Family The Apple Of God's Eye Genesis 1:26-27

 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

1. Family was created out of God’s Love

2. Family was created to do God’s work

3. God’s design for Family is Mother and Father working together

4. 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

1. It named in Heaven

2. It worships the Father

3. It is rich in God’s glory

4. It is strengthened by  the power of the Holy Spirit

5. It is the dwelling of Christ

6. It is rooted in faith of the Word

7. 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.

1. 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.

1. OBEDIENCE PROVES OUR SALVATION

2. OBEDIENCE TRANSFORMS OUR LIVES

3. OBEDIENCE RESULTS FROM OUR LOVE FOR GOD

4. 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.

1. We Have Access To The Father

2. We Are Fellow Citizens With The Saints

3. We Are In The Household Of God

4. We Have The Unchanging Word As Our Guide.

5. Jesus Is The Foundation Of Our Family

6. We Are Part Of A Bigger Building, The Family Of God

7. We Are The Temple Of God

8. 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.

1. Our Family must resemble the Father

2. Family should be committed to the work of a Relationship with the Father

3. Family has the purpose that reflect the family name

4. Family is about the work of the Father

5. Family  must stay in communion with God

6. Families have to study the Word to Know the Word

7. 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.

THE VIRTUE OF TWO QUEENS Esther 2:17-19

 

THE VIRTUE OF TWO QUEENS

Esther 2:17-19

17 The king loved Esther more than all the women, and she found favor and kindness with him more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. 18 Then the king gave a great banquet, Esther's banquet, for all his princes and his servants; he also made a holiday for the provinces and gave gifts according to the king's bounty. 

Est 2:20-21

Esther did what Mordecai told her as she had done when under his care. 

INTRODUCTION

From the day Israel entered into the promised land their hearts were stilled

Focused on the lifestyle and the idol gods they worshiped in Egypt. 900

Years later they continued in their disobedience to God’s commands, angering Him to the point He commission King Nebuchnezzar of Babylon

To destroy Jerisalem and take them into captivity for 70 years. 

After the 70 year period the Persian were in charge of the kingdom. God

Commissioned King Darius to set the Israelites free with the command and

The resources to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple Many Jews had become comfortable and prosperous in the foreign land

And made the choice not to return to the promised land. 

There are six point to consider in this text

1. LET GOD LEAD YOU OUT OF TROUBLING SITUATIONS

2. VIRTUE IS BETTER THAN POSITION

3. DON’T REVEAL YOUR BUSINESS TO THE ENEMY

4. YOUR ELEVATION COMES WITH RESPONSIBILITY

5. LET YOUR PLANS BE GUIDED BY THE LORD

6. GOD WILL COME TO YOUR RESCUE 

POINT 1.  When God give you a way out of a bad situation, take it immediately

The first mistake of some of the Israelites after God made it possible for them to return to the promised land was to stay in the land they had become comfortable with. They were in land that worshipped idol gods. This was not the home God chose for them. We should never let our comfort over rule the righteousness of God.

God has given us good sense to know when we are in a bad situation. It is a choice to stay or go to a safer place.  It is easier to say where you are and hope for the best than to pick up and move. 

POINT 2.  VIRTUE IS BETTER THAN POSITION

Ahasuerus  became king of the Persian empire where many Jews lived. In the third year of his kingdom. He threw a party for 180 days to show off his

Kingdom and power to all the nations under his rule. A drunken, boastful king  ordered his  queen, his wife Vashti  to come and dance before the group of drunken men to show off her beauty. She refused to degrade herself in that manner and this infuriated the King.

King Ahasuerus had degraded himself with his drunkenness to all the

Officials of the 127 provinces he ruled. Sin had taken it’s course for

180 days. The king’s degradation was  at its lowest level. It was Lust of the flesh to request his wife to degrade herself before drunken men.  It was a sin against the sacred office of marriage that God created.

There is a difference between like and love. There is a difference between love and lust. Queen Vashti was one of the king's prized possessions. She 

Was replaceable. She did not live in the King’s chambers. She was only invited to his bed when he, the King had a need. If she approached his chambers uninvited she could be killed.  The lesson from Queen Vasthi is

YOU GOT TO STAND FOR SOMETHING OR YOU WILL FALL FOR ANYTHING.    STAND FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS

The king was infuriated. Vashti set an example for all the women of the kingdom. They had value beyond the empty picture of a wife. She set an

Example that we live and answer to a higher power than man.

