It is very, very important
for your child to realize
that they've been born into a world of authority.
If you are a human being,
there's never a point in your life
where you're not living under some kind of authority.
And here is God's plan.
God makes His invisible authority visible
in the life of children by sending parents of authority
to represent His authority
in the lives of children who need authority.
Hear what I said?
God makes His invisible authority visible
by sending parents of authority
to exercise authority over children who need authority.
Now I want to counsel you, fight your authority battles young
because you don't want to be fighting an authority battle
with a 17-year-old.
If you're doing that, you're in trouble.
Fight them young.
And that means in little things
that you may walk away and think aren't important,
but are actually important.
Can I give you a couple illustrations?
I don't know why I'm asking, I'm about to.
Your child doesn't want to eat their vegetables.
And you say, well, that's not important,
I'm not going to make a fight over that.
Listen to me, parents.
Those food fights are not about food.
This child hasn't read a diet book
and decided they want to follow a keto diet.
It's authority.
That child is saying to you,
"I'm my own authority and you will not tell me
what to put in my mouth."
That's an authority battle.
And you need to see it that way.
Those little moments are important.
You need to rise up and exercise parental authority.
Sometimes I'm watching parents and I say,
who's the parent in this room?
Where is she? Where is he?
Now, that child is absolutely incapable
of knowing what is healthy and good to put in their mouth.
They'd eat nails if you let them.
It's an important issue.
How about time to go to bed?
You ever had one of your children say,
"Mom, it would be very helpful to me
if you would always appoint my time to go to bed
because I'm really incapable of doing that.
And if you would exercise that authority over me,
that would be helpful."
No.
Parents, your children haven't done a sleep study
and decided they don't need as much sleep
as you think they do.
It's authority.
They're battling against your authority.
Now here's what sin does.
We get this from the early chapters of Genesis 3,
that terrible moment in the garden.
Are you listening to me right now?
You are parenting little self-appointed self-sovereigns.
You are parenting self-appointed self-sovereigns
who want to rule their own lives
in the way that they think is best.
And that never ever goes anywhere good.
It's not loving to allow your child
to exercise individual authority
in areas where they are clearly not capable.
That's not love.
It's important.
Now I have to say something about this authority.
This is very important too.
Ephesians 6:4 says,
"Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger,
but bring them up in the nurture
and admonition of the Lord."
Here's what you learn.
You do not have as a parent independent authority.
Let me say that again.
You have no independent authority as a parent.
That means the right to exercise your authority
however you want to exercise it.
You have ambassadorial authority.
You stand in a holy place.
You stand as a physical, visible,
audio representative of the authority of God.