Introduction, Part 4

The Bible says in Psalm 127, verse number one, that unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.

Unless the Lord is building into your home, unless the Lord is building into your life, unless the Lord is putting your home together, then everything you do in your home is going to be empty, futile, worthless, all in vain, because it will be something done of the flesh, not done through the energy of the Spirit of God. God wants to build your home. God wants to do a great work in your family, but he needs to do the building. So the Bible is very clear that unless the Lord does that building, that everything you do, every way you labor will be in vain.

We are attempting to help you understand what that means for you and for your family to let the Lord do the work in your home. Let the Lord do that. that building process to make your family what he wants it to be. And so we have been looking at God's hope for your home. We're only in the introduction, but this will conclude our introduction this evening, and then we will begin to move on from here and build one week upon another as we look at the Word of God.

But first of all, we need to understand the five foundation elements, those basic principles that will make our home what God wants it to be.

And so as we look at God's hope and encouragement, we've realized that the very first foundation is that we need to fear the Christ.

And we have spent some time talking about what it means to fear God and how that is such a blessing to your family. The Bible says in Psalm 28, verse number 14, that blessed it is a man that fears always.

Number two, you need to make sure that you follow his commands. And we look specifically in Ephesians 5 verse number 18, where it specifically says that the will of God for you is that you be not drunk in which is dissipation, but that you be controlled, that you be filled with the Spirit of God. Now, somehow God's Spirit control your life, that God's Spirit dominate every aspect of your life. Number three, foundation, is that we need to fortify our convictions.

That is, we need to have convictions in our homes. Most of our homes don't have convictions, but our homes need to be centered around convictions. That is, a belief system that's founded on the Word of God. Where are you this evening? Where is your family? Is your family being defeated by the enemy? Is your family have snares on every side because distress just fills your home? has your home become a disgrace for the name of your God because God is no longer honored there that can all change that can all change this evening by saying God this is what I want to do I want to do exactly what your word says I want to fortify my convictions I want to have convictions that follow the lines that Joshua gave in Joshua chapter 23.

And your family might have other convictions, but those are the basic ones that every family must have. You've got to have them if you don't have them. If you don't have them. And you don't live by them, you will be ultimately defeated. It's a promise. It's a guarantee. But it's up to you. Don't have to be. You can see, Lord, I want to do this. I want to follow you, serve you. Which leads me to the fourth foundational principle. And that's this. You need to formulate a family covenant. You need to formulate a covenant.

A covenant that you can hold your family accountable to. I would venture to say that if I ask you, what does your family believe and why do they believe it? What does your family stand for? Most of us would not have an answer. We don't know. Listen to the words of Joshua. In Joshua chapter 24, very familiar words. Verse number 14, now therefore, fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and truth. and put away the gods which your father served beyond the river and in Egypt and serve the Lord. And if it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve.

Whether the gods which your father served which were beyond the river, or the gods of the Emirates, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Joshua had a family covenant He says listen this is what I'm going to do This is what my family is going to do I don't know what you're going to do But this is what I'm going to do in my family Listen to verse number 16 And the people answered and said Far be it from us Then we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods For the Lord our God is he who brought us And our fathers up out of the land of Egypt and the, excuse me, from the house of bondage, and who did these great signs in our sight and preserved us through all the way in which we went and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed.

And the Lord drove out from before us all the peoples, even the emirites who lived in the land. We also will serve the Lord, for he is our God. People say, man, this is great. You got a covenant, Joshua. We, we were. We were, we want to follow that covenant. We want to do the same thing, Joshua. And yet you reads the man we're right behind you 50 miles behind you but we're right behind you baby we're going to be right there with you wherever you go we're going to serve the Lord we're going to put away our other gods we're going to do that but did they there will be many of you tonight who will say that's what I want to do that's where I'm going yes sir that's what I want to have a family covenant I'm going to follow that covenant yes sir and you're going to walk way at the door and you're going to keep right on walking.

And you're going to do that, which is right in your own eyes. When I talk about a family covenant, I'm talking about a deep commitment. I'm talking about a commitment that says, you know what, I'm going to do this. No matter what it takes, no matter what happens to me, no matter what goes on in my life, I am going to fulfill my family covenant. What is a family covenant? I'm going to explain it to you. Your family, I'm going to give you my family covenant. Okay? This is my family's covenant. It's God word and it's man word.

