Good morning.  Well, with today being the day that we are celebrating the men in our church, I decided to share with you one of the classes that I attended while the youth were over at Summer In The Son.  The class was about Families, and it was titled, “The Cosby Show.”  Now as you can guess, not all families are like the Cosby’s or the Brady Bunch, or any other good family portrayed on TV.  In those families, when a problem comes up, they have just enough time to solve that problem and get back to being a great family all in less than 30 minutes with a few commercial.

But you know what, that just isn’t the way it is in real life.  Now I am sure that there are some of you who come from a great home, and things in your family were amazing.  But I will guarantee you that they were not as perfect as what we see on TV.  For most of us, we had alright families.  There were as many ups as there were downs.  But others of us here today, I would guess have had a pretty rough family life.  Things in your family may have been less like the Brady Bunch and more like the Simpson’s.

So that brings up the question, “Why Families?”  Why do we have families, or why did God create the family?

Before we take a look at families this morning, let’s just open our time with a word of prayer.

Let’s Pray!

So, why families?  First of all, the family is a reflection of God and His character.  As you think about it, the family is made up of many different parts.  Most families have a father, a mother, maybe some brothers, and maybe some sisters.  You see, there are many different parts to the family, but each of those parts make up the family.  All of them work together to become what we call a family.

In the same way, God is made up of many different parts if you will.  He is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Now even though these are 3 distinctly different things, they all form go together to be the same thing.  It’s like this, when you look at water, it can take on different forms.  It can be water, you can freeze it and it becomes ice, or you can turn it into vapor.  In each of these stages, it is still water, just in a different form.  God is still God, He just has 3 different forms that He can take on.

So that is one reason why we have a family established here on earth.  A second reason for families is this, God’s plan for sharing His truth is supposed to be the family.  Go ahead and turn with me to Deuteronomy 6:4-9.  Here in this passage we are reading about the family’s responsibility to share God’s truth.  Listen to this, Deuteronomy 6:4-9 says, “1”

So, as we are instructed to teach our kids at all times.  The man that was teaching this class over at Summer In The Son said that at his home, they have a little box attached to the door of their home, and that inside of that box was this verse.  He said that every time they go in the house, it is a constant reminder that they are to be teaching the family about God’s commands.

As parents, are you constantly teaching your kids about the importance of being a Christian?  If not, then you are missing the whole point of God creating the family.  Families are so important to the foundation of a child’s view of God.  Now most people put that responsibility on the church.  They say that it is the job of the church or the minister to teach our family about God.  Well, yes it is, but only as a backup.  You see, the church is supposed to be the backup to the family.  The family is supposed to be first when it comes to teaching God’s truths.

This is why the Devil attacks the family as much as he does.  I mean think about it, it makes perfect sense.  The family is the primary source of teaching, and the family is also, the biggest target for the Devil.  He will stop at nothing to tear down families.  He causes divorce among the parents, arguments between parents and children, and the list goes on and on.  The Devil tears down the family, and in doing so, he takes away the main technique of teaching that God designed.

So, that is why the family is so important, and that is why God designed the family.  One as a way to show His own character, and also as the foundational area for teaching His truths.

But you know what, not everyone comes from a family that points to God.  So what does that mean for those people and those families?  I think that the main thing that we need to keep in mind is that God has a plan for your life no matter what you have come from.

I think that there are 2 key truths about your life.  First, most of you life is not under your control.  Go ahead and turn with me to Genesis 37:3-4.  In this passage we are reading about the life of Joseph.  As you think about Joseph and his life, it is obvious that not all things were under his control.  Genesis 37:3-4 tells us that, “2”

Now as we look at these verses, it was completely out of Joseph’s control what his father did, and how he treated him.  Joseph had no control over the way that his brothers were going to feel as a result of their father showing favoritism to Joseph.

Now when it comes to our lives, there are certain things that we cannot control either.  Maybe there are some here today, that the same kind of think happened in your family.  Maybe a parent showed favoritism and that caused some problems.  Perhaps there are those of you here today that your parents divorced, and that made things more difficult for you.  That was completely out of your control.  Still, there are others, that things have happened that were out of you control, and it still effects you to this day.

Realize this though, God is in control, and He can do amazing things when it seems like there is no place to turn.  In life, there are going to be things that are beyond your control that will affect you, all you can do is respond to them in a positive way.  Realize that even though things look bad now, God can always make things turn out for the good.  So realize that there are some things that are out of your control.

The second key truth is this, God alone is sovereign.  Now the word sovereign means that God has the power and the ability to control all things.  Even thought things are out of your control, God is always in control, and He is all powerful.  As you think to the difficulties that you have faced in life, the things that were out of your control, realize this, God saw it all and He had a greater plan that no one else knew.  Some day, you will realize that plan that God had, and then it will all make perfect sense.  There are some of you here today, that the things that are beyond your control are going to be used to share Christ with others.  There are some of you here today, that the things that are out of your control, in the future are going to make you a stronger person.  You see, God sees a greater purpose in the things that we go through, and He alone will stop it all and uses it for good.

