The Walk Of Harmony (Home & Work) Series

"THE WALK HARMONY"

HOME & WORK

TEXT: EPH 5:33-6:9

INTRODUCTION

HARMONY IS DEFINED IN WEBSTER DICTIONARY AS; A TUNEFUL SOUND, THE COMBINATION OF SIMULTANEOUS NOTES IN A CHORD, A PLEASING OR CONGRUENT ARRANGEMENT OF PARTS, ACCORD (IE LIVING IN HARMONY WITH ONES NEIGHBOR), INTERNAL CALM; TRANQUILITY....

HARMONY IS WHEN THINGS ARE RUNNING SMOOTH, WHEN THINGS ARE WORKING THE WAY THEY WERE DESIGNED TO WORK...

IN THE SECOND HALF OF EPHESIANS WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT HOW WE ARE TO WALK IN A MANNER WORTHY OF THE LORD... AND TO DO THAT:

WE ARE TO WALK IN UNITY

WE ARE TO WALK IN PURITY

(THERE ARE ACTIONS AND ATTITUDES WE ARE TO TAKE OFF BECAUSE THEY ARE INCAPABLE WITH CHRISTIANITY, AND THERE ARE ACTIONS AND ATTITUDES WE ARE TO PUT ON) -- THERE ARE GRAVE CLOTHES TO REMOVE AND CHRIST’S CHARACTER TO PUT ON...

WE ARE ALSO TO WALK IN HARMONY....

GOD DESIRES THAT THERE BE HARMONY THAT THINGS RUN SMOOTH, THAT THEY WORK THE WAY HE DESIGNED THEM TO WORK -- AND GOD ESPECIALLY DESIRES THAT THERE BE HARMONY IN THE 4 MAJOR RELATIONSHIPS THAT WE FIND OURSELVES IN:

GOD DESIRES THERE BE HARMONY BETWEEN BROTHERS IN CHRIST -- WE TALKED ABOUT THIS HARMONY IN A MESSAGE CALLED "HARMONY IN THE CHURCH, WHEN CHRISTIANS DISAGREE...

GOD ALSO DESIRES THAT THERE BE HARMONY IN THE HOME; AND THIS HARMONY IS ESTABLISH AND TAKES ROOT WHEN THERE IS HARMONY BETWEEN HUSBAND AND WIFE

AND GOD HAS DESIGNED A WAY THAT WILL ENSURE THAT THERE IS HARMONY IN THE MARRIAGE RELATIONSHIP....

AND IN THIS MARRIAGE RELATIONSHIP AS WITH OTHER THINGS, WE FIND THAT THINGS WORK OUT MUCH BETTER WHEN WE FOLLOW THE DESIGNERS INSTRUCTIONS - WHEN WE WASH AND DRY CLOTHES IN THE PROPER TEMP, WHEN WE MAINTAIN THE PROPER LEVEL OF OIL.... AND WHEN WE FOLLOW GOD’S DESIGN

AND GOD HAS DESIGNED MARRIAGE TO BE:

A PARTNERSHIP; (WHERE BOTH H & W KNOWS AND PERFORM THEIR DESIGN FUNCTION)- W > SUB & RESP H > LOVE AS CHRIST...

PERMANENT; TILL DEATH DO US PART -- WHAT GOD HAS JOINED TOGETHER...

PURE; NOTHING IS TO CONTAMINATE AND DESTROY THE PURITY OF THE MARRIAGE RELATIONSHIP

AND IF BOTH HUSBAND AND WIFE WILL BUT FOLLOW GOD’S DESIGN THEY WILL DISCOVER THAT THE PATH OF HARMONY IS MUCH EASIER TO FIND AND MORE PLEASANT TO WALK UPON.....