If you mix the order, you have trouble. But this is my family covenant. You don't have to say the same one I have, but you've got to formulate some kind of covenant that says, we're going to hold one another accountable to what we believe and why. let me give you my family covenant number one fear God fear God I've already talked about that as a father the number one thing you ought to teach your children is not how to balance a checkbook is not how to drive a car or to hit a baseball or to put their pants on one leg at a time the number one thing you want to teach your children is to fear God That's number one.

That is far and above anything else you teach your children. If you don't teach them to fear God, they will do that which is right in their own eyes. They need to fear God. Read the book of Proverbs. Over and over again, you've got to fear God. You've got to fear God. You've got to fear God. As a family, somewhere in your covenant, you need to teach them. We are a family who fears. are God. It says over in Proverbs chapter 19, verse number 23, these words, the fear of the Lord leads to life so that one may sleep satisfied untouched by evil.

I love what Proverbs chapter 14, verse number 26 says, in the fear of the Lord, there is strong confidence. You want to build confidence in your children? teach him to fear God. In the fear of the Lord, there are strong confidence, and his children will have refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life that one may avoid the snares of death. Do you want your children to be protected? Teach them to fear God. Godward is first.

The number one thing is to fear God. Number two, adore God. Adore God. Adore him with all your heart. Adore him with all that you have. Adore him with every part of your life. A family needs somehow adore their God. We adore all kinds of things. But we need to adore our God. We need to worship our God. more than anything. Number three, magnify God.

Magnify God. We are a family that will magnify God. The Bible says in Psalm 34, verse number three, O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.

Where everything that happens at home magnifies God that every decision I make send us around one question will God be put on display in this activity if God is not magnified in this activity then we will not do that activity that's the family covenant and that's you hold one another accountable to fear God adore God magnify God number four imitates God imitate God 1 John chapter 2 verse number 6 he who abides in me ought himself to walk even as he himself walks imitate God your life is to be a life that mimics Christ fear God adore God magnify God imitate God next learn God learn God second Peter 318 the growing grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Jeremiah 9 23 and 24 let not the mighty man boast in his might neither let the rich man boast in his riches neither let the wise man boast in his wisdom but let him who boast or let him who glories glory in this that he understands and knows that I God.

Learn God. Your whole family should be a lifelong journey of getting to know God because you want to learn more about him every day. And lastly, yield to God. Yield to God. Romans 12. 1 and 2. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice. unto God. Yield to God. Submit to God. Submit to Him and everything. Make your life a life of capitulation. Where you are in submission, where you are yielding to God and His Word every single day, where you are willing to put your life on the author and say, Lord, you take my hopes, you take my dreams, you take what I want, and you do whatever you want with it, because it doesn't matter me anymore, the only way to manage to me is you.

You'll never yield to God unless you've learned about your God. You'll never yield to God unless you really truly adore your God. You'll never yield to God unless you fear God. That's a family. A family who fears God, adores God, magnifies God, imitates God, learns God, and yields to God will be a family, a family that glorifies his wonderful name. On the flip side of that, a family also has a covenant with themselves. and number one, they forgive one another.

If you fear God, guess what? You'll forgive your family members. If you don't fear God, you're not forgiving anybody. But you need to forgive your husband, your wife, your children. Why? The Bible tells us that we are to be tender-hearted, compassionate, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven us. Ephesians 4.32. We need to be a forgiving people. Isn't it not true that in your family? You all know what goes on in your family. You know all the bad things about your dad and all the bad things about your mom and all the bad things about your kids.

You know them all. in order to live in harmony there needs to be a forgiving spirit without that forgiving spirit the walls of bitterness will rage high and deep are you a forgiving person my covenant is to God first it has to be if it is if I'm willing to put my life on the author of sacrifice for him because I'm going to yield to him I'll do what he says.

And God says, if you don't forgive your brother, I'm not going to forgive you. If you're on Matthew chapter 6, verses 14 and 15, if you are unwilling to forgive your brother his trespasses, be sure of one thing. You will not receive forgiveness for me. Don't think that you can go around harboring resentment and bitterness to your brother and expect me to bless your life. And it's not going to happen, God says.

You need to be a person of forgiveness. And we'll talk about this in great detail in weeks to come. What does it truly mean to forgive your spouse? We'll hit it twice. We hit it with the life of Joseph, the greatest of all forgivers in the Old Testament. And we're headed on Wednesday nights in our study on what it means to forgive one another with genuine humility. But you need to forgive one another. Number two.

need to accept one another except one another your family's all different we have seven children not one of them is alike not one of them it'd be so easy that they were all alike but they're not they're all different they all have to be handled in different ways you know what, to be honest with you? My kids do some things that I just don't like. And I'm sure I do some things they don't like. But you know what? We have to learn to accept one another. Number three, minister to one another.

