Restoring the Family Altar Part II January 24, 2015 Deuteronomy 6: 4-7 "4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord. 5 And thou shalt love the

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1 Restoring the Family Altar Part II January 24, 2015 Deuteronomy 6: 4-7 "4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord. 5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all your strength. 6 And these words which I command you today shall be on your heart; 7 and Impress them on your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise... " Malachi 2:15 "Do not you made one the Lord with your wife? In body and spirit you are of him. And what do they want? From this union wants children to live for God. So take care of your spirit and not faith with the wife of his youth. " God's purpose for each family is that He is the centerpiece, sustainable approach and protective presence. When devotion to Jesus Christ, is not the priority of the family, the family is centered in itself. The family then becomes a group of individuals seeking their own selfish goals and ambitions. While the family is blurred more and more, the world's influence grows and the enemy is able to infiltrate and bring destruction. Our approach must not be to change others but to be like Jesus ourselves and restore His presence in our homes. UNDERSTANDING OUR ROLE Sometimes we have the idea that only goingo to church to worship and discipleship in spiritual matters but God never intended that our corporate meeting time will replace our individual and family worship. Our personal spiritual responsibilities and family have been turned over to others, i.e., pastors and other church leaders and while certainly recognize the role of corporate worship, teaching and ministry leaders in the church, we should also consider how we neglected the place of worship and discipleship in our own homes. The Lord wants to restore the core responsibility of spiritual discipleship in the family home. He wants to restore the altars of worship and His presence among us, not bringing revival to the community first, but starting with the revival in our homes and in our hearts. Popular culture influenced by the power of the air is deceiving and destroying the youth and our children are hearing all messages every day. The question is: Who or what is providing spiritual food for your children, what is your spiritual diet? We should start by our own faith and beliefs. What

2 is currently the kind of faith that is your family? And Where do you want to be found? There was a king in the Old Testament that he lived in a difficult time, his name was Asa. 2 Chronicles 15: 5 says, "... there was no peace, nor for coming and for coming out, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the land." That was a time of great very similar difficulty in which we live. This man received a word from God through a prophet named Azariah who told him 2 Chronicles 15: 2-3: "Listen Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The Lord is with you, if you are with him; and if you seek will be found of you; but if they cease, He also will leave. Many days have been the people (Israel) without the true God and without a teaching priest, and without law... " It says in 2 Chronicles 15: 8-19 These words made a tremendous impact on the life of the king, and he made some reforms to the life of their nation but started first by his family. This is a word God is giving us to bring reforms in our lives, homes and church 1st REFORM (v.8) "took courage, and put away the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and the cities... Hallowed Judah and Benjamin..." God has called us to sanctify our lives, families and ministry. That's what brings the presence and everything that implies. We must discern the idols that have arisen in our own lives or in our family. The idol of materialism and wealth; the idol of self-indulgence, self and comfort. We must remove the idols of our families, religious idols, and the sins that have been raised. 2nd REFORM: (v.8) "and repaired the altar of the LORD that was before the porch of Jehovah." The idea here is to restore God's presence in our home and in our lives. That prayer is a lifestyle not just a congregational level but also personal and familiar. The presence should be evident in every life, every family and friendship group. When God wants to restore the nation or the church always starts at the individual and family level. 3rd REFORM (v. 12) "They promised solemnly to seek the LORD God of their fathers, with all your heart and all your soul." Aza made a vow, to seek the God of their fathers with all their heart and soul. When God touches you take this kind of determinations. Each family and tribe, seek your God with all your effort and soul. So we must make a vow as church families to seek God with all your heart so you can come the fulfillment of God's purpose and multiplication.

3 4th REFORM (v.16): He brought order "And also concerning Maachah the mother of King Asa, he removed his dignity, because she had made a grove; and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron. It says that he took her off the place of privilege because she was still worshiping false gods. Asa had to discipline his own mother and remove the privileged, the burned the grove and make a pact to seek God If there are things that are wrong in the family and if so we have to take action. If our children are consecrated in our house should not come pollutions of the world, no influence of the enemy and so what we live it will transmit to the church. Asa not only did the reforms but that he lived at home. As families and leaders we will remove the idols of the church and we will release the presence of God. GOD GAVE THEM PEACE: And all the people began to rejoice (v.15). Because they made a vow to seek God and the Bible says that He gave peace everywhere. I want to encourage you and challenge you once you reach this day his house and his family make that vow to seek God with all your heart, with all your soul and God will begin to bless. LEADING WORSHIP The commander of Columbia shuttle that disintegrated in mid-air was so devoted to family worship that he recorded eighteen videos for his family, one for each day that he was supposed to be gone. How valuable do you think those videos are to his family now? What a legacy he has left. As Christian parents, we need to lead the way in family worship so that when people come into our homes, they see what family worship is like. The Puritans saw family worship so foundational that they would bar a man from communion if he failed to lead his family in worship. Family worship is the foundation of child rearing. As family worship goes, so will go the family. The Puritans thought family worship was the whole backbone of society. Our God is a family God. He is a triune God. He is an intra-trinitarian relationship. That is the basis of family relationships. We ought to emulate him in family worship. The head of the family in leading his family in covenant