The king listened to all his advisors on what to do with Queen Vasthi. They

All counselled the King to replace Vashti for the bad influence for all the women of his empire to disobey the King and their husbands. There is no mention of the king counseling with Queen Vashti before or after the banquet. His like became hatred.  There was no love involved. There was no grief involved that he would lose his wife. 

The king held a pageant of all the beautiful virgins in the empire. Esther was most beatiful and was chosen by the king to replace Vashti as queen.

He relied totally on her beauty for His selection (2:17).

POINT 3  DON’T REVEAL YOUR BUSINESS TO THE ENEMY

The problem Esther had was that under the direction of her uncle Moidecai she did not reveal that she was a Jew. This secret would work to hear advantage in an upcoming event unknown to her. God never tels us all events, but He there with us as they happen.

After a time, two of the kings trusted officials became angry with the king and developed a plot to kill him. Satan came to steal, kill and destroy.  He is an equal opportunity killer. Satan’s evil influence on people my open opportunities for you.

GOD IS WORKING IN THE BACKGROUND FOR YOUR GOOD

Esther 2:21-23

21 In those days, while Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king's officials from those who guarded the door, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 22 But the plot became known to Mordecai and he told Queen Esther, and Esther informed the king in Mordecai's name. 23 Now when the plot was investigated and found to be so, they were both hanged on a gallows; 

Because Mordeca and Esther saved the king’s life, they were held in high esteem. God allows evil to benefit those He loves. We never know what

Work God is doing through others that will benefit us.

HAMAN’S PLOT BACKFIRED

Esther 3:1-2

 After these events King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him and established his authority over all the princes who were with him. 

Hanam was a proud man and  he demanded that everyone bow down to Him. Mordecai refused and a plot was hatched to kill all the Jews in the Persian empire.

Doing the 70 years of captivity, the Jews had multiplied through out the

127 provinces of the Persian empire.  Haman and his cohorts hatched a plan to deceive the King that all the Jews had their own laws and did not

Follow the KIng. He promised to pay the King 10000 talents of silver to

Kill all the Jews (13 to 200 billion in today's dollars) 

The King signed the decree but had a dream that cause him to review the

What Mordecai had done to save Him. He ordered Haman  to honor

Mordecai. The king did not know Haman had built a gallows to hang

Mordecai.

POINT 4   YOUR ELEVATION COMES WITH RESPONSIBILITY

QUEEN ESTHER FORCED TO GET INVOLVED

In the meantime Mordecai had heard the plan to kill all Jews and tore his

clothes and put on sackcloth before the gate of King palace. All the jews

Did the same throughout all the provinces of Persia.

Haman’s plan was made know to Queen Esther by Mordecai

Est 4:13-14

13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, "Do not imagine that you in the king's palace can escape any more than all the Jews. 14 "For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?" 

Sometimes God will position us to a work He has prepared for us

Esther was not responsible for location in an unGodly land that

Worshipped idol gods. As a child she was cared for by Her uncle

When her parents died. Her uncle Mordecai made a decision to

Stay in Persia after God released the Jews to return to Israel.

Many other Jews stayed in Persia. Esther was positioned by God to save’

The lives of many Jews. 

POINT 4 QUEEN’S PLAN GUIDED BY THE LORD

PRAYER AND FASTING COMMUNICATION WITH THE LORD

Est 4:15-5:1

15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, 16 "Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa, and fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maidens also will fast in the same way. And thus I will go in to the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish." 17 So Mordecai went away and did just as Esther had commanded him. 

While the Name of the one true living God is not mentioned in the text it is clear that God was in the minds of the Jews.  Putting on sackcloth and torn clothes is a Jewish custom . Sackcloth was a sign of grief and repentance

(Job:42:6, Lam 2:10, Joel 1:8). Corporate prayer and fasting was a Jewish tradition (2 Chronicles 20:5, Jonah 3:5-10).

 Corporate prayer is powerful before the Lord. He knows our hearts and

Hear our prayers.  The Bible says where two or more are gathered  in His name He will be in the midst. God acts according to our faithfulness. He will act in a time that is appropriate to our circumstances.  

Queen Esther had not seen the king in 30 days. It was a death sentence to approach the kings chambers without being invited, She knew the law of the persians so she  stood outside His chambers until he invited her in. The king noticed her troubling spirit and promised half his kingdom to end her troubled heart.

