"The Family Under Attack!"
"Home Improvement" series Part 1 of 5
Text: Psalm 127:1
Cross Creek Community Church
Pastor Dave Martin - February 3, 2002
www.crosscreekcc.org
God’s Word is Powerful, Relevant, and Life Changing!
Psalm 127:1 Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.
Like never before in the history of America, our families are under attack. The word attack means to affect in a harmful way, using vigorous or violent force. The primary role of the family is parenting, that of raising children. This great institution of marriage that God designed is the basic unit of society and the church. The family is of critical importance.
You and I and our children are the products of our homes. We often fear communism, terrorism, crime, or a major disease and yet are complacent when it comes to our families. How’s your family this morning? Strong, vibrant, standing in good relationships with love? Or is it filled with anger, yelling, crying and desperation? Our families today are under attack like never before, it’s time to reclaim our homes for Christ.
Why are our families splintering? Why is the divorce rate at 50%? The Christian has three enemies the Bible speaks about - The World system, our old fleshly nature, and Satan himself. Satan is out to destroy you, your children and your home. God tells us in...
Ephes. 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Families falling apart is not new. We see Satan attacking the home and the family way back in the Garden of Eden. Where we see Adam & Eve disobeying God then their son Cain getting angry and killed his brother Abel.
Genesis 4:8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let’s go out to the field." And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
Satan has not changed his strategy. He’s a liar from the beginning and a liar today. A deceiver, who abides not in the truth. His goal has always been to divide and conquer. We’re told in...
2 Corinthians 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
His ways are alluring, even appearing spiritual as an angel of light. Oh, how we need to be walking in the truth of God’s Word. Satan will attack the home in many area’s. Christians need to be aware of his schemes.
2 Corinthians 2:11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
Many today are shallow, surface Christians, not knowing God’s Word and ignorant of our adversaries’ devices or deceived and walking in pride blind to the truth. Living a facade, a double agent lifestyle, trying to look good on the outside while your home disintegrates. Becoming discouraged, defeated and confused, not knowing what to do.
KEY TRUTH - To honestly face the problem and understand God provides the answer.
A few of the Major Battlegrounds for our Families...
1. HUMANISTIC "enlightenment". (Acts 17:23)
There is no God, secular education, redefined terms.
* Humanism is a system of thought that centers on human beings and their value, capacities and worth their capacity for truth and goodness apart from God.
* We see this so called "enlightenment" constantly in the teaching of evolution.
Acts 17:23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.
* In Kate Millet’s book (a women liberation movement member) "Sexual Politics" she says, "The family must go because it is the family that has oppressed and enslaved women".
* In David Cooper’s book (a British physician) "The Death of the Family" says, "the best thing society could do is to abolish the family altogether".
* This Humanistic thought is seen in TV, Education institutions, everywhere in society.
* Humanistic thought is from the pits of hell and is attacking our homes with lies.
* To counter this scheme we need to bath ourselves daily in God’s Word - TRUTH.
2. AMORAL philosophy. (Rom 1:21)
No accountability, restraints, or standards, I’m boss, I’ll do what I please.
* God’s standard of one man and one woman for one lifetime is being redefined.
* Homosexuality, transvestites, perverted lifestyles are redefining the home & marriage.
* It was Adam & Eve NOT Adam & Steve. This "gay" lifestyle is perversion and highly destructive of the traditional home and family.
Romans 1:21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
* This amoral invasion into our homes, a philosophy that is poisoning our families today. Which says, there is no right or wrong, if it feels good, then do it, situation ethics.
* Having a seared conscience, no restraints, no judgment to come.
* Co-habitation jumped 740% between 1970 and 1989. One-third adults today have co-habited, they also experience a higher divorce rate than those who haven’t.
* This thought says abortion is OK while protecting the snail darter. Hypocrisy.
3. MEDIA invasion. (1John 2:15)
Television, Internet, video products, etc.
1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
* Television portrays a world of alternative lifestyles, where wickedness abounds as being cool.
* Drug use, deviate lifestyles, sexual promiscuity is portrayed in a positive, fun, let’s all do it way.
* Television and the Internet is busting at the seams promoting pornography which is a multi-billion dollar industry, as it systematically destroys our families and homes.
* The divorce rate among evangelical Christians is very near that of the unsaved around 50%.
* 50% of our children 6-17 have a TV in their rooms. Children watch TV an average of 1,680 minutes or 28 hours per week. With 6 out of 10 children living in a single parent household.
* We’re allowing things to come into our homes, five years ago you would never allow in.
* TV, Internet, even video games are all doing their hideous part in attacking our families.
* Sports, news, nature shows are robbing the family of precious time together - (Isolation).
* Desensitizing the Christian to allow more and more garbage and clutter into their lives.
4. SECULAR mindset. (Mt. 6:19-20)
More things, choices, activities and less time.
* It’s so sad when the secular mindset of the world infiltrates our Christian homes.
