“Nine Pillars of the Christian Home”
Text:
Proverbs Chapter 9 1 Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars: 2 She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table.
3 She hath sent forth her maidens: she crieth upon the highest places of the city, 4 Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,
5 Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled. 6 Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.
In Chapter seven of the Book of Proverbs, the world, represented by the harlot, invites the simple ones to a bed of ease, and love making until the morning.
In this Chapter of Proverbs, Wisdom, invites you to come and dine. Chapter eight clearly indicates that wisdom is the "Word of God," or Christ himself. Note that wisdom builds a house on seven pillars. Wisdom has killed the beast, (Calvary). mingled the wine (the Cross... blood of Christ with tears), furnished the table, (the local Church), and sent out her maidens to bid those who would come to the feast. (Soulwinners).
In this message, I want to focus in on the Pillars of the Christian home. We need to build strong homes for the Lord. Homes build on the rock of Christ and not on the sinking sands of this world.
Proverbs nine mentions "Seven Pillars." After much meditation, I was moved to the text in Galations 5. There I find nine pillars mentioned by the Paul as the fruits of the Spirit. Hence the title for today’s message.
Gal. 5:22
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law
A pillar of Love:
This bespeaks of a need for a "Proper Courtship."
(1 Cor 7:1) Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.
Our pillars must be placed upon the rock of Christ. Many homes are in dire trouble because their courtship was not "Lord centered," but "lust centered."
The Pillar of Joy:
This bespeaks of the need for every Christian home to have a "Family Night."
(Eccl 3:13) And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.
Have you ever thought of your children as being the "Fruit of your Labour?" We are to enjoy our children, they are gifts given to us from the Lord. Do you have a "Family Night?"
The Pillar of Peace:
This bespeaks of the need for Forgiveness in our homes.
(Mat 6:12) And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
The more we live with our family members, the more we can see the faults. We live close. If we do not exercise the grace of God in our marriages, and to our Children, our homes are doomed for failure.
The Pillar of Longsuffering:
This bespeaks of the need for a Work Ethic in our homes.
(Prov 6:6) Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
Life is more than sleeping, eating, and cartoons! What happened to our farming families where everyone had responsibilities or there was no harvest. Is it any wonder why we have such a difficult time recruiting God’s people to help us in the harvesting of lost souls for the Kingdom. It is easy for us to become a spiritually lazy Church.
The Pillar of Gentleness:
This bespeaks of the need for our children to see a Consistent Christian Example.
(2 Tim 1:5) When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.
Timothy became a "Man of God" because he could see the gentle consistent Christian example shown to him by his Grandmother, Lois, and his Mother, Eunice.
The Pillar of Goodness:
This bespeaks of need for our Children to receive a Christian education.
(Isa 30:21) And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
In years past, my wife, Judy, and I could have purchased a new car every year, instead we poured our hearts and treasure into our children and Christian education. I would rather have problems with my car, than problems with my kids! Was it worth it? Every one of our children know the Lord, attend Church faithfully, and have an active ministry in a local Church.
The Pillar of Faith:
This Bespeaks for the need of daily Family Devotions.
(Mat 18:20) For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
I think this verse was given to us by our Lord specifically to challenge us to have "family devotions."
The Pillar of Meekness:
This bespeaks the need for our family members to live Unselfish Lives.
(Gal 6:2) Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
The family is a unit. No one can act without acting in accordance with the need of the other member. A self centered family member can destroy the entire meaning of the word "family." Raise your children to "Bear one another’s burdens." Stop them from saying "mine." Teach them to say "ours."
The Pillar Temperance:
This bespeaks the need for our children to be raised with Loving Discipline.
(Prov 22:15) Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
Better a rebellious son or daughter to be honed in and spanked as a child, then it is for them to grow up and live behind prison bars!
Conclusion:
Do you live in a Christian Home? Is your home built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ? If so, ask God to help you in putting up some pillars to make your home an ark of safety for our children in these most difficult later days.
