19. the Mysterious Influences in the Home — Denny Kenaston

We in this second session here today we are. We're going to be more on the inspirational side of of child training challenge revival along these lines. I Want to speak of this second session on three? mysterious influences in our homes.

Three Supernatural Influences in the Home

Three Mysterious influences in our home. Remember the scripture that we've read already this week. Except the Lord build the house. They labor in vain that build it. If I understand that verse properly that means The God of heaven needs to be very actively involved in the building of my household.

That's what we're talking about in this second Message. Areas of child training that are the most powerful and the most sight exciting of them all. I Use the word mysterious because this is what it means.

Mysterious means beyond human power to explain or understand three mysterious Influences which are beyond human power to explain or understand. May I say it? It is inferring the supernatural. We need three supernatural influences in our homes.

God in his own mysterious ways Prevails upon our sons and our daughters to prepare for himself a holy generation. That's what we would like to look at this evening. The first one is the powerful atmosphere of the Spirit of God.

The Spirit of God in the Home

Turning with me to Isaiah 44 if we could read those verses in Isaiah chapter 44. They're the ones that you see. Every evening when you walk through the door, they're on the board back there. Isaiah chapter 44.

Verse 3 through 5. God says this through Isaiah. I will pour water upon him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground. I Will pour my spirit upon thy seed and my blessing upon thine offspring. And they shall spring up as among the grass as willows by the water courses.

One shall say I am the Lord's and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob. Now in this text brothers and sisters, we all know That God is not speaking about water. Like the water that I have up here in this glass as God says I will pour water on him who is thirsty.

He's speaking about another kind of water. We all know that. It's the water of his Precious spirit. It's the water that flows from the fountain of living waters. Hallelujah. That's what God is speaking about here.

But God says there's a condition here. He will pour the water of his spirit upon those who are thirsty. And that is the condition that God gives now we live in America. We hardly understand what it means to be thirsty.

You know, my throat gets a little dry and I get me a little sip of water. I can do that all day if I want to. We don't know what it is to be thirsty. Well, when I make trips to Africa, I know what it is to be thirsty.

There are times over there when you could go you might go three hours and not get to have a drink of water. Man, you get to the water. You are thirsty. Now, I believe that's what God is talking about when God says I will pour water on him.

That is thirsty. He's not saying I'll pour water on him who wants a drink, you know. Like we want to drink we go into the kitchen turn on the faucet and you drink the water and we're done. No, that's not what God is saying here.

God is saying you get thirsty for my spirit. You start longing and hungering you your heart starts saying as As the heart painted after the water of so painted my soul after thee. Oh God. And God says I will pour water upon Him who is thirsty?

That's a promise that God gives and he also says I will pour water upon the dry ground. But God goes one step further than that. He also says that he will pour water upon our children. Joshua you want to come and help me now, buddy.

Help me now. We're gonna just illustrate here this evening just for a minute what God means when he says I will pour water upon him who is thirsty and I will pour my spirit out upon thy seed and My blessing upon thine offspring.

Now when we come to God and our cup is empty. We hold it up to God and we cry out to God that God would fill our cup full of the Holy Ghost. When we do that something happens. When God begins to fill our cup.

All of a sudden that cups going to get to the place where it's full. When the cup gets full guess what happens. The water just keeps on flowing and somebody else gets baptized right along with you. You can sit down Josh.

God bless you my son. May God do that to you young man someday not water, but the Holy Ghost all over you boy. That is the picture that God is illustrating right here. Listen dear parents God wants to pour out his spirit upon our seed.

But God cannot pour his spirit upon our seed until he pours his spirit upon us. We are the vessels that God uses to put the spirit upon our children. Now in my house, I have that verse up there. This is the one I have just this portion of those scriptures at my house.

I see it every day. Well, I look at it every day. I think about it every day. I think there it is God. That is my part of the condition. I Must be thirsty for the Oh God and God promises if I'm thirsty He's gonna fill me with a Holy Ghost and bless God when he fills me with a Holy Ghost.

My family's gonna get all wet, too. That is one of those Mysterious influences, I mean you have helped to raise your children brothers and sisters you have help. What are we speaking about here? It is God's plan that the children grow up in the atmosphere of the Spirit in our homes.

