Compiled by: Herman Abrahams (Pastor), Cornerstone Faith Ministries, P.O. Box 740, Westridge 7802, Rep. of South Africa.
E-Mail: Mentorship2003@yahoo.co.uk
Note to the reader:
If you have been blessed with this sermon compilation, I would be honoured to receive an e-mail from you simply stating where in the world you are based; I do not need any other information. This is merely so that I can have the pleasure of giving thanks to Almighty God that all over the globe, the ministry which he has entrusted to me, is blessing the body of Christ and helping to extend the Kingdom of God.
Thank you.
Herman Abrahams,
Cape Town, South Africa.
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Re-establishing God’s Order in the Family
Eph 5:21 – 6:4
We are living in times where, sadly, the break-up of family life has become almost the norm. When I was growing up, divorce was almost a complete no-no. I’m not denying the fact that in some cases it may well be necessary for divorce to take place, but we have become, it seems, so nonchalant about the whole matter that sometimes, what, appears to be the most Godly people, also end up divorcing their spouses.
We must return to God’s way and re-establish his order in our homes and families.
· The family is the foundation of society.
· Healthy families will contribute to more healthier church life, better members of society.
· Healthy families will impact generations and eternity.
· Marriage was given because God saw that it was not good for the man to be alone (Gen 2;18). It was also given for the purposes of procreation, the furtherance of the human race. Yest still, it was given for us to have an understanding of the relationship between Jesus and his church (Eph. 5:25). The more we understand this relationship, the higher will be our regard for marriage, family and holy living.
Ephesians 5:21-6:4
21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— 30 for we are members of his body. 31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Children and Parents
6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. (NIV)
1. Marriage Starts By Having Consideration For Each Other
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Ephesians 5
21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. (NIV)
21Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. (KJV)
· Spirit-controlled believers are to submit to one another, willingly serving each other rather than dominating one another and exalting themselves.
· Basic to Christians’ attitudes toward others is their reverence for Christ.
It’s all about the kind of attitude that husband and wife have towards one another.
Phil. 2:3-7 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant….” (NIV)
2. The Permanance Of Marriage
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Eph. 5:31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”
Gen 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
CLEAVE
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The Hebrew word for “cleave” is DABAQ. Here are some definitions of DABAQ:
“To cling to, or adhere to, abide fast, cleave fast together, be joined together, keep fast, stick to”.
When we come to the Greek New Testament, the word means to cement together - to stick like glue - or to be welded together so that the two cannot be separated without damage to both.
The husband and wife relationship could also be compared to two pieces of paper that are glued together. If you try to separate two such pieces of paper you tear them both. If you try to separate husband and wife, both are hurt - and in the cases where they have children, the children are hurt as well.
· Marriage does not belong to you and I – it belongs to God.
Proverbs 18:22 He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD. (NIV) [favour - “acceptance, goodwill, or approval.”].
Father God approves of marriage – it is he who created the woman for man (Gen 2:18, 22)
· God created marriage and entrusts us with it – we will have to give an account of it to Him one day. We are stewards of the marriage relationship which God has entrusted to us.
· If marriage belongs to us, then we can use it, abuse it, set it aside and do with it as we please.
· But God has not given us that authority – husaband and wife are under the authority and Lordship of Jesus and must carry out His will – “What God has joined together, let no man put asunder” (Mark 10:9).
3. God’s Order for the Family
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"Divine Order" is an order of authority and responsibility which is spelled out in the Bible:
(a) "The head of every man is Christ, the head of a woman is her husband, and the head of Christ is God" (I Corinthians 11:3).
(b) "Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord" (Colossians 3:20).
God has ordered the family according to the principle of ’headship.’ Each member of the family lives under the authority of the ’head’ whom God has appointed.
CHRIST, the ’Head’ of the husband; Lord of the family.
HUSBAND, the “Head’ of the wife: chief authority over the children.
WIFE, the helpmeet to the husband (Genesis 2:18); disciplines the children under his delegated authority.
CHILDREN, obedient to parents.
The above is for the sake of order. Where there is no order of authority, everyone will do “what is right in his own eyes”.
4. Training Children In The Lord
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1. THE WORD OF GOD HOLDS THE FATHER PRIMARILY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DISCIPLINE OF THE CHILDREN … HE MUST NOT PROVOKE THEM TO ANGER.
Ephesians 6:4
“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” (NIV)
4 And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger; but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (KJV)
Proverbs 4:1,3,4 “Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding. 2 I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching. 3 When I was a boy in my father’s house, still tender, and an only child of my mother, 4 he taught me and said, “Lay hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands and you will live.”
2. EACH CHILD IS DIFFERENT
Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it”
Parents have the responsibility to train their children. While there is a general way in which all children must be trained (in the way of the Lord), there is a specific ‘way’ that he or she as an individual should go in life, ministry and career. Parents must help their children identify their gifts and talents and guide them in that specific way that God has planned for them.
“The Hebrew word for train (h\aµnak_) means to dedicate…. H\aµnak_ seems to include the idea of setting aside, narrowing, or hedging in. The word is sometimes used in the sense of “start.” Child-training involves “narrowing” a child’s conduct away from evil and toward godliness and starting him in the right direction.
Gleason L. Archer points out that this Hebrew verb is similar to the Egyptian h\-n-k, which means “to give to the gods” or “to set up something for divine service.” He suggests that in verse 6 this gives “the following range of possible meanings: ‘Dedicate the child to God, ’ ‘Prepare the child for his future responsibilities, ’ ‘Exercise or train the child for adulthood’” (Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1982, p. 252). (Bible Knowledge Commentary)
5. Children’s Attitude Towards Parents
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Eph. 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
The only commandment with a blessing added to it !!!
Some of my most unhappy childhood days was when I was not walking in obedience to my parents and when there was no harmony between them and myself. However, when there was unity between us (in hindsight) I knew I was blessed. ***