Not only must we forgive one another, accept and admonish one another, we must minister to one another. Let me say it one more time if I haven't said it enough.

If your ministry at home doesn't work, you have no ministry. Your ministry must work at home. Why? Because that's where the rubber meets the road. You can't fool those people. You can fool the church. You can fool the pastor and the elders and your teachers and your classmates. But you can't fool your mom and dad. You can't fool your children. You can come in here and candy coat it all you want, but your children know the real you. Minister to one another. The Bible says, you know the verse, Philippians chapter 2, if therefore there is any encouragement of Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if any affection and compassion make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose, do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind, that each of you regard one another as more important than himself.

Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude to yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus. That's a family covenant. Minister to one another. Intercede for one another. Romans 12, verse number 12 says we need to be devoted to prayer. Intercede for one another. Pray for one another. The greatest joys we have in our family is to listen to my children. Pray for one another. To pray for the grandparents, to pray for their parents, to pray for their classmates, to pray for their friends, and to listen to those voices.

Intercede on behalf of one another. It's a great joy for a parent. Intercede for one another, teaching to pray by themselves in their rooms at night before they go to bed, all by themselves. Teaching to pray with you. Teaching to pray for you. Teaching to pray for one another. Intercede for one another. Next, love one another. First Corinthians 13, the love chapter.

Memorize it, study it. More importantly, obey it. Love keeps no. record of wrong doings. You'll be surprised at the people who keep records. Love keeps no record of wrongdoings. That's just one aspect of the love of God. Family loves one another. A family yields to one another. Yields to one another. Ephesians 5, verse number 21, Submit to one another, how, in the fear of God. Submit to one another in the fear of God. Folks, that is a family covenant. God word, then manward. Yours might be different.

That's what my family covenant is. That's what my family is committed to holding one another accountable. to. As for you in your house, what will you do? Lastly, the last foundational principle, I'm not sure how much time I have left, but we'll end here. Fulfill your commitment. I have to talk about this. Fulfill your commitment. If you make one, keep it. fulfill it turn to me to Joshua chapter 14 this is a great chapter Caleb has mentioned a half a dozen times in the Bible three of them in the book of Joshua he is the essence of commitment in the Bible in Joshua 14 Caleb makes a request Caleb is 85 years old in Joshua 14 85 85 he says I have a request, Joshua.

We have been fighting these seven years. I went the hillside country that was promised me 45 years ago. Let me read it to you.

He says this. You know the word which the Lord spoke to Moses, the man of God concerning you and me in Caird-Sparnea? I was 40 years old when Moses servant of the Lord sent me from Cair's party to spy out the land and I brought word back to him as it was in my heart nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt with fear but I followed the Lord my God fully so Moses swore on that day saying surely the land on which your foot is trod shall be an inheritance to you and to your children forever because you have followed the Lord my God fully.

And now behold, the Lord has let me live just as he spoke these 45 years from the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses when Israel walked in the wilderness and now behold, I am 85 years old today.

Joshua, it's my birthday. I want my birthday present. I want the hillside country. I'm 85 years old. It's time for me to have what God promised to me because I have fully followed the Lord with all of my heart. and then it says I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me as my strength was then so my strength is now for war and for going out and coming in isn't that great I'm 85 years old when I'm just as strong as I was when I was 40 I'm still as vibrant I'm still as quick I'm still as strong I can still do what I did did 45 years ago on the man, Joshua, I have fully fault the Lord, my God, I want my land.

Now then, give me this hill country about which the Lord spoke on that day. For you heard on that day that Anachan were there with great fortified cities. Perhaps the Lord will be with me and I should drive them out as the Lord has spoken. So Joshua blessed him and gave Hebron to Caleb, the son of Jifuna, for inheritance. therefore Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Tipuna the Kenezite until this day because he followed the Lord God of Israel fully he fulfilled his commitment to the very end do you know how he did that number one he was committed to God's promises He is the man that capsulizes for us what commitment is all about to the very end.

In what land did he have? Hebron. Where God spoke to Abraham face to face. When you fully follow the Lord, your God with all your heart, you have intimacy, and you have victory. And Caleb had it. fulfill your commitment all the way to the end don't quit don't quit Caleb didn't look what God did for him look how God blessed him you want intimacy with God you be committed to his promises convinced of his presence, confident in his provision, and you will fulfill your commitment.