When parents live in vital reality in their homes the blessing falls upon their children also. The presence of God is God present and active in my home. The presence of God is God Present and active in my home.

That ought to be the greatest cry of our heart. I think about Hudson Taylor when I think about this illustration, you know, what an example he is. There was his dad walking with God in the home and he was just a little fella and you know how it is with children.

They're so open. They're so innocent. They're just wide open to anything that can be a great blessing, but that can be a great curse upon them. If you're full of all kinds of bitterness and anger and other things like that.

Then all those things go into into your children when they're little but if you're full of the Holy Ghost when they're like that. Then guess what goes into those children? Well Hudson Taylor was just a little fella.

Jumping around in his living room in his in his kitchen in his house. And he had a daddy who had a burden for China and he prayed anointed prayers in his household every day and little Hudson was Running around there and mercy drops were falling all over that little fella day after day after day.

The mercy drops were falling that little boy and one day he got down on his knees in his closet and said God I'll go. And he went oh did he go. Yes, he went. Didn't he. Oh. Because of Papa had the Holy Ghost upon him in his household.

Oh my dear parents. Do you have any idea what God would do with your children? How God would pick your children up and use them to do damage against Satan's kingdom if we would just learn to live in vital reality with God in our homes.

Verse 4 is the lovely picture of the results of what happens when they live like that. They shall spring up like willows by the watercourse. Glory what a picture. We all know what that picture means. A willow tree planted by a watercourse.

What does a willow tree grow like that is planted by a watercourse? I mean look there are other trees around sure planted in other places sure. They're gonna grow no problem. They're gonna get some leaves on them.

Yes, they will they might even have a little fruit. No problem. But that tree that's planted by the watercourse that thing is gonna prosper so much more than that other tree. That's stuck out there somewhere and he every now and then gets a little water.

You know remember we talked about every now and then devotions last night every now and then he gets a little drink of water. Sure, he's gonna grow sure. He's gonna turn out. All right. But that one that's planted by the watercourse bless God that thing is gonna be a beautiful tree and it's gonna grow and prosper.

And it's gonna have lots of green leaves all over it and fruit to bear and people are gonna eat that fruit and be blessed. That's God's will for our children. They shall spring up like willows by the watercourse.

Dear father and mother you are the watercourse. How much water is running down the river? You are the watercourse. When a child is planted in a household. Where mom and dad are free and clear with God and each other and the Holy Ghost is upon them.

It creates an atmosphere in that home. There's a mysterious influence that takes place in the hearts and lives of those children all through the day. The Spirit of God is there brooding over them speaking to them a little prompting here a word here an inspiration a new thought to them.

All those things are taking place coming out of mom and dad because mom and dad are living in vital Reality, it's the will of God. I tell you it is the will of God what a difference this will make in your child training fathers and mothers if you will be like this and Consider just consider What God goes on to say?

Though probably the most precious thing the thing that thrills our hearts more than anything He says not only will they be like trees planted by the watercourse. But they shall rise up and say I am the Lord.

Amen. And that makes every parent sing doesn't it? When those children rise up and say I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. There does something inside of the heart of every parent that sees that. I remember in these meetings.

We had weekend meetings around here last August and and there was a there was a few of the young people here in the congregation. That got born again during those meetings. You should have seen the look on their moms and dads when they came through the doors.

They're all lit up and full of joy having made their choice for God. Those parents were so excited. They wept tears of joy. How do you make this thing happen? You get thirsty brothers and sisters. You get thirsty you begin to look to God you begin to seek the Lord that God would anoint you day by day by day.

Remember what Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 18 says brothers be filled with the Spirit. Be filled with the Spirit. Can we come to grips with that verse. You know God is not gonna let us go. He's not gonna let us go.

Can we come to grips with that verse brothers and sisters? You know, the Greek tense of that verse is awesome. Basically what God is saying is this be being continually filled and Controlled by the Holy Spirit.

That's what that verse means. God says to every one of us parents. I Want your children? I want your children to rise up and serve me. I'm God. There is no other God beside me. I'm worthy be being Continually filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit.