* We live in a society of many things and where we have need of nothing. Rev. 3:17
* There are over 1,260 choices of shampoo, 2,000 skin care products, or 75 exercise shoes!
* Every choice demands more time and brings mounting stress levels into your families.
* The family is living in a deluge of information - we’re drowning in choices, activities, & things.
* We never catch up - bigger, better, faster, greater, newer model, better features, which leads to the feeling of being overwhelmed, exhausted, defeated, stressed out.
* The average worker commutes 157,600 miles/lifetime / 6 times around the earth.
* In "Time Pressures of the 90’s" found 77% people surveyed selected "spending time with family and friends" as their top priority. Yet families never seem to achieve this worthy goal. In fact in homes with teenagers the father spends less than 15 minutes per week in interaction with them.
* Mark Twain speaking on raising children once said, "When they become teenagers put them in a barrel and feed them through the knot hole. When they turn sixteen, stop up the knot hole!"
* James Dobson said, "Child rearing is like baking a cake. You don’t realize you have a disaster until it’s too late." Hence this series, hopefully it’s not too late in your family.
Now that I have your attention, ask Yourself ... Is there a problem in MY FAMILY?
How do we win back our homes for Christ...
1. REALIZE the problem (even if it hurts).
* When Steve Herzig from Friends of Israel was here a few months ago he said, "If you’re having problems and difficulty with your children. The parents normally blame their church, the youth group, their teacher or school. Yet the problem usually lies with the parents.
* God ordained marriage and placed a priority upon the marriage of the mother and father to oversee their household. The responsibility lies with the Moms & Dads.
1 Thes. 5:6 So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.
* If your children are not turning out the way you like, it’s most likely your fault and not the kids. The very first step in reclaiming your family is to honestly face the giant.. - Wake up, be alert.
Romans 13:11 And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
* Often we’re sleepy, lazy Christians acting like Ostriches in denial about our problems. Many times trying in vain to "fix" things only to find things getting worst instead of better. (Muddy)
* You may be saying, it’s not me, my daughter is just rebellious, or my son got involved with the wrong crowd or some other excuse. With this thought process, be assured your family will continue to fracture, there will be sleepless nights, worry and stress, you will not have peace in your home until you honestly face the problem head on. The problem could be you!
* Realizing the problem is the first step to victory BUT seeing yourself can be painful.
2. UNDERSTAND God provides the solution.
* Know there’s a problem then know God has an answer to the problem, no matter how serious.
* We sometimes spent a lifetime trying to do things our way, only ending up failing miserably.
Psalm 127:1 Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.
* "Build" in Ps 127:1 can be used in a very broad sense. As in building a structure or children.
* I want you to see this passage in all its simplicity. God tells us. "Except the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain".
* "Build" is the Hebrew word "banah" (baw-naw) Three Hebrew words comes from this root word. "Ben" translated son, "bath" translated daughter, and "beith" translated house all comes from the same root word "banah".
* Unless the Lord builds your home - everything you do will be in vain.
* Unless the Lord builds your home - you will experience turmoil, anguish and despair.
* Unless the Lord builds your home - Your best intentions and plans will fail.
* Unless the Lord builds your home... Know that our Jehovah God in His instruction manual the Bible provides the solution to every problem you will ever encounter.
3. Be PRO-ACTIVE in obedience to God’s Word.
* Not being weak and permissive, not being demanding and authorative - but humbly obedient.
* Raising a Godly family is not playing defense but an active offense faithful to God’s rules.
Col. 2:20 Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules:
* Why do we keep allowing questionable things in our homes? Allowing the world system to influence our children’s young and precious minds and hearts?
* Christians pride themselves with knowing the letter of the law while their hearts are not yielded.
* Filled with head knowledge while walking in pride, filled with basic Bible doctrine while their families go to hell. Wake-up, begin to submit to God’s rules and not the world’s.
James 1:22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
* We need to be pro-active in obedience to God’s Word. Doing, living, acting out God’s Word.
* Our families are under assault and falling apart. STOP trying to patch things up yourself - you can’t. Let Christ back into your personal life and home then watch your families begin to heal!
It all starts with...
1. Clearly knowing you have a problem.
2. Placing full reliance upon the Lord, He has the solution to every problem.
3. Then faithfully stay and walk in obedience to His Word, allowing God’s Word to get from your head to your heart.
This message this morning was a basic introduction to how to improve our homes. Next week we will look at
* Husband and Wife Relationship
* The Recipe for a Happy Home
* Children, Discipline and Instruction
* Landmines and Pitfalls to Avoid
Let’s bow our heads for prayer.... How many this morning will say Pastor, I’m tired of trying over and over again, running our household my way. This morning I commit to being in my household the mom or dad God wants me to be. Satan has been getting the upper hand and by God’s grace I’m committing my home into God’s hands. Would you lift your hand this morning, all across this room, by God’s grace I declare, I want to raise my family God’s way.
Prayer of commitment
