be successful. If you are raising them only to be successful in worldly things, you are getting it wrong. Not just to be successful, but you are raising them as arrows. The Bible says in the book of Psalms 127:3-4:

“Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth” (KJV).

We also call on the church to also help us support. A child is not for one person. Whenever you see a child is doing what is bad, correct that child. Several times I will see children out there that I don't know. Some of them are children of Muslims. Sometimes nonsense pictures will be thrown by all these people that sell all these rubbish drugs. Children will be watching. If I come across that, I shout at them. I say, “Is it what you are supposed to be watching? Is that what your mother sent you to come and do? Is that what you are called to do in the market?” And somehow, I collect the things from them and some of them learn. The child may not understand. When you know that this is what a child is supposed to do, ask him to do it. Don't be scared of the child.

The church therefore should help. Support us in raising these children in a godly way, so that we will not raise them for the world to use, but we will raise them for God. We will send them for God, we will raise them for God and send them also for God to do the work of God. May the Lord help us in Jesus’ name. Amen!

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