The Power of an Enthusiastic Example

And I shall take your children and Do things with them that you never dreamed of God says. And he will. He will. Let's go on to the second influence. The power of an enthusiastic example. Psalm 112. Turn over there to Psalm 112.

The power of an enthusiastic example. Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord that delighted greatly in his commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon earth. The Generation of the upright man and woman shall be blessed.

God says. Here we have a man. Like the man that I described to you last night those six points that I described here. We have another example of that same man. He loves God. He loves God with all of his heart.

He's excited about God. He loves God's Word. He delights in God's Word. He obeys God's Word. He fears God. He reverences God. He lives for God. He served God. Here he is just like we described last evening.

He's a psalm one kind of man. His delight is in the law of the Lord and in his Lord at the meditate day and night. And guess what? He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bring it for this fruit in his season.

His leaf also shall not wither and guess what brothers and sisters. Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. He's a psalm one kind of man this guy here in Psalm 112. He delights in the word and he obeys it.

He's a fanatic. It is not a have to thing with him. It's a get to. I Get to amen. I Remember the day that I came home on a Saturday evening. After having studied all day on Saturday preparing to preach on Sunday morning, and I was so excited.

I mean I love to preach and I was excited. I knew what I was gonna preach in the morning and I walked into the house on Saturday evening to sit down like we often Do on Saturday evening and just kind of close out the day and visit and all that and Esther was just a little girl.

Maybe five years old. Then she came up to me and said Papa Do you have to preach tomorrow? She said and of course, I was so excited to get to preach tomorrow. I said no Esther. I don't have to preach tomorrow.

I Get to preach tomorrow. It is the greatest privilege that I could ever have. I get to serve God. I don't have to. I get to. I don't have to come to church. I get to go to church. This is the kind of guy we're talking about.

It's into the get-to realm. He loves that he loves it. You got him well. Children live in this guy's house. I mean children live with this thought and The effect is a bit mysterious. They are moved to follow this man by an unseen hand upon their life.

Amen that's kind of how it works. His enthusiasm is contagious. Isn't it I Mean, it's that way with all of us. It's not just with a father and his children when you find somebody who is excited about God you get excited.

They're in their enthusiasm is contagious and you get a hold of it and pretty soon you're shouting right along with him well, that's the kind of guy this guy was children live in his house and These children are affected by this man.

Now. I'm one I think that God works in mysterious ways behind the behind the scenes. But I do think that God also works through our very lives and this is a verse that shows that This these children live with this guy.

They are influenced by him. They see his joy. They sense his enthusiasm. They watch his excitement day by day. They see him get excited about things that they know are a sacrifice and a burden but they still see him excited and full of joy and that has an influence a Mysterious influence it doesn't things inside of the hearts of the children.

They don't even understand what's going on but little by little that mysterious hand is Moving them into the realm where they shall rise up and follow the faith of their father and their mother. And that's God's way.

That's how God works brothers and sisters our children Will love what we love. They will get excited about what we get excited about. That is just a fact. They will if We like that fellow last night who wanted his boy to be a baseball player rise up with enthusiasm and excitement about that which we love our Children will come running along after us.

That's just the way it works. The children in our house love the garden. Can anybody tell tell me why. Hmm, I Love to garden. I mean, I love it. I don't get to do very much of it. Someday if I ever retire, I'll enjoy doing it.

But I love to garden and guess what the children do too. That's just the way it is. That's just the way it is. They love to go witnessing anybody figure out why. I Think about William and Catherine Booth we mentioned them the other evening they were Like this guy right here.

They were like this guy right here both of them so full of enthusiasm. So excited about God so excited about God's work and they had eight children that lived in the same house with those two nuts. Those children.

They sensed they saw they heard the joy the enthusiasm of their father and their mother. They would sit at home and wait for dad to come home at night, you know when they were younger. They weren't allowed out on the streets, you know, it's dangerous out there.

So they had to wait for dad to get home and dad would come home. You know. He'd maybe he'd come home nine o 'clock after a whole evening out there. Witnessing and winning souls and preaching all that stuff and they'd sit around and listen to him and dad would tell war stories.