NOW UNDERSTAND, THAT THIS DOES NOT MEAN 100% PERFECTION --- WE WON’T EXPERIENCE TRUE PERFECTION IN ANY OF OUR RELATIONSHIPS UNTIL HEAVEN, BUT STRIVING TO FOLLOW GOD’S DESIGN WILL MOST OF THE TIME MAKE OUR RELATIONSHIPS MUCH BETTER....

BUT THE CHOICE IS OURS TO MAKE -- WE CAN EITHER LISTEN TO, AND OBEY GOD -- DO IT HIS WAY OR CHOOSE TO DO THINGS OUR WAY.... BUT WE MUST UNDERSTAND THAT OUR CHOICES DO HAVE CONSEQUENCES... GOD HAS ALWAYS GIVEN PEOPLE THE POWER TO RESPOND TO HIM WITH OBEDIENCE OR DISOBEDIENCE... AND RESULTS OR CONSEQUENCES ARE ATTACHED WITH EACH RESPONSE

WE SEE THIS CLEARLY ILLUSTRATED AS FAR BACK AS DEUTERONOMY 30:11-20;

DT 30:11-20

ISRAEL WAS GIVEN A CLEAR CHOICE THAT THEY COULD UNDERSTAND -- IT WAS NOT OUT OF REACH TO THEM, BUT RATHER IT WAS IN THEIR MOUNTS AND IN THEIR HEARTS. THEY COULD CHOOSE TO FOLLOW GOD, OR NOT FOLLOW GOD -- OBEY HIS COMMANDS OR DISOBEY THEM...

THERE WOULD BE BLESSINGS ASSOCIATED WITH THEIR OBEDIENCE AND PUNISHMENT CONNECTED WITH THEIR DISOBEDIENCE.

ISRAEL CHOSE TO GO THEIR OWN WAY -- LEAVE GOD OUT AND DO THINGS THE WAY THEY SAW FIT... -- THEIR NATION CRUMBLED, AND THE SMOLDERING RUINS OF JERUSALEM IN 587 BC WERE A TESTIMONY TO THE FACT THAT TO CHOOSE OTHER THAN GOD WAS TO CHOOSE UNWISELY,

IN LIKE MANNER, WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN A CHOICE -- A CLEAR CHOICE THAT WE CAN UNDERSTAND, AN ANSWER THAT IS NOT FAR FROM EACH OF US, THAT IS NOT OUT OF OUR REACH -- BUT RATHER IS AVAILABLE TO US IN THE WORD OF GOD.

AND WHEN HOMES/WHEN FAMILIES -- WHEN HUSBANDS, WIVES, PARENTS, CHILDREN, DISREGARD WHAT GOD HAS TO SAY -- WHEN THEY DISREGARD AND DO NOT MAKE GOD AND HIS WORD THE CENTER OF THEIR HOMES AND LIVES... WHEN THEY GO THEIR OWN WAY (WHEN THEY THINK THAT THEY KNOW MORE ABOUT HOW TO RUN A HOME THEN THE ONE WHO CREATED THE HOME), THEY TOO WILL SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES, AND THE SMOLDERING RUINS OF THE AMERICAN FAMILY (THE DIVORCE RATE, THE ABUSE, THE DRUGS PROBLEM, THE CRIME PROBLEM, THE REBELLION AMONG YOUTH, THE DYSFUNCTION, THE HAPPINESS AND MISERY) ARE TESTIMONIES THAT MANY HAVE MADE THE WRONG CHOICE, BY LEAVING GOD OUT OF THEIR HOMES. THEY LIKE THE ISRAELITES HAVE CHOSEN UNWISELY...

TODAY, I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE FINAL 2 RELATIONSHIPS WHERE GOD DESIRES THERE TO BE HARMONY -- FIRST WE’LL TALK ABOUT THE PARENT CHILD RELATIONSHIP THE SECOND RELATIONSHIP IN THE HOME -- AND ANOTHER RELATIONSHIP WHERE IN MANY HOMES THERE IS NO SIGN OF HARMONY...