Part 19: FULL! Text: Psalm 68:4-6 (NKJV) sets the solitary in families dry land Ephesians 3:14-15 (NKJV)

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1 Part 19: FULL! Text: Psalm 68:4-6 (NKJV) - Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Extol Him who rides on the clouds, By His name YAH, And rejoice before Him. [5] A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, Is God in His holy habitation. [6] God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity; But the rebellious dwell in a dry land. A. Our new series on the family, home, and relationships is sure to be one of the most helpful and illuminating I ve ever taught! 1. Socrates, the ancient Greek philosopher said, By all means marry. If you get a good wife, you ll become happy. If you get a bad one, you ll become a philosopher. 2. I suppose that advice could also apply to the ladies who marry a bad husband. But is hoping for a good marriage or philosophizing about a bad marriage the best we can do? Not according to the Bible. 3. God created you and your family and wants to bless the specific purpose for which the family was designed. 4. It s interesting to note that God included prosperity and freedom as two benefits of being in a family. It s also true that those who rebel against the biblical definition of family will inevitably live in what the Bible calls a dry land. 5. Here are two more scriptures we will refer to later: a. Ephesians 3:14-15 (NKJV) For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, [15] from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.

2 6. I want to speak this morning on an important part of the family relationship: Why God Ordained the Family Will the Circle Be Unbroken? B. A song that was popular many years ago was entitled, Will the Circle Be Unbroken? 1. The basic question of this song is the possibility of discovering that a beloved family member did not go to heaven because of bad choices they made while on earth. 2. I pray that those you love will also be in heaven with you. But the truth is, the circle can be broken while we re still here on earth. Since the family was ordained by God, it was part of His divine will and master plan for our lives. 3. Our text says, He sets the solitary (or individuals) in families. That doesn t mean that every event your family experiences was ordained by God. Since the family is constantly being attacked by the enemy, even though family members may disappoint or betray you, God still ordained that you should be part of a family. 4. The enemy wants us to underestimate the importance of family ties and live in a dry land where nothing can grow or where plants quickly shrivel and die. We should never be satisfied with just a few drops of rain a year and struggle the rest of the time. 5. In the 1960 s, the average American family included: a husband, a wife, and 2.2 kids. Then then things began to change. 6. I was raised in a broken home; but in my wife Geri s home, her mom and dad were married 53 years before he went to be with the

3 Lord. Geri and I have celebrated 51 years of marriage, which is very rare. C. There is so much confusion about what constitutes a family, it can mean almost anything in our society. 1. Family can be one man and one woman; or it could be two men or two women. It can be a couple with or without children, or a person and their pet. The sitcom Friends would have us believe that it s a group of young people living together and sharing life.and we could go on and on. 2. Because some consider marriage to be a disposable commodity with an expiration date, a family could be a single parent and their kids or grandparents raising their grandchildren. Tragically, more and more parental figures are abandoning their offspring. 3. To prevent such confusion from creeping into the church and to help both believers and unbelievers know what God expects of us, we must understand His definition of a family. 4. Make no mistake: the family is being vehemently attacked by the enemy! The reason? It s the closest reflection we have on earth to the nature of God. When we observe a godly family, we re viewing a reflection of God. 5. God created man; and from his side, He fashioned a woman. Together, the man and woman were created in the image of God. Each reflects a portion of God not found in your mate. When you enter into marriage, the two of you together express the image of who God is. When children are born, that image is expanded to resemble the family of heaven. 6. Satan desperately wants to subvert and twist that reflection so that God s image is no longer portrayed and He is completely

4 misrepresented. In fact, the enemy s first success in seducing man to sin was through the influence of the family. Eve took what God had forbidden them to eat and then gave it to Adam. Together they ate...and together they fell. 7. That same evil strategy is repeated today. Satan entices you to question whether God really said what you ve been taught to believe. Did He really say that sex outside of marriage is wrong? Did God say that abortion is a sin? Has He really condemned gay marriage? What about disposable marriage and easy divorce? The U.S. Supreme Court has even decreed that the biblical definition of a family is no longer acceptable in today s world. So, who is right? D. To truly understand the meaning of family and why it exists, we must find the scriptural foundation. 1. Since the family plays such an important role in God s plan of redemption, He must have had a specific reason for creating it. 2. The creator of an object always has the right to define the reason for creating it. Since God created the family, He alone has the right to name it. 3. If a man and woman conceive and create a child, no one else is entitled to name that child. This privilege belongs solely to the parents not society. It doesn t belong to relatives, and it certainly doesn t belong to the Supreme Court! 4. A name gives an object its identity. If you are this, then you must not be that. In other words, it separates you from everything else so that you are unique and have purpose. 5. The family was created to be a primary building block. As the home goes, so goes society. Ultimately, the home will not only dictate the direction and health of a society, it also has the power to change it.

