FAMILY, THE APPLE OF GOD’S CREATION
GENESIS 1:26-27
26Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so
that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, a and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
There are four points I want to highlight in this lesson
Family was created out of God’s Love
Family was created to do God’s work
God’s design for Family is Mother and Father working together
Family was created to imitate God on earth
FAMILY WAS CREATED IN GOD’S LOVE
We celebrate Mother’s Day and we celebrate Father’s day each year. Being a mother or a father is more than DNA. A woman contributes an egg and a
Man contributes a sperm and that results in a baby. But that does not make
Family. It takes love to make a family
GOD’S DESIGN FOR FAMILY
In todays environment it is common for men to marry men and women to
Marry women and then decide that they want a child to make a family. That is a way, but it is not God’s way.
Today it is common for a baby to be born and abandoned at the hospital, fire station or left on the side of the road. DNA produced a baby but not a family. It takes sacrificial love to produce a family.
God made man and woman to look like and imitate Him. To produce a family requires responsibility. It is the responsibility to live a life for Christ.
You and I have to live a life for Christ so those around us know the foundation for family.
Women are the coequal connection with God in producing family. Family did not begin until God gave Eve to Adam as his wife(Gen 2:24). She became the mother of the human race. Noah’s wife, Naamah became the mother of mankind after the flood. Sarah, Abraham’s wife, became the mother of the nation of Israel, the family line of Christ. Mary was the vessel God used to become the mother of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Mary is the earthly mother of salvation. We are all part of God’s family.
Family is God’s premier institution. When family is not first, personal desires and selfishness take charge. My opinion is this, when there is no respect for God there will be no lasting respect for family, and eventually there will be no respect for self. Family can easily become a possession; my wife, my husband, my children. Can you see the degradation from God’s family?
It is good to review how we got to the point where man’s view of family has encapsulated the world’s view. It all started in the Garden of Eden. It began under God’s guidance in love, joy, peace and obedience. Adam and Eve took their focus off God and listened to the wrong voice. He gave them one command, don’t eat from the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. God gave them the consequence for disobedience. The day you do you will die.
1st Mistake
TAKING GOD’S WORD FOR GRANTED
We have no idea how many times Adam and Eve passed by and looked
At that tree. How many times did they question in their minds why God
Gave them that command about that tree. Was there a desire growing
In them to eat from that tree? They had many trees, why this tree? God does not tell us, but maybe Adam and Eve questioned God's authority.
2nd Mistake
THEY LISTENED TO THE WRONG VOICE.
God does not tell us, but I suggest Satan was a small increasing voice in
Adam and Eve’s mind before he showed up as a beast in the garden.
Satan showed up and immediately challenged God’s Word. He did it in
Three steps
LUST OF THE EYE It was good to look at Genesis 3:6
LUST OF THE FLESH It was good to eat Genesis 3:6b
PRIDE OF LIFE It would make you like God Genesis 3:6c
1 John 2:16-17
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
Once Satan has your interest, he can go to work on the desires of the heart.
Satan called God a liar. You surely will not die. Anything that goes against God’s command is the lie.
3rd Mistake
THEY YIELDED TO THE TEMPTATION Genesis 3:6d
They had the Word God. They knew right from wrong. They refused to stop, Pray, and ask God for advice. They followed the evil in their hearts Thus SIN AND VIOLENCE entered God’s perfectly made mankind. The Hebrew word for sin is chatta’ah which means an offence against God. Adam and Eve
Disrespected the God that made them. They offended the one who loved them.
FAMILY CREATED TO DO GOD’S WORK
What can we do to prevent committing an offense against God?
Psalm 119:15-17
15 I will meditate on thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.
16 I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.
17 Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live; so will I observe thy word.
We are not born with respect, it has to be learned. We need a guide to God’s righteousness. Life is a journey into unknown territory. Each day can
Brings problems you have never seen. Every family is different and every family needs to be guided in the way God wants them to go.
Today we have GPS in our cars and on our cell phones that guide us to a destination. However there are times when the GPS will lead us to the wrong place. It is not always accurate because the information is not in the system. The GPS may have several ways to get to a location and some will take you out of the normal way. When you get off God’s way, you can get distracted.
When we sin we lose favor with God. Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden and had to start over again in a life of hardships. Their sons were born in pain and one murdered the other.
Adam and Eve learned respect for God the hard way. They returned to the
Love of God.
Genesis 4:25
25 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth. For, (said she), God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel; for Cain slew him.
One of the works of God is forgiveness. God provides forgiveness, we must
Forgive ourselves also.
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE FAMILY GUIDE
All believers in Jesus Christ has one true guide that is never lost and always guides us in the right way. That guide is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was sent by the Father and Jesus to you. We cannot do family correctly without God’s guidance.