Amen. He would tell war stories and you should have seen what happened in the air and then this guy and you know. One of the other soldiers got hit with a brick tonight. Really? Yeah, they were cut their old game gouged over here.

And I did somebody else got hit with a rotten tomato and all the children would sit on the edge of their seat and listen To all the stories that their papa told him about all the things that God did that night.

Guess what? Those children were longing to do. Oh I can't wait until I get to go along with Papa. I mean imagine that They were longing for the day when they could stand in ranks with the rest of the soldiers in the Salvation Army and They look forward to the day when a rotten tomato would hit them.

How do you get a child to look forward to a rotten tomato. Hmm you get excited about rotten tomatoes. Amen. You get excited about rotten tomatoes and bless God. They'll be looking on and say I Want to get hit with a rotten tomato, when can I go along Papa, please?

Let me go pretty please and yay someday. They will get hit with a rotten tomato and they might get hit with a rock someday, too. But the power of the enthusiasm of this father and mother Captivated all eight of those children who we gave their whole heritage already.

We don't need to go back to that, but he and she were examples of this right here. The children long to go along. Sometimes people come up to me and they ask me this question brother Denny. How do you get the children to fast to pray?

To get up early and have devotions and all that other stuff you talk about. Do you? Require that do you have laws in your house? You will fast this day. You will get up at this time. You will do this.

You will do that. That's the way it is in our house. And I tell him no, no, no, no. No, well, I wouldn't make laws out of things like that. This is a voluntary thing. Well, how do you get them to do that?

Well, you just love it with all your heart you get excited about it yourself. You live it out day by day you come down in the morning time sit down at the breakfast table all Full and running over with all that God did in your heart in your quiet time this morning and soon.

They'll be saying could I get up a little bit earlier Papa? That's how it works. You sit down at the table on on a Monday morning turn the plate upside down and say I'm not gonna eat today. I've got some burdens.

I want to seek God and you do that then on Tuesday morning. You show back up there at the table. So excited about all the things that God is doing inside of your heart and the things that God showed you in the word this Morning and the prayer that God answered when you prayed and fasted for so-and-so and pretty soon.

They'll walk up to the table and turn their plate over to and say I'm not eating today. Thank you. That's how it works. In fact, this is the way this is my experience. You have to slow them down. You have to slow them down they want to do more than what they can do.

When they're little can I fast for five days? No, no, you little six-year-old. You cannot fast for five days. Let's try to okay, okay. How do you get him to do that? You love it. That's what you do.

You get excited about it. That's how you do it the power of an exciting Enthusiastic example. These are things we thoroughly enjoy. We get to do them so they want to do them, too. Where does this enthusiasm come from?

God-Given Enthusiasm Rather Than Fleshly Excitement

This is this is a good question the word enthusiasm Is a very interesting word see somebody might listen to this and say well, okay, so what do you do? Just whoop yourself all up. You know, there's people all over the United States today.

They got all kinds of stuff, you know the power of a positive mind and you know so-and-so is an Enthusiast and they get him to go and speak at all these places because he gets excited and hey. Yeah, you can generate yourself in the flesh you can.

We're not talking about that. We're not talking about that. You need more than a Fleshly generated excitement to transfer the things that I'm talking to you about. So, how do I do that where do you get this enthusiasm.

Well the word enthusiasm in the Greek it's Enthusiasmos, that's the Greek word for enthusiasm and it the literal Interpretation is God in sightedness. That's where you get it. God Insightedness will take care of the enthusiastic example in your home.

That's what God is talking to us about. That's what Paul that was Paul's testimony. He said there's a God inside of me and I can't help myself. Amen. That's what God wants. It's not something you whoop up work up emotional eyes.

No. You walk with God dear parents. Here we are again right back to the same old thing again. You walk with God as you walk with God God spirit will stir inside of your heart make his commandments a joy to you.

Make them a get to not a have to your children will look on at all of that and say that's what I want. Listen parents. There's a lot of flashing lights out there these days to tempt our children into the world and they look on.

They look at all those flashing lights and you know, they're pretty. They are the world really does it upright and the children look at all that and they think hmm. Dad said that's bad. But he doesn't look bad.