5 The family is the greatest tool ever created for evangelism and to establish the Kingdom of God on earth. That s why it s so important to know God s purpose for the family. 6. May I ask you a personal question: why was your family created? More importantly, have you ever thought to seek a clearly defined purpose for your family? 7. Let s look at the eternal Word of Almighty God for some answers! E. The foundational teaching of every truth and doctrine in the Word of God can be found in the book of Genesis. 1. This book contains the blueprint and pattern for everything that functions on the earth and the Kingdom of God. 2. The meaning of genesis is: the origin or mode of formation of something. In the book of Genesis, God not only establishes the origin of our universe, the earth and mankind, He also establishes the mode of every universal principle and law. 3. The word mode means: how something is done; its origin, or how it operates. 4. Genesis records the origin of life and the universe. The story began in eternity past when only God existed. Those who think they can define or explain God must remember that the very first verse of the Bible challenges the greatest scholar! 5. Genesis 1:1 tells us, In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Since He alone existed in the beginning, everything else had to be created by Him. 6. After creating all forms of life on this planet, God created man so the two of them could have a loving relationship. After creating Adam, he was given a wife and instructions for tending the garden.

6 To make the man complete, marriage, family, and companionship were God s gifts to him. In Eden, Adam was happy and fulfilled. 7. Three things are necessary for a man to be fulfilled: a. Relationship with his Heavenly Father. b. Companionship. c. A worthy assignment to which he can dedicate his time and energy. 8. Work was not a product of the fall. Three scriptures in Genesis refer to God s work. Life doesn t get any better for mankind than having a relationship with God, being close to people who love you, and a worthy assignment and purpose for your life. 9. The church actually exists to help man return to a relationship with his Creator and to find the divine purposes for which he was created. It wasn t until after the creation of the family that God created the church. The model He used to create the church was the family. 10. The principle for the divine order in Genesis is: (1) God first, (2) the family second, and (3) the church third. Everything that is less significant and important should be ranked: fourth, fifth, sixth, etc. on the scale of priorities. 11. The church was never meant to come before a man s family and his God; rather, the church was intended to assist man and his family in coming to God and serving Him faithfully. F. In Ephesians, chapter 3, Paul compares the family on earth with God s family in heaven. 1. Ephesians 3:14-15 (NKJV) - For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, [15] from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.

7 a. The family in heaven refers to various aspects of the one true God, revealed as: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and the church. b. The church represents the great metaphorical mystery of the bride of Christ and the sons and daughters of God. 2. The language God used when He spoke the earth into existence was Hebrew. The Hebrew word most often translated family is mishpachah (pronounced mia paw khaw), which means circle of relatives or kinfolk. 3. A circle is also a line of defense against an attack. When travelers, armies, pioneers or villagers went to bed at night, sentries surrounded the camp or village in a circle of defense to ensure the safety and protection of those who slept. 4. God knew that when danger approaches, strangers may desert you; but the family will remain, even at the risk of their own lives. They will stick together in hard times and won t abandon one another as they grow older. 5. Joke: Forgetfulness An elderly couple noticed that they were getting a lot more forgetful, so they decided to visit their doctor. The doctor told them to start writing things down so they wouldn t forget. Soon after they went home, the old lady asked her husband to bring her a bowl of ice cream with a little whipped cream and a cherry on top. "You might want to write it down," she said. The husband said, "No, I can remember that you want a bowl of ice cream with a little whipped cream and a cherry on top." So he goes to the kitchen and spends an unusually long time. When he returns, he hands his wife a plate of eggs and bacon. The wife

8 stares at the plate for a moment, then looks at her husband and asks, "Where's the toast?" 6. The New Testament, written in Greek, uses the word patria (pronounced pat ree ah) from the root word pater, or father, which signifies a father s offspring. Pater, the word used in many languages today for father, also identifies the family as: a father and his descendants. 7. You might ask, but what about the woman? Nature itself explains some things. Without mama, there wouldn t be any children! Trust me, after staying with my wife as she gave birth to our two children, if the whole world was depending upon me to propagate the human race with kids, I m afraid humanity would have become extinct! 8. What the Bible teaches is that the family isn t complete without the man. Therefore, the husband should never abandon his wife or seek after other sexual conquests just to satisfy his physical desires. a. Ecclesiastes 9:9 (NKJV) - Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity; for that is your portion in life, and in the labor which you perform under the sun. b. Proverbs 5:18 (NKJV) - Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice with the wife of your youth. c. In other words,. don t abandon her! 9. The New Testament word for family clearly reveals the biblical concept of a nuclear family: one man, a wife and their children. In the troubled times in which we live, this concept is being severely threatened and in grave danger. Marriage is never between two men or two women. It is one man, his wife and their children!

9 10. Examine the text in Ephesians once again as Paul speaks of the name of God s family on earth: a. Ephesians 3:14-15 (NKJV) - For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, [15] from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. b. Since God created the family, He is the only One who can define it! 11. God not only wants your family to stay together and for the circle to be unbroken, He wants your family to thrive and be blessed!