Family First
Put God First In Your Family
Both our church records and statistics show that a majority of people only attend church once every six weeks.
Can you imagine turning to your spouse and saying, “Honey, I’m only going to see you one hour every six weeks?” How's that going to work for you? Yet you treat the bride of Christ that way.
Seek God’s Plan for Your Family
In Matthew 6:33, Jesus says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
That's God's agenda, that's His plan. You've heard it before. First things first. Seek first the kingdom, the sovereign rule, and reign of God. God's in charge and I’m not. Yet you never say “family first” when you put God’s kingdom last.
Put God First in Your Life
When you don’t put God first, here's what's going to happen. Some of you who show up once every six weeks, and you're not really serious—I’m talking to you, young people—about leaning into the things of God, you're going to graduate. Pray a little prayer, go to camp maybe now and then. Your parents will send you off to college. Doctor Weird Beard and Martha Marxist will fill your head, and you'll say to yourself, ‘You know, I lived the Christian life growing up, but I'm going to see how the other side lives. Oh yeah, I'm going to go down the rabbit hole, baby. I can always come back.’
Are you kidding me? That's a lie from the pit of hell. I know too many people who have done the same thing—they went down the rabbit hole, never to return.
When the world was busy making idols out of birds and other creatures, Joshua made this proclamation: “Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve… But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15
Establish God as Your Family Authority
Your house and your family should be a sanctuary, not a three-ring circus. If God is not the ringmaster, then by default, the enemy becomes the one in charge. Your family as well as your house should be a reflection of God, not a reflection of the world. Because we know that the world’s systems are corrupt. Government, education, music, television—all are a reflection of what the world has to offer.
Embrace the Church as the Family of God
That only leaves one entity: the church. The body of Christ. The family of God. It's the only entity that underscores and highlights the transcendent values that are to be lived out in the family circus. The gates of hell will not prevail against the church. The church will last forever and ever.
Let the Holy Spirit Convict You
The apostle Paul has some convicting words for us in Philippians 4:8: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” What are you putting into your mind? What are you putting into your body?
Reject the enemy
See, when it comes to the enemy—and I'm talking about Satan—it doesn’t take someone with a genius IQ to understand and believe there's a personal sinister force who is wreaking havoc in our world today.
But if I'm Satan—and this is about Satan—I'm not gonna go, ‘Hey, check out my shiny suit, my pitchfork, the goatee, some cool ink right here. I'm gonna get you. I'm coming for you, baby.’
No. He disguises himself as an angel of light. The Bible calls him the prince of the power of the air. He was the worship leader of Heaven.
Focus on godly things
When we look at our family, our career, and our marriage, are we putting into our minds and into practice Philippians 4:8? We need to say yes to the things of God and submit to Him in our thoughts and actions. If this is convicting you, let’s look at how to respond.
3 Responses to the Conviction of the Holy Spirit
There are three potential responses when the Holy Spirit convicts you of sin.
Holy conviction makes you sad.
When I'm convicted of something, I get sad. The Bible calls it godly repentance. But we're not talking about repentance anymore; we don't talk about sin anymore. Repentance is making an about-face and turning from what you were doing before.
The Holy Spirit’s illumination makes you mad.
You have to be careful when you get mad, though, because you can easily focus on the wrong things. You can even miss the main issue God was trying to teach you.
Repentance makes you glad.
Because we find our joy and gladness in God, we know He wants the best for every family. Not second best, not decent, but God wants the very best for you. Look at what the Bible says in Psalm 122:1, "I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord."
Grow Your Family in the Things of God
Are you leveraging every aspect of the church to underscore and highlight your family values? What I implore you to do, Mom, Dad, what I beg you to do, kids, is follow the Lord now. Young people, read the writings of Solomon. Read the book of Ecclesiastes. Solomon, the richest guy who ever lived, even more so than Bezos, said, remember the Creator when you're young.
Model the Lord’s Guidance
Dads, be man enough to tell your family that you’re going to serve the Lord. It's very simple. Lean into the church. Don't blow it. Lean into the things of God. Seriously commit to going to church for the next six weeks. If it doesn't change your life, go to another church. Keep looking until you find the right place for you and your family.
Next Steps
We invite you to visit us in person or online at Fellowship Church. Together, we strive to grow in the Lord and follow His leading in our lives. We’d love for you to be part of our church family.