It seems so nice to me. Listen to your parents. There's gonna come a day when they're gonna have to make a decision which way they're gonna go. Amen with some children. They look at a dead mom and dad who are going through the motions of devotions and they're going through the rituals of Religion week in and week out and there's no get to there's no spring in their step.

There's no joy about serving God at all and they look at that and then they look at those lights and in their heart. They're no dummy. They look at that and say it looks to me like that's a whole lot more exciting than this.

I think I'll take that but oh dear parents when we by the grace of God Can rise up and in fact from the depths of our heart Truly enjoy the Lord and serve him our children will also notice that and I know what they will do.

God promises what they will do. They will look at those shining lights out at the world and they will look at your life. Which is being consumed by a living God and they will say I want my father and my mother's God.

That's what they will do. I Believe it. I believe it. Really? These are basic principles of discipleship, aren't they? Love it live it teach it and they'll follow you. That's it basic principles of discipleship.

Parents, what kind of children do you want? What do you want them to do? I'm telling you how you can have anything you want that's in this book. What do you want them to do? What kind of children do you want them to be?

Be it. Be it with all your heart with joy with zeal of the Holy Ghost and they will rise up. And do it you want them to be a soul winner? Go for it. You go for it. You get in there. You taste the beauty the joy the excitement of leading a soul to Jesus Christ and come home and tell the story to the children and I tell you what they'll be on the edge of their seat and longing for the opportunity when they can go do the same thing.

What do you want my dear parents? This book is the limit. It's the limit. What do you want? You want your child to be an intercessor that rises up in the middle of the night and prays Fervently for two or three hours and goes back to bed.

Here it is here it is. You want them to raise up a godly godly family someday with zeal and joy. Here it is. Here it is. Whatever you want you can have you can have. Mm-hmm. Let's go on to the third point this is easy tonight.

Prevailing Intercessory Prayer for Children

15 minutes 15 minutes and 15 minutes. The third point the third mysterious influence in the life of our children is prevailing intercessory prayer. Lamentations chapter 2 in verse 9 let's turn their Lamentations that's just after Jeremiah.

Just before Ezekiel. Lamentation chapter 2 in verse 19 hear these words. Jeremiah speaking arise. Cry out in the night in the beginning of the watches. Pour out Thine heart like water before the face of the Lord.

Lift up thy hands. Toward him for the life of thy young children that faint for hunger in the top of every street. Awesome word. Awesome word. Such a word of admonition that God gives to us as Parents to intercede for our children.

This could be the most powerful mysterious influence of the three of them. Prayer. Powerful. Prevailing prayer moves the hand of God to move upon my family. Do you believe that? God does that. God does that in mighty ways?

Jack and I we pray for the children. We pray for the children. We pray for in the morning. We pray for them in our personal devotions. We pray for them at mealtime sometimes. We pray for them at devotions.

We pray for them when we put them to bed. We pray for them a lot. You know. Gather little children together. Lord bless the children. Bless David. Bless Joshua. God watch over their lives. We pray those kind of prayers all the time.

But I don't believe we're talking about those kind of prayers in this verse. And that's not what I mean when I'm making my point here this evening. I'm talking about a different kind of praying than that.

I'm talking about the kind of praying that you do. Occasionally if you know what it is to be in the presence of the living God of heaven. You know, you are before the throne of God. You're there and you know it and you get a hold of God for your children and you cry out.

You pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord for your children. Intercessory prayers. Fervent prayers. Prayers that nobody else hears. Prayers in the middle of the night when nobody's around to hear the deep Groanings that come upon your heart for your children.

We're talking about Intercessory prayers brothers and sisters. They have a powerful influence on the lives of our children. But I'm afraid not very many parents do very much of that kind of praying. I'm glad for all the little prayers you pray but I believe that God wants to work in our hearts in such a way that we will find ourselves getting up in the Middle of the night and pouring out a heart for our children.

Breaking our heart getting a hold of the horns of the altar and not let go. Till we know we have a blessing for this child. I'm telling you brothers and sisters Our children there are times when they need those kind of prayers.

There are times when they need their dad to pray him through something that they're not getting through on their own. There are times when the enemy is so chasing them that they can't see straight and they need a dad or a mom.