John 16:13
13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all the truth: for he shall not speak from himself; but what things soever he shall hear, (these) shall he speak: and he shall declare unto you the things that are to come.
The Bible contains all the truths about family, Life, love and respect that you and I need. But we have be guided through the Bible by the Holy Spirit. God didn’t tell us everything at once. He left some for us to learn. The Bible is so comprehensive that our finite minds can only handle a small portion at one time.
John 16:12
I (Jesus) have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
The Holy Spirit will guide us to information we need when we need it.
The world is full of information. We are bombarded with tons of information
Each day. Sometimes it is difficult to determine what is true and what is an outright lie. The Holy Spirit was given to guide us to the truth, the information that matters.
The true guide, the Holy spirit knows where we are going and He knows us,
Who He is guiding. The Holy Spirit know our innermost thoughts and our
Unspoken needs and the needs we don’t even know.
GOD’S DESIGN FOR FAMILY
Why is family so important? It is important because it is God’s creation. Family is Important to God. You are important to God
Eph 3:14-17
For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,
16 that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that ye may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inward man;
17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
The foundation of family is in the GodHead, the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Family is grounded in love.
Ephesian gives us key elements of God’s family
It named in Heaven
It worships the Father
It is rich in God’s glory
It is strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit
It is the dwelling of Christ
It is rooted in faith of the Word
It is grounded in love
FAMILY DESIGNED TO IMITATE GOD
MAKE SURE YOUR ROLE MODEL JESUS FOR YOUR FAMILY
The family of the world is not the family of God. However, every family can
Be God’s family if they choose to love Jesus. Being in God’s family is a choice that parents need to make before they have children. Adam and Eve is an example of what happens when obedience to God’s Word is secondary to family.
Today the world is full of violence. Any violence is a sin against family. It all started in the Garden of Eden with the first family. The world has become
More and more violent throughout generations. There are wars all around
The world. Wars divide and destroy families. Wars are the selfish desires to eliminate families that hold different views.
Hos 4:1-2
4 1 Hear the word of the Lord, O people of Israel! The Lord has brought charges against you, saying: "There is no faithfulness, no kindness,
no knowledge of God in your land. 2 You make vows and break them;
you kill and steal and commit adultery. There is violence everywhere—
one murder after another (written 700 years after the law was given)
How do we raise families that know God and hate violence? We are
Parents, grandparents and some great grandparents. We are key
influencers in the lives of those around us. If we don’t train and influence our families, the world will.
My wife and I have three grandchildren in the city. We have been around them from the day they were born. Baby sitting is our joy. When they are in our midst we take time to read and teach the Word of God to them. We take
The job of training them in the application of the word seriously. We trained our children to know God and it is their job to train our grandchildren. But we don’t miss a beat to train and role model christian living before them.
WHY? Because they are our grandchildren. But more important than that, they are God’s children.
We cannot do this job of parenting on our own. We need the guidance and direction of the Father through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit
I want to direct your attention to passages of scripture that give us insight to family development.
OBEDIENCE
1 John 2:3-7
3 And hereby we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;
5 but whoso keepeth his word, in him verily hath the love of God been perfected. Hereby we know that we are in him:
6 he that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked.
OBEDIENCE PROVES OUR SALVATION
OBEDIENCE TRANSFORMS OUR LIVES
OBEDIENCE RESULTS FROM OUR LOVE FOR GOD
OBEDIENCE GUIDES OUR WALK WITH CHRIST
2. BENEFITS OF BEING IN THE FAMILY OF GOD
Ephesians 2:18-22
18 for through him(Jesus) we both have our access in one Spirit unto the Father.
19 So then ye are no more strangers and sojourners, but ye are fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God,
20 being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone;
21 in whom each several building, fitly framed together, groweth into a holy temple in the Lord; 22 in whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.
We Have Access To The Father
We Are Fellow Citizens With The Saints
We Are In The Household Of God
We Have The Unchanging Word As Our Guide.
Jesus Is The Foundation Of Our Family
We Are Part Of A Bigger Building, The Family Of God
We Are The Temple Of God
Our Earthly Temple Is The Habitation Of The Holy Spirit
This scripture defines us but it also outlines our responsibility. Everyone in the Family of God must strive to live to His expectations.
Our Family must resemble the Father
Family should be committed to the work of a Relationship with the Father
Family has the purpose that reflect the family name
Family is about the work of the Father
Family must stay in communion with God
Families have to study the Word to Know the Word
The Holy Spirit was given to help us apply the Word in our lives
We must understand that world has redefined family that is degrading to
Image of God. It is the job of every believer to promote family values to everyone God puts in our midst and live a life that imitates Christ.
