Introduction
In today’s world, it seems that so many areas of our lives are lived in chaos. In fact, I have run across people in my ministry who lives are nothing but chaos. And for some, let’s call them the blessed ones, there may be just one or two areas of their lives that are chaotic.
In this four-week series, we will examine different areas of our lives and most importantly discover what to do if that area of your life is chaotic.
Today, we are going to look at an area of our life that is near and dear to all of us- our family. We live with them. We love them. But if we are honest, our family may just be the cause of our chaos.
So, let’s see what the Bible says about the family and to how respond when it seems that the family brings chaos into your life.
It is one thing to know that your family life is chaotic, but it is a completely different thing to know from Scripture how we are to respond to the chaos.
Let’s begin.
Scripture
Joshua 24:14–15 (NKJV)
14 “Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Deuteronomy 6:4–9 (NKJV)
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 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. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Point #1
There will be chaos in the home if the husband (dad) is not the spiritual leader of the home.
15 ... But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua makes this great announcement as husband to his wife and father to his children that this house under his leadership is going to serve God. (Let me say this is not a knock on the ladies in this church. God’s Word set the role of the husband (dad) to be the spiritual leader of the home. And what I have experienced in my ministry is most women want their husband to be the spiritual leader of the home.)
Joshua is saying that I am not going to neglect my responsibility as the spiritual leader of my home. Too many husbands, too many dads neglect their role as spiritual leader and as a result that home is in chaos.
I wonder when Joshua was making that great announcement if he was thinking about Achan and his family. Now that was a house in chaos! If you remember God said when you capture Jericho do not take the accursed things or it will trouble upon Israel. And in the very next battle Israel was defeated because of Achan’s sin; he took something accursed- a Babylonian robe. Let me tell you that as a husband and as a dad, you cannot be in willful disobedient to God and think you are the spiritually leading your home. Husbands, dads if you are doing something wrong, you got to clean it up for your sake and the sake of your family. Achan did not clean it up. Cleaning it up is not waiting until you get caught. Cleaning it up is yielding immediately to that little, small voice within that says you got to clean it up. Things might have been different in Israel’s next battle with Ai if Achan immediately confessed his sin.
Unfortunately, Achan came clean only after Israel was defeated and Joshua began a search to discover who took something accursed in direct defiance to God’s command. And the consequences were severe. The people took him, his wife, his sons, his daughters and all his livestock and stoned them to death.
A dad who is not the spiritual leader is going to bring chaos to the family.
Point #2
There will be chaos in the home if you as parents don’t spell it out plainly to your children, you are either serving God or you are serving the devil by your actions.
14 “Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua says it plainly. You are either serving the Lord or you are serving the devil. But here is what parents do: they think that they are allowing a third way. Yes, you can go out with your friends this weekend even though you know they are not the best behaved; even though you have heard they do somethings that you as a Christian don’t approve of, but you justify it by saying to yourself: they are not as bad as some. But you tell your child, understand this Sunday morning you are not going to be too tired to go to church. You are going to church.
What have you done? You have created a third way, but it really isn’t a third way. What you have done is open the door for them to serve the devil. And when these children become young adults what are they going to do? Hang with their friends or go to church? Hang out with their friends. They have more fun than those people at the church house. The Bible says sin brings pleasure for a season.
Joshua knew when he made that statement that he was going to be in the minority. But do you know what? If you are a Christian serving the Lord, you are going to be in the minority. Joshua knew when he came back to Moses after spying out the Promise Land and he gave the report let’s go take our land that he was going to be in the minority. And Joshua knew that when he told the people to serve God or serve the devil that most of the Israelites will end up serving the devil. Once again, he is in the minority.
We don’t like to be in the minority and so we listen to that old devil when he tells you young people to tell your parents. Everyone is going. Everyone else is doing that. Everyone else can stay out that late.
Listen parents, our children see more, they know more, they have experienced more, and they think they are more grown up than their age. You must make getting your child saved and serving the Lord, your number 1 priority.
Point #3
There will be chaos in your home if God is not a frequent source of discussion in your home.
Deuteronomy 6:4–9 (NKJV)
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 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. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Unfortunately, I know homes where the family is supposed to be Christian, but God is not talked about. Listen to all the times that we should be talking about God in the house. We are to be talking about Him when we sit down in the house; when you are lying down in your bedroom; and when you rise up from a night’s sleep. But God says you are to talk about Him when you sit down in the house. If we talked about God like He says we should then He would be a frequent source of discussion in your home.
A house that is doing what God said is always talking about God, always talking about Jesus. Parents, if you are teaching your children about God in your home, I can assure you children will never let the conversation about God die. Children are inquisitive. They will always be asking you questions about God. They want to know about something that they heard in children’s church. And your responsibility is not to come with some quick one- or two-word answer just to end the conversation, but rather to take seriously your child’s question and give your child a complete answer.
In houses where God is frequently talked about, I promise you won’t find chaos.
Matthew 11:28-29 “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”
Conclusion:
In some homes, there are no rest for your soul because that home is a source of chaos. Today, we look at three ways to remove the chaos:
1. Husbands (dads) take your role as spiritual leader of the home.
2. Understand you either serve God or serve the devil in this world. And you chose to serve God.
3. Let many conversations in your home focus on Jesus Christ.
