Strengthen Your Family

Today, as we have finished two weeks of revival services, I want to thank God for His wonderful anointing and power. I want to thank God for the ones who were baptized and who were Spirit filled. To God be all the glory!

I also want to thank God for touching us at FPB with a fresh anointing. I challenge each of you to continue to seek to be anointed daily through prayer and fasting. We cannot miss our day of harvest. Get in the field they are white to harvest. (John 4:35) I ask you to pray that the Lord would send labors into the field and that we would be some of those being sent into our field. Ask God to give you a passion for souls.

As we start this week I look forward to the coming weekend where we will focus on strengthening the home. Looking around in this day we desperately need a refocus on the home. I realize this day has taken its toll on families and the home looks mighty different than it did 50 to 60 years ago. Yet, we still have an obligation according to the Word of God to put major focus on our homes for God. You may be a single parent struggling to make ends meet, a mom and dad with all the pressures of life pushing you, or a grandparent trying to have a positive touch on your grandchildren, but we still need to have an anointing from God on our families. We need to put the focus of God’s anointing back where it needs to be, home.

I am amazed over and over how quickly we miss the importance that God placed on the home in the Word of God. We even tend to get caught up in ministry and forget there is a difference to be made at home. We can never forget there was a family before there was ever a church or a preacher. God’s plan is for us to first evangelize our family then the world around us. We must never lose focus of our home and make sure it’s anointed by God’s presence.

All we have to do is look around the church world today and we see the results of people who have followed this world’s direction and are sacrificing their children on the altars of this world’s gods. They think, I’ve just got to get ahead, I just have to be a success, I just have to look the part, I just have to be the man, the woman and they pay for it behind their front door at home.

Ladies and gentlemen, God has promised you victory and blessings in His Word. The Lord said He would not leave you or forsake you. Your victory in God, your blessings in the Lord, are a given if you will simply stay with His Word. If you will delight yourself in Him, if you will commit your ways to the Lord, if you will pray and seek Him with a whole heart, God has promised to deliver you and be with you. The anointing is a given, the promises of blessings and victory are prearranged; you don’t have to sacrifice your children like this world is doing.

You don’t have to copy what this world is doing with their children.

You don’t have to make sure they fit in with this world and its gods.

Yes, everyone else may be sacrificing their kids and homes but that doesn’t mean God intended on you sacrificing yours. The Lord doesn’t want your vow if it cost you behind your front door, if it cost your families walk with God. Just asks Jephthah in Judges 11.

Behind your front door is where your relationship with Jesus and your commitment to His anointing must shine first and foremost. Our home is our first call.

Your children know if you are really a Christian.

Your grandchildren know if you are really anointed of the Lord.

Your companion knows if you’re are for real or a fake in God.

Your companion knows about your faithfulness and prayer life.

Are your actions that you are calling a Call of God, costing you behind your front door, costing you in your home?

God told us that we are in this world but we are not of this world. We are called out, set apart and chosen by God to be the children of righteousness. Yes, it’s easy to say and make the excuses that you have to do what you do in this world today. But I can’t help but wonder as we pick up the habits of our world, what is happening to our children, our grandchildren? What is happening to our homes?

Are we sacrificing our children and our homes so we can declare we are a success by this world’s standards? Are we losing at home while we are a success in this world even the church world? Yes, I know we like to tell about their accomplishments and spout how hard we go at it and what all we accomplish but what does home think about your vows and commitments? What are our accolades costing us at home? As you sacrifice at the altars of this world who is the one catching the real brunt of your vows to success? Who keeps dancing out your door that doesn’t even have a clue that dad or mom, grandparents, are going to put them on the altar of this world so they can talk about their victories and their successes.

We need to strengthen the anointing of God Almighty in our homes.

Wisdom From Above

While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18 NKJV

Allow me to share my devotion this morning with you. The scripture above was the text of the devotion and very quickly reminds us of the wisdom of God. The Almighty’s wisdom and ways are far beyond the thoughts and ways of this world. Yet we so easily place all our confidence in our day, in the ways of this temporal world. The devotion said:

The thinking of our generation often reflects a willingness to exchange a high view of God’s eternity for the short-term concept called the “here and now”. Technology is presumed to be paramount but the answers science gives us are short-term answers.