Est 5:1-4

 Now it came about on the third day that Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king's palace in front of the king's rooms, and the king was sitting on his royal throne in the throne room, opposite the entrance to the palace. 2 When the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, she obtained favor in his sight; and the king extended to Esther the golden scepter which was in his hand. So Esther came near and touched the top of the scepter. 3 Then the king said to her, "What is troubling you, Queen Esther? And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom it shall be given to you." 4 Esther said, "If it pleases the king, may the king and Haman come this day to the banquet that I have prepared for him." 

Esther had a plan to expose Haman’s plan to kill all the Jews. She requested a banquet with the king and invited Haman. She saved the details until the banquet. A plan to keep her troubles on the king's mind.

About the same time Haman was gaining glory from his wife and friends

Who advised him to build a gallows to hang Mordecai.

POINT 5 GOD INTERVENED ON BEHALF OF BELIEVERS

Esther 6:1-2

6 During that night the king could not sleep so he gave an order to bring the book of records, the chronicles, and they were read before the king. 2 It was found written what Mordecai had reported concerning Bigthana and Teresh, 

Esther 6:4-5

 Haman had just entered the outer court of the king's palace in order to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows which he had prepared for him. Est 6:5

Haman came in and the king said to him, "What is to be done for the man whom the king desires to honor?" Est 6:7-9

 Then Haman said to the king, "For the man whom the king desires to honor, 8 let them bring a royal robe which the king has worn, and the horse on which the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown has been placed; 9 and let the robe and the horse be handed over to one of the king's most noble princes and let them array the man whom the king desires to honor and lead him on horseback through the city square, and proclaim before him, 'Thus it shall be done to the man whom the king desires to honor.'" 

Haman thought the KIng was referring to Him.  So he advised the king to

Elevate the man in question to a position of glory. Assuming the king was 

Talking about him, Haman would have the highest honor next to the king.

God can cause your enemies to bless you with their mouths. What the enemy prepare for themselves can be given to you. God causes the evil plans of the enemy to bless you.

Esther 7:1-7

7 Now the king and Haman came to drink wine with Esther the queen. 2 And the king said to Esther on the second day also as they drank their wine at the banquet, "What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom it shall be done." 3 Then Queen Esther replied, "If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me as my petition, and my people as my request; 4 for we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed and to be annihilated. Now if we had only been sold as slaves, men and women, I would have remained silent, for the trouble would not be commensurate with the annoyance to the king." 5 Then King Ahasuerus asked Queen Esther, "Who is he, and where is he, who would presume to do thus?" 6 Esther said, "A foe and an enemy is this wicked Haman!" Then Haman became terrified before the king and queen. 

POINT 6 A PLAN WITH GOD IS A PLAN THAT WILL SUCCEED

Haman’s plan was born out of his pride and failure to force Mordecai to

Bow down to him. He elevated himself before men boasted of his success

And wanted all glory for himself.  His anger was such that he would kill a

Nation of people to satisfy his desire for fame. 

Haman’s plan failed because God heard the prayers of His people in a foreign land. The same thing happen in Egypt for God’s people who

Cried out to God for relief from idol god worshipping Pharaoh. 

God is the same today as yesterday.  What God did for others He will do for you.

Eshert 7:7-8

7 The king arose in his anger from drinking wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm had been determined against him by the king. 8 Now when the king returned from the palace garden into the place where they were drinking wine, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, "Will he even assault the queen with me in the house?" 

Est 7:10

 So they hanged Haman on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai, and the king's anger subsided.

Haman meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.

WHAT WE LEARN FROM THE TWO QUEENS

1. FROM VASHTI    VIRTUE IS BETTER THAN POSITION

2. IT DON’T STAND FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS, YOU WILL FALL FOR ANYTHING

3. NEVER BE COMFORTABLE IN ANY UNGODLY SITUATION

4. WHEN GOD PROVIDES YOU A WAY OUT OF AN UNGODLY SITUATION, TAKE IT IMMEDIATELY

5. YOU CANNOT TRUST AN ENEMY OF GOD

6. GOD PUTS YOU IN BAD SITUATIONS TO STAND FOR OTHERS

7. YOUR ELEVATION COMES WITH RESPONSIBILITY

8. YOU ARE THE VOICE OF GOD FOR THE COMMUNITY

9. TRUST GOD WHEN ATTACKED BY THE ENEMY

10. TAKE YOUR REQUEST TO GOD

                   PRAYER, FASTING AND MEDITATION

                   ENLIST THE COMMUNITY TO PRAY 

11. FOLLOW THE LAWS OF THE LAND

12. ALLOW GOD TO DIRECT YOUR PLANNING

13. STAND FOR RIGHT AND ALLOW GOD TO MAKE IT    

RIGHT