Hope For the Family In Crisis
(Key thoughts from George W. Truett’s sermon "The Spiritual Recovery of the Home."
Genesis 35:1-4
April 15, 2007 Part 1 of 2
Chester First Baptist Church, Chester, Illinois Dr. Mike Fogerson, Pastor
Introduction:
A Two small kids 4-9, talked their mother into getting a hamster and mother relented under the condition that they would take care of the little hamster that the two kids named Danny.
1 After 2 months it was only mom taking carry of Danny and she decided that the hamster had to find a new home.
a Kids, Danny is too much work and he’s got to find another home.
b The kids said, "He’s been here a long time, Mom. What if he just ate less?"
aa Mom was adamant, "Danny has got to find a new home."
bb Danny? We thought you said DADDY.
2 That night when Daddy was coming home, the hamster-less 9 year old was sitting sadly on the steps when Dad asked him, "What’s wrong, sport?"
a The boy replied, "Just between you and me, Dad . . . I’m not getting along with your wife."
b Before God established Abrahamic covenant, Mosaic law, Davidic Covenant, Temple, Sacrificial System, Cross, Church . . . He established the home, family.
B Jacob’s family was a family in crisis.
1 You might remember Jacob from such bible stories as Joseph and the coat of many colors, the great love story of Jacob and Rachael, and wrestling with an angel.
a You may also remember him from the story about the ladder reaching up to heaven.
aa He had a huge fight with his brother Esau and then fled.
bb God came to him in a dream while he’s fleeding.
cc Gen. 28:11-13 Dream
dd Gen. 28: 14-18 Waking up
ee Gen. 28:20-22 Vow
b The vow consisted of three promises:
aa To acknowledge Yahweh as his God.
bb Set up an alter where he’ll talk with God
cc Give a tithe to God
c For the next nearly 30 years, he seemingly forgets all about this night.
aa His life hits the skids and God comes to him again in the area of Shechem.
bb Gen. 35:1-4
2 When Jacob’s family went through their roughest times he lead them back to God for their greatest strength. (ETS)
a The believer’s family’s greatest hope is always found when they are walking with God. (ESS)
b I pray you’ll make time to claim the hope God wants to give your family. (Obj.)
3 When will you seek God’s hope (the only hope) for your family? (Probing Question)
a Let’s look at four times that can help us determine when we’ll seek the hope that only God can give to our families. (Transitional Sentence)
b Pray
I There comes a time when most every family comes to a crisis.
A Jacob’s family, although they were from good stock, had their share of misery, crisis, and tears.
1 Jacob grew up in a some what dysfunctional family.
a Isaac was his daddy and dad loved Jacob’s older brother (Esau) more: Rebekah was Jacob’s mom and Jake was mom’s favorite.
aa Jacob cheated his brother out of some inheritance and when he found out he said, "Jacob, when daddy passes there’s going to be two funerals. One for him and the other for you."
bb Jacob flee’s and doesn’t talk to his brother for over 20 years.
b It was while Jacob was running from this crisis that God spoke to him in a dream (ladder, angels) at Bethel.
2 Jacob’s heartache continues after Bethel.
a Play’s out in his marriages in the form of jealousy; relationship with Ladan (his father-in-law) who wanted him dead.
b Plays out with his kids.
aa Has trouble with his oldest son, Reuben, and his other boys.
bb His daughter Dinah gets raped by the princes son, Shechum.
cc His two boys, Simeon & Levi, take revenge for the rape by killing every man in the city.
dd Gen. 34:30-31
c Jacob’s family was a mess. In crisis.
B Everyone one of us knows about family problems and can relate with at least one of Jacob’s situations.
1 We understand having trouble with parents, siblings, spouses, in-laws, and with our kids.
a Families have known crisis from the garden to now.
b None of us come from the homes of Ward & June Cleaver or Ozzie & Harriet Nelson. (They’re not real!)
2 If you’re married, you know what’s it like to have a spouse that is consistently wrong; Parents know what’s like to have kids that disappoint you on occasions; Young people you know what it’s like to have parents who let you down on occasions too; Siblings who make you wish you born an only child.
a Some of our crisis go deeper than inter-personal, they come from another direction.
(Rape, trouble with the law, alcohal/physical/sexual abuse, loss of a child, infidelity, addiction, abandonment, and the list of pain goes on and on.)
b Some of us have more crisis than others but all of our families know or have known or will know crisis. (Your nor my family is the exception to this rule)
II There comes a time to take inventory of our households.