4 faithfulness to God is perhaps the most significant way God has used as a means of saving grace. There are three aspects of family worship. Joshua 4: "And Joshua pitch in Gilgal the twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan. 21 And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children ask their parents, 'What do these stones mean? 22 shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. 23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until you were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up before us until we passed; 24 so that all the peoples of the earth might know the hand of the LORD is powerful; that ye might fear the LORD your God every day. " FIRST, DAILY INSTRUCTION. That means the daily reading of the Bible and explain it. We instruct our families with the same seriousness as we preach Sunday. Now, more specific aspects. With regard to the reading of Scripture, have a plan and make sure you read the entire Bible. Read Perhaps ten to twenty verses from the Old Testament in the morning and ten to twenty of the New Testament in the evenings. Involve the whole family in reading. And as each read, teach them to read aloud. For biblical instruction is clear in its meaning. Involve your children. Ask how a text applies. Do not make the same question to each child not begin to compete or feel insecure. Do not make them feel slighted. And if you do not know the answer, you have a comment or two beside you to reference. Be pure in doctrine. Be relevant to the application. Explain how a text has affected your life or church history. That will give your children the feeling that the Bible is a real book with real applications is. Be affectionate in manner. Show them the way to fear, delight in and love the Lord. Our children need to feel that we love our children but that we love their soul. Pray earnestly for their salvation out loud in front of them. Little children see you as a God-figure and that is a profound responsibility. Embrace your children in the way God embraces sinners. Require attention. As loving as you, never allow the conduct slouch. No one answers the phone. We are family worship and God requires our attention. SECOND PRAYER every day to the throne of God. We must participate in prayer, with our family. No matter when, but we try to bring our families together in heavenly places and heavenly blessings rain upon them through prayer. In prayer be short. Three to five minutes is enough.

5 Do not teach in your prayers. Be simple without being superficial. Be direct plead their case before God. Ask your children what to pray and bring all those things in prayer. When your children know that you want to know what your needs and be prayed for them, they will come to you with their prayer needs. The power of that is when they get older and are tempted to sin, maybe the power of prayer and your example will hold them back, even if they are not saved yet. Be varied in your prayers as well. Teach your people to use the "acts" acronym-adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication. Pray for the congregation. Teach your children to pray. Start making you repeat. THIRD PLACE SING DAILY PRAISES OF GOD. The Lord is to be worshiped daily by the singing of psalms and hymns in our homes Colossians 3:16 "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing with grace in your hearts to Lord with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Sing doctrinally pure songs and don t forget the psalms. The psalms were the original hymnbook. If a child doesn t want to sing, have discipline for not singing. At the end of the night, pray with your wife. You have a position of authority in your family does not like your partner or friend, but as prophet, priest and king, showing them the way to God. As parents, we lovingly instruct householders in our congregations to lead their families in worship. Implementing Family Worship Family worship requires some preparation. A little forethought is required. Choose a text to read, a meeting place, a song or hymn to sing and be ready. Hope everyone is there. Family worship should be jealously guarded. Aim to be brief. Ten minutes in the morning and twenty minutes at night is enough for most families. Do not overdo. Do not forty-five minutes on Monday and Tuesday you would jump. Do it every day. Do not make excuses to avoid family worship. When you get home and you're tired, do not make excuses to avoid it. If the Lord Jesus was not too tired to die for you, you should not be too tired to live for him. If you just angry with your children, do not skip a family worship that is the best time to do it! Apologizes and goes beyond that. These are some of the objections to family worship.

6 "We don t have time." Well, you may need to have two family worship times or you need to teach your family priorities. "Our family is too small." "Where two or three are gathered in my name, I will be with them." "Our family is too diverse to benefit." You do adapt to each. "I'm not good at directing family worship." Get a cyclical book on family worship and teach your people to read one. Start small and build. You can do it. The problem is not ability but commitment to do it.. LEAD WITH A FIRM HEART, A FATHER, SOFT AND PATIENT HAND. ANIMA WITH WARMTH AND ENDURING LOVE. TALK TO YOUR CHILDREN NATURALLY. Motivations for Family Worship Why should we do family worship? God may use it to save souls. Do you want solid young men and women to grow up in your church? Then teach your congregation to engage in family worship. God uses family worship to draw people to himself. Remember that at every gathering of family worship, you are ushering your family into the presence of God. The satisfaction of a good conscience is another motivation. Teach and pray with your family so that when you are on your deathbed, you have a free conscience, knowing you have done your best to raise your children in the fear of the Lord. Third, family worship assists in child rearing. It makes a family able to speak more openly about anything. Talking with each other becomes normal. It helps you have more open communication. Fourth, the shortness of time calls for it. The time when your children are in your house will fly by. See everyday as a gift of God to bring the Word of God to your children. Start Today In conclusion, I want to address two things. Some might say, What if I failed? Begin today. Confess to your wife; confess to your children. If you have adult children, equip them to lead their families. Start leading your grandchildren in worship. Family worship will set the tone for your entire home.