SERMON OVERVIEW
A. ORIGINAL STATUS OF THE FAMILY
B. THE FALL OF THE ORIGINAL FAMILY
C. CURRENT CONTEXT OF FAMILIES
D. RESTORATION OF THE FAMILY IN ENDTIMES
D.1 RESTORE GOD’S DEFINITION OF FAMILY
D.2 RESTORE ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES
D.3 RESTORE WATCHMAN DUTY OF THE FATHER
D.4 RESTORE PRIESTLY DUTY OF THE FATHER
D.5 RESTORE FATHERHOOD
D.6 REPAIR THE FAMILY ALTER
A. ORIGINAL STATUS: IN THE BEGINNING
God created a beautiful home full of potential for His family, the mankind and installed the very first family in the Garden of Eden. Looking at everything God created, God Himself declared it all “GOOD.” Originally it was God who defined and set the standard for Good & Evil.
B. THE FALL: FROM DEFINITION TO REDEFINITION
But God didn’t create Adam & Eve puppets on a string, they had A CHOICE, either they could trust in God’s definition of Good & Evil and align God’s standard OR else they could eat from the tree of the knowledge of Good & Evil and define the Good & Evil for themselves. They make the choice to rule the world according to their definition of Good & Evil and everything starts going downhill from there onwards. The first casualty was the broken relationship with the Father in Heaven and the second casualty was the broken relationships within the family.
There is a way that seems right to a man, but it ends in the way of death. Proverbs 16:24-26
C. CURRENT CONTEXT: FAMILY PULSE CHECK
Let’s do a small check up on the vital signs of the families of our day to understand what’s happening. Undoubtedly FAMILY is the basic and most important cell upon which the whole nations and civilizations are built. There is no wonder Satan is committed to crawl into our nests and destroy it from within. Let’s examine few statistics sourced from the internet to get an idea about the moral demographics of the families of our day.
Divorce rate in Sri Lanka – 400 a day
Sri Lanka is ranked No.18 out of 254 countries in the world in terms of broken homes
20% of all children in Sri Lanka grow-up without a father
40% of parents surveyed admitted physically abusing
31% boys,25% girls surveyed had experienced emotional abuse
14% of adolescent girls and boys surveyed had experienced some form of sexual abuse,
50% of offenders being from the child’s immediate family
Sri Lanka is again the No.1 country for suicides in the world in 2017, 80% of all suicides are Men
These issues are often loosely labelled as “Social Issues.” But as people of God, as the appointed WATCHMEN over this nation we know these are not just social issues or deterioration of moral values, but these are very serious spiritual symptoms that need our attention. What is the cause of such deterioration in the family? Let’s try to understand the root of the problem.
THE PRICE OF FATHERLESSNESS
All evidence point to one direction. Whether it be broken families, frustration, depression, suicide, sexual, emotional, physical abuse, risky behaviors, substance abuse, unethical sexual behavior, teenage pregnancy or hopelessness, they all correlates to a single source, that is the FATHERLESSNESS. Fatherlessness is not just having no living father, it comes in a variety of templates even when the father is still living such as NEGLIGENT FATHER, UNKNOWN FATHER, ABSENTEE FATHER and the list goes on. Please refer to the below research findings sourced from the internet.
63% of suicides come from fatherless homes.
80% of rapists, motivated by displaced anger, come from fatherless homes.
70% juveniles in state-operated institutions come from fatherless homes.
40% of all children do not live with their biological father.
85% of children with behavioral problems comes from fatherless homes.
90% of homeless children come from families without fathers.
71% of children who do not finish school come from fatherless homes.
From the very beginning of time it is the disconnection from our HEAVENLY FATHER that leads to the disconnection of EARTHLY FATHERS to their children and it has resulted in a curse in the whole world.
D. THE RESTORATION CAMPAIGN
“Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. He will turn THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK TO THEIR CHILDREN and THE HEARTS OF THE CHILDREN TO THEIR FATHERS, so that I will not come and strike the land with complete destruction.” Malachi 4:5-6
Human beings are more concerned about fixing the social, political, judicial, financial and global problems, before fixing what’s right under our noses. God intends to solve the family problem first, reconciliation of mankind to God and then the reconciliation of fathers and children.
1. RESTORE GOD’S DEFINITION
REDEFINITION REBELLION: A powerful weapon the enemy use in our day is luring people into “REDEFINING GOD’S STANDARDS” for family. Satan redefines the family into different TEMPLATES distorting God’s original plan. For example two men raising kids, two women raising kids etc. Modern families also have paradoxical priorities, GRADES OVER MORALS, POLISH OVER PRINCIPLES, LOOKS OVER CHARACTER AND MATERIAL POSSESSIONS OVER RELATIONSHIPS.
Today we are standing at the same cross roads the FIRST FAMILY stood, to make the choice (the path) one that leads to confusion and destruction and the other that leads to live. Let’s stick to the standards of God not the world.
Elijah went before the people and said, “HOW LONG WILL YOU WAVER BETWEEN TWO OPINIONS? IF THE LORD IS GOD, FOLLOW HIM; BUT IF BAAL IS GOD, FOLLOW HIM.” 1 Kings 18:21
Let’s go back to Eden to find out the original instructions given by God to Man, the standard required by OUR MAKER.
2. RESTORE ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES
Adam was put in the Garden of Eden entrusted with two vital responsibilities to his family/field, that is to “CULTIVATE” & “KEEP.” Let’s discuss the deeper meanings of these words in it’s original Hebrew language, to get a clearer picture of Man’s role in the garden.
“Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to 1) CULTIVATE it and 2) KEEP it.” Genesis 2:15
CULTIVATE
Hebrew Word: ????? ABAD | Strong’s Hebrew: 5647.| Meaning: to work, serve, to work for another, to serve (God), to serve (with Levitical / Priestly service)
Role 1: ADAM – THE PRIEST
KEEP
Hebrew Word: ?????? SHAMAR | Strong’s Hebrew: 8104.| Meaning: to keep, guard, observe, keep watch, protect, save life, watchman, to be on one’s guard, take heed, take care, beware
Role 2: ADAM – THE WATCHMAN
3. RESTORE WATCHMAN DUTY
AS THE WATCHMAN OF THE GARDEN/FIELD/FAMILY, FATHER WAS CHARGED WITH THE DUTY OF SAFE GUARDING BY PLACING A HEDGE AROUND HIS GARDEN/FIELD/FAMILY AGAINST THE PREDATORS/ENEMIES/WRONG SEEDS.
A TRAP OF DECEPTIVE WORDS| LIES: We often take measures for the physical protection of our families which is vitally important. But let’s not forget the Garden pattern. An intruder enters the garden, lays A TRAP OF DECEPTIVE WORDS. Eve was deceived through WORDS, a redefinition of God’s instructions, a convincing argument, an innovative approach, a rational analysis, pleasing to the eyes, appealing to the mind giving knowledge of good and evil. But it ended up in DISOBEDIENCE & DEATH.
Words are powerful when you allow them to penetrate you, it produces after it’s own kind. IDEAS SOON BECOME IDEALS/IDEOLOGIES AND SOON TURN INTO THEOLOGIES AND BECOME PART AND PARCEL OF OUR LIVES/FAMILIES/CHURCHES/CULTURES ETC.
“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8
SLEEPING WATCHMAN: Jesus refers to the servants, who slept in their night watch, leaving the field unprotected. “but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed TARES AMONG THE WHEAT and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. Matthew 13:25-26.
Today also the enemy uses the same technique. Every advertisement, song, movie, video game, YouTube video carries a message/seed with an underlying worldview. They sow ideas into your family. They sow TARES AMONG THE WHEAT.
BUILDING A LAWLESS (NO RULES/BOUNDARIES) GENERATION
Look at how movie characters like Elsa from Frozen inspires children. “It’s time to see, What I can do, To test the limits and break through, NO RIGHT, NO WRONG, NO RULES FOR ME I’M FREE.” Clearly this conflicts with the Word of God, and trains children in LAWLESSNESS. Enemy doesn’t come to us as a snake anymore, it comes in the form of inspiration.
The Amazing Spider Man actor, Andrew Garfield at the Award show says, “It is a spirit that says we were all made perfectly, and we all belong. So I DEDICATE THIS AWARD TO THE COUNTLESS LGBTQ who have fought and died to protect that spirit. “ Entertainment industry is fully committed to raise a GODLESS & LAWLESS generation.
The WATCHMAN of the family, father has a huge responsibility to protect the family against all these modern day deception.
4. RESTORE PRIESTLY DUTY
AS THE PRIEST OF THE FAMILY, MAN WAS CHARGED WITH THE DUTY OF CULTIVATING/SOWING THE RIGHT SEED/WORD OF GOD INTO HIS GARDEN/FIELD/FAMILY
“Train up the child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE? God did not entrust the duty of training up our children to the pastor or the Sunday school teacher. Often there is a misconception that it is the responsibility of the Church but the bible is clear that it is the responsibility of the parents.
A HOUSE BUILT ON THE ROCK: Every house needs to be built on a solid foundation. Truly every parent dreams to give the best education possible for the children, but we know before fixing the windows, door frames and roof we need a firm foundation without which the house will be destroyed by the first winds that blows.
