God Answers Prayers

We are losing somewhere between 70 and 88 % of our children by the end of their freshman year in college.

That's the children of evangelicals. Somewhere between 70 and 88 % of them have nothing to do with spiritual things by the end of their freshman year in college.

Now let me give you the easy answer before we go into a more detailed answer. The easy answer is this.

If we continue to send our children to Caesar for their education, we need to stop being surprised when they come home as Romans.

How to see who controls the schools, control the world? Luke chapter 6 and verse 40, a pupil is not above his teacher, but everyone after he has been fully trained will be like his teacher.

This is the New Testament version of Proverbs 22 .6. Proverbs 22 .6, train up a child the way he should go.

When he is old, he will not depart from it. The New Testament version of that is right here in front of you.

Luke chapter 6 and verse 40, a pupil is not above his teacher, but everyone after he has been fully trained will be like his teacher.

It's simple. It makes sense. Whoever's your teacher is your discipler.

You cannot separate education and discipleship. Whoever is educating our children is discipling our children, which means whoever educates the majority of children is discipling the majority of children.

And if the pupil is not above his teacher, and if everyone will ultimately be like his teacher, you see the power of education.

From K through 12, children spend 14 ,000 seat hours in school.

Let me say that again, 14 ,000 seat hours in school. The average

Christian family spends less than 30 minutes per week discussing spiritual matters. Parents who think that a few conversations centered around what did you learn today need to be honest about the usual answer to that question, which is nothing.

I hear this all the time. Yes, I understand. And after they go through the regular, you know, rigmarole of our schools are different.

That's everybody, by the way. Doesn't matter where they're from. Doesn't matter who they are. Their schools are different.

Every other school in the United States is having those issues, but our school is different. After we get past that, here's the next thing.

Well, I send them there, but we make sure and talk through things when they come home.

Really? Let's be honest. When they come home and you ask them what they learned so that you can talk through it, what's their response when you say, what did you learn at school today?

The response is nothing. The fact of the matter is they don't know what they learned at school.

They have no idea what's being shoved down their throat. It is their normal. They have no concept of anything else.

So they don't know what to discuss. Currently, the curriculum in schools is controlled by the government and teachers unions.

Who are we kidding? There's not enough time in the day to compete with the schools for the minds of our children.

The Bible and education. Is the text silent? Because for a long time, this has been our attitude on the issue. Our attitude on the issue is, hey, just leave me alone.

You do what you feel led to do. I'll do what I feel led to do. Well, excuse me if I don't buy into that mysticism.

I do what the Bible commands me to do. Okay? It's like saying, hey, there's a beautiful woman over there.

I'm standing here with a married friend. There's a beautiful woman over there. She's giving us the eye. Hey, you do what you feel led to do.

I do what I feel led to do. No, the Bible has spoken on the adultery issue. I believe the

Bible has also spoken on the education issue. And for so long, we've treated this like some sort of mystical decision that parents have to make where we meditate, oh, until God zaps us with what we're to do with our children educationally.

Now, before we look at all these, let me admit something to you. The word school doesn't exist in any one of these, and there's a reason.

Bible knows nothing of such things, but let's look at what it says about the training of the mind.

Deuteronomy 6, 6 and 7, these words which I'm commanding you today shall be on your hearts. You shall teach them diligently to your sons, 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.

That would be all the time. I had an administrator in a school system in Amarillo, Texas, challenged me on this issue because she's committed to public school, committed to government education as a

Christian. She's committed to it. We got to have it, and our kids have got to be there. And I mentioned this passage of scripture to which she responded,

I always thought that meant non -school hours. Ma 'am, where, pray tell, was

Moses sending his kids to school? Listen to Psalm 1.

The wicked are not so, but they are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. Proverbs 1, 7, the fear of the

Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. Romans 12, 2, listen to this.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Look at 2 Corinthians 10, 5. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God.

We are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Is math a thought? Is science a thought?

Is history a thought? Colossians 2, 8, see to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception according to the tradition of men.

According to the empty principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

Listen to this. 1 Timothy 6, 20, O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith.

Can we obey these principles without applying them to the way we educate our children? How can we do that, folks?

How can we look at these principles about the training of the mind and not apply them to the way that we educate our children?

I'm going to skip some of these, talk about early education. You'll get some more of this as we look through this, but listen to this.

Government education was established around 1870. I'm surprised at how many people don't know this. Modeled after the

Prussian format, rooted in secular humanism, it was opposed by American Christians for decades.

First 50 years, the church fought tooth and nail against compulsory education and against government education, fought it tooth and nail.

They knew better. As late as 1900, still two -thirds of all high school children were educated at home or the church.

As late as 1900, still two -thirds. Listen to this from Alexis de

Tocqueville. As late as the 1830s, it was noted in America that education was everywhere in the hands of the

Protestant clergy. Education is not mentioned in the United States Constitution, but guess what is?

The 10th Amendment. The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution nor prohibited by it to the states are reserved to the states respectively or to the people.

What does that mean? Tell you what it means. The federal government has no constitutional jurisdiction over education.

People with a Christian worldview, 11 times less likely to condone adultery, 15 times less likely to believe homosexuality is acceptable, 18 times less likely to condone drunkenness, 31 times less likely to condone premarital cohabitation, and 100 times less likely to endorse abortion.

What are we always pounding the pulpit about? This list. Why are we always pounding the pulpit about this list?

Because people don't have a Christian worldview. If they had a Christian worldview, we'd be pounding the pulpit about something else. But because 90 % of the people who call themselves

Christian don't have a Christian worldview, we have to constantly remind them to act like what they are not.

Nehemiah Institute has been conducting the Peer's Test for decades. It tests worldview. What does that test look like?

Here's the breakdown of the scale of the Peer's Test. Anything from 70 to 100 is called biblical theism.

That's what they would expect Bible scholars and professors to score. Moderate Christian worldview, 30 to 69 range.

That's what they would expect mature Christians to score. You're a Christian, you have a Christian worldview, 30 to 69.

Secular humanism, zero to 29. Socialism, anything below zero. So what do their test results look like?

Biblical scholars average 87 .8. Just where you would expect between the 70 to 100 range.

Humanists average a negative 45. Just where you would expect. Christian school faculty.

These are folks who teach in your average Christian school, high school.

They average 52 .9. Again, where you would expect them between that 30 and 69 range.

Homeschool students average 48 .6. Just behind Christian school faculty. Christian students in Christian schools average 27 .8,

which is just below the moderate Christian worldview seeping into the secular human worldview.

Now, what's the problem there? Here's the problem. It's not true with all Christian schools, but it boggles my mind.

Christian schools actually brag about the fact that they have certified teachers. Certified by whom?

The state, Caesar. So Christian schools are out there going, hey,

Caesar approves of our teachers. Christian students in public school average 7 .9

on the Peirce test. The low end of secular humanism falling into Marxist socialism.

I don't write the mail. I just deliver it. A couple of charts.

Since 1988, 90 % of Christian students who have taken the Peirce test have scored below the moderate

Christian worldview level. 90%. 90%.

The children most likely to remain in the faith of their parents. Those educated at home. We're currently losing 75 to 88 % between 70 and 88 % of young people by the end of their freshman year in college.

Homeschool students remain in the faith of their fathers all the way through college, according to Neri, at a rate of 90 to 95%.