We Are Family! Kelly Durant 1-16-17
Ps 68:4-6
4 Sing unto God, sing
praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH,
and rejoice before him.
5 A father of the
fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.
6 God setteth the
solitary in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with chains: but
the rebellious dwell in a dry land
2. Back in the 70s there was a picture of a
young child carrying another child on his back. It looked like the one carrying
the child was having a hard time since the other one was so big. Someone asked,
“Isn’t he too heavy for you to carry?” And the child responded, “He aint heavy,
he is my brother.”
Those that are family are never a burden, we
do not get rid of them, they eat with us, they laugh with us, they share the
deepest things of their heart with us, and they are in a special class that
others do not have. We are a part of the family of God and His name is above
all family names and we must live with the utmost respect, nobility, and honor.
All true Christians and those who know God promote
families and the protection of women and children, today we will reflect on
this. Part of the reason for my choice of this subject is because we will be
participating in the Salvations Army’s anti-trafficking initiative which is a
major assault on families. We will be having prayer in the Corps Wednesday
night but my wife and I also will be participating in the Florida National
University’s walk to bring about awareness on the 18th, at 10:00 am.
Want to come along?
3. It was recognized in the past decades
that Latinos and many immigrants had strong family ties and values. I recall in the 70s people would comment that
the Latino immigrants always brought with them a strong family value and this
was good for the country. Today however, the disease of sin, the filth from
Hollywood values, has divided many families and Latinos have almost the same
statistics as everyone else in the area of divorce, single motherhood, and criminality
when compared to the rest of the population.
Notice in the Psalm verses of today, that as
always we are prompted to praise God, and to be happy in his presence. And why
is that? Because He is… A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows,
God in his holy habitation cares aware of all situations. This means that God
is there for you and I who do not have a family nearby. God is especially near
to those with circumstances that make it hard for them to survive. My emotions
went ecstatic when I read this verse for the first time and I suddenly felt and
knew that God had replaced my earthly father in a way far beyond my
expectations! The Word of my Father God, the wisdom, the comfort, the
salvation, has impacted me beyond what any human can offer.
And one of my favorite verses is this: “God
setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with
chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land”. Lets’ examine how God does this. This is another
verse I absolutely love!
4. Throughout
the world, in almost all churches, if you are a brother in Christ, then there
is the idea that you have received a new spirit, and new way of life. Therefore,
you become a person of trust, and brothers in the faith open their doors to you
and you can stay with them as if they were family. If you are a lonely person
and solitary then you could be close to a larger family and this is how we all
become one big family in God!
Throughout the years Regina and I have stayed
with dozens and dozens of Christians while
traveling, or arriving in a new country, and most all of them treated us as
family, some even lent us their own bed to sleep in! What a great thing to have
the same Father God and Jesus Christ, to have a unity of purpose and faith. We
too have had dozens upon dozens of people stay in our homes over the years too
because this is just how Christian families work. God intended for his created
humanity to live in love and harmony, that we would be One under His awesome
presence.
Matt 19:29
29 And every one that
hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife,
or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and
shall inherit everlasting life.
With this verse you and
I are impressed that the followers of Jesus had to give up their families in
the flesh to do a greater work for God traveling and evangelizing, but by doing
so they gained a hundred more families in the process!
5. Do you as a Christian right now have a half
dozen friends that will take you into their home if you need it? Will you take
into your home brothers of the faith? Families are not produced by indifference
towards others; they are established by love, patience, and a good heart keeping
them together! This is freedom, freedom from the chains of the materialistic
world that puts money above relationships and compassion.
Let’s look at the second
half of verse 6 in the verses of today in Psalm 68:6
“but the rebellious
dwell in a dry land”. Some people do not have anywhere to stay because of their
rebellion against God! No one wants complicated sinful people nearby!
What does this imply?
Let’s look at family situations. What happens when sin gets in the middle of
the fellowship, when one of the brothers or sisters starts living unholy, or
speaking ugly things, or hurts another?
When one is rebellious and does not support the home, what happens?
Conflicts, fights, anger, bitterness and worse things happen right?
