A practical discussion on the importance of the time we take and what we put “IN” to our children and the huge difference of what comes “OUT”.

National Family Retreat 2018: Living Faith

<p>A practical discussion on the importance of the time we take and what we put “IN” to our children and the huge difference of what comes “OUT”.</p>

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

Restoration International

Alane Waters

Tom Waters

In & Out

This message is a family message, and it's really just sharing the importance of what we put in and what God helps us to recognize that we need to put in is a very important part of what's going to come out.

And so we're living in a world right now that is very quickly degenerating.

And there's certainly an agenda that's out there that's very plain and that it's trying to push for moral degeneration and much of that is targeted at the family.

And so tonight we're just going to be sharing together.

We've been reading, going back and to the very beginning again with the Bible.

We've done this over the years several times.

We're going back and every time we go back and reread the Bible, We do it in a little different way.

And this time we're doing it as we do the Bible, as we read the Bible, we're often looking at different versions of the Bible as we're reading through.

And then we're following with the inspired commentary.

Right now we're back near the beginning, Patriarchs and Prophets, and it's amazing when we're focusing on something and reflecting on something like what we put in and then what we're going to get out in our family, it gives a whole new dynamic to the story of Abraham, for example, and the story of Lot.

And we're going to talk a little bit about that contrast of what they went through and what they put in and what came out as a result.

We can never exhaust the wisdom of God's Word.

It's fresh every time we go back and look at very familiar passages, maybe some we've memorized very familiar stories that we can recite and yet there are so many lessons that keep in our experience we keep peeling off layer after layer after layer.

And some people would think, well, why would this be important to you at your age and stage of life?

The 2 of us, we're still a family, right?

But you don't just have to have children.

And so as we've gone back, we have found some of the most dynamic and powerful principles for raising families and for relationships that we have seen in the very beginning of the scriptures, especially in relation to parenting.

Even though this isn't a parenting message tonight, it is a family message, so it's for all of us here tonight.

That is true, but we're really a family of 3.

My 90-year-old mother lives with us and she's very much a part of the family.

And even as recent as just a week or 2 ago, she started sharing something that I had never heard in my life from way back in her early life.

So we can still be learning and gleaning from that.

So as my husband mentioned, we're going to be looking at the message tonight in and out, in and out, through the example of Abraham.

So this message is based on Genesis chapters 13 through 18.

And we're not gonna go through and read it all, but we encourage you after the presentation, maybe for your evening before going to bedtime, your morning devotions, go back and look at that and see what other beautiful nuggets you can dig up in regards to God working with us as families.

I want you to pack up your household and I want you to move.

Okay, now how many of you move but you had no clue where you were going as you're driving away?

And at least in our understanding we have some kind of knowledge or direction.

The only thing that Abraham knew is that he was, he knew the voice of God and was following it.

And he was living, he had living faith in that experience.

So he left behind that which was familiar.

He left behind that which was easy, comfortable, profitable, promising, and popular.

That puts a different focus on it because we know the end of the story, right?

All he knew is that God called him and he listened to the call and all of those things that he was leaving behind did not matter to him.

What mattered to him is that he was going to follow God.

So God was preparing Abraham for what he needed to do in Abraham.

And what he needed to prepare Abraham to do in his family.

He was benefiting from the faith of Abraham and Abraham's willingness to step out.

We went through an experience like this ourselves when God put it in our hearts to move from the suburbs of Chicago, where we were very comfortable, we had very good medical careers, and we had a very young family.

When God called us out, it was certainly nothing like the call of Abraham, but I can tell you it was a big stretch of faith.

When Abraham was called out, he was called out to what appeared to be a life of hardship, of self-sacrifice, and self-denial.

And I can tell you that we have often said, and we said it when God moved us out to Montana, we are so thankful that He didn't tell us or show us, sometimes we'd like to know the future, All we had was the promise, okay?

Abraham had a promise, but we are glad we didn't know some of the things that we were going to go through when we went out there.

And certainly we experienced all of those things that Abraham experienced, and any time we choose to follow the Lord...

I'm not sure we experienced all the things Abraham experienced.

No, what I mean by that is hardship, sacrifice, and self-denial.

Because we didn't, we had it more comfortable.

At least we knew where we were going, right?

At least we knew where we were going to end up in Montana and where we were going to live at least temporarily till we built our home.

But God has a purpose in everyone's life here tonight.

Every 1 of us are part of a family and Every 1 of us have been created with a mission that God wants to use us to fulfill.

And so, individually that's true, as a couple that's true, as a family that's true.

So none of us have nothing to do for God.

All of us have something to do for God, but God wants to infuse in us so that he can, what's the other word?

Not infuse, but I was gonna say exfuse, but I think I would make that word up.

I was going to make up a new word, exfused.

So anyway, e-fused out of us, what that is.

So anyway, God wants each of us to focus on the infilling so that he can, as we fill, be able to spill over and flow out of the experience to be a blessing to others.

Because we're not here just in this life to get ourselves to the heavenly kingdom.

We're here to be vessels in the hands of God to get as many brothers and sisters, friends, relatives, even strangers to encourage them to come along and be there with us.

You know, when we went out the first year, and even as we think back on this, we think how did we do this, but the first year we went out, I made, money-wise, $1, 300.

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In & Out

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Parent Conference

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Sound Doctrine