Who will get a hold of the horns of the altar and not let go until God comes through. You know what most parents only pray prayers like this when everything starts falling apart. But I believe it's God's heart and what God wants for us as parents.

He wants us to rise up with a vision and get enough of the Holy Ghost burning inside of us. Then we'll get up in the middle of the night and pray for him like this in the good times in the good times.

Oh How sweet how sweet it is to be alone with God and to be able to bring your children up before his throne and know Without a shadow of a doubt that God is taking and receiving These children as I give them up to him and God is going to take care of them and answer my prayer.

There must be times when you are caught up in the spirit. Can I use a term caught up in the spirit? Like John I was in the spirit on the Lord's Day. I Don't know how many give her saw that picture we have it at our house another one of those reminders to this Papa.

To watch over his children. And I know I fail at it. Sometimes I acknowledge that. But a reminder to this Papa to watch over his children and to pray for them and I mean War for them at times, but we have this little picture at our house.

Maybe you've seen it in some of the Christian bookstores of the father. He's kneeling down a little boys laying in his bed praying or sleeping and got a little teddy bear there in his arm. You know dad's down there on his knees next to the bed.

How many ever seen that picture? Yeah, if you look real close you'll see in the window behind that dad. There's a white angel with his hands up like this and there's a black angel with his hands up like this trying to get through.

And the dad's there on his knees and the white angel is moving. According to the intercessory prayers of the dad and the black angel has to go in Jesus name. He has to go. That's the kind of prayers we're talking about.

I think of the illustration of James Stewart's mother. James Stewart was a Scottish preacher. They called him the boy preacher, of course boys grow up. But he was out preaching on the street corners when he was 14 years old and They called him the boy preacher.

I mean he put a sign, you know these Embarrassing things he put these little banners hung it down over him and he was out on the streets of Edinburgh, Scotland. I mean he was out there every evening preaching like a house of fire at 14 years old.

Good testimony. Well, let's look behind the scenes a little bit. Amen. That boy James Stewart, he didn't have a daddy. I don't know why he didn't have a daddy know if his daddy died or what? But he didn't have a daddy.

He didn't have the guidance that he should have had. He got involved in sports and he was good at playing kickball, you know soccer. That's what they'd like to do over there. That's their idol. And he was good at this and he could kick that ball and he was heading for the Professionals as fast as he could go.

I mean the Scouts were watching him when he was 14 years old saying keep your eye on that boy. He's gonna be one of the best in the whole of our country and there he was kicking that ball around. Making a fool out of himself spending his whole life bumping this ball around, you know like that, but he had a mama.

Hallelujah, he had a mama and that's this mama knew how to pray and she knew because she gave that boy to God when he Was born she knew that God had something more for that boy than kicking a ball around the field.

She would rise up in the middle of the night and pour out her heart like water. Before the face of the Lord for that boy night after night. She would pray and intercede and weep and cry until one night.

She broke through the clouds. And she got a witness from the Lord that's called praying through by the way she got a witness from the Lord. I'm gonna save your son. You can quit praying. It's all done.

She just sat there in a rocking chair two nights later. The door came flying open. Oh, let me tell you the rest of the good side of the story right in the middle of a soccer game. He got so under conviction.

He could hardly kick the ball or see to kick the ball and he said God, please. Just let me finish the game and I'll get right with you. And he finished kicking the ball around the field. And when he got done.

He fell on his knees down at the end of the field and wept his heart and soul out to God and he got right with God. Hallelujah got born again. Boy, he was so excited glory heaven came down the glory of God filled his soul.

He went running home to his mom, you know burst through the door. Mom mom. Guess what? I got born again. Here's mom in your rocking chair. Hmm. I Know my son. I know you did. God told me two days ago that you're gonna get born again now my boy, please go change your clothes.

You're gonna give your testimony at a meeting tonight now go home now go along. I already made the arrangements. Okay, mom, okay. That's intercessory prayer. That lady knew how to pray. She got a hold of the horns of the altar and she didn't let go until she got through.

Listen, you don't pray lay me down to sleep prayers when you pray those kind of prayers. You weep you cry you travail you lose your voice. But you get through. That's what we're talking about. That's what we're talking about.