The scientists may be able to keep us alive for a few extra years but believing Christians know some things that Einstein did not know.

For instance, we know why we are here. We can say why we were born. We also know what we believe about the value of things eternal.

We are thankful we have found the promise from God of all grace that deals with the long-term and the eternal. We belong to a company of the plain people who believe the truth revealed in the Bible.

Actually, the wisest person in the world is the person who knows the most about God; the person who realizes that the answer to creation and life and eternity is a theological answer – not a scientific answer! Tozer

We often tend to think we are really wise or we know the answers. Many are quick with an opinion and a feeling that their way is the only way. We tend to measure our successes by worldly wisdom. We sometimes forget that our greatest thoughts will be obsolete in only a matter of months. If you don’t believe me just look at your yesterdays. Oh, I’m sure you have some very good and productive days but we all have some very embarrassing moments too. Times that at the moment we thought we had the greatest answer. That is what the world’s wisdom does for us. It wears off quick. Listen to what the writer James says in the New Testament about wisdom.

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. James 3:13-18 NKJV 

I desperately want to have the wisdom of God deep in the fabric of my life. I really want to have the voice of His Spirit directing my steps and ordering my life. The ways of God, the wisdom of the Almighty will not wear off or become obsolete. It is real for eternity. So I challenge you to listen for the voice of God ordering and directing your life. It will be there if we pay attention. The writer Isaiah declares in his Old Testament writings, “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left.”

Godly Character

Godly Character is the will to do what is right, as defined by God regardless of personal cost.

In Galatians 5:22-26 Paul writes what should be produced in our lives if we live a God defined life. Paul tells the church

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

He then writes to the church in Ephesus about how that fruit is seen.

For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth.

Ephesians 5:9 NKJV

Simply put God defined character is seen by the fruit we produce which is viewed through the window of Goodness, Righteousness and Truth.

Jesus said that His disciples or followers would be known by their fruit.

When people live a life absent of God defined character it sets off a chain reaction all on its own.

When people you know have a reputation for compromising their integrity to avoid loss, they not only forfeit your respect, but they destroy people’s confidents in them as well. A sense of unpredictability looms about these people. You know if they are willing to lie to a stranger, a customer, a client, another business associate, then they are willing to lie to you as well. If they will cheat in one arena of life then there is a good possibility that everything and everybody is up for grabs. If they will crucify one person behind their back then more than likely they will do the same to you when you’re not looking.

On the other hand a person who possessed godly character has an impact on everyone in his or her sphere of influence. I’m speaking of the unique man or woman who walks away when someone begins sharing a juicy piece of gossip. It’s that one-in-a-million friend who never says anything negative about you in your absence. It’s the guy who quickly owns up to his mistakes instead of blaming others. It’s the woman who is quick to give credit to the person who thought of the ideal rather than take the credit herself. It’s the husband who has only positive things to say about his wife in public. It the wife who allows her husband to lead when everyone knows she may be more gifted in that area.

There is something attractive about these kinds of people.We find ourselves wanting to be like them. We enjoy their company, relationships with these people comes easy.

Who will you be in five years? Ten years?

I’m not referring to your role or job title. For just a moment lay aside the dreams that involve your career or net worth. I’m talking about what you hope to find on the inside. What kind of person do you hope to become? Today you took a step. You either moved closer to or further away from what you hope to be. Most people moved further away. A handful overcame the negative inertia of this fallen world and moved forward.

But nobody – nobody – stood still.

The problem is character is like a tree – it doesn’t develop overnight. Real God defined character is developed over a life time. You can’t wait until the last minute and pull an all-nighter and expect to earn a passing grade. It’s an essay test. An essay that takes a lifetime to write.

Today you wrote a section and it was Louder than Words.

This thought was partly taken from the book Louder Than Words by Andy Stanley I challenge you to read it if you haven’t