Now through all of this, there are a couple of key promises.  First, God promises to go through everything with you and always protect you.  In Joshua 1:5 God is talking to Joshua and He tells him, “…As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

You see, no matter what you go through in life, God will always be by your side.  It is just like the Footprints in the Sand story.  God always walks along side of us, and when it seems like He is gone because there is only one set of footprints, it is because in those times, God is carrying us.  God promises that no matter what type of family life you have or had, He will always be right by your side.

The second key is that God promises that He can use all things for a greater good.  The familiar passage of Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him…”

Like I said earlier, one day, God is going to take all of these problems that you are facing, and He is going to use them for the good.  The things that you go through in this life, will be used by God for something far greater than we can ever imagine.

Now, as we begin to wrap things up this morning, there are three things that I want you to realize about your parents, and for the parents here this morning, I want you to realize these three things as well.  And then I want to end with a few responsibilities.  But first, let’s take a look at parents.

The first thing that we need to realize is that there are no perfect parents.  Kids a lot of times will look at other kid’s parents and wish that their parents were like that.  But you know what, the grass always looks greener on the other side, but it still has to be cut.  There is no such thing as a perfect parent.  So to the kids today, realize that your parents are doing the best that they can.  Realize that there are no perfect parents, and that yours are going to make mistakes.  To the parents here this morning, realize that there are no perfect parents.  Do the best that you can, and allow God to take care of the problems.  Don’t beat yourself up trying to be perfect, because you never will be.

Second, only judge your parents in this; did they love you and did they give you a picture of God?  All throughout the Bible parents are called to love and take care of their children, and to teach them about God.  I hope that is what each parent here this morning is doing.  I pray that you are showing your kids love, and that you are taking care of their physical needs.  But I also hope that you are attending to their spiritual needs as well.  I hope that you are teaching them about God, and that you are truly painting them a picture of God in everything that is said and done in your home.

Kids, realize this, your parents do many things, and they do without many things to see to it that you have what you need, and a little bit of what you want as well.  If you sit back and think of all the things that you have, that you have not done anything to earn them, it should cause you to be thankful to your parents.  Also realize this; your parents should be doing the best that they can to teach you about God.  Learn as much as you can from them, because one day, it will be your responsibility to teach your own family about God and to give them a picture of Christ.

And the third thing that I want us all to realize about parents is this; they are accountable to God and not to you.  This one is really for all of us this morning.  As we think about our parents, realize that they are accountable to God, and not to us.  God has given them the privilege as well as the responsibility of being a parent.  He desires for them to love and take care of their children, but more importantly, He commands that they teach their children about Him.  It is the main reason for the family.

So let us realize this, it is to God that they are accountable to and not to us.  Parents, realize then when you neglect to love your kids, and when you neglect to teach them about God, not only are you letting your kids down, but you are letting God down as well.  He put you in this position so that you would teach your kids about Him.  As a result of you not doing this, your kids will be affected, and you will be held accountable to God.  Remember, it is the primary function of the family to teach God’s truth.

Now, as we close this morning, allow me to share just a few responsibilities with you.  We all have responsibilities to one another, so let’s take a look at just one for each of us when it comes to the family.

Your responsibility to your parents is simple; respect and obey them.  Not only is this good advice, but it is also commanded of us.  Deuteronomy 5:16 says, “1”

This is the only command that God gives and He says that it will cause you to live long.  You see, this is so vitally important, that God wanted to stress its importance.  If you cannot respect and obey your earthly parents whom you can see, what is going to cause you to respect and obey God, who you cannot see?  So the responsibility that we have is to respect and obey our parents.

When it comes to the family, parents, you have a responsibility as well.  Your responsibility is to be salt and light to them.  Turn with me to Matthew 5:13-16.  Here in this passage we are reading about being salt and light.  Here is what Jesus has to say, Matthew 5:13-16 tells us, “3”

What this is asking parents to do is to imitate Christ.  Be Jesus to your kids.  Make sure that they see Jesus in you.  Be sure that you are teaching them about God.

And finally this morning, everyone has a responsibility to them selves.  When it comes to you, it is your responsibility to take what you have learned and apply it to your lives.  To the parents here this morning, you need to make sure that you are loving your kids and that your are teaching you kids about God.  For the children here today, you need to make sure that you are respecting and obeying your parents.  You also need to realize the importance of family and being a good parent for when you become a parent yourself one day.

But, above all, our responsibility to self is this; to love, honor, obey, and follow God in all that we do.

Let’s Pray!