Sermon Central
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Who Is Building Your Home? Series
Contributed by Jim Mooney on Jan 6, 2001 (message contributor)
Summary: Allow God to build your home and then it will stand the storms that come against it.
HOME IMPROVEMENT SERIES
WHO IS BUILDING YOUR HOME?
THERE IS A WORD THAT IS USED TO DESCRIBE THE BROKEN AND SHATTERED HOMES OF TODAY. THAT WORD IS DYSFUNCTIONAL. IF YOU LISTEN CLOSELY YOU WILL HEAR PEOPLE TALK ABOUT DYSFUNCTIONAL HOMES OR DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILIES. THIS LEAVE THE IMPRESSION THAT THERE ARE HOMES THAT ARE FULLY FUNCTIONAL. THERE HAS ONLY BEEN ONE FULLY FUNCTIONAL HOME IN THE HISTORY OF MAN KIND. THAT HOME WAS ADAM AND EVE’S HOME PRIOR TO THEIR SINFUL DISOBEDIENCE. THEY WERE CREATED AND PLACED IN A PERFECT ENVIRONMENT. EVERYTHING ABOUT THEM WAS PERFECT IN THE BEGINNING. THEN SIN CAME AND IT HAS NEVER BEEN THE SAME SINCE. TO SAY THAT OUR HOMES NEED SOME IMPROVEMENT IS TO SAY THAT EVERYTHING IS NOT WHAT IT SHOULD BE. WHEN IT COME TO REMODELING A HOUSE THERE ARE FOUR THINGS WE NEED TO REMEMBER.
1. IT TAKES LONGER THAN YOU PLANNED.
2. IT COST MORE THAN YOU FIGURED.
3. IT IS MESSIER THAN YOU ANTICIPATED.
4. IT REQUIRES GREATER DETERMINATION AND MORE PATIENTS THAN YOU EXPECTED.
THIS IS TRUE OF YOUR HOME LIFE AND FAMILY AS WELL. YOU MAKE PLANS TO IMPROVE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR SPOUSE AND CHILDREN. IT THE BEGINNING EVERYTHING GOES WELL, BUT THEN SOMEWHERE IN THE PROCESS, YOU REALIZE:
1. IT TAKES LONGER THAN YOU PLANNED.
2. IT COST MORE THAN YOU FIGURED.
3. IT IS MESSIER THAN YOU ANTICIPATED.
4. IT REQUIRES GREATER DETERMINATION AND MORE PATIENTS THAN YOU EXPECTED.
IT’S NOT EASY, BUT WITH THE HELP OF GOD IT CAN BE DONE AND IT WILL BE WORTH IT.
A STRONG HOME LIFE BEGINS WITH A STRONG MARRIED LIFE.
HOW MANY OF YOU HAD A SHOT GUN WEDDING? IN OTHER WORDS YOU WERE FORCED TO MARRY THE PERSON YOU MARRIED. FACT IS MARRIAGE IS A FREEDOM OF CHOICE. IF YOU ARE MARRIED YOU FREELY CHOSE TO MARRY THE PERSON YOU MARRIED. YOU KNEW OR SHOULD HAVE KNOWN WHAT YOU WERE GETTING INTO WHEN YOU MARRIED THAT PERSON. IF YOU ARE NOT MARRIED BUT YOU ARE MAKING PLANS TO GET MARRIED, KNOW THIS, WHO YOU MARRY IS YOUR CHOICE. YOU NEED TO KNOW THE PERSON YOU ARE MARRYING. YOU SHOULD NEVER MARRY SOMEONE HOPING TO CHANGE WHO THEY ARE, ONLY GOD CAN CHANGE A PERSON. HOME IMPROVEMENT WILL NEVER OCCUR A PART FROM GOD. THERE IS MORE TO A HOME THAN THE HOUSE YOU LIVE IN OR THE CAR YOU DRIVE OR THE AMOUNT OF MONEY YOU MAKE. YOU CAN HAVE ALL THIS WORLDS GOODS AND NEVER REALLY HAVE A HOME. A HOME IS A PLACE WERE A FAMILY LIVES TOGETHER IN FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD AND EACH OTHER. HOME IMPROVEMENT BEGINS WITH US IMPROVING OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. HOME IMPROVEMENT BEGINS WITH GOD. OUR SCRIPTURE SAYS THAT, " EXCEPT THE LORD BUILD THE HOUSE,
( HOME ) THEY LABOR IN VAIN THAT BUILD IT. THIS SCRIPTURE REVEALS THAT WE ARE DEPENDENT ON GOD TO BUILD STRONG HOMES. ALL OF US MAKE MISTAKES IN OUR HOME LIVES. WHEN WE DO WE NEED TO GO TO GOD FOR OUR GUIDANCE AND DIRECTIONS. WE NEED HIM TO HELP US TO CLEAN UP THE MESS THAT WE MADE. GOD IS ACTIVE IN HELPING US TO BUILD STRONGER AND BETTER HOMES. LET’S LOOK AT FOUR ACTIVITIES IN WHICH GOD IS INVOLVED IN.
I. BUILDING THE HOUSE.
Psalm 127:1 Except the Lord Build the House, they labor in vain that build it.
YOU NEED A FOUNDATION, WALLS AND A ROOF.
A. STABILITY
B. SECURITY
C. SERENITY
All around us we see the results of the breakdown of the family. From the drive-by shootings to moral collapse of the White House. Many of the problems stem from moms and dads that do not take their roles as parents seriously.
Warren Wiersbe writes, "It seems no matter where we look in modern society, we see antagonism, division, and rebellion. Husbands and wives are divorcing each other; children are rebelling against their parents, and employers and employees are seeking for new ways to avoid strikes and keep the machinery of industry running productively. We have tried education, legislation, and every other approach, but nothing seems to work. Paul’s solution to antagonisms in the home and in society was REGENERATION, a new heart from God and a new submission to Christ and to one another. God’s great program is to ’gather together in one all things in Christ.’ Paul indicated that this spiritual harmony begins in the lives of Christians who are submitted to the Lordship of Christ" (Be Wise, p.149).
Christian families are to be different, "set apart" from the world. What unbelievers want to know is "Does Christianity work?" If our faith won’t work at home it won’t work anywhere. Parents, you may not be able to do anything about our national dilemmas, but you can do something about your family, your children.