Someone usually leaves because they do not
wish to tolerate all the problems and abuse. And what happens in the end to
those that are rebellious, who do wrong against God and their own kind? They
suffer the judgments of God and end up alone and are cursed to live a life as
one who lives lost in the desert with no friendship, joy, or happiness. I know
many people that no one wants to talk to because they have an angry ungodly
character.
6. I have seen people leave families and
even the church family due to the abuses they have suffered, because of the
sins of another which hurt them. This is sad. Look up Prov 18:19 ‘A brother
offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like
the bars of a castle’. But like it or
not Jesus commands us to forgive all! But not everyone knows how to ask God to
help them get through what they consider offensive.
Not just in our church family, but I am sure
in your flesh family you have seen abuses and divisions, excommunications, and even
divorces. Sin is rebelliousness and it has its effects, it destroys family
households and Christian fellowships!
In today’s world we see the disintegration of
families so severe that only one in three people actually live in a family in
the U.S.. Jesus and His love and forgiveness are the only answer to restore and
heal and put people back together!
7. Today Satan is at war against families!
Satan wants to destroy people cursing them to live in a dry desert land which
is a hell, and then when they die the hell continues in the solitude and
despair! Notice how has Satan has unprecedentedly destroyed families in the
past millennia? We notice how wars between nations and tribes provokes death
the fighters and dozens of millions are forced to move and immigrate due to the
harsh conditions of suffering. Divisions, in-fighting, and hate separates on
massive scales.
And what about those that would have
experienced the joys of having a family had it not been for abortion? What
about those who would have fallen in love and made a family had it not been for
someone convincing them that they were not cool and that to be accepted by the
Hollywood crowd that they needed to have a relationship that goes against
nature? Feminism and many other recent movements exist for the sole purpose of
contaminating others with bitterness and hate so that people learn to reject the
love of God and separate themselves from those that would love and support
them. Political correctness is self-sabotaging!
And now, what about families that were united
and happy until politics obsessed the minds of a few to the point they
preferred to part ways with their brothers and sisters? Satan’s pride and
bitterness is alive today through politics and religion and very few want to
just ‘let things go’ when they have a different idea or a misinformed view of other
people and events. I am tired of the demonization of others with fake news, no
one is perfect except Jesus, and only God will judge guilty souls. But you and
I should refuse to take part in throwing more gasoline on the fire. Even Paul
rebuked others for identifying with men, not men who were political leaders,
but spiritual leaders. 1 Corinthians 3:4
For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not
carnal?
8. The message of Jesus, and of this church is;
we are family! The message of Jesus to all who receive Him is: I am family with
you and I lay down my life for you! Despite our sins, despite the sins of
others, God’s word promises us that we can still have a spiritual family, even
if your own reject you!
John 1:11
He came unto his own, and
his own received him not.
So if you have kin who
love to fight, divide, attack, and impose what they believe on you and others,
just let them be. The rebellious live in a dry land and you should not follow
them out to their dry places of misery! We are heaven bound!
You as a Christian have the job to forgive,
heal and restore all who you can into God’s family! But not all will! A horse
can be brought to the water but that does not mean he will drink! And it’s so
strange when you think about how we as Christians can be close to those who are
very different from ourselves in race and customs and it is all because we have
the same faith in Jesus. What more does the word say about families? How should
you behave? 1 Tim 5:8
8 If anyone does not
provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has
denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
Keeping a family alive requires
maintaining support, love, and care. In families there exists a required sense
of responsibility, but if we are unfaithful to others in our own family of the
faith, how can God bless us?
9. In heaven we will all be one big happy
family, and there… there will no longer be any more economic, race, and sin
issues! No more need to remember Dr. Martin Luther King Day so we get reminded
to respect those different from us more than what we currently do. We will be
dancing in the streets as one big family! Let’s live now on earth full of love
for all as it is in heaven!
Do feel like you are in
dry land spiritually? Do you know someone who is in a dry land in your family
or church? Maybe it is because you have not opened the door of your heart and
home to make them feel at home! But if you have and they have not wanted it,
you did your part. Just pray for them, that’s what we do! Just live holy, loving,
inclusive, and heavenly minded!
God never blesses
selfishness; no one can expect others to take them in as family if they are not
willing to take in others themselves! To make families and to be a church which
is one family, we must seek to love with God’s love and receive all! Pray to
have a spirit of family today! The family of God is our real family, amen?
No comments:
Post a Comment