THE BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW: Facilitating the formation of a biblical worldview is the strongest foundation you can ever gift your children. All the other needed skills and competencies are gonna work wonders with a child who understand the bigger picture, their IDENTITY, MORALITY, MEANING AND PURPOSE OF LIFE AND THEIR FINAL DESTINATION. It is this foundation which will set the moral standard for decision making, to discern what is right or wrong, whether to smoke or not, whether to study or waste the time.
TIME FRAME: Even though parents think they have a life time to train their children, it is not the case. According to Developmental Psychology there are specific needs that should be met in a very specific time window. When children reach 12 years the PEER IMPACT window becomes most prominent and FATHER IMPACT & MOTHER IMPACT thins out. If the parents haven’t done their work when they were 0 to 11 years of age becomes very hard to get through to children after that.
RISE OF ATHIESM: According to the Pew research data 40% of the world population aged between18-29 years are ATHEISTS, while in their parents’ generation it was only 14% (50-64 Years). This clearly shows how far we have fallen short of the duty of training our children.
FATHER DEFICIENCY: This generation needs a father, who cares for them, a father who loves them and guides them, just like our Father in Heaven is guiding us. He is the ultimate Father model, our only example.
EVEN IF YOU HAD TEN THOUSAND GUARDIANS IN CHRIST, YOU DO NOT HAVE MANY FATHERS, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me. 1 Corinthians 4:14-16
GOD’S INTEGRATED APPROACH – IT’S A LIFE STYLE: God’s expectation for the spiritual nurture of our children is not a special intervention. Often we rely on Church services, Sunday school, Vacation bible school, youth camp or youth meetings to train our children in the ways of God. They work but God’s expectation is very clear in the below verse.
And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them WHEN YOU SIT IN YOUR HOUSE, WHEN YOU WALK BY THE WAY, WHEN YOU LIE DOWN, AND WHEN YOU RISE UP. Deuteronomy 6:6-7
It’s all about day today activities not just Sunday, it’s about while you drive your child to school, while grocery shopping, during their bedtime, while having dinner, while cooking and doing the dishes. It’s a life style. Children are like sponges, they absorb what is around them. It is the same manners that we practice as a family today will be taken forward by our children, as their family traditions.
PASS THE BATON TO THE NEXT GEN: It’s quite boring to read the Genealogies in the bible right? Have you noticed it’s all about families, training the sons in the ways of God and renewing the commitment to the Lord and pass the baton to the next generation. Whether it be a Christian ministry or a family business have you noticed, often the Golden Era ends with the parents. Satan is fully committed to disturb this flow of truth from one generation to the next by making a division between the fathers and children.
5. RESTORE FATHERHOOD
SONS OF GOOGLE: When we look at the Hebrew word for father – AB the picture it paints is “A STRONG LEADER OR THE PROTECTOR OF THE FAMILY.” The tragedy is when fathers neglect to father their children, the enemy is waiting to adapt our children as his own. Often when fathers are neglecting their training and teaching duties Google takes up your job and fill the gap. For many children of this generation, GOOGLE is their father and they are producing the fruits of it’s kind. Or else the drug Lords are waiting to raise the fatherless children and teach them their ways, making them drug addicts. We saw the amount of drugs coming to this small Island didn’t we? Children are a gift from God and let’s raise them in the ways of God.
A FATHER’S SECRET WEAPON: There is a special anointing and wisdom Our Father in Heaven has gifted exclusively to fathers. Irrespective of the educational background, profession, exposure, social standard and class, God gives wisdom to the father who fears the Lord to perform all of his God given responsibilities. It doesn’t matter how educated or technologically advanced your children may be, He has given a special grace to you to nurture your children when you seek His face.
6. REPAIR THE FAMILY ALTER
“And he (ELIJAH) repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down.” 1 Kings 18:30
God’s families built alters and made sacrifices, PRAYER & PRAISES to God right from the beginning. Noah’s family (Genesis 8:20), Abraham’s, Isaac’s, Jacob’s, Moses’s repeat this same pattern. Did you see it is the FATHER in the family who builds the ALTER.
Fathers surely you have pitched tents for your family. Have you built an altar? Are constant offerings (thanksgiving & praises) from your family lifted up to God? Is the fire burning on your family altar with a continued relationship with the Lord. No matter what we possess and achieve as a family without A RELATIONSHIP with God we are lost.
THEN CHOOSE FOR YOURSELVES THIS DAY WHOM YOU WILL SERVE, BUT AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSEHOLD, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD.” JOSHUA 24:14-15
Shalom!
