I. Introduction
· I was amazed and amused a couple of weeks ago to learn that President Bush has started a new initiative as a part of his welfare reform: he wants to promote the good qualities of a thing called marriage.
· Imagine that! The idea of marriage might even be good for people! As ludicrous as it sounds, we live in a world today that is so ignorant, they have to be taught the perils and problems of the single parent family, and the evils that fall upon those who choose such a condition.
· A century ago… no one in America would have disputed the fact that God blesses the family and the only ideal state for raising children is with an originally married mother and dad!
· Today, there are people who literally CHOOSE to have children out of wedlock!
· There are people who BELIEVE that a “gay couple” union is as good as a married man and woman, even for raising kids!
· The country today needs to have a strong re-affirmation of the fact that the traditional family with father and mother who love each other and live together as a married couple and raise children this way is an INSTITUTION of GOD and exists with His Blessing!
· The family is a structural foundation of God and it is His gift to human beings.
· How do we recognize God’s hand on the family? We see the...
o Builder of the Family
o Benefits of the Family
o Beauty of the Family
o Blessing of the Family
1. The BUILDER of the Family (Psalm 127: 1-2)
· “Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it…”
· This is not speaking of a physical structure… it is talking about the HOME! What does God use to build the home?
· Once, Jesus was asked by the Pharisees about Moses’ permission for a divorce.
· Jesus replied that divorce had been permitted only because of the hardness of their hearts! However, He then made a dramatic declaration:
· God joined husband and wife together that the 2 may be 1 flesh. And what God has joined together… let no man separate!
· Jesus was telling us that GOD ALMIGHTY instituted the marriage… Psalm 127 says, GOD ALMIGHTY instituted the home! It is all a creation of God!
· Woe to the man, the culture, or the society, that bucks the majestic and glorious institution of God called the family. Such people are playing with misery and destruction that they never dream of, until it is too late!
2. The BENEFITS of the Family (Psalm 127: 3-5)
· Psalm 127 also teaches us a 2nd important principle about the home… Children are a blessing from God!
· In America today, we have two general ideas about our children, they are both extremes, and they are both evil in God’s sight: we either idolize them or we despise them.
· How often we go out in public, to the grocery store, to the doctor’s office, to the mall, or wherever, and we see some little children that are running wild, or throwing tantrums or showing outrageous disrespect to adults, or especially to their own parents!
· America has NO CONCEPT of LOVING DISCIPLINE!
· Even in the more traditional homes today, parents tend to let their kids go way beyond the rules, and then, when the parent can’t stand it any more, they try to discipline the kid in a rage, and then feel guilty about it!
· Then, there are other people who decide… I don’t want to mess with any kids in MY LIFE! I can’t stand kids!
· We must learn how to strike the balance… to love our children, and nourish them and care for them, but lovingly discipline them, and not put them on a pedestal!
· When we learn to do that, and we raise our children in the Lord, what a blessing they can become in our lives!
3. The BEAUTY of the Family (Psalm 128: 3)
· It is also extremely important that we realize the great blessing of marriage itself in the family.
· The book of Proverbs says that he who finds a wife, finds a good thing!
· Let’s face it guys… the beauty in our family, comes from our wives!
· How God desires to bless the relationship between husband and wife! A whole book of the Scripture is dedicated to the blessing of the marriage relationship: The Song of Solomon!
· Thank God for our WIVES, they are the beauty of our families!
· The man who blesses and nurtures his wife and gives her to the Lord will be blessed!
· His children will be blessed and rise up as young olive plants!
4. The BLESSING of the Family (Psalm 128: 1-2)
· But it’s not enough just to be married, and just to have kids!
· The family must be predicated on the FEAR of the LORD.
· It is important that every man lead his family to know that God is GOD, and that God has laid out the principles of life!
· Thank God for the family who takes hold of his Word and lives by it.
· The Bible promises great blessing for the family who fears the Lord. There is no stopping them!
Conclusion – OK Preacher, this sounds great. But I don’t have a perfect family. How does all this apply to me?
· Claim God’s Promises for Your Family – These promises don’t apply to “perfect families”. There is no such thing! They apply to EVERY family! Claim those blessings and ask for God’s touch on your family. Live out those principles in your daily lives.
· Pray for Protection for Your Family – One of Satan’s best kept secrets is that the prayer of fathers, mothers, or family heads is powerful! God hears and moves when we pray for our wives, our husbands, our kids, grandkids, etc.
· Fight the Evils that Threaten Our Family – How wrong it is for us to sit down and let the world and it’s ugly ideas run over us. Immorality is racing at a rampant pace! Our children need to learn the wickedness and destruction that results from sin against our families. They also need to learn the bountiful blessings that God bestows upon the family who walks in Him.
