One little boy was asked to define Father’s Day, he said, “Father’s Day is just like Mother’s Day only you don’t have to spend as much on the present.”
The point is there are different approaches to both days but they do hold one thing in common and that is this; Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Grandparents, Day, your child’s birthday, they all serve as reminders to us that we have a great responsibility before us and that is raising up a new generation.
This is a very important responsibility given the day and age that we live. What I mean by that is there are many different things in this world that try to tear apart the family.
The family was God’s original idea and the enemy of our souls would like to see nothing less than families’ torn apart, living in confusion and living without God’s love.
Tonight I am beginning a three week series that is going to help us make the family what God desires the family to be. The messages will first deal with our families being Christ centered families and then we will deal with generational legacies and generational curses.
I would have to say that these may be some of the most important messages you hear in regards to being a part of a family that follows Jesus Christ.
Tonight we will begin with the legacy of a Christ centered family.
PRAYER
Father, open my eyes to see Your Word.
Open my ears to hear.
Open my mind to understand.
And open my heart so I may receive Your Word today.
AMEN
Having a Christ centered family is the only way you can successfully raise a family in today’s society.
Let’s face it; raising a family today is not the easiest thing to do. We need some help and that help is not going to come from Dr. Phil, Oprah, or Dr. Spock!
The only help for our families today is to make sure that our families are Christ centered.
This is the mission of Prairie Family Church, to help build healthy families. The key to being a healthy family is by allowing Christ to be the center of the family.
Here is what that means and here is how to put Christ at the center…
The Christ centered family is a family that includes God in every aspect and every phase of life.
There is nothing that is not faced in which God is not a part of. There is no problem that God is not sought.
There is no decision made in which His wisdom is not asked for.
In every victory God is given praise and glory.
God is at the center of the family. Everything revolves around the fact that they are children of God through their decision to make Jesus Christ their Savior.
The family that puts God first is the family that is going to succeed in today’s world.
That is not to say that if we are Christ centered there will be no problems, but it is saying that if God is for us then who can be against us.
If you desire your family to be Christ centered then there are three things that you are going to need to do.
The first thing that you are going to need to do is to recognize God’s plan and order for the family.
The institution of the family is the oldest institution in the history of the world and was given by God to mankind for the well being of mankind and to ensure the survival of mankind.
The family was ordained when God created Adam and Eve.
It says in Genesis 1:27-28, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it…”
God’s original plan for the family was not Adam and Steve!
It was a man and a woman becoming one with each other and one with God.
Then God confirmed the family when he gave Moses and the people of Israel the 10 Commandments. Each of which confirm God’s plan for the family and give instructions to the family that if followed will ensure God’s blessings on the family.
The family unit was blessed many times by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
And through the words of the writers of the New Testament, the Holy Spirit validated the institution known as the family.
When a family, any family puts God first, blessings are going to come. It doesn’t matter if it is a single parent family, a family with step parents, adoptive parents, or foster parents, as long as it is a Christ centered family God is going to be pleased.
As you recognize God’s plan and order for the family it is going to be easier for the care givers of the family to teach their family Godly principles and morals.
The Word of God says, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; but instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:4
“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6
“Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands. His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.” Psalm 112:1-3
And while we are at it, let’s also not forget the Scriptures that instruct the children.
“Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.” Colossians 3:20
“Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” Exodus 20:12
Have you ever noticed that children think that their Christian parents are too harsh and too strict when it comes to some of their rules?
They think that we are out of touch when we warn them about some of the dangers that this world holds for them. They think we are old fashioned because we set forth standards for them.
If your child is downstairs, you can share this little lesson with them, if they are up here right now, make sure they are listening.
Children today have it pretty easy in today’s world.
They need to be thankful that we are not still living as they did in the Old Testament days.
Talk about strict rules and punishment. Look at this Scripture in Deuteronomy.
If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. They shall say to the elders, "This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a profligate (wild) and a drunkard." Then all the men of his town shall stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid. Deuteronomy 21:18-21
Let’s be thankful for parents who want to make sure that their families are Christ centered because they are the families who understand God’s plan for the family.
The second thing that you are going to need to do is to allow the presence of God in your family.
We need to develop within our families the capacity to integrate the presence of God into our homes and as we do this our awareness of His ways and His will for our families will intensify.
Let me explain what I mean by the presence of God.
We know that God is omnipresent, which means God is everywhere. David said in Psalms 139:7-8 NKJV Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
Since God is present everywhere, when we talk about the presence of God we are really talking about the realization of God's presence, the perceiving of His presence, becoming conscious of His presence.
A good example of this is in Genesis 28:16 NKJV when Jacob woke up from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it."
It was during that time of sleep that God revealed His plan of blessing to Jacob as he was fleeing from his brother Esau.
Jacob was at a low point in his life but God came to him.
It seems that when we are at our low points in life and it feels that God is a million miles away then we turn our focus on Him and immediately we are filled with the presence of His peace and comfort.
The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. Psalms 34:18 NKJV
God also reveals His presence to those that seek Him earnestly.
"But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 4:29 NKJV
God desires that we seek to come near Him and when we do then He reveals Himself to us.
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:8 NKJV
We need to seek God and allow His presence into our families. We can enter into God's presence by preparing our heart. This starts with us as parents and caretakers.
As we come close to the Lord immediately the Holy Spirit reveals any unforgiven sin to us. Then we confess our sin to the Lord and accept His loving mercy and forgiveness.
"Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. Acts 3:19 NKJV
The word refreshing means recovery of breath or revival, true revival begins with repentance, and then we become renewed and restored by the Holy Spirit, the breath of life.
We need this refreshing in our families because it is this refreshing that brings love, peace, and joy that could only come from God even when we are surrounded by trouble on every side. we can enter into His presence and have rest and security.
We live in a day and age that is surrounded by many different obstacles, difficulties, dangers, darkness, temptations, and corruption. Because of these things there is a lack of love, peace, and joy in our families.
The only way to overcome these things and allow the refreshing into our families is for the members of our families to be imitators of Christ.
This is the third thing we need to do to have Christ centered families, be imitators of God.
Paul explains this to us in Ephesians 5:1 where he says, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children…”
He goes on to teach us that we are to be like Christ who is our prime example of holiness and purity.
Then in Ephesians 5:15-16 Paul says, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”
Imitation is the highest form of adoration. By imitating Christ who is God, we can be assured of a Christ centered family.
I hope, I pray that each of you will desire to be a part of a Christ centered family. What kind of legacy are you leaving?
PRAY & CLOSE