A Before Jacob could take his family back to God, Jacob had to clean house.
1 "Put away the foreign gods which are among you . . . So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods which they had, and the rings which were in their ears;" Gen. 35:2a, 4a
a Some of these goods (idols) were there because Rachel had brought them in their home. (Gen. 31:19, 34-35)
b The ear rings were probably engraved with local deities from their time in Shechem.
2 Jacob told them to gather ALL the things that did not glorify God and he put them in the only place sin belongs.
a v.4b " . . . and Jacob hid them under the oak which was near Shechem."
b He buried those sinful idols in only place sin belongs, the grave.
B It’s time for us to take a foreign god inventory of our homes.
1 How do we take this inventory?
a Ask yourself this question, "If Jesus were to physically come to my home today around 2:30 PM, what would I want to . . .
aa Cancel
bb Conceal
cc Clean Out
dd Change
b What would embarrass or make you blush?
2 Take inventory of the whole house . . . even your kids room.
a "I love the dirty, dirty Coz (n-word) show me love; the ladies start to bounce as soon as I hit the club, But in the Midwest they love to take it slow, so when I hit the (H-word that is at the center of the Don Imus controversy) I watch you get on the floor." -From "That’s Why I’m Hot" by Rapper Mims
aa These are the lyrics to the #1 rap song in the US this week.
bb I can’t read to you the lyrics of Bow Wow’s "I’m a Flirt" the #2 rap song.
b If Jesus picked up your kids ipod/mp3 player . . . okay with that? T-Shirts? DVDs?
aa History on your web browser? Tivo? Rental Que? . . . okay with that?
bb Get rid of it and bury it. Sin belongs in the grave.
c Take inventory!
Conclusion:
A When Jacob’s family went through their roughest times he lead them back to God for their greatest strength. (ETS)
1 The believer’s family’s greatest hope is always found when they are walking with God.
2 We’ve looked at two of four times that can help us determine when we’ll seek the hope that only God can give our families.
a There comes a time when most every family will go through crisis.
b There comes a time when we must take inventory of our homes.
B I pray you’ll make time to claim the hope God wants to give your family. (Obj.)
1 Choice 1: Choice to accept that your family is normal/standard because of your crisis.
2 Choice 2: Choice to take a good hard look of what is in your home or not.
3 When will you seek God’s hope (the only hope) for your family? (Probing Question)
Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago. He wasn’t famous for anything heroic. He was notorious for filling Chicago with everything evil. How did he keep himself out of jail? That is where his lawyer came into play. Big Al’s lawyer was nicknamed "Easy Eddie." He was excellent at keeping his boss out of jail and Al Capone paid him well. Eddie lived the high life and cared little for what happened around him. He only soft spot was his son. He gave his son everything. He tried to teach him right from wrong.
He wanted his son to better than him. Yet, with all his wealth and influence there was two things he could not pass on to his son: a good name and a good example. One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. He wanted to rectify wrongs. He decided he would tell the truth about Al "Scareface" Capone, clean up his tarnished name and offer his son a semblance of integrity. To testify against the Mob would cost him a great price, but he testified.
Within a year Easy Eddie’s life ended in a blaze of gunfire. In his eyes he gave his son the greatest gift he had to offer and it cost him his life.
World War II produced many heroes. One such was Commander Butch O’Hare. He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific. One day his entire squadron was sent out on a mission. After being airborne, Butch saw that his fuel gauge was low and knew someone had forgotten to top it off. He would not have enough fuel to complete the mission, and was commanded to return, but on his way back he saw a squadron of Japanese headed for the
Americans. The fighters were gone and the fleet was all but defenseless. He couldn’t get help in time. He had to divert the enemy from the American fleet. He dove into the formation of Japanese planes. Wing-mounted 50 calibers blazed as he charged in. he fired until he was empty and the began clipping wings with his own plane. The Japanese took off in a different direction and Butch O’Hare limped back to his carrier. Upon arrival he reported in and film from the gun camera showed the story. He had destroyed five enemy aircraft. This took place on Feb. 20, 1942 and for that action Butch became the first Naval Ace of WW II, and was awarded a congressional medal of honor. A year latter at age 29, Butch was killed in action. His home town would not allow his memory to fade, and today, O’Hare Airport in Chicago is named in his tribute.
And by the way, Butch O’Hare was the son of Easy Eddie. I just thought you ought to know the influence of a father.
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Respectfully,
Mike Fogerson
