Channel of Blessing to your Family
Introduction
By now, if you have been coming to services the last couple of weeks, you know that you are a priest according to the First Epistle of Peter. And you may also know that your function as a priest is to be a Channel of Blessing. We are to be that blessing to others because Christ told us that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. We are to be that blessing to the local church that we call home because just as Christ loved the church, we ought to love the church. But you and I both know it is not easy to be a blessing to others, or a blessing to His church because hinderances pop up that prevent us from being that blessing. And we have looked at those hinderances that affect blessing others and affect blessing the church.
Today, we want to look at the third area where we should be a Channel of Blessing and that is in the home. Each person in the home ought to be a Channel of Blessing to one another. God tells the husband to love his wife- a blessing. The wives are told to submit to her husband- a blessing. Children are told to honor their parents- a blessing. Parents are not to exasperate their children- a blessing. So, if we are doing what we ought to be doing as a family, there ought to be a whole lot of blessing going on in the house.
But just like in the other two areas that we are to be blessings, there are things that crop up that hinder us from blessing one another in the family. Today, we are going to look at three of them.
My First Point
Family Blessings will cease, and strife will begin if someone in the family starts showing favor to one over another in the family.
(1) My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.
James 2:1 - NIV
(9) But if you show favoritism, you sin...
James 2:9 - NIV
Remember the story of Jacob and Esau. In Genesis 25:8 we are told that Isaac loved Esau and Rebekah loved Jacob. This is a case of each parent playing favorites of one child over another. I know you would not do that. And that favoritism led to deception and ultimately to break up of the family unit. Right after stealing Esau's birthright, Jacob had to flee to Rebekah's brother's home in Haran because Esau was so angry that he said that he wanted to kill his brother.
And then there was Jacob who chose to favorite Joseph over his other eleven sons as his favorite. This caused Joseph to be hated by his brothers and one day the brothers faked his death and sold him into slavery.
In the New Testament there is the story of the Prodigal Son as an example of favoritism. The older son certainly felt that the dad favored the younger son. When news of the young son's return was brought to him the Bible says that the older son became angry. The older brother refused to go in the house and celebrate the return on the younger son. And when his dad came to him, the older son told his dad you gave my younger brother everything, but I didn't get even a young goat for me and my friends to enjoy.
Favoritism did not work out well in the Old Testament. It created strife rather than blessing. The perceived favoritism by the older brother in the New Testament did not work out well also. It, too, created strive rather than blessing.
So, what do you think favoritism in a family will do in 2021 keeping in mind those outcomes in both the Old and New Testament? It will stifle blessing and quickly create strive in your family.
Is there strife rather than blessing in your family today? Let me tell you how to get rid of it and start having a house of blessing rather than strive. What did the writer, James, call favoritism in his epistle? In James 2:9 he says, "but if you show favoritism, you sin..." I got to call favoritism what it is as sin and then go to God to confess that sin. And each person in that house needs to look at their dealing with one another in the home, and if there is favoritism confess that as sin. And that house can become a house of blessing rather than a house of strive.
My Second Point
Family blessings will cease, and a lack of trust will prevail when the truth rises to the surface after being pushed down with so many lies.
(2) There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed or hidden that will not be made known. (3) What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs. Luke 12:2-3 - NIV
I believe that children lying to parents occurs in many families. But I also believe that parents lying to children occurs in many families. And let's not forget a spouse might lie to their mate, and a sibling might lie to a sibling. In other words, in any household there could be a whole lot of lying going on.
Here is the problem. The Scripture that we just read says that the true will find its way out eventually. Listen to what it says: nothing concealed that will not be disclosed or nothing hidden that will not be made known. You may get away with a lie for a day or two, maybe several months or a couple of years but the lie will one day be exposed.
And once the true comes out, it fractures the relationship and in a fractured relationship blessings cease. If you lied to me and the truth comes out, do you know what I begin to think, I wonder how many times in the past you lied to me, and I just have not found out yet, or how many more times are you going to lie to me in the future.
Matthew 5:37 But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’ anything more than that comes from the evil one.
Families that come clean with one another blessing flow in that family. Families that lie to one another blessings cease. So, I am going to give you some homework this week just like we did last week. I want you as a family to have a family meeting and so as possible after our church service, and in that meeting everyone there will tell everyone else that I will not lie to you for the next seven days. And if I do catch myself lying, I will correct that lie immediately.
You say, why this exercise? (32) Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32 - NIV Free to be the New Testament priest that God wants you to be as a Channel of Blessing to your family.
My Third Point
Family blessings will cease, and chaos will reign in the house where the God given structure as to how the house should operate is violated.
Ephesians 5:21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ
Before the Apostle Paul gives specific instruction to the wife then the husband and then the children as to how they are to live in the family, Paul makes this blanket statement to the whole family. Submit to one another. And that is the way to prevent chaos and allow blessings to flow.
Husbands are to submit their lives to Christ. Wives are to submit to their husbands. And children are to submit to the parents. No one is free from submission. You say that don't seem fair. May I remind you that Christ submits to the Father, and He is our example. .
(42) “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”
Luke 22:42 - NIV
Let me tell you some scenario that can create chaos in the home. The man refuses to submit to Christ, and therefore he is not the spiritual leader of the home. If he is not the spiritual leader, he will not be instructing his family especially his children about God. Dads, your jobs are to be the spiritual leader of the home.
(6) These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. (7) Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 - NIV
Another way to create chaos in the home: the wife refuses to submit to her husband. The submission of the wife to the husband is not supposed to be slavery. The submission is to be your God given responsibility as a help mate to make the family run smoother. Ladies, if you work outside the home, you submit to the boss for the betterment of the company. Right? Ladies, if you belong to some kind of civic club, you submit to the president of the organization. Right? But the devil wants you to think that submitting to your husband is a terrible thing. No, it is a blessing to you and the family.
Children, you are to submit to your parents who because they are working together have a unified front. Children love it when parents are on different pages they can divide and conquer. And do you know, as a pastor, today, I see a lot of families where the children rule the house. Total chaos!
Anyone of these scenarios that I mentioned, and blessing is replaced with chaos.
Once again, you need to sit down as a family and be honest with one another to evaluate if your home is chaos or a blessing. If it is chaos, then we need to identify who is not doing their job. And it could be dad, mom or the children or a combination of them.
But if you can get them right, and follow God's instructions, your house will turn from chaos to blessing.
And it needs to be blessing because we are priest, and our job is to be a Channel of Blessing.
Conclusion
We are priest.
We are to bless others.
We are to bless our church.
We are to bless our family.
Go out from here and be that Channel of Blessing.
